When our family first started GAPS years ago, it was the first five days of GAPS Intro that were the toughest to wrap my mind around and the hardest for how we were feeling as a family. Now, as a GAPS™ practitioner, I find this to be true (more or less) for many families I help through Intro. The toughest part about the GAPS Protocol is typically the Introduction part of the diet. I put together this 5 Day Checklist and Menu for Intro that can be easily scaled up or down (depending on family size), or spread out over more days if needed. If you can be completely prepared with everything on hand ahead of time, all the better! You can do this. First Five DAYS OF GAPS INTRO: Checklist { For a Family Of 4 } You’ll Need: Fats: 1 Qt Ghee 1 Qt Other – such as duck fat, beef tallow, lard Container of extra virgin coconut oil Broth: Enough for at least 2 cups per person/per day more for misc Day 1 – 3 Qts brothDay 2 – 3 Qts broth Day 3 – 3 Qts broth Day 4 – 3 Qts broth Day 5 – 3 Qts brothMeat for Boiling: Stages 1 – 3 (approx. 5 days of snacks & meals) 2 whole chickens 14 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs 2 – 3 lbs chicken legs 1 lb. wild halibut 1/2 lb. wild cod 1/2 lb. wild shrimp 8 lbs. ground meat for meatballs (lamb, beef or pork) 2 lbs. stew meat 1 lb organ meat, diced to mix in with meatballs & sausage Produce 5 lemons 2 – 4 heads of broccoli, chopped into florets 4 heads cauliflower, chopped into florets 1 lbs green beans 10 lbs carrots 8 leeks, sliced 2 shallots 1- 2 bags of onions 6 bulbs garlic 2 winter squash of choice, peeled & diced large bulb of fresh ginger turmeric root (optional for tea) 1 bunch each fresh dill, cilantro, basil, parsley, marjoram, basil 2 zucchini 1.5 lb. mushrooms, sliced 1 – 2 avocados 12 – 16 tomatoes, or 8 jars of diced tomatoes (glass jars) Fermented foods 1 qt. sauerkraut (juice 1/2 jar for stages 1 – 2) 1 qt. beet kvass 1 qt. pickles Tea: Honey Ginger root (see produce list) Chamomile Mint Turmeric root (see produce list) Misc:Crispy nuts (2 cups worth) Pastured eggs: 5 – 6 dozen 2 – 3 lb. plank of salmon (for making Swedish gravlax – optional) Sea salt Raw honey Detox bath ingredients (for a rotation) 4 cups epsom salts 4 cups raw apple cider vinegar 4 cups baking soda 4 cups seaweed powder 4 cups sea salt Supplements Magnesium (chelated form), like Biotics Mg-Zyme, to help constipation Virgin Cod Liver Oil by NutraPro or Rosita Probiotics (see T) Biotics Hydro-Zyme (Betaine HCl if needed for digestion) Equipment: 1 – 2 enema kits (in case of constipation, and for general health they are VERY useful) Juicer – for carrots & lemons, in case low blood sugar is an issue   First Five Days Of GAPS Intro: Menu Day 1: Stage One Breakfast: Filtered water squeeze of lemon Ginger root & turmeric root tea coconut oil tsp honey (omit parsley) 1 tsp sauerkraut juice Broccoli simmered in broth Lunch: (omit parsley) sip of beet kvass Veggie of choice, simmered in broth Dinner: Lamb garlic meatballs garlic Mugof Broth with garlic sea salt tsp sauerkraut juice Detox Bath: 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar Day 2: Stage Two Breakfast: Filtered water squeeze of lemon tsp sauerkraut juice Lunch: Veggie of choice, simmered in broth Dinner: Chicken thighs simmered with leeks mushrooms ( cookbook) garlic Mug of Broth with garlic sea salt tsp sauerkraut juice Detox Bath: 1 cup Epsom salts lavender essential oil Day 3: Stage Two Breakfast: Filtered water squeeze of lemon Hamburgers w/ Veggie of choice, simmered in broth ghee Mug of broth w/ garlic sea salt Lunch: tsp sauerkraut juice Dinner: Tomato soup tsp sauerkraut juice ( cookbook) Simmered hamburgers garlic/sea salt Russian custards (2 egg yolks whipped w/ tsp honey per person) Detox Bath: 1 cup baking soda Day 4: Stage Three Breakfast: Filtered water squeeze of lemon Fermented cod liver oil pickle juice in shot glass Probiotic Butternut squash leek soup ( cookbook) Scrambled egg w/ slow-cooked onion in ghee Lunch:Butternut squash leek soup ( cookbook) Baked chicken legs (Bake at 350F w/ ghee & salt, until tender) Lacto-fermented pickles Dinner: (w/ mashed avocado) Onion soup ( cookbook) Mug of Broth w/ garlic sea salt Detox Bath: 1 cup seaweed powder Day 5: Stage Three Breakfast: Filtered water squeeze of lemon Fermented cod liver oil pickle juice in shot glass Probiotic with ghee/honey mixture Mug of broth w/ garlic sea salt Lunch: Lamb garlic meatballs Tomato soup ( cookbook) Lacto-fermented pickles Dinner: Beef & vegetable stew Broccoli simmered in broth (with broth served on the side) “Shot glass” of beet kvass Russian custards Detox Bath: 1 cup sea salt lavender essential oil A Note On Meat Stock vs. Broth I remember years ago, when I was transitioning my family to a Real Food diet, making bone broth was one of my biggest hurdles. Generation by generation we have simply lost certain food arts, and this was one tradition I couldn’t wrap my head around. As I finally made my own,I realized, it couldn’t…be…simpler. Soon I was making soups that other people raved about and that nourished the bodies of my family. This broth making would become an especially huge part of our diet as we undertook the GAPS™ protocol. Taken in therapeutic amounts daily, it is extremely nourishing and building for digestive tract, bones, muscle, skin…with benefits ranging from stimulating growth hormone to getting rid of cellulite. Bone broth is essentially made with bones or the carcass of the animal, and simmered for long periods of time. Meat stock is simply the liquid that you have cooked your meat in, and is a shorter period of cooking time. (Which comes in handy when you are doing so much soup making on Intro!) Meat stock is best for: Being gentler and less detoxifying, and is used for the Introduction diet. Has less free glutamates, and much less histamines, which can be problematic for some in the beginning. MEAT STOCK IS RECOMMENDED FOR THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF GAPS. Bone brothis best for: Being more therapeutic, and should be eased into if you are doing the Introduction diet, especially if you are sensitive to free glutamates, as these will be increased in the longer cooking times for bone broth. Here is an article that explains the differences further, along with some recipes: I hope this is helpful and takes a little stress away from Intro. I wish you the best! GAPS™ is good and nourishing. If you would like to learn more, and be supported for a full 10 weeks by a GAPS™ Practitioner (who has been there) I would love for you to check out the GAPS Class. You’ll have lifetime access to the materials and can “go through” the course live as many times as you need to.

You Might Also Like...