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What do GAPS Intro meals look like? What do people on GAPS really eat?

When beginning the GAPS Intro diet, it can be overwhelming to try to figure out what to eat. What is legal, do I really have to eat soup for every meal? Which of these 27 components to do I need to include? It’s hard. I get it. I’ve been there. Twice. I even wrote a book about it.

I have shared a lot of GAPS Intro recipes that I hope will give you some inspiration. I also love this GAPS Recipe Roundup that lists recipes by stage – and it is continuously being updated!

But what does a day on GAPS Intro really look like? How do you combine these recipes and practices into meals? I have found that the key to GAPS is to batch cook multiple different soups and eat what sounds good, as you get hungry. This is particularly true during the first stage. But to give you an idea of what my plate looks like, here is an example of what I have eating on a given day during eat of the stages of GAPS:

GAPS Intro Meals

Stage One:
Upon waking: Mug of ginger tea
Breakfast: Healing Beef Soup (with or without lamb organs), made with carrots, broccoli, and onion. A clove of garlic added to the soup just before serving.
Lunch: Creamy Chicken Soup, made with zucchini, spinach, and carrots. Garlic and lard added before serving. A teaspoon of brine from lacto-fermented carrots.
Snack: Mug of broth
Dinner: Butternut Squash Puree (recipe in Healing Patiently) with lard added.

Stage Two:
Upon waking: Mug of ginger tea
Breakfast: Perfect Meatball Soup with lard added and a soft boiled egg on the side. A small serving of Beet Kvass.
Lunch: Chicken Zoodle Soup with an egg yolk and ghee added in just before serving. A small serving of probiotic brine.
Dinner: Healing Beef Soup with an egg yolk and garlic added just before serving. A small serving of beet kvass.

Stage Three:
(Note that I didn’t add back in nuts. If you did, you’ll enjoy the GAPS Intro pancakes.)
Upon waking: Mug of ginger tea
Breakfast: Creamy Chicken Soup with garlic, ghee, and egg yolk added. 1/4 cup beet kvass and 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil.
Lunch: 1/2 avocado and a soft boiled egg sprinkled with Real Salt, 2 tablespoons of sauerkraut, and a mug of broth.
Dinner: Beef and Bone Marrow Soup with an egg yolk added. 1/4 cup beet kvass.

Stage Four:
Upon Waking: Mug of ginger tea or a small glass of carrot juice.
Breakfast: Healing Beef Soup with a soft boiled egg on the side. 1/4 cup beet kvass and 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil.
Lunch: Chicken Zoodle Soup with garlic and egg yolk added. Fermented carrots.
Dinner: Easy AIP Chicken Thighs (only using herbs) and steamed broccoli, topped with butter, 1/4 cup sauerkraut, and a mug of broth.

Stage Five:
Upon Waking: Mug of ginger tea or a small glass of carrot juice.
Breakfast: Beef and Bone Marrow Soup with egg yolk added. 1/4 cup beet kvass and 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil.
Lunch: 1/2 avocado and a soft boiled egg sprinkled with Real Salt, 1/4 fermented vegetables, and a mug of broth.
Dinner: Indian-spiced chicken soup with broccoli sprouts, coconut oil, and egg yolk added. 1/4 cup beet kvass.

Stage Six:
Upon Waking: Mug of ginger tea or a small glass of fresh pressed juice.
Breakfast: Indian-spiced chicken soup with broccoli sprouts, coconut oil, and egg yolk added. 1/4 cup beet kvass and 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil.
Lunch: Sardines, fresh greens, carrot, avocado, sauerkraut, and egg yolk chopped up and mashed together. Mug of broth on the side.
Snack: Fresh blueberries and coconut butter.
Dinner: Healing Beef Soup with egg yolk and garlic added. 1/4 cup beet kvass.

Do you see a pattern? Even in the later stages, I make an effort to eat at least one bowl of soup every day, ideally two. I also try to have soup for breakfast. Not only is it easy (since the soup is already made), but I just feel like I get the day off to a good start. I alternate which soups I make each round of batch cooking so that it is not always the same. I make sure I always have some sort of beef soup and some sort of chicken soup.

I include probiotics at every meal. I try to get broth during my meals. If I don’t, I drink some between meals. I added a lot of extra fat in the early stages to help support my body, but as I progressed through Intro I didn’t need as much so I stop adding it.

For more examples of GAPS Intro meals, follow me on Instagram. For more information about what a day on GAPS entails, check out my new book Healing Patiently.

What are some of your favorite GAPS Intro Meals?

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