On the GAPS protocol, we use short-cooked meat stock, not long-cooked bone broth. Understanding the difference between meat stock and bone broth is the first of the GAPS Diet meat stock mistakes, and the easiest to correct.
Short-cooked meat stock is high in the amino acids proline and glycine, biotin, collagen, elastin, glucosamine, and gelatin. These nutrients feed your enterocytes, which are the cells lining your small and large intestine. Think of meat stock like the glue that seals your intestinal lining – and the good bacteria from probiotic foods as the guards that stand to protect it.
Your meat stock should taste delicious and gel when it’s cooled, which can be anywhere from a slight jiggle, to nearly solid gelatin-like in thickness.
Most of us start with watery meat stock, so if that’s happening to you, you’re not alone! Almost every one of my clients has this issue when we first meet. Correcting their meat stock mistakes always increases their rate of healing.
Three ways to remedy GAPS Diet meat stock mistakes
- Use a 1:1 ratio of meat to bone. Expect that 1 pound of meat/bone will give you about 1 quart of finished stock.
- The water used should just cover the meaty bones and veggies you’re using. That extra inch of water you’re adding to stretch it into a little more stock is often what prevents gelling. I still struggle with this myself – I always want to squeeze out just one more cup! 🙂 I find it’s easier to control myself using a wide and shallow pot vs the taller stock pots. If you’re adding a lot of veggies, that might be throwing the above ratio off as well. A couple of sticks of celery, one carrot, and a small onion (or the equivalent amount of scraps) are plenty to add flavor and impart more minerals, before straining them out. The veggies you plan to eat will be cooked to your liking in a soup with this stock later.
- Add more joints of red meat, feet and heads of poultry, or a trotter (foot) of pork. These are areas with concentrated collagen content.
Do you end up with too much meat from making your stock?
When we’re making enough stock to drink 5 cups a day on the GAPS Intro Diet, we often end up with more meat than we care to eat.
The best remedy to this is to use marrow bones with just a bit of meat attached when you’re making stock from beef, lamb, pork, and game meats. If chicken stock is a staple, ask your farmer or butcher if you can buy just the carcass, necks, heads, and feet. The carcass will consist of the rib cage area, after all the “parts” are taken off and sold as breast, thighs, etc. This area has a perfect amount of meat left for flavor! Toss in a few heads or feet with each of these and you’ll make a delicious stock that gels perfectly!
GAPS Diet Meat Stock Recipe
Use a pot that’s big enough to hold your meat and veggies, with just enough water to cover them.
- Start by placing meaty bones in the pot, examples:
- A whole chicken with skin on (or other poultry), any parts of chicken that are on the bone (not breast meat by itself).
- Whole (gutted) fish.
- Red meat options: Short ribs, shanks, meaty neck bones, a bone-in type of roast, ox tail.
- If these aren’t available you can use marrow bones with some stew meat, but don’t use knuckle bones.
- Add onion, carrot, garlic, peppercorns, and/or fresh herbs for flavor.
- Place the meat in your soup pot and add water just until the meat is covered.
- Cover, and bring this to a boil.
- Skim any scum that rises to the top with a fine-mesh skimmer.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of Celtic salt, or other natural sea salt.
- Turn down to a low simmer. It should look relatively calm at the surface and bubbly at the bottom of the pot.
- Cook poultry for 1 ½ to 3 hours. Cook red meats for 4-6 hours. Cook fish for 1-2 hours.
- Remove from heat.
- Strain everything out of the stock. I put the stock into mason jars if I’m saving it for later use, or into another pot if I’m making a soup with it right away.
- Separate the meat and marrow so you can add this to your soup, or reserve it for another use.
- Toss the veggies and peppercorns. The desired nutrients and flavor are in the stock now.
- Leave all the fat in the stock when it’s cooled (crucial to healing).
Now that you’ve solved your GAPS Diet meat stock mistakes, you’re ready to nourish your enterocytes every day. As a reminder, adults should aim for 5 cups of meat stock a day, and children should consume about 3 cups. This can be in soup, sipped on its own, or added to other recipes. The best intestinal support happens when you consume it throughout each day.
FAQs
The GAPS diet is a very restrictive protocol that requires you to cut out many nutritious foods for long periods of time. It also provides little guidance on how to ensure your diet contains all the nutrients you need. Because of this, the most obvious risk of going on this diet is malnutrition.
