Going Raw

It's been ages since I've posted. I probably have no business doing a blog in the first place. But, I just had to post about my latest food adventures!

I did the GAPS diet faithfully for one month in January. Then I began to incorporate those old favorites, popcorn and raw milk, back into my diet. I didn't really see any changes in how I felt. Then, one day in mid-March I suddenly decided that I wanted to focus on eating food raw as much as possible. Since then I have made a number of very exciting discoveries!

First, I quickly realized that I much prefer eating green leafy veggies like kale, collards and mustard greens raw over eating them cooked. I chop the green into pretty tiny pieces and then marinate in olive oil and lemon. When I eat them, I mix them with other common salad veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. I like to add dulse and raw soft goat cheese to my salad, as well as home-made lacto-fermented veggies like sauerkraut and pickled cucumber. For dressing I liberally add more olive oil and raw vinegar and perhaps some crushed garlic.

At first I stuck to what I know with the raw meat. I ate thinly sliced fresh, raw rib-eye cow steak from grass-fed animals. I usually just added some olive oil and lemon and some of Lewis Labs' nutritional yeast (which is delicious). But I do love variety and color in my meals. I may eat the same sort of thing over and over again but that thing has to be interesting and exciting.

So I gradually started experimenting with different meats. I've done goat, bison, lamb and venison, and all of them are totally delicious. The all taste better raw than cooked, as far as I'm concerned (especially the lamb, goat and venison). I don't do chicken anyway and raw pork does not appeal to me. And of course I have done an interesting mix of fish and seafoods. I always try to marinate the red meat for a few hours in olive oil and lemon. And I only like to eat the meat thinly sliced. Also, it is very important to buy very high-quality tender meat and fresh is always best.

The standard way I eat the red meat is with the olive oil, lemon and nutritional yeast paired with sliced avocado and cherry tomatoes. If I'm in the mood I sprinkle the whole thing with balsamic vinegar. This is actually quite fabulous and I highly recommend everyone try this recipe. I don't think the balsamic is the healthiest thing, it is not raw and it has grape must in it, but it is so good!

Another way that I prepare the meat is; after marinating I add a tahini dressing or I dip each piece in some homemade pesto. I also sometimes make homemade basil mayonnaise and mix that with the meat. But whatever dressing I have on the meat, I always try to have some fresh herbs mixed in. My favorites are dill, cilantro and basil. But one could get very creative with this and have quite an array of tasty sauces and dips to eat with the meat.

Tahini Dressing (1 serving)

1 tbsp. raw tahini

1 tbsp. raw yogurt

1/4 clove garlic mashed

squeeze of fresh lemon or orange

(sea salt is optional and really not necessary, raw food is so full of flavor I use hardly any salt lately)

Mix ingredients and smother meat in the dressing. Simply wonderful! This is especially good with lamb and goat.

Homemade Basil Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves and other herbs (dill is divine)

3/4 cup olive oil (or other healthy vegetable oil)

Add all ingredients to food processor, except the oil. Blend well. Slowly, ever so slowly, add the oil as the machine is running. Stop every so often to check consistency. You want it to be thick and to not separate out in the fridge. Olive oil does have a strong flavor so using another veggie oil may be good. Just make sure it is unrefined and mechanically pressed and of course organic. Sunflower oil and sesame oil may be a good one for this.

I just want to share one last dish I have been greatly enjoying lately. I have been buying fresh, raw octopus, chopping it up into small pieces and marinating it in lemon and olive oil for a few hours. Before eating it I drain the juice and then I mix it with the above homemade mayonnaise. It is a seafood salad!! I do this with other fish as well, like raw shrimp.

So, my most exciting discovery is that I can thoroughly enjoy eating raw meat with a variety of delightful tastes! I love what I'm eating now. The flavor of each food is so pure when not cooked. It feels so good afterward but it is also fun and tasty during. How cool is that?

Update on GAPS: The Enema and More

I believe I am now on day 16 of doing the GAPS diet. I have been doing very well. I would like to mention one thing that threw me for a loop. Last week I began taking a probiotic with a strength of 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units) with strains of: lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacillus bulgaricus. I started off slowly and noticed little change. However once I upped my dose to 2 capsules I got a nice experience with cramping and diarrhea. After that I continued to take about 120 billion or more CFU per day for several days.

