Traveling on the GAPS Diet

Eating on the GAPS diet is hard enough when at home, but what about when you are flying? There is rarely food in the airport that is GAPS friendly, and even if it is, I have a serious concern with gluten contamination.

For me, today is day one of starting the GAPS diet again. I vow to make it to six months as the doctor ordered, and to do that I am vowing to avoid traveling by plane! Despite the snacks I bring, I usually end up breaking down and buying something warm or moist, rather than the packaged dry stuff I usually bring. However, I have come up with some ideas that are helpful.  Before I made my vows 0 I already bought a plane ticket to New Orleans for Jazz Fest this year, so I am still going to put these suggestions to good use. I'm not saying these recommendations are the perfect GAPS friendly, but they are better than binging and eating something that is not GAPS friendly at all and which may not be gluten free.


Protein
I have a friend who says she takes a roast chicken on the plane with her! I haven't tried that yet - it sounds messy and smelly. I do eat a lot of jerky, however this is hard to find sugar free. You can make your own jerky, but I have not ventured into that realm. At least you can get gluten free jerky! And when I eat mostly protein with a little bit of sugar, I don't seem to have too much of an issue.

Nutrients
I also bring packages of super food green drinks which add probiotics in addition to many vitamins, minerals and some protein.  You can add it to water or apple juice.

Sweets
One of my weaknesses is fruit snacks and the airport is usually where I break down and buy some. Fortunately, I've learned to make my own! I've adapted a recipe from Butter Believer and I'll write a post about it later.  These are really chewy so they can help relieve ear pressure as well!

Fillers
I also like to make mini muffins, GAPS friendly ones of course! The mini muffins bake through better, and are less crumbly which means they are less messy. Since they are basically bite size, that also reduced the messiness.

Drinks
I've been a soda junky my whole life! When the flight attendants come around with drinks, it is so hard for me to resist. Try packing a tea you are excited about and ask for hot water. Though they don't have honey on the plane usually, I bring a little thing of my own honey and some pure stevia packets. I know stevia is questionable to some people, but my doctor said it was okay for me to have on the GAPS diet. You can also bring tea bags that are made for ice tea and add them to bottled water. However, I prefer not to have caffeine on flights where I want to sleep.

Supplements
Being stressed is usually what gets me craving food.  To avoid that frazzled, stressed experience that going to the airport can be, you can try taking some aminos such as 5HTP (a precursor to serotonin) or L-Theanine, a relaxer and stress reliever which is also found in green tea (bring green tea bags!). I take something called Total Amino Solution on a daily basis which has additive therapeutic benefits, helping me feel happy and sleep easily. Another option is to try Rescue Remedy, a floral based de-stresser.

Ice Cream! Dairy Free and GAPS friendly.

I have desperately missed ice cream. 

Sorbet doesn't do it for me. 

I have enjoyed Coconut Bliss for several years now, but their flavors are a bit limited, and now that I'm on the GAPS diet, I am not supposed to have agave as a sweetener. My boyfriend found a sugar free and lactose free ice cream, but alas, it doesn't say anything about being casein free, and casein is also a problem for many of us with serious GAPS gut issues. I became determined to make my own ice cream, and fantasized about purchasing an ice cream maker for months before finally breaking down and getting one.

These are my first experiments with my ice cream maker. The base ingredients I am using are as follows:


Base ingredients:
1 can light coconut milk
1 can 100% coconut cream (from Trader Joe's)
[you can probably use to cans of normal coconut milk instead of those two above]
1/4-1/2 cup honey
3-5 servings of stevia
1/2 teaspoon sea salt


I've made three different flavors so far:

1. Chai (Banana)
I adapted this recipe from one I found online. It called for cashew butter, which I did not have, so I used bananas. The bananas do impart a moderate flavor, but the chai is so strong that is still a lovely banana-chai recipe.

Additional ingredients:
1/2 cup cashew butter or 1-2 bananas

4 bags of chai tea, or 4 teaspoons of loose chai tea
some fresh ginger
teaspoon vanilla


Instructions:

1. Pour the can of coconut milk into a small sauce pan and heat on medium. Add the chai tea and ginger. Simmer for  a few minutes, whisking frequently.
2. Strain the tea out of the coconut milk, and throw out the tea.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to a blender; mix until creamy. 
4. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours (or overnight) to cool. 
5. Mix in ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes. 
6. Eat immediately or store in freezer.

2. Lemon Basil 

We had some Meyer lemons from my mom's tree and some basil we got for free at the farmer's market.

Additional ingredients:
Juice of 3-6 lemons
Zest of 1-3 lemons
Handful of basil

Instructions:

1. Add a little bit of the lemon juice, lemon zest, and basil at a time. I added the maximum amount listed and it was pretty intense, but good. Some might prefer a more subtle flavor. 
2. Blend everything together. 
3. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours (or overnight) to cool. 
4. Mix in ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes. 
5. Eat immediately or store in freezer.

3. Fruit and Mint

You really can't go wrong with fresh mint and just about any kind of fruit. I had some apricots and strawberries that were on the edge, so I threw them in together. Tastes like a summer day!

Instructions:

1. Combine fruit and mint to taste with base ingredients. 
2. Blend everything together. 
3. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours (or overnight) to cool.  
4. Mix in ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes. 
5. Eat immediately or store in freezer.

I want to make more tea flavors: matcha, earl grey and many more. Different nuts and/or fruits can be used. It's hard to mess it up. The coconut also has a fairly strong flavor, so ingredients that go well with coconut are probably best though. Just add ingredients a little bit at a time in the blender, and get it to the right taste and a nice creamy consistency.  The banana did give the Chai one a better consistency, so I am going to try to think of more banana friendly flavors and also try different flavors with cashew butter, which is more subtle than other nut butters. I also want try it using almond milk with coconut cream, just to mute the coconut a little, but then, it might get weird if there are too many flavors.  Another thing to try - fermented coconut or almond milk. If it's got probiotics, it won't feel so indulgent!

Buen provecho! 

Picaro, Mission District, San Francisco

I had been to Picaro once before a long time ago. It was someone's birthday and I think we got mostly seafood paella. As I'm not the biggest fan of either, I was not impressed.

I recently took a out of town visitor to Picaro after a revelation that tapas might be a good way to get gluten-free items. At Picaro at least, I was right on - while they have some breaded and/or fried items, most of their dishes are cooked simply with olive oil, garlic, wine and some spices. Lots of garlic, lots of lemon wedges to squeeze on top. It was delightful!

My absolute favorite, which I will be going back for more of soon, was the grilled artichokes. The artichokes flowers were sliced thinly and nicely crispy. With garlic. And a fresh lemon wedge.

Did I mention garlic and lemon? Yes!

Also yummy was their tortilla de...I can't remember what the name was but it was basically like an omelet without the cheese and instead potatoes and onions. On the menu they says it's a popular item, and I can see why. Comes with a dollop of mayonnaise.

What is a tapas restaurant without sangria? Their's was good, but perhaps a tad too sweet.

Also of note was that the waitress was very nice about checking the ingredients on everything for me. And that most of it was indeed gluten-free and dairy free was excellent. I'll definitely be going back often.

If you are following the paleo diet, note that some items come with rice, but mostly the dishes are vegetables, meat and seafood, seasoned without sugar.