Short-cuts to preparing GAPS meals

Hello to all my fellow GAPS-groupies!

So a brief update on my GAPS journey; there has been a slight delay in my start date. I failed to get enough bone broth made up ahead of time so now I am taking an extra day to make my broth before I *officially* begin. I say, better to have the needed components at hand than be stressing yourself out needlessly just to start on time. And let's be honest. It's pretty much an impossibility to do GAPS without bone broth ready to start chugging all day long. Ahem.

But just because I haven't *officially* started doesn't mean I don't have anything to update with or helpful tips to share with you all.

So today I am sharing one of my tips I have started off doing this past week to be well established in my GAPS routine before I even start.

This past weekend, I spent over an hour on Saturday de-junking my pantry and kitchen cabinets to take out ALL the GAPS "unfriendly" food so I am not tempted by it or give into chowing down on a dark chocolate bar in a moment of weakness after a 12+ hour shift at the hospital with stress cravings through the roof and nothing but bone broth, baked chicken, and cooked broccoli to eat for the evening. Would I do that? Little me? Really?! You better believe it!!!

I am kind of sad at some of the stuff I pulled out to put away as I was really looking forward to eating some red lentils, gluten-free brownie mix, and chai mix I had my family pick up for me at Trader Joe's on their recent excursion to Omaha, NE. Not to mention the completely addictive lentil chips I found on sale a couple weeks back at our neighborhood health food store. Guess it will have to wait 6-8 weeks, or longer depending on how much better I feel and if I want to continue on with GAPS for a new cycle for deeper healing. But I will talk more about that later.

The other thing I did on Saturday was chop up some fresh veggies into medium-diced or small-diced cuts for the freezer. I can pull a bag of veggies out the day before to thaw and then throw it into some broth or soup for several meals throughout the week. I tried to prepare veggies I know are GAPS-approved for the first few stages or some I already had on hand like tomatoes. In total I prepped one and a half onions, three bell peppers, one roma tomato, and one zucchini squash.

I would encourage those of you who are planning to do GAPS in the coming weeks to do the same. Look for veggies that you know are GAPS-approved like winter and summer squashes, broccoli and cauliflower, and bell peppers to chop ahead of time and freeze into plastic freezer bags or BPA-free plastic containers like from Rubbermaid or Tupperware. Then you can pull out a bag the day before to thaw in the fridge and add to soup or broth as you are heating it on the stove. So easy, so much less stressful, and so little thought needed when you are super hungry and ready to tear into a bag of kale chips stuffed at the back of your pantry.

Save yourself some time and energy by prepping your veggies, broth, fermented veggies and some of the meat ahead of time. I will be adding other posts later this week and next about making bone broth and making your own ghee. I already have my pound of grass-fed dairy butter for the ghee, but just haven't gotten around to making it yet. I have made it once and it was super easy. It just took a bit longer than I first thought it would, but you don't have to do much with it while it is cooking.

What short-cuts or time-saving tips have you found for prepping healthy meals whether as part of GAPS or any whole-foods lifestyle? Share in the comments with me and everyone else!