What I noticed was that even though I didn't have diarrhea things moved quite quickly through me. I thought this was positive but then I started having signs of problems. I was more hungry, I had a few cramps in my foot, my eye began twitching and I woke up with a nightmare. Having hypothyroidism I believe that it is easy for me to show symptoms of a calcium imbalance quite easily and I believe that is what was happening. So I discontinued taking the probiotics and within one day the symptoms were gone!

I'm mentioning this because I think it is important to note that probiotics should be taken with care. If your body does not have time to absorb your food you will not be getting the nutrients you need. I also want to emphasize that if I hadn't been paying attention I could have missed these subtle signs. It is always important to observe our bodies.

Besides that I've been doing very well. I was missing popcorn terribly because I felt like I was being deprived. I like my evening snacks and this is a favorite snack for me. So I struggled to find an alternative. First it was nuts, but I don't think nuts are an ideal food for me. Then I made a yogurt shake with banana and berries. That was good but somehow it wasn't hitting the spot. And then I tried a recipe from the GAPS book. I have made some modifications:

"Apple Crumble"
1-2 chopped apples
leftover pulp from juicing veggies
3 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. honey
ground nuts (optional)
raw whipped cream (not for GAPS people, but perhaps cultured cream would work)

Mix veggie pulp with eggs, butter, vanilla, honey and nuts. Spread apples on the bottom of a pie dish. Cover apples with the veggie mix. Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with plenty of cream.

It is quite tasty and satisfying to me. So I'm not missing the popcorn as much anymore. And it is so nice to be able to put all of that veggie pulp to good use. I always feel bad about throwing it away.

And now on to the important business of reporting on the enema! I hate to let anyone down with this but.....it was quite uneventful. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I felt quite relaxed and calm afterward, as if I had gotten a really nice massage! Imagine that! So, for anyone curious about doing a coffee high enema, don't be afraid. Here is a link to a page that explains the coffee enema: http://www.drkelley.com/CANLIVER55.html#_Toc434239890

Day 8 GAPS: Time To Transition

Today I incorporated some dairy into my diet. I feel no different but I kind of messed up on lunch because I didn't have a high-protein main course available. And at breakfast I didn't have time to cook eggs so I didn't get enough food. This left me hungry prematurely, again. I will continue like this for a few days, using yogurt and cheese. And I will see if I have any adverse reactions. I don't suspect I have issues with dairy but I wanted to make sure.

After today I think I will hold off on posting for awhile, unless there is some interesting change. I'm still waiting for the enzymes and the enema stuff.

Day 8:

Breakfast
1 home-made sausage cooked lightly in stock. Spinach and bok-choy cooked lightly in stock. Yogurt, banana and raw egg yolk shake.

Lunch
3 eggs cooked omelet style with cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Celery, cucumber and cilantro salad with sauerkraut and nutritional yeast. Raw liver shake (2 chicken livers soaked in fresh lemon juice, 8 oz. beet kvass, 4 oz. veggie juice, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp. raw honey, dash of cinnamon).

Dinner
Veal marsala (Veal cutlets dressed with salt and pepper and lightly cooked in stock, butter and coconut oil. Cutlets removed from heat, garlic and mushrooms added to sauce and cooked lightly. Marsala added and mushrooms cooked further. Mushrooms removed from heat, butter added and sauce reduced. Simply divine!!). Lacinato kale lightly cooked in stock. 8 oz. water kefir.

At night I get hungry and then I crave something crunchy. Mostly I miss popcorn. I am looking for a good crunchy, salty, buttery snack that has no starch. Any ideas?

Day 7 GAPS: My Grocery List

I've made it through 7 whole days! I hate saying that because it has been a walk in the park and no big deal at all. I do wish I had a good evening snack though. I get hungry around 10 PM. Maybe I should just go to bed!

