Heading into the Christmas and holiday season when you are on GAPS can seem overwhelming, so here are some tricks and tips to help you get through more smoothly!
The holidays are meant to be about beautiful things: celebration, love, family, friendship. But they come wrapped in a package that includes stress, pressure and a tradition of foods we can no longer eat. Here are some tips to navigate the Christmas season:
Keep Christmas a simple as possible
Remember you don’t have to do it all or see everyone or do all the things. If you’re not excited about an event, or if social plans drain rather than nourish you — cut these loose and focus on what’s important and nourishing to you.
Create traditions
Just because some traditional celebratory foods are off the table, doesn’t mean you can’t find even better option or create new traditions that are not food related such as Christmas Charades Game or decorating a gingerbread house (for display only).
Prepare food ahead of time as much as possible
Choose recipes you can make well ahead of time and can either be served cold or just popped in the oven or slow cooker. Anything that needs cooking at the last minute or is overly fiddly should be avoided, except Russian Custard!
Remember how you feel after you eat or drink something that doesn’t agree with you.
If you are on the Introduction Diet you could consider going to Full GAPS for a meal or a day and return to Intro afterwards. Beware, it can be hard to return to earlier stages, especially if there are lots of leftovers! So, plan carefully, get your family and friends to eat those leftovers, and stay focused!
If you are hosting
Make all the foods GAPS friendly – It may not all be suitable for the stage you are on, but at least you will know if there is a ‘slip up’ it will be with GAPS friendly foods.
Holiday events when you are not hosting:
- Eat well before you go to events if the food won’t be ideal – Something very high in fat and a moderate protein will help keep you full and reduce the risk of giving into temptations.
- Bring a dish that is GAPS friendly that other will love too
- Avoid meals with those you don’t know well – Declining invitations from people who do not know you well enough to know what they are in for when asking me to share a meal with them. This prevents having the awkward dietary restriction conversation with someone you may not want to share that with.
Here are some GAPS recipes for Christmas events:
- Frozen Russian custard (Stage 2)
- Pumpkin pancakes served with honey yogurt (Stage 3)
- Baked mushrooms stuffed with mince and veggies, some with cheese (Full GAPS) and some without (Stage 4)
- Grilled veggie skewers (Stage 4)
- Chicken liver pate with cucumber and carrot sticks (Stage 5)
- Meatballs with herb mayo sauce
- Egg free dessert (Stage 6)
- Egg chicken mayo salad (Stage 4)
- Herb roasted veggies (Stage 4)
- Devilled eggs (Stage 3)
What are your favourite tips for getting through the holidays on the GAPS Diet?
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GAPS and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
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