In which I burn my nuts and other GAPS misadventures

First off: aren't we all glad, given the title, that this isn't a guest post by His Majesty?

T2 and I have embarked upon the GAPS diet. We're a few weeks late getting to it thanks to my ability to acquire multiple illnesses simultaneously. Now that we have started, I'm ready to be done. This thing is a huge pain in the rear. Giant. I suspect that it would be so much easier if it were just me but T2 requires a lot more thought and effort to feed, especially in the packed lunch department. I'm pretty sure that I'm feeding us both more honey (the only allowable sweetener) than is ideal but I don't know if we could do it otherwise.

Today for lunch he took meatballs, hot beef broth with some gingered carrots, apple sauce, cheese cubes, laraballs, yogurt with honey,  and a hard boiled egg which he didn't eat. Tomorrow is going to look a lot like today....

The 'laraballs' are my attempt to create a GAPS allowed treat for him at a reasonable cost, something like a Lara Bar. When I first attempted them, I soaked my nuts like you are supposed to. Then I promptly burnt them while trying to get them dried out. For round two, I skipped the soaking and drying and just went for it. The results are OK but I think I'll do things differently next try.

For starters, I just couldn't get the mix smooth and T2 is not a fan of the crunchy bits. Next time I'm going to soak them, drain and rinse, and then process them before dehydrating (which I will do with a dehydrator and not my too-hot oven). I'm hoping that will give me something a little closer in texture to a fruit chewy when I'm done.

Miss V is home for a few weeks to help me get the house done, spring break was better than I feared but that might be because I was too sick to be up for a lot of it, and I am profoundly ready to see leaves on the trees.  Anybody need to buy a 5 bedroom house with a spectacular view ?

A message from the nearly dead...

OK, not literally. I just feel like it. I, being multi-talented, have managed to get bronchitis, a sinus infections, and the beginnings of pneumonia all at the same time. The antibiotics are working like teamsters during a slow-down - in other words, not very fast and not very effectively. Back to the doc today or tomorrow for something new.

I was supposed to feel all better after three days so a dear friend came over Saturday to help with the house stuff. After we sorted the stuff in the garage loft (I sat in a chair and made decisions, she did actual work), we dropped off a bunch of "treasures" at Salvation Army, and came home and cooked supper I was exhausted. that is a ridiculously low amount of actual work performed by me to be wiped out !

We're getting geared up to begin the GAPS diet here (late). I got 2 quarts of gingered carrots started and a 1/2 quart of beets fermenting with some cardamom. Wednesday is the milk run so I'll go out and load up on fresh milk for making lots of 24 hour yogurt. I did a small batch of beef stock and determined that I was going to have to put back a LOT more of that stuff. Off to Mt McKinley to fetch bones tomorrow. I just wish I had a good source for chicken. The ones I bought locally in the fall are all still in my freezer- but they are still there because it tastes like fish & that is kind of icky. Other accomplishments: 3 bags of meat balls and "meat muffins" in the freezer and the beginnings of a plan for packing lunches for T2 who will be joining me on this quest for improved health.

There should be more. This should be interesting. I should say something deep and meaningful about the horror in Japan. Wit just isn't coming through the brain fog. sorry.