Roanna~ :grouphug: You are doing a great job! You just have to keep plugging away. I am so happy that you are seeing results. If you even need any info or just want to chat, pm me! (We used to be a veg family too... I still have to screw up my courage every time I touch a chicken! It's worth it, though, as we are so much healthier now than we were then.)

Wow! Thank you so much!!

Nope! Search this forum for the words "Chalkdust" and "Cheap" and you'll come up with the ISBNs for the books and videos. I recently bought Algebra 1 for around $50. My dd loves Chalkdust, and I hope to continue with the program as long as I can find the cheaper versions. HTH! :)

I know how hard this is, so I don't want to sound harsh. However, Eleanor is right on this one. GAPS is more than just a list of foods to avoid, it also involves specific foods to eat, specific supplementation and detoxification. The diet part is very very similar to the SCD. I know of many who do SCD for a while, then do GAPS. I think it's a great idea to see if SCD works for you, and then venture into GAPS territory if needed. By then, your GAPS will be easier because you will be familiar with the style of food. You can do more harm than good by only eating what tastes OK; you can develop even more allergies or have nutritional imbalances if you don't keep the food digestible, healing, varied, and full of veggies. Without careful consideration it is super easy to overdo the nuts, which should be a very small part of the diet (and eaten after the gut has started to heal). It took me over 6 months of reading and preparing before we even began to eliminate foods (pre-GAPS). You might do better by doing more research, making, say, one SCD meal a day or adding in some SCD snacks, and being fully prepared to really go for it before you really go for it! :D Best wishes! I know it is hard, but totally do-able! ~ L

YOU'VE SEEN THEM?!? :w00t: My family is going to flip out! We watch next-to-no TV, with the exception of BBC on PBS / Masterpiece Theater (that my mom DVRs and sends) and films (classic, foreign, and some modern- and musicals when I can trick the boys into getting involved in the story before they realize it's a musical :D). I had no idea about the Sherlock/Dr. Who connection. If I love Sherlock and the BBC Office will I love Dr. Who? I am getting excited thinking there might be something new we could watch!

THANK YOU! I made this for a Lent potluck and it totally disappeared! I made it on Friday, then put it in a ziplock bag in the fridge. Sat. morning we took it to the event, put it in a crock pot on high, and bu the time lucnh happened it was starting to bubble. It was a perfect make-ahead dish, and many people asked for the recipe. Thank you!

THANK you! When is the next bit coming out, do you know? I have heard that it might be a bit edgy for the kids. We are all anxiously waiting to find out! Edited to add: I see! May 6! And the Hound of the Baskervilles is on the lineup (May 13) !!!!!!

I say humbug too! I have redesigned already, but am waiting to upgrade to DE when the update happens. It is killing me that I don't have this time to get my books in order- just when I buy a $$ book it probably won't show up in the update :glare:. I am tempted to just start collecting now, using my copy as-is. Then I can stay awake at night wondering what the update was all about!

I am waiting until the Well Planned Day software comes out. I already use the paper version, so this looks good. I think it will be like cozi but with lesson planning. The thought of syncing all my lists across devices (using only one program)sounds wonderful. Cost will be a deciding factor. :D

Ooohh, I'll look for the White Mountain! We live in a pretty rural area, so I might have to hit a neighboring big town. The Nancy's does have some dried milk in it; it is one of those concessions I make to keep me going. :D I agree about the dehydrator. I think mine is only a 6 tray (it is down with dh at work) but I can still fit quart jars in there. I am in love with crispy walnuts, too.

Praying for you Jean! :grouphug:

I make yogurt the easy way: We buy raw milk that lasts one week in the fridge. On the last day of the week I heat the milk that is left to 180, let cool to room temperature, pour into quart jars, add a dollop of Nancy's yogurt, close and shake. Then I put the jars in a metal roasting dish that has been filled with water and put the whole thing on the wood stove for 24 hours. I have tried to put them in a cooler with a heating pad on the bottom, but our heating pad does not get hot enough. In the summer I put it in the dehydrator at 115 degrees for 24 hours. This does not make 'perfect' yogurt, but we love it! And hey, you can only do so much. :D My other GAPS friends in Oregon use Nancy's. Of all the store bought yogurts, it is the best! There is a cool little shop in Eugene that makes frozen sundaes using Nancy's. The owners are on GAPS, so there is always some GAPS friendly toppings available. It is so awesome to be able to go out for a treat on special days! Edited to add: I can tell the difference between store yogurt and yogurt that has been incubated for 24 hours. I am pretty milk sensitive, so the home made stuff is the only kind I can eat without a reaction. We used to make it raw (only heating to 110) but the kids prefer the consistency of the higher-heated stuff.