I thought it would be cool to write my grocery list because I think half the battle with eating well is planning. It is also important to have plenty of easy, quick recipes to refer to. I don't follow recipes for the most part, even though I love doing it, because I just don't have time. I cook really, really simple food, as can be seen from my meals :)

So this is my grocery list from today:
bananas
blueberries
apples
oranges
avocado
bok choy
beets
lacinato kale
cilantro
broccoli
green peppers
fennel
spinach
kale
cucumbers
celery
asparagus
(all organic so far)
ground pork (pasture-raised)
ground beef (grass-fed)
2 rib-eye steaks (grass-fed)
veal scallopini (pasture-raised and staying with mama)
Manna bread (for my daughter)
prosciutto
mineral water

And that's it. This came to 190$. No processed food. Enough food to last me for about 3 days (I buy my eggs and dairy elsewhere). The water was about 15$ of that. So, I guess eating this way is not cheap but I don't really ever go out to eat so in the end it may even out.

Day 7:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs with stock and sea salt. 2 pieces of homemade sausage. Bok choy and spinach cooked lightly in stock.

Lunch
Rib-eye steak cooked lightly in stock and butter with sea salt and black pepper. Steamed broccoli with butter and sea salt. Cucumber, celery, sauerkraut salad with olive oil, raw vinegar, nutritional yeast, freshly ground flax seeds and sea salt. 8 oz. of veggie juice with 1 raw egg yolk.

Dinner
Rib-eye steak cooked lightly in stock and butter with sea salt and black pepper. Kale lightly cooked in stock. Cucumber and celery salad with sauerkraut, olive oil, raw vinegar, and sea salt. 8 oz. of veggie juice with 1 raw egg yolk. 8 oz. of water kefir.

My version of Steak with Demi-Glace-ish Sauce

I'm not sure if this is how to make a real demi-glace sauce. It's probably just an extremely simplified version of it. But this is how I make it:

I sprinkle sea salt and black pepper on both sides of the steak. Then I cook the meat covered on the lowest burner in a small amount of stock (1/8 cup?). When the meat is brown but still very, very rare on the inside I remove it from the heat and cover it to keep it warm. Then I add a whole lotta butter to the stock and turn up the heat to medium-high. With the cover off the stock evaporates and quickly reduces to a thick sauce. I like it to be quite thick so I watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. When it's done I pour it over my steak. It's really quite delicious and perhaps part of the reason why I am able to eat so much steak and still enjoy it!

Day 6 GAPS Diet: What is "holistic"?

This GAPS stuff is getting pretty easy. It is just part of my daily life and I don't seem to miss anything. The only thing is that I am still hungry earlier than usual! This is kind of annoying.

The other big news is that I had what I believe is a "die-off" reaction today. I started taking a new probiotic (PB) today. It is supposed to have 30 billion CFU (colony forming units). It sounds like a lot but I think we have over 1 trillion little guys in our intestines on a normal day. Anyway, I took my new PB after lunch and about an hour later I felt it. Without getting too much into the gore, suffice it to say that I had cramps and then diarrhea. After I got rid of the diarrhea I felt perfectly normal, as if it had never happened. That was weird!

So, I went to hear a talk today on the "Gut-Brain Connection". It was given by a doctor who works with severely autistic children. She was very sweet and seemed quite dedicated to her work and appeared to truly want to help people. She had some interesting details about different sorts of overgrowth issues and how that can adversely affect the brain. In her discussion of treatment she mentioned diet, PBs, herbs, antioxidant supplements, antibiotics and movement.

I would recommend her to someone with an autistic child but I was slightly disheartened to see that she still is following a western-oriented approach to care. I know they mean well but so many doctors make this mistake. Actually, I don't know if it's a mistake or if they are responding to patients' "needs".

This woman talked about all the testing they do; stool, urine, blood, saliva, etc. And they pinpoint the specific "bad organisms" and attempt to control them or kill them. But to me this appears to be an allopathic approach. Of course they use diet but they also use herbs, oils and antibiotics when necessary. Is this really getting to the roots of the problem? Perhaps, but probably mostly by chance I'm sure. There are countless unknown organisms in our guts, if we only find the ones we know and try to attack them then how are we going to cure ourselves? It seems that even holistic doctors cannot get away from the allopathic model of: "you take this for this" (ie: there is a "symptom" and lets take a remedy to get rid of that particular symptom). How does this differ from taking medications? Except that the substances may be less toxic, the approach is still the same.

