How We Flourish

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January 13, 2015 by How We Flourish

A Guide to GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

I may receive a commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. See more details here.

Whatever kind of real food diet you are on, batch cooking can be an incredibly helpful tool. It helps you stay on track by always having nourishing meals ready to go. With the GAPS intro diet, this is an essential tool. Every single meal must be prepared at home. As you body begins to heal and adjust to your new style of eating, you will be tired and may experience some strong detox symptoms. I know that there is no way I could have survived the first week of the GAPS intro diet if I had needed to put any more effort into cooking than heating soup and chopping fresh garlic.

Although completely changing your diet and cooking soups from scratch every single day is a much more daunting task, batch cooking can still be intimidating. It requires a large time commitment and a lot of planning. First you must figure out what recipes you can and want to eat, then make a grocery list and pick up the ingredients, then prepare everything, then finally cook it and find a place to store it! It is a lot of work, and I won’t lie: it took me about 10 hours to take care of all of the hands on stuff.

But it was totally worth it. It would have taken even longer than that if I had prepared each soup individually. Even more importantly, I would not have been able to stick to the GAPS intro diet if I had needed to use those 10+ hours within the first week for cooking. Whether you work full time, have children to care for, are sick and tired, or any of the above, this is not an easy feat. Batch cooking will make it doable by ensuring you always have something available to heat up.

GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

But it’s okay…you can always clean it later

Step One: Planning

Tools to have (links to my favorites):

  • Lots of large pots and bowls
  • A good spoon and ladle
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Storage containers, preferably glass
  • A good knife
  • Food processor

Recipes – I made 6 different soups so that we would have plenty of variety. Stage one of GAPS intro is monotonous, so the more choices you have the better:

  • Pureed Squash, Cauliflower Mash, and a modified Beef and Broccoli Soup from What Can I Eat Now: 30 Days on the GAPS Introductory Diet
  • Meatball Soup
  • Ginger Squash Soup
  • Chicken Soup – 2 lbs chicken, chopped squash and carrots, an onion, and broth
  • More ideas: Raia’s Recipes, GAPS for T2, Journey to Food that Gives Life, Afterthoughts Blog, What Can I Eat Now (ebook)

My Shopping List:

  • 2 lbs broccoli
  • 4 lbs cauliflower
  • 2 whole chickens
  • 4 lbs ground beef
  • 6 onions
  • 6 inches fresh ginger
  • 14 cups cubed squash and carrots (2 butternut squash and at least 2 pounds of carrots)
  • about 10 quarts stock/filtered water (I didn’t measure precisely)
  • 4 tablespoons pastured lard
  • To be added later: salt, 1 clove garlic, and 1 tablespoon fat to each pint of soup

While this may seem like a lot, this whole list cost me about $75. All the meat and almost all the vegetables are organic/grass fed/pastured. Most of it came from my local Costco, except the squash (Aldi), ginger (Asian market), and pastured lard (farmer’s market).

Step Two: Preparation

GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

The fruits of my day before preparation

I found that the best way to do batch cooking to to prepare everything at least a day ahead of time. I took a couple hours one day to chop up all my squash, carrots, and onions. My broccoli and cauliflower came pre-chopped. One this I learned, however, is that you must double wrap your onions, or EVERYTHING will smell like onions. If possible, it is best to wait until the day of cooking to chop the onions.

Use a food processor to chop as often as you can. I use the slicing attachment for the carrots and the S-blade for the onions. It will save your hands and save you a lot of time!

Cook the chickens ahead of time as well. I rinse one out, place it and the gibblets in the bottom of a stock pot, cover the chicken with filtered water, and boil it for an hour. Then I remove that chicken and repeat the process with the other. Strip the meat off the chicken for use in soups, and save the carcasses for making broth.


If you have a freezer or refrigerator full of stock, you can do this step the day before. However, if you have none, cook the chickens a few days early. Reserve the cooking liquid and make broth with the carcass. Use these in your soups!

Step Three: Cooking Day

Have the proper mindset: Be okay with mess and get over any fear of food touching. It’s okay to clean up a bit as you go, but if you have to wash every bowl and pot after each use, you will never get through this day. Remember that you don’t have to have the perfect kitchen to do this. This is how small mine is. This is what my “packing and cooling” station looked like:


GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

Tips for GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

1. Start with easy soups and finish prepping others while they cook. Example: For the squash soups, all I had to do was add the ingredients to the pot and let it cook. However, I did not have any meatballs formed for the meat soups. I mixed and formed my meatballs while the squash soups were cooking.

