There are a bunch of medicinal foods that are recommended on the GAPS protocol to:
- assist the healing of the gut lining,
- enable proper digestion of fats and minerals, - continue the rebuilding of a healthy microbiota in your GI tract, - assist the bodies organs with a gentle but persistent detox, and - promote a strong immune system.
I found that it is very difficult to keep up with all of these particular foods, each of which is really important, if I give them out separately on a daily basis. I was in the kitchen a LOT, measuring out this much kefir and that much Fermented Cod Liver Oil, and "just drink this weird water and WAIT COME BACK, WE'RE NOT FINISHED!"
Anyway, so then I read about the GAPS Shake in the FAQs (see here for the FAQs, you can search by word to find what you're after). The GAPS shake is designed to be high fat, with cold-pressed juice, and people have used it specifically to clean out the liver, and jump start the gallbladder into producing more stomach acid, so that the rest of the 'conveyor belt' functions correctly. It's a powerful tool, especially if you feel like you're 'stuck' and not healing as fast as you had hoped.
So we started making the GAPS shake, and gradually added a number of our daily medicinal routines into this shake, and now we have a morning smoothie that kicks our days into gear better than a double shot latte! It is HIGHLY addictive, in a really GOOD way.
Here is the Banana Raspberry Cinnamon Smoothie, GAPS-style (makes 3):
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups homemade yoghurt (see here for recipe)
1 Tablespoon sour cream (see here for recipe)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil/ Extra virgin olive oil (I generally alternate from day to day)
1 serve Kefir yoghurt (We can only tolerate 1 Tablespoon of this powerful probiotic, but others use up to a cup with no issues. This is entirely up to you, if you are introducing for the first time, start with 1ml and build up from there every three days)
1 ripe banana
1 whole raw organic egg (Optional, but a key ingredient in our household, it is SO full of nutrients)
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon raw honey (Optional, we find that this is sweet enough without, but I accept that our sugar-free tastebuds are not the norm)
1/2 cup frozen raspberries OR, if you have a juicer, then you can juice the following instead, for the detox benefits: 1 apple, 1/2 stalk celery, 2 carrots, a small wedge of beetroot
Instructions:
Add all the ingredients, except the juice, into a blender and blitz until you reach the desired consistency. If it is too thick, I recommend adding some coconut water, or plain filtered water.
Pour the juice into the blend, and stir with a spoon (cold-pressed juice is delicate, with the enzymes that assist detox still intact. You don't want to blitz it, it defeats the purpose).
Pour into glass jars, and enjoy!
Image credit goes to http://gabbysgfree.com/