I questioned her on this point and she said, "well that's why we use the herbs". I think she is missing the point. Herbs may alleviate some symptoms but I can't see how they'll cure the core issue. Why does someone have autism? Is it because they don't consume enough herbs? No. I can guarantee not. I'm not claiming to have all the answers of course. But I think that a holistic approach is more constructive. Why focus on individual manifestations of imbalances? Nutrition is king in my opinion and everything else is directed at managing symptoms. Let's call it what it is.

Anyway, maybe this doesn't make any sense and I'm just babbling. Perhaps I need to hash this out more in my mind and I would welcome comments on the question of what it means to be truly holistic in your approach. To me it means forgetting about the label of the disease (and this has taken me quite some time to come to terms with) and working on improving the health of every cell in the body. This is done by nourishing those cells properly. With the right nourishment the cells will do their jobs properly. Attitude matters as well. But it's important to remember that the brain cells need to be nourished properly for them to function properly. So it can be difficult to have the right attitude until your brain starts getting what it needs.

In my own personal experience I have come to a place where I don't want to focus on my "immune system" or my "thyroid issue". What I want to do is elevate the state of health of my whole body and with that strengthen my weaknesses. I don't want to know the name of the yeast that has taken over in my belly (or whatever "reason" someone will come up). I want to restore balance, give my cells what they need and make sure they get rid of what they don't.

Day 6:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs, 2 home-made sausage, sauerkraut, sliced celery.

Lunch
Leftover veal stew meat with kale. Sauerkraut, cucumbers and celery with nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs). 8 oz. water kefir. 8 oz. vegetable juice with 2 raw egg yolks.

Dinner
Rib-eye steak lightly cooked in chicken stock, butter, sea salt and black pepper. Steamed broccoli and string beans with freshly ground flax seed, butter and sea salt. Pickles.

Day 5 of GAPS Diet: Eat 3 Square Meals

Today I missed lunch and I was starving!! I ate breakfast late, at about 9:00 and then later went to a meeting. I was only able to eat 1 boiled egg before the meeting and so ended up eating "lunch" at about 4 PM! Yikes, I was so hungry!! And after I ate my lunch I was hungry again by 5 PM. This reminded me of something I already know about myself. If I don't eat 3 square meals at about 4-5 hour intervals it makes me hungry and it throws me out of whack. I know this varies from person to person but I've found that I do best eating those 3 square meals, without snacking.

Day 5:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs cooked with chicken stock and sea salt. 2 pieces of home-made sausage cooked slow and low with beef stock. Kale lightly cooked in chicken stock.

Lunch
1 boiled egg.
Ground beef and kale cooked in stock. 8 oz. of water kefir.

Dinner
Veal stew meat (cooked all day at 175 degrees in beef stock, tomato paste, sea salt and black pepper). Kale lightly cooked in stock. Leftover fish chowder soup. Sliced cucumbers with lacto-fermented pickles, celery and sauerkraut, dressed with olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt.

Day 4 of GAPS Diet: Under The Weather?!

I was surprised to see that I was a bit under the weather today. I haven't been sick in over 2 years, not even a cold. Occasionally I get tired for a day and I notice this often coincides with other people in my family being sick. So, when I say "under the weather" I mean "tired". But it is quite a noticeable notice so I know it's not just from lack of sleep or something. Today I felt like that, groggy and tired. I pretty much carried on with my normal day-to-day stuff and eventually felt normal (after lunch I think).

The reason why I mention this is because I have noticed that these tired episodes only occur when I don't have milk for one reason or another for a few days. I know milk is demonized a lot but of course raw milk from healthy grass-fed cows is a completely different food from the boiled junk they sell in the stores. I haven't had milk, yogurt or cheese for 4 days now and I just wonder if there is some correlation....

Anyway...