2. Puree vegetables and move soups into storage while others are cooking. All of these soups are made by boiling vegetables for 30 minutes and adding meat in at some point; they can be very hands off. Use their cooking time to deal with the soups you have already finished.

3. Use lots of bowls and at least 2 pots for prep, cook, puree, and allow to cool. You should be able to have at least one soup cooking and at least two soups cooling at all times. I find it helpful to also have a bowl where I can combine all the ingredients for the next soup in line.

GAPS Intro Diet Batch Cooking

Soups in line to be cooked

4. Let your soups cool completely before putting in plastic. Ideally all soups will be stored in glass, but this isn’t always feasible. I stored the first soups I made in glass so that they could be moved into storage immediately, freeing up space. To save energy, cool to room temp before refrigerating, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before freezing.

5. Start cleaning while the last soups are cooking – you should always be working on something!

6. Make more than you think you will need. I made 19.5 quarts of soup, used 7 pounds of meat, and added extra lard to each batch. I hoped to make a week of soup. My husband and I both reacted to this diet by not wanting to eat anything. We each ate about 3 pints of soup a day, and the above list of ingredients lasted two adults 6 days. However, many people react by constantly being hungry and eating as much as they can. Especially if you have a larger family, make as much soup as you can before starting GAPS intro. Split this batch cooking extravaganza up over a few days if you need to.

Since starting the GAPS intro diet, I have repeated this process about once a week, although with fewer recipes. As you move through the diet, learn what your family likes, and get used to making soups, it gets much easier and faster. Without batch cooking, planning and preparing meals would make intro impossible for me. With batch cooking, it takes just minutes a day to prepare wholesome, nourishing, healing, and delicious meals. Definitely worth a day of effort once a week!

Have you done the GAPS intro diet? Share some of your favorite recipes and batch cooking tips!

Here’s a picture of all the soups I made in that one day:

GAPS Intro Diet Batch CookingShared on Allergy Free Wednesday and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

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DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. The information contained in this post is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. You assume full responsibility for how you choose to use this information. For more information, click here.


Welcome! I'm Chloe. I have a passion for creating a healthy life and a healthy environment. Join me as I explore homemade and reusable products, essential oils, and real food. Look around a bit. I look forward to getting to know you. Read More…

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Comments

  1. Raia Torn says

    January 13, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    Great post, Chloe. You can never be too prepared for that Intro Diet! Thanks for linking to my Intro recipe round-up, too. 😉 I’ve pinned this to my GAPS board!

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 13, 2015 at 1:08 pm

      Thank you! I loved that post of yours. It was really helpful in picking recipes.

      Reply
  2. emilysv says

    January 13, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    That is so impressive. Really great tips to use even if you’re not doing GAPS too.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:55 pm

      Thank you! I’m glad you think so – I would definitely use this for any type of batch cooking.

      Reply
  3. Megan Stevens says

    January 13, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    Wow, really impressive!!! I like step 5!- to start cleaning while the last soup is cooking! 🙂

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:51 pm

      Well it wouldn’t have happened if I had waited! The second that last soup was done I was on the couch for the rest of the night.

      Reply
  4. Jessica says

    January 13, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    This is really awesome. I love batch cooking because it really helps me stick to a plan.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:54 pm

      Me, too! If I don’t have good food prepared, I am very likely to go off plan or don’t eat as well as I would like.

      Reply
  5. reneekohley says

    January 13, 2015 at 6:41 pm

    GREAT post 🙂 I love this method of cooking – and you are right – no matter what the season you are in or diet you are following the batch up method works for them all!

    Reply
  6. Jacquelyn Byers says

    January 14, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    This is great! Batch cooking is so wonderful. It’s something I really need to do more of! Thanks for the inspiration. <3

    Reply
  7. April G says

    January 14, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    I have to say that I love this idea. I wish I was this diligent, but I think I’ll be sending some people over in starting a new diet. I think batch cooking and preparation is super improtant!

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 15, 2015 at 8:48 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  8. Kylie Worthington says

    January 15, 2015 at 1:07 am

    Amazing resource. As a work-at-home-mom, batch cooking is seriously the ONLY way I’m able to make real food work at all.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 15, 2015 at 8:49 am

      I believe it!