How does meat stock heal the gut? ›
Meat Stock
Stock is especially rich in gelatin and free amino acids, like proline and glycine. These amino acids, along with the gelatinous protein from the meat and connective tissue, are particularly beneficial in healing and strengthening connective tissue such as that found in the lining of the gut.
Can I eat pork on GAPS diet? ›
FOODS ALLOWED ON THE FULL GAPS DIET
Fresh meat (preferably hormone-free and grass-fed, fresh or frozen): beef, chicken, duck, game, goose, lamb, pheasant, pigeon, pork, poultry, quail, turkey. Fish: fresh, frozen, or canned fish (in olive oil or water only).
Is honey allowed on GAPS diet? ›
HONEY. The GAPS recommends choosing honey as the sweetener of choice.
Are bananas allowed on the GAPS diet? ›
Fruits in the GAPS Diet are only allowed in moderation: Apples. Banana. Berries.
Is cheese OK on the GAPS diet? ›
Initially no dairy products are to be consumed. You will be instructed how and when to introduce the foods on this list. Raw cheese from organic grass-fed cows is always preferred. All dairy should be hormone-free.
Is meat stock bad for you? ›
Made by simmering a whole raw chicken in water for a shorter period than chicken bone broth, chicken meat stock offers a range of nutritional benefits. It is rich in gelatin, collagen, minerals, and amino acids, which can help heal the digestive system and support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.
What nutrients are in meat stock? ›
Beef Stock
- Calories 31.
- Total Fat 0.2g 0%
- Saturated Fat 0.1g 0%
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0g.
- Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g.
- Cholesterol 0mg 0%
- Sodium 475mg 21%
- Total Carbohydrates 2.9g 1%
You can use either chicken or beef bone broth for nutritional benefits. However, beef is better known for its ability to recharge the gut, while chicken bone broth is often recommended for skin health. Although bone broth may have remarkable benefits, it's often not a one-shot solution for totally healing your gut.
Can you eat bacon on GAPS diet? ›
Selecting the right bacon is important: GAPS does not recommend smoked meats as they normally contain nitrites or other substitutes that are even worse than nitrites with alleged cancer causing agents so store bought bacon is out (including some nitrate free commercial brands).
GAPS diet specifics
The GAPS diet is similar to the customized Paleo diet, with the following distinctions: It restricts all sources of starch (e.g., sweet potatoes, potatoes, plantains, etc.). It emphasizes the use of fermented foods and bone broths to restore healthy gut microbiota and gut barrier integrity.
Is rice allowed on gaps? ›
This means avoiding or significantly restricting potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains, yuca, taro, and all grains, including white rice.
Is oatmeal allowed on gaps? ›
Foods to Avoid (or Limit)
Grains, including cereal, oats and wheat. Sugar, honey, agave syrup, and molasses. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, yams and sweet potatoes.
Can you eat butter on GAPS diet? ›
As a result, the dairy-based foods allowed on the GAPS diet are almost all homemade fermented foods: yogurt, kefir, ghee, and whey. The exception is butter, which is allowed. Dr. Campbell-McBride encourages fermented dairy and says you can add it beginning in the introductory phase of the diet.
Can you eat peanut butter on GAPS diet? ›
FOOD FOR GAPS DIET STAGE 3
In the original GAPS Book, Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride recommends nut butter at this stage. In recent conversations, she now believes that, for most people, it is a good idea to wait to introduce nuts until Full GAPS.
Does the GAPS diet really work? ›
There is no evidence to suggest that all components of the GAPS diet can help treat the conditions it claims to. Following this diet could, however, improve a person's gut health. It encourages people to eat fewer processed foods and more fruits, vegetables, and natural fats.
Is GAPS diet scientifically proven? ›
Despite brain-gut connection and the importance of maintaining healthy gut bacteria, there's no evidence that the GAPS diet is effective.
How long do you have to stay on the GAPS diet? ›
The full GAPS diet can last 1.5–2 years. During this part of the diet, people are advised to base the majority of their eating patterns on the following foods: Fresh meat, preferably hormone-free and grass-fed. Animal fats, such as lard, tallow, lamb fat, duck fat, raw butter, and ghee.
What is the difference between Fodmap and GAPS diet? ›
They each are known for their gut-healing benefits with FODMAPs being more geared towards IBS and bloating (3) and GAPS geared towards neuropsychiatric symptom improvement. In truth, both diets can be helpful for both types of symptoms.
