"La Sopa Smith" Takes on New Meaning!

Little did I know when I started "La Sopa Smith" that our soup habits were going to take on such major changes, nor that our title would take on a whole new meaning!

When I started this blog, it was really more to keep in touch w/my homeschooling friends; to share what we're up to, what we're learning, etc. It was also to have a way to share our journey and the kids' school happenings with grandparents & other friends & family. Just the things that we want to share publicly, really. The struggle of what to write or not, what to share or not, and whether to just take my tag off my email signature since I'm updating so infrequently, etc., sometimes made it easier for me just to pretend I never started a blog in the first place - hah! And I don't really have just *one* focus like some blogs do. A cooking blog, a homeschool blog, a faith journey blog, a financial blog, an organization blog, etc. This is just our life, so I guess just skip what doesn't interest you?

Here is yet another attempt for me to get motivated to start writing again! We are making a lot of soup, and I mean a LOT of soup! Broth, to be exact :o)

Paco's doctor has him on a diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I then found another diet, the GAPS Diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), which was developed by a doctor who had tweeked the SCD to make it more healing. The companion book, written by a mom in Canada, is called Gaps Guide. So the first book is all the medical background, and the second puts it all in practical step-by-step terms. We are in our fourth week on this diet, and I am amazed at the changes in Paco! So I just had to share. I may continue to share :o) It's a difficult road, as those of you who know us personally have witnessed. And for those I'm just getting to know, I hope that as we share you will be encouraged along your way as well. I truly am amazed that we already have this sense of healing less than a month into it, but we do.

If you or someone you love has digestion problems, any kind of what our society calls "mental" or "emotional" problems, has ADD/ADHD, or is on the Autism/Apserger spectrum, or even has eczema, please take a look at those two websites. Between the diet, some supplements, and detoxification, you can find healing! I always knew that somehow Paco's diet played a part in his issues, but I never understood that therein lay not only the cause, but the cure! I won't go into all the details, as that is done very well between the links above. But I do want to spread the word to anyone who, like us, has been searching for an answer for so long.

I have not turned away from raw food preparation completely, as ultimately I expect to get back there. However, where we once swore off meat completely, now I think we will always include meats and animal fats. Right now I have bone broth cooking on the stove almost 24/7, chicken or beef (you can also do fish, but Batman has a severe fish allergy). And to that we add a variety of meats and veggies. We've been going through the progressive additions, and now have added ghee, eggs, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, and roasted meats. Yesterday I made carrot juice that the kids drank down to the last drop! In the next few days I will make some grain-free bread (made with nut flour) and prepare a few raw veggies.

What I still need to do is learn how to ferment vegetables... for now, probiotic supplements are our only source of probiotics. But we'll get there! Next time I post, I'll include some pictures.