      Reply
  9. MomPrepares says

    January 15, 2015 at 11:41 am

    Having things in the freezer is definitely a big, big help for many different times of life!

    Reply
  10. michelespring2014 says

    January 19, 2015 at 9:47 am

    Wow, this is a great resource to have if starting the GAPS Intro. Where were you back in 2009 when I did it?? haha. GAPS Intro can sure be overwhelming, but having everything all planned out and ready to go like you detailed will help so many people be successful!

    Reply
  11. Marla says

    January 21, 2015 at 8:56 am

    Anytime you make a big change in your diet it always difficult. I applaud you for being committed to following through and it sounds like it is really working for your family. The recipes sound wonderful. The idea of using all organic and fresh produce is so extremely important in my eyes . Thanks for sharing your experience. I am visiting from Wildcrafting Wednesdays.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 21, 2015 at 8:58 am

      Thank you for visiting and your kind words. Diet changes are very difficult, and I can only hope to help make it easier on others.

      Reply
  12. Kristin says

    January 21, 2015 at 10:52 am

    Great post. Congrats on being chosen as a featured post on this week’s Wildcrafting Wednesdays! I hope you’ll join us again and share more of your awesome posts.
    http://www.herbanmomma.com

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 21, 2015 at 10:53 am

      Wow! Thank you! I will definitely be back – I love sharing over there!

      Reply
  13. Katherine says

    January 21, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    This is fantastic Chloe! Thank you so much for writing this. I have clients that I work with using GAPS and I find the organization part of the intro the trickiest. This lays it out well! Will definitely be referring them here 🙂

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 21, 2015 at 2:06 pm

      Thank you! The organization can be very difficult and overwhelming. I hope this helps your clients. They may also like my GAPS resource post, which includes a chart that I have used to keep track of what I have added in: http://www.howweflourish.com/2015/01/19/essential-gaps-intro-resources/

      Reply
  14. Lisa says

    December 22, 2016 at 3:11 am

    This is fantastic! I am getting ready to start the GAPS diet with my family. I work full time with 3 little ones at home….I wasn’t sure where I was going to find the time to cook for the intro stage. I’m new to this journey and am so happy I found your website! Would you mind if I shared this link on my personal web page? I am visiting from http://www.wedanceintherain.com

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      December 22, 2016 at 9:22 am

      I would love if you shared!

      Even without kids or a full time job, it was hard for me to get the cooking done. Now with a little one of my own and a part-time job, batch cooking is even more of a necessity. I’m glad this will help you.

      Reply
  15. Tanya says

    January 4, 2017 at 12:27 am

    Chloe, Would I be able to cook these soup recipes in my pressure cooker to save time? A pressure cooker is also supposed to keep some of the nutrients in the food. So if I could do this it would be a win-win.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      January 4, 2017 at 9:26 am

      I have never used a pressure cooker, so I cannot offer guidance, but I see no reason why they couldn’t be adapted for the pressure cooker.

      Reply
  16. ana says

    June 12, 2017 at 9:59 am

    Hi, which five soups does the shopping list go to?

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      June 16, 2017 at 5:59 pm

      Just above the shopping list I list the soups I make:
      Pureed Squash
      Cauliflower Mash
      Beef and Broccoli Soup
      Meatball Soup
      Ginger Squash Soup
      Chicken Soup

      Reply
  17. Newbie says

    June 24, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    Question: how do you reheat these? I think thawing in the fridge is probably the recommended way, but if I don’t plan that far ahead?? I’m used to microwaving, but I know in plastic (or even in glass) that’s frowned on in GAPS.

    Reply
    • How We Flourish says

      September 5, 2018 at 3:08 pm

      I reheat in a pan on the stove. It takes longer, but does a better job in my opinion.

      Reply
  18. Kristine says

    July 23, 2019 at 4:44 am

    I have done the intro already for my autistic 5 year who is fantastically recovering. It was brutal. I know I will do it again eventually if we adopt; for that child. So I’m looking for ideas to make it less horrible and tasty. I see your jars have purées. Do you eat those on the side or add a little dollop to the soup for extra taste? Thanks

    Reply
  19. True Balance Counseling says

    December 8, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    Thank you!! Batch cooking is essential for those of us with full-time jobs, and there are some great ideas here.

    Reply

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