Day 4:

Breakfast:
3 scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil, 1 piece of home-made sausage, spinach and bok-choy cooked in beef stock

Lunch:
Ground beef lightly cooked in beef stock with kale and asparagus. Celery, tomatoes and cucumber salad with sauerkraut, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs), olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. Fresh vegetable juice. Raw liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey).

Dinner:
Creamed cauliflower fish/clam chowder. Sliced cucumbers with sauerkraut, freshly ground flax seeds, olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. 8 oz. water kefir. A few blueberries.

I noticed that eating 3 eggs made me feel much better. Eggs do well for me in the morning. The sausage is necessary as well, but not as much when I eat the eggs. Food was good today! Especially the ground beef soup. And I was proud of myself for coming up with a good idea for the clam chowder. I was a bit concerned because I usually make clam chowder with cream and I am not eating cream right now. So I steamed some cauliflower and then added it to the stock and blended it with the hand-held blender and it turned the soup into a nice white, milky-like texture. It actually tasted fantabulous and the children didn't know it was cauliflower. They gobbled it up! This is a great discovery for replacing dairy (for me that is) in soup. When I'm back on cream I'll do both :). And it thickened up so I didn't miss the arrowroot powder, which I usually use as a healthy thickening agent.

Creamed Cauliflower Fish and Clam Chowder:

1 bulb garlic
4 tbsp. butter
sea salt
1 quart fish stock (home-made)
1/2 quart chicken stock (home-made)
2 dozen Littleneck clams (soaked and cleaned in filtered water)
1 small head of cauliflower
2 fillets of light-colored but firm fish (snapper, tiliapia, halibut, yellowtail, rockfish, cod)

Begin steaming cauliflower. In a separate pot saute garlic in butter and sea salt until garlic is soft. Add both stocks and clams. Cover the pot and bring to a low boil. Cook clams until they open completely. Discard any clams that do not open. Turn down flame to low, remove cooked clams and let cool. Add firm but cooked cauliflower to broth. Use hand-held blender to pulverize cauliflower completely. Add fish and cover pot. Allow fish to cook for just a few minutes. Meanwhile cut up clams into small pieces (or as desired). When fish is done add back clams and voila.....

This is a very quick and easy meal to prepare and it's quite tasty!

Day 3 of GAPS Diet: Enzymes

I found out about the enzymes today from my friend and mentor Jim Marlowe. He said that digestive enzymes are taken to help digest protein. This can be helpful for people with allergies because it helps break down protein molecules so that they do not slip through the intestinal walls and cause allergic reactions. Included in a high quality enzyme supplement will also be proteolytic enzymes, which digest "antigen-antibody" complexes. These enzymes can be used therapeutically to diminish an autoimmune response. They also reduce inflammation and reduce abnormal tissue growth, including cancerous and non-malignant tumors. WOW! I am going to order some tomorrow!

Today is my daughter's 9th birthday so I cooked her some lovely muffins. The reason why I know they're lovely is because I've had them before. I was going to NOT eat one but my hands just had a mind of their own! Luckily they are relatively GAPS-friendly muffins. For anyone avoiding grains they are perfectly wonderful muffins. I got this recipe at a lecture given by Jennette Turner of "Dinner With Jennette".

"Basic Coconut Flour Muffins"

6 eggs
1/4 c. butter, softened, or coconut oil
1/4 c. milk or 1/3 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. maple syrup (I used honey)
1 tsp. vanilla (I used 2, I'm a fan)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2/3 c. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
(options: fresh or frozen berries, nuts, lemon zest, chocolate chips

1. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Mix with an electric mixer until very smooth
2. In another bowl combine coconut flour and baking soda and mix well.
3. Pour the coconut flour mixture into the batter and mix until there are no lumps.
4. Pour the muffins into well buttered muffin tin (I use stone) and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until they start to brown around the edges."

The consistency of these muffins would make you think there was some sort of grainy or starchy ingredient but there isn't any. Not exactly GAPS sanctioned because of the baking soda and the honey has been heated but I couldn't resist. I haven't been craving anything but when those delicious muffins were right in front of me, what was I supposed to do? No regrets! I know this is a relatively minor transgression.....