UPDATE: Thank you all so much for your kind words in my distress! I did find some one to help me start the process. My tests show that everything is in normal range, except for Vitamin D which is extremely low. The dr. feels my adrenals are out of whack (low blood pressure, some sort of eye test, and lifestyle factors) so I am reading an Adrenal book, reducing coffee, upping mild exercise, etc. etc. along with taking extra magnesium and vitamin D. Most importantly my diet has been very off track even though I have been feeding the family well (I cheat when I am out grocery shopping!). I have gone back on a strict diet and after an initial period of worse nausea and headache I went to sleep for hours and hours in the middle of the day. I woke up from this extended nap feeling better than I have in months! So I obviously need to stay on this wagon! Thank you all for being good friends and giving me words of advice in this situation! I wish good health back to you and all yours, :grouphug:

I totally agree. A friend got rid of some weird mold-y fungus infection using food (GAPS diet), so we did it too. It has been nothing short of miraculous for us.

That is what we did. My dd loves it because it takes her less time and yet is just as solid. Once you grasp the concept you are good to go! She also loves that the sentences are more interesting; each lesson develops a theme that often gets discussed during dinner at our house. One thing to note is that there is no writing instruction in AG. We did not do the writing in R&S so that was not a big deal to us. HTH! :)

The easiest thing for me was to get rid of everything in the house that is not on our stage of GAPS. That way, when temptation came calling there was nothing to eat but what we were supposed to. It is tough! But so worth it!

I have done intro for the family twice before- once using only the GAPS book and the second time using the above e-book. What a difference! The e-book is fabulous, and the recipes actually taste yummy! It is especially easy if you treat it like a curriculum- tweak it to fit you! I advise, too, to keep good notes (easy if you print out the e-book- just write in the margin). It is very helpful to keep the info on paper so that you can make good decisions (or revisit decisions). I write the date I made the meal, how we were feeling, suggestions for tweaking the next time the recipe shows up, etc.

My children were very sick for 3 days, then ate nothing for a few more, lost weight and smelled terrible, then one day woke up and ate everything in sight! They went from being picky children to eating every veggie known to man and in huge quantities :D. I honestly can't believe it myself. You really have to hang in there for that first few days to few weeks. Just pretend that they have the flu and treat them accordingly. I am doing Intro for myself (started yesterday) and am sick today. I honestly believe in this diet, as I have seen the miracle for my family with my own eyes. YOU have to hang it there; be ruthless and keep it a priority. It is worth it though! Just keep reminding yourself that after 6 weeks in you will be totally over the hump.

I highly recommend the ebook "What Can I Eat Now" 30 day meal plan from healthhomehappy.com We have been through intro twice, and the e-book made time number 2 so very much easier! The first time we used the original GAPS book and the GAPS guide. I think you could do it easily with the new edition GAPS book, the e-book, and recipes gathered from all the GAPS blogs out there. The diet is amazing- I'm going back on intro on Monday! (and I am actually excited about it!). Maybe someone should start a WTM GAPS community group? I'd be happy to join...

Patty Joanna drove for hours in treacherous winter weather to meet me at a book store and talk to me. I was a complete stranger, and that meeting played a part in a change of course for my life. I will never be able to thank her enough! I have promised to pass on that act whenever I can!

We did it October 2010 and it was nothing short of miraculous for my family. We fell off the wagon, though, and can tell a difference. My dh has put his foot down- the family goes back on it Monday (the start of Orthodox Lent- sort of a backwards way to fast! :D). Since I have the more serious health issues I will re-do the 'intro' and the family will do 'full GAPS'. I have posted about it a bit- I am trying to leave the house so I can't link at the moment- you can do a search (add diet as a keyword because we seem to talk about schooling 'gaps' a lot around here :lol:). You can always pm me as well.

Send me a list of what you lost- I am cleaning shelves this week and perhaps have something I could send you. :grouphug:

Thanks, Jean, I have read so many of your posts on this and appreciate your transparency. I hope I can find a doctor that can help me find the roots of this!

Pam, I am so sorry you are in pain. I have been hearing something about low levels of lithium orotate for fibro pain (it's over the counter). If I can find a good link I will let you know. My pain is hard to describe... when I try to 'find' it with my mind it seems to move. Ugh. I hate this!

Thank you Faithe. I know you know what you are talking about :crying:.