GAPS Diet: Day Eight May 4, 2008
It’s officially been over a week now and we are still going strong. We went out last night on a pseudo-date (it was a business party, so not really a date, but we still had a great time). Seth really wanted some pizza. I talked him out of it. He thanked me this morning.
He also wanted some Bourbon. He said, “Whiskey is allowed on the diet — occasionally.” I realized he was right. It’s in the book. So we both had a glass. He had his with ice and I had mine neat with a water back. I forget the name of it — some small distillery I’d never heard of. It was really good.
It has been unbelievably easy for me to give up coffee. I don’t miss it at all. And I’ve had no withdrawal symptoms. I think it’s something to do with the Dandy Blend. Since I can’t have milk or cream with my “coffee” (ahem - Dandy Blend), I’ve really been enjoying it on ice.
So here’s what I’m cooking this week….
Last night we had sausage (Rocky Canyon sausage — YUM so delicious) and chicken broth.
Tonight I made Roast Duck, Kohlrabi and Beet Greens Sauteed in Duck Fat, and Green Beans.
I got the duck from Healthy Family Farms (at the Saturday Santa Monica Farmer’s Market). Oh my God was it good. Seriously. I would eat roast duck over roast chicken any day. It has more fat I think so it’s much more succulent. You don’t even have to baste it.
I took a little of the duck fat and added it to a cast iron skillet, and sauteed the kohlrabi and beet greens in that. You just peel the kohlrabi into thin strips with a potato peeler. The add the rinsed beet greens. After they are cooked, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Delicious. Both Seth and Kate ate every bite.
Kate also ate the liver from the duck, which I sauteed in duck fat and seasoned with sea salt (it was sooo good — I had a few bites, too).
Tomorrow night we will have beef stir fry. I bought some fresh oyster mushrooms, fresh snow peas, fresh red bell pepper, and canned water chestnuts. And some Schezwan sauce (made with honey instead of sugar or high fructose corn syrup). The beef is from Rocky Canyon.
I’ll let you know how it turns out. Of course we’ll have it sans rice.
The duck liver sounds soooo good right now.
It just occurred to me that I initially found your blog through searching for feedback for Terressentials hair wash/detox. I followed along with your posts before trying it myself. You haven’t written much about it lately but I was wondering if you are still following the ‘no-poo’ regime?
I never did post a follow up on that — sorry! I’ve been meaning to.
I had to give up my No Poo trial for a while. Our water in Los Angeles is so hard. It’s some of the hardest water in the nation. The only way I could get No Poo to work is by bringing distilled water into the shower with me. It was cold and very uncomfortable — and a huge hassle.
My hair never got past the greasy stage — even after 2.5 months on No Poo. And I had business meetings so it really was not acceptable. It worked OK when I used the distilled water — but it was such a pain.
So until I can solve the water problem, I have to use shampoo. I’m using Aubrey Organics right now and am going to order some of the Keys Island shampoo soon.
I had the same experience. After 2 months, my hair looked awful and my skin was sallow and full of blackheads! I use Dr Hauschka shampoo and conditioner now and I’m very happy with it. It doesn’t lather as much as shampoo but it gets my hair clean. My hair used to be very dry and now it’s very healthy. I even go for days without washing it and it doesn’t get greasy. I’m off organic skin care for the time being, too. I couldn’t find anything reasonably priced that was effective. Do you have any recommendations?
Do you just roast your duck as you would a chicken? I have a duck in my freezer, but I’ve never made one before and have been intimidated. I think the universe is telling me I need to make it now, because you just posted about it and I am also watching an episode of Molto Mario right now and his making duck ragu!
Hi, Lisa,
Roast duck is delicious. It is much fattier than chicken so it doesn’t come out dry like chicken often does. Just do a search online for roast duck. I read those recipes I found and then I also read the recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It’s pretty much the same thing as roasting a chicken only you don’t have to baste it if you don’t want to — I guess because it’s fattier? At least that is what I found.
Oh and definitely take out the liver and fry it in some duck fat. YUM! It’s really good — better than chicken liver, I think.
Jaly -
For my skin I use a handmade soap (made from coconut and olive oil). And I just use coconut oil for moisturizer.
Ann Marie
Other dinner ideas:
Braise lamb shanks or short ribs in red wine (can you have red wine?), shallots, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes (add at the end so they don’t get too mushy) for 2-3 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Yummy. Have it with roasted or mashed potatoes. One of my go-to dishes is my version of chicken cacciatore….Cut up a whole chicken, sear all pieces in a pan, set aside. In the pan, add onions and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Then deglaze pan with chicken stock. Add chopped veggies of your choice (I use zucchini, squash, carrots, leeks, red bell pepper) and 1/2-3/4 cup (I just eyeball this, you can add more if you really want a red sauce, I prefer it more broth like) of either tomato sauce or diced tomatoes and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender. Its delicious and easy to make!
What about grilling? The weather has been beautiful lately and grilling brings such a nice flavor to meats, fish and veggies.
Can you have soy sauce? You could make salmon with a honey soy glaze, roasted vegetables and a salad…
Jungleen
Oops in my chicken instructions I forgot to tell you to add back the chicken pieces (and whatever juices are on the plate) after the veggies have cooked for a few min’s!!
Thanks Jungleen I am going to try that chicken recipe — sounds easy and delicious!
And yes we can have naturally fermented soy sauce. The salmon sounds really good!
Hi Ann Marie!
Do you know if there is a limit to how much kombucha you can drink in a day? We currently have 1 4 oz glass with dinner daily. Can we have more with lunch? I read somewhere that having more might screw up your PH levels.
~Anna
A few more details on the chicken dish:
You’ll need to add 1-2 cups of chicken broth (I eyeball, you want the sauce to cover almost all of the chicken pieces when they are placed back in the pan). Also when you simmer, cover with a lid and turn down the heat. At the end (last 3-5 min’s or so) add chopped basil. Finally, season to taste! Enjoy!
Optional: dredge the chicken pieces in flour when you are browning them in the beginning. (I usually skip this step)
Let me know how it turns out.
Hi, Anna, you can drink as much as you like. It’s good for you!
I usually drink 8-16 oz per day, but have drank as much as 20 oz in a day.
Traditionally, people drank kombucha, kefir and other fermented drinks instead of water. Wine and beer were traditionally naturally fermented, as are most condiments.
Ann Marie
Thanks, Jungleen. I might make this tonight… I don’t have very many veggies but I’ll see what I can do.
AM ~ Oh good! Our SCOBY is kicking out a brew every four days.
I thought we’d drown in kombucha if we were limited to 4 oz/day per person.