Day 3:

Breakfast:
1 1/2 soft-boiled eggs, 2 home-made sausages, spinach and bok-choy lightly cooked in beef stock with butter and sea salt.

Lunch:
Rib-eye lightly cooked in beef stock with sea salt and black pepper (forgot butter). Cucumber, celery, avocado and tomato salad with sauerkraut, freshly ground flax seeds, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs), olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. Dino kale lightly cooked in beef stock. 8 oz. water kefir. Liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey).


Dinner:
Pork shoulder (reheated in stock). Asparagus lightly cooked in stock with butter and sea salt. Sauerkraut. Fresh vegetable juice (celery, cucumber, cilantro, kale, green bell peppers) with one raw egg yolk. 6 oz. water kefir.
Coconut muffin.

I am still feeling a bit hungry in between meals. I probably need more fat but I can't seem to get enough. I have to remember to use more butter when I'm cooking. My breakfast doesn't seem to be providing me with enough of something. I am hungry by 10:00 or so, which is not typical for me. I tried eating whole boiled eggs today but I'm not a fan of the egg whites so it made me gag, which is why I only ate 1 and 1/2 eggs. I had to stop. Perhaps I will cook my eggs omelet style like I usually do......I feel that the breakfast is setting me up for more hunger later on, even after lunch. I need a very hearty breakfast!

I am warming up more to those liver shakes, they're really not bad at all.....

Day 2 of GAPS Diet

I suppose I should clarify that I am attempting to do the GAPS diet and I don't claim to be doing it exactly as Dr. McBride lays it out. I may make some mistakes. For the most part I am attempting to follow Dr. MrBride's recommendations.

Today I found out about how to do the coffee enemas. The reality of actually doing an enema hit me and I am curious to see if I can actually go through with it. The purpose for doing the coffee enema is to cleanse the liver and the colon. It is a recommendation by Dr. William Kelly who is famous for this "unorthodox" approach to curing cancer. Yes, there are doctors out there who claim to be able to cure cancer without the use of damaging treatments like chemotherapy.

I won't go into Dr. Kelly's methods right now but his teaching was key in the further development of the concept of biochemical individuality. You can read his short book online at: One Answer To Cancer. It is fascinating and his work has been taken up by Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez in New York City and by Bill Wolcott, the author of the The Metabolic Typing Diet.

The concept of eating in harmony with your metabolism has been key in my reaching the level of health I've achieved. Reading the books mentioned above has been helpful but the greatest influence for me has been the teachings of my mentor and friend, Jim Marlowe. Jim is a local nutritionist here in Chicago and he is simply brilliant.

The most significant changes for me have been the almost complete elimination of cravings and dizziness and a remarkable improvement in my emotional state. I am calm, cool and collected, I do not have mood swings, and I feel good all the time. Sometimes I feel so good that I am tingling with bliss. This occurs most often after lunch when I've eaten one of my favorite meals in peace and quiet. It may sound corny or like I'm just saying this but it is true. The reason why this is so significant for me is because I used to feel discontented a lot. A state of existence that I assumed was just normal. And there were usually one or two days every month when I would feel blue. I was never to the point of being "depressed" on those days but I felt moody and had a certain sense of hopelessness. This is completely gone.

I also no longer have an unreasonably strong fear of flying. I used to have diarrhea (TMI?) the day I was to fly. My palms would get sweaty and I would be very nervous. I sometimes bordered on a panic attack if there was any delay or turbulence. Now, when I fly I still feel uneasy but nothing like I used to. This past autumn I took 6 flights and I was quite calm on each flight. I would like to emphasize that I have had no psychological counseling on this matter. Neither did I do anything different in terms of preparing to fly. The only change I've made is in my diet.

I digress. Maybe I'm avoiding the whole enema thing.....No, I actually have to admit to being very curious about it. But I will try to spare everyone the gory details about my enema experience. I have received quite specific directions on how to do the coffee enema. You can see Dr. Kelly's instructions on the coffee enema firsthand if you would like more details. Coffee enemas should be done under the guidance of a doctor.

Day 2:

Breakfast:
2 soft-boiled egg yolks with 2 home-made pork sausage. Spinach and bok-choy lightly cooked in chicken stock with salt and butter.

