Grain-free Pancakes & the GAPS Diet

This week I visited a doctor.

Nothing much unusual about that, except that this one gave me an hour of his time and cost rather a lot of money!

But, as you will know if you have been following my blog for the past few months, I have been trying to get on top of ongoing health issues, including IBS and candida…and felt like I could do with a little bit of support.

Don’t get me wrong, the NHS is a wonderful thing but having visited numerous GP’s over the years I felt there was nothing more that they could do to help me in my quest to feel better.  Not that I feel unwell, I might add…more that I have the distinct feeling that I could feel a lot MORE well!

Anyway, last month I was lucky enough to have been invited to the opening of a new clinic in Exeter where Dr Sharma practices from 2 days a week.  Dr Sharma specialises in integrated health whereby conventional medicine is combined with complementary medicine in order to treat typically difficult diagnoses like IBS, allergy and chronic fatigue.

Having read A LOT about gut problems, food intolerances etc etc I had concluded that I was suffering from leaky gut…a little recognised condition whereby a damaged gut allows larger molecules than normal to pass through the intestine and into the blood stream, triggering an immune response.

What Dr Sharma actually told me was that he felt my problems stemmed from a hormone imbalance caused by something called adrenal fatigue whereby the adrenal glands have basically had enough of constantly dealing with stress (be that psychological, physical or emotional).

I have to add here that I don’t feel stressed!  My body, however, has set up a pattern of responding to stress that I am not consciously aware of…leading to many of my hormone-related problems.  Dr Sharma explained it all beautifully but I cannot start to explain it to anyone else!

The way to deal with it? Well, to continue with my diet (which has already really helped to eliminate many of my hormone-related symptoms and relieve my bloating) and try some homeopathy and herbal remedies.

All I can say is that I really hope for some success because I really don’t want to have to be on the GAPS diet for my whole life!  Not that it is that bad, but I do so want some chocolate!!!

However, on the plus side the diet is incredibly healthy.  I already ate loads of vegetables and freshly prepared foods but now I eat half a tonne of vegetables and laying off the sugar has to be a good thing too (I used to eat a lot!)!  And just to prove that it isn’t all bad I thought I would share my recipe for pancakes that I devised for breakfast whilst on stage 3 of the GAPS intro diet.  If you are on a low sugar, low carb or paleo diet then these would be fab for you too, and they are so easy to make.

If you want a nut free version then leave the nut butter out. I did until this week and they were still lovely.  I make my own almond nut butter by activating my nuts (soaking them in lightly salted water for 24 hours, then drying them in a very low oven for about 8 – 12 hours) then whizzing them in the blender or food processor.  You can of course buy it too!  Activated nuts, however, are much easier to digest than those that haven’t gone though this process…

Finally, if you have it, then serve these with some 24 hour fermented cream. Oh my it is divine…and if you fancy the recipe then let me know in the comments below and I will share it.  Being fermented for 24 hours it has very little lactose left in it so can be eaten by those who are lactose intolerant.  It is also chock full of those lovely beneficial bacteria that I keep banging on about!

Finally, let me know what you think and if you make some please do post a picture on your favourite social media site and be sure to tag me…or use #freefromfairy!  It makes my day knowing that someone is using my recipes!

Oh, and there will be no post from me tomorrow I’m afraid…hence this early one today. I am off to BlogCamp, a blogging conference organised by Tots and Foodies 100…hopefully I will come back even more inspired to continue sharing my freefrom journey!  Have a happy and relaxing weekend!

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Grain-free Pancakes

Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soya-free, Refined Sugar-free (can be nut-free), SCD, GAPS, Paleo

Servings 1 portion

Author Vicki Montague the Freefrom Fairy

Ingredients

• 2 medium free range eggs
• 2 tbsp butternut squash puree
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil melted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp honey optional
• 1 tbsp nut butter activated nuts are best if you have a sensitive tummy - optional
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp cider vinegar

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a small blender or food processor and blend until smooth
2. Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture into a pre-heated frying pan over a medium heat
3. Wait until the top looks like it is setting then flip them over (about 1-2 minutes)
4. Repeat on the other side until golden

I shared this with:

Tasty Tuesdays being hosted by Le Coin De Mel