Simple GAPS Diet Chicken Soup

The GAPS Introduction Diet is all about healing your gut.  And what could me more healing than a traditional favorite: chicken soup?  Just like Mom used to make.  Actually, my mom was never big on chicken soup, but this still has a homey, feel good flavor all the same.  Gentle on the body and packed full of nutrients, this simple dish is a perfect addition to your GAPS Introduction Diet protocol. What is the GAPS Diet, you ask?  Developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the GAPS Diet is an eating plan developed to "heal and seal" the gut lining of people dealing with Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS).  Dr. Campbell-McBride's GAPS Diet was originally designed for children with autism.  She found through her research that many of her autistic patients also had compromised immune systems (asthma, allergies, etc.) and struggled with chronic constipation/diarrhea/irritable bowels etc.  All tell-tale symptoms of an unhealthy gut. By following her specialized elimination diet, her patients experienced better digestive function and significant improvements in their mental function.  The GAPS Diet has since shown to be beneficial for patients dealing with a ride range of mental health conditions including ADHD, schizophrenia, mood swings, anxiety, and dyslexia.  It also has helped thousands of people improve their overall digestive function and eliminate food sensitivities.

The premise of the GAPS Diet is that digestive function and mental health are intertwined.  Put simply, a healthy gut is full of good bacteria that perform beneficial functions in the body like breaking down nutrients in food, warding off bad bacteria, and strengthening the immune system.  These functions, in turn, support positive thoughts and optimum mental function.  In fact, there's a whole new school of research on the neuroscience of the gut.  Things like chronic stress, poor diet and environmental toxins can cause bad bacteria (always present in the gut in a small percentage) to proliferate.  This is turn makes it harder for the good bacteria to do their healing work.  The gut wall becomes damaged, and the body struggles to break down foods completely, often leading to gut permeability (when undigested food crosses the gut lining into the blood stream).  This can present as chronic fatigue, poor digestion (bloating, constipation, diarrhea), food sensitivities (gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, etc), candida overgrowth and a whole host of mental health conditions.

The GAPS Diet is designed to heal the gut lining and repopulate healthy gut bacteria, thereby improving overall digestive function, strengthening the immune system and enhancing mental function.  The GAPS protocol includes a list of easy-to-digest foods that support gut healing.  The program is refined sugar-free, lactose-free and grain-free.  Probiotics and fermented foods support the protocol by adding new healthy bacteria to the gut.  Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends that patients begin the GAPS Diet by following the GAPS Introduction Diet, which includes a phased elimination diet, probiotics, and heavy consumption of bone broth.  Over time, patients can add in new GAPS Diet-approved foods as their body allows.  Check out the GAPS Diet website for a more complete description of the program, or if you are really committed to learning more about how to "heal and seal" your gut, read the GAPS Diet book.

In the meantime, enjoy a healing bowl of this delicious GAPS Diet Chicken Soup.  Homemade with organic bone broth, boiled chicken, fresh herbs and vegetables, this soup is comfort food in a pot.  Quick and easy to make - just turn on your slow cooker before you leave for work, and within 45 minutes of getting home, your Simple GAPS Chicken Soup will be on the table.  Eat it mindfully: your tastebuds and gut will thank you.

simple gaps diet chicken soup

  • YIELD: 6 Servings
  • PREP: 60 mins
  • COOK: 10 hrs 0 min
  • READY IN: 11 hrs 0 min

Homemade with organic bone broth, boiled chicken, fresh herbs and vegetables, this GAPS Introduction Diet-approved chicken soup is comfort food in a pot

ingredients

  • 1/2 organic pastured chicken
  • 4 quarts filtered water
  • 2 organic onions diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 8 organic carrots diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 4 organic zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slides
  • 1/4 cup organic parsley finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup organic dill finely chopped
  • dash sea salt
  • dash fresh ground pepper

instructions

  1. Cut your organic, pastured whole chicken in half lengthwise across the breast and rib bones. Freeze one half for later use.
  2. Place your half chicken and organs in your slow cooker and cover completely with filtered water, filling the cooker up to about 2 inches from the top. Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cover and cook on high for 8-10 hours. I like putting mine on in the morning before I leave for work.
  3. Remove chicken, bones and organs from stock. Separate meat from fat, organs (unless you're brave enough to eat them!) and bones. Discard the bones and organs.
  4. Put minced onions and carrots in the bottom of a stock pot, and pour the cooking stock from the chicken into the pot. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 25 minutes.
  5. Add zucchini, fresh chopped herbs, sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
  6. Shred the slow cooker chicken into small pieces using a fork. Add the chicken to the soup and simmer, covered, another 5 minutes.
  7. Serve hot with a side of sauerkraut. Happy GAPS Introduction Diet eating!
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