Lunch:
Rib-eye lightly cooked in chicken stock. Sliced celery and avocado eaten with olive oil, raw vinegar and nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs). Broccoli soup (leftover). Liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey) and 8 oz. home-made water kefir.

Dinner:
Meat from meaty soup bones cooked in beef stock. Dino kale lightly cooked in chicken stock with salt and butter sprinkled with freshly ground flax seeds. 6 raw oysters. 1 soft-boiled egg. Sauerkraut. 8 oz. water kefir.

I have been feeling fine, perhaps I little more hungry than usual but no cravings. I noticed today that my hands are drier than usual. Otherwise I've noticed no real changes. I am still waiting for my probiotic supplements.

Day 1 of GAPS Diet

After more-or-less abusing my body over the holidays (and enjoying every minute of it) I'm back home and I am ready to try a new strategy, which I have been contemplating for some time. It is called the GAPS Diet. The GAPS Diet is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) created by Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas in America in the early 20th century. SCD was later popularized by Elaine Gottschall in her book "Breaking The Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet". Gottschall wrote the book after her success with it in curing her daughter, who had suffered from severe ulcerative colitis and neurological problems.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride, the author of the book, "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" (GAPS) has used the SCD diet coupled with other practices to help many people suffering from autism, ADD, ADHD, depression, anorexia, schizophrenia and many other health problems. She expands on the SCD in various ways, which I will describe as I write about my "plan" for the next month. The goal is to improve my immune system function so that it is no longer attacking my thyroid. I will keep a personal record of what I eat and how I feel. After 3 months I will test for antibodies against my thyroid tissue.

The Plan:

Week 1

Avoid the following items:
All industrially processed food
All sweeteners except for raw honey, eaten raw
Most dairy, except butter and ghee
All grains and starchy vegetables and seaweed
All starchy foods such as arrowroot powder, cocoa, carob, baking powder, etc
All spices except salt and pepper

Eat mostly the following items:
Stock and stock-cooked meat, fish, seafood and vegetables
Raw and undercooked eggs
Lacto-fermented vegetables
Fresh vegetable juice
Raw meat and egg yolks
Nuts and seeds
Fruit
Raw Honey
Butter and ghee

Encourage Healing With the Following Practices:
-Drink 2-3 cups of homemade water kefir daily
-Take the following supplements (which are unique for my needs): zinc and vitamin A
-Take Fermented Cod Liver Oil (www.greenpasture.org) and High Vitamin Butter Oil daily
-Take 1 probiotic capsule daily (with a total strength of 30 billion CFU of 3 different probiotics: http://store.natren.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=N&Screen=PROD&Category_Code=019&Product_Code=60090)
-Drink fresh vegetable and fruit juice daily
-Eat raw liver at least 2-3 times per week (either juiced or blended in beet kvass)
-I may take an enzyme supplement but I am still looking into that option.
-As usual, avoid, as much as possible, all toxins in my environment.
-Weekly coffee enemas (will talk more about these later....he, he, he)

Week 2-Week 4
Depending on how I feel I may introduce home-made yogurt, some cheeses and cultured cream at this point. I will also add spices and some raw veggies.

Day 1:
Breakfast:
Homemade pork sausage (seasoned only with salt and pepper) with 2 soft-boiled egg yolks. Spinach and bok-choy slowly cooked in chicken stock.

Lunch:
Rib-eye steak, celery and dino kale slow-cooked in chicken stock with salt and pepper. 1 egg and 2 tbsp. butter added to "soup" at the end. Freshly ground flax seeds and nutritional yeast added to the soup. Sauerkraut on the side. 8 oz. of fresh vegetable juice with 1 raw egg yolk.

Dinner:
Pork shoulder slow-cooked at 175 degrees with stock, salt and pepper. Broccoli soup (stock, broccoli, butter, salt and pepper), sauerkraut, sliced cucumber. Water kefir.

So far this has been easy. The meals have been very satisfying and I feel really good. But I do feel the pang of the "forbidden". I normally don't even crave things like chocolate or popcorn but the thought that I CAN'T have them makes me want them. Humans are so simple.