I decided to do the GAPS diet for my boys. Without getting into it too much, it’s basically a diet where you eat nothing but broth, boiled meat and boiled vegetables for what seems like forever. (Ok, it’s only a few weeks but it already feels like forever.) It’s supposed to be good for all kinds of ailments but, since I have one boy on the spectrum and another one that’s ADHD I want to do everything as holistically possible… trying to avoid medication for either of them.

I started gearing up for this about a year ago. We went gluten free for about 10 months, then completely grain free then dairy free. Then the biggie… sugar free. I am pleased to say that my boys have adapted to all the changes quite well. Don’t get me wrong, there has been plenty of griping, mainly from my youngest. But they are trudging along with it. Christopher does say to me on a daily basis, “When is this break gonna be over?”

This past weekend was the big kick into high gear and doing the first phase of the diet. Jim Brett and I actually drove to a dairy farm in Pennsylvania to meet the farmers and do a tour so we knew exactly what we were buying. We stocked up on a bunch of fresh beef and chickens to make the required broth. I made my first batch this past weekend. I realized too late that I used too much water and it was pretty bland. Again, though, my boys trudged through it like champs! (Ok, maybe a little bit of griping. Ok, Christopher took about forty five minutes to drink his first cup, which had about a quarter cup of broth but, he did it!)

But my batch of chicken broth that I made today… fantastic! It was probably beginners luck but it tasted like it was made by a pro! I was so proud of myself! Both boys drank it up without one word of complaint. I was thinking to myself, “I can’t wait to see Jim Brett’s reaction to this one!” While my big pot of broth was cooling I cleaned up all my dishes. I had all my counters wiped down and everything put away. We had an appointment at 3:00PM. I had everything cleaned up by 2:00 and my broth was cool enough to put into storage bowls. Again, so impressed with myself; smiling away at my easy peazy handling of all it.

Now, I have to leave my house by 2:30 for this 3:00 appointment. All I have to do is dump the broth into my Tupperware bowls. Plenty of time, right? Yes, unless you are like me and the slippery handle of the huge pot of broth slips out of your hand and broth goes flying everywhere. I’m not kidding. It was everywhere. Some even got on the ceiling. How? Now, I am also covered in broth. It is now 2:15. Do I clean myself up and leave broth all over my kitchen for the next hour and a half? Sorry, can’t do it.

As I scrambled to sop up the broth as it rolled under my coffee maker, my knife block, the bag of ginger, my utensils jug (both of them), the thawing plate of burger and as it’s dripping down the sides of my counter, I thought to myself, “Not so busy patting yourself on the back now, are you?” Yes, I also went to this appointment smelling of fresh chicken broth.