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As I often share, I love the food on GAPS Intro. It is very satisfying and delicious. However, sometimes, soup just doesn’t do it. Sometimes you want a snack! But how do you find GAPS diet snacks? Particularly in the early stages, Intro doesn’t exactly lend itself to snacking.
Of course, the emphasis should always be on healing broths, fats, animal tissues, meats, and vegetables. Honey, nuts and baked goods should be kept to a minimum in favor of more savory foods. However, there are still options available at every stage of GAPS Intro for healing, satisfying snacks.
Enjoy!
GAPS Intro Snacks
Stage One
- Ginger gummies
- Fat bombs – combine 1 part honey with at least 1 part Stage One-legal fat
- Shredded chicken or turkey
- Cooked vegetables with some fat
- Mug of broth
- Yogurt (if tolerated, in tolerated amounts)
Stage Two
- Fat bombs made with ghee and honey
- Soft boiled eggs
Stage Three
- Hard boiled eggs
- Scrambled eggs
- Avocado
- Nut Butter Pancakes
- Squash Souffle
- Pickles, sauerkraut, and other fermented vegetables
Stage Four
- GAPS Bread (see recipes on pages 200 and 209 of Gut and Psychology Syndrome)
- Crispy Nuts
- Gummies made with vegetable juice (here is a good tutorial for homemade gummies in the flavor of your choice)
- Fries made from rutabaga, celeriac, squash, etc.
- Egg muffins
- Pork Cracklings (leftover from rendered lard)
Stage Five
- Veggie chips (any vegetable you like dehydrated until crispy)
- Squash “Fruit” Leather (reduce honey and eliminate spices for an earlier stage snack)
- Raw vegetables with nut butter
- Cooked apple with ghee added
- Beef jerky
- Gummies made with fruit and vegetable juice
Stage Six
- Toasted coconut – heat gently in a cast iron pan until golden
- Raw or cooked fruit
- Fruit with nut/coconut butter
- Berries and yogurt/coconut milk
- Crackers and cookies made with nuts and vegetables
- Gummies made with fruit
- Homemade Granola – made with nuts, coconut, spices, and honey (don’t add dried fruit until Full GAPS)
Full GAPS Snacks – Homemade
What was your favorite snack before beginning GAPS? Now that you are on Full GAPS, you will likely be able to find a version that will get you close. Google “GAPS” plus the name of the snack you want. If nothing comes up, you can also search for a paleo version. Just be sure to check the ingredients: many paleo snacks use sweet potato, arrowroot, tapioca, cassava, plantains, and a variety of sweeteners that are not GAPS legal.
- The Healthiest Ice Cream Ever (Fruit and sugar free, omit the vanilla for a Stage Six legal snack)
- Baked goods and crackers made with coconut flour and/or small amounts of baking soda (I love this coconut butter bread, toasted)
- Bacon, uncured, with no sugar or additives
- Homemade Nut and Fruit Bars
- Chocolate
- Check out this post for great Full GAPS snack recipes
Full GAPS Snacks – Store Bought
It is very difficult to find GAPS diet snacks in the store. They must be made from entirely GAPS-legal ingredients – no soy, no dairy (unless it is raw), no grains, only honey as a sweetener, no processed ingredients, etc. Nuts ideally should be soaked and dehydrated, which of course is basically impossible to find in a packaged food. However, if you do not obviously react to nuts that have not been properly prepared, these could be used for a rare treat.
I am not very familiar with store-bought treats. They are extremely expensive, relative to making your own versions. GAPS can be enough of a financial strain without purchasing these snacks. However, if they fit into your budget, they can help make things easier at times. Just remember to always confirm the ingredients! Here are the few options I am aware of – let me know in the comments if you know of others.
- US Wellness Meats‘ AIP page is also entirely GAPS legal
- Sea Snax
- Exo Bars (Peanut Butter and Jelly flavor is not GAPS legal)
- RX Bars (check ingredients, some may be hard for those early on in Full GAPS)
- Epic Bar Bites (check ingredients, some are good, like these bison ones, but some have non-GAPS ingredients like brown sugar)
- Canned fish (packed in water or its own juices, nothing added except salt)
- Chocolate (Pure7 is the only GAPS-legal brand I know of)
- Coconut Wraps
What are your favorite GAPS diet snacks? Is there anything I missed? What should I add to this list?
Shared on Allergy Free Wednesday.
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Jessica says
I love these ideas. Snacks can be tough to come up with at times.
How We Flourish says
Definitely. That’s why I wanted to create a list the best I could.
Susanne says
The GAPS diet can be really hard at times, but this is such an incredible list to make it easier. I love the way you have it broken down into each stage. It also seems like it can help people to not get bored on the diet. Thanks.
How We Flourish says
Thank you! I know I have had my share of frustrations not knowing what I could do for a snack. I hope I can help other people going through the same thing.
Andrea Fabry says
My new favorite snack is a combination of ghee and toasted coconut flakes. I add a bit of maple flavoring after processed and put in freezer. Snacks can be so tough when doing GAPS. Thanks for some more ideas!
How We Flourish says
That sounds amazing! I am looking forward to coconut in stage six.
HolisticHealthHerbalist says
This is a great resource! I have to graze all day which has made me reluctant to try the GAPS diet but this makes it seem so much easier! Thank you 🙂
How We Flourish says
Thank you! I hope it helps! Grazing is definitely difficult on GAPS. My husband is a grazer, too, and when he tried GAPS we didn’t know about snack options so he really struggled.
Mindy says
Great list. I really should try a GAPS or AIP diet but it seems like so much work, ya know? Plus, I love snacks 🙂 I love that you included gummies, my favorite! maybe I can try GAPS now that I know it’s not just soup!
How We Flourish says
Definitely! Once I got used to it, I actually found that GAPS was way less work than normal clean eating. I just make a few large pots of soup and then I have meals for a week and I don’t have to think about it or meal plan. My constitution love soup, which makes it easier as well. But it is nice to have the option of something other than soup, too.
Danielle says
What a great and informative post! Thank you so much for including my snack roundup. GAPS is so hard yet rewarding. <3
How We Flourish says
Definitely!
Cass says
We love fermented veggie snacks like carrots, green beans, cucumbers, olives (brined) as well as fermented apple or pear sauce
How We Flourish says
All great options!
Mandy says
I come back to this article again and again to remind myself of snack ideas when I meal plan! thank you!