GAPS Recipes for Kids: 50+ Delicious Ideas the Whole Family Will Love (2024)

If your child suffers from inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut syndrome, autism, ADHD, anxiety, or depression, chances are you’ve heard about the GAPS diet. Inspired by The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and develop by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndromeand is intended to remove gut-damaging foods that are difficult to digest and replace them with nutrient-dense foods in order to allow the intestinal lining to heal and seal.

The GAPS diet isnot intended to be a quick fix, and is a much more regimented protocol used to treat leaky gut, gut flora imbalances, and nutrient deficiencies, and if you do a quick search on Google, you’ll read some pretty powerful stories about the gut-brain connection and how the GAPS diet has helped children overcome symptoms of autism, ADD, allergies, and more.

If you’re interested in pursuing the GAPS diet for yourself or your children, there are heaps of delicious GAPS recipes for kids online, but before we share our favorites, let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?

What is the GAPS diet?

The GAPS diet is based on the gut-brain connection, and is designed to heal and seal the gut lining, balance the immune system, and restore healthy bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract by focusing on diet, supplementation, and detoxification. There are several different stages of the diet, with new foods being introduced as you progress from one phase to the next. The diet eliminates dairy and sugar, allows minimal fruits and grains, and includes broths and probiotic foods to help the body heal.

Who can benefit from the GAPS diet?

The GAPS diet was designed to help those with food allergies and intolerances, behavioral and emotional challenges like autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression, as well as other autoimmune disorders, but some would argue it can be beneficial to everyone when followed correctly.

Does the GAPS diet work?

The reviews are mixed. While some report their child was cured of all autism symptoms as a result of the GAPS diet, others question the validity of the diet, and while there shouldn’t be anyharm trying some of the GAPS recipes for kids listed below, it’s important to do your own research before deciding if a full-fledged GAPS diet is right you and your family. Educate yourself on the benefits as well as the potential risks, talk to your family doctor, and enlist the help of a naturopath to ensure you fully understand the ins and outs of the GAPS diet before deciding how to proceed.

What are the best GAPS recipes for kids?

OMG, where do we start?! GAPS for kids can be challenging, especially if your little one is already a picky eater, but thanks to all of the parents who have already done the hard work for us, we’ve found over 50 GAPS recipes for kids that promise to be as delicious as they are healthy.

GAPS Recipes for Kids: Proteins

Superfood Meatballs | The Family that Heals Together
Paleo Three Cup Chicken | How WeFlourish
Pesto Sausage Cakes | Just Take a Bite
GAPS Salmon Cakes | Taste is Trump
Chicken Breasts with Figs and Squash| Real Healthy Recipes
Roast Pork with Onion Apple Gravy| Phoenix Helix
Lemon Basil Shredded Beef| The Paleo Partridge
Balsamic Braised Beef Shanks| The Primordial Table
Simple Tender Pot Roast with Holy Grail Gravy| Phoenix Helix
GAPS Tuna Salad | How We Flourish
GAPS Meat and “Potatoes” | How We Flourish
Chicken with Plums Carrots and Apples| A Squirrel in the Kitchen
Kalua Pig| Nom Nom Paleo
Hawaiian Pork Roast| Beyond the Bite
Beef Brisket| Elana’s Pantry
Cinnamon Chuck Roast and Onions| Whole Life Eating
Italian Pork Roast |The Clothes Make the Girl
Pulled Pork and Roasted Vegetables| Gutsy By Nature
Honey Garlic Chicken| Sweet Potatoes and Social Change

GAPS Recipes for Kids: Breads/Pasta

GAPS Friendly Pizza Crust | The Soft Landing
Garlic Coconut Flour Bagels | Low Carb Yum
Coconut Tortillas | Wholesome Yum
GAPSSpaghetti and Meatballs | How We Flourish

GAPS Recipes for Kids: Side Dishes

GAPS Recipes for Kids: Desserts

FAQs

Does the GAPS diet really work? ›

Despite brain-gut connection and the importance of maintaining healthy gut bacteria, there's no evidence that the GAPS diet is effective. The GAPS diet is an elimination diet developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.

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What is the GAPS diet food list? ›

What foods do you eat on the GAPS diet?

Meat and fish stock.
Herbal teas.
Small amounts of fermented beverages.
Coconut oil.
Raw unfiltered local honey.
Organ meats.
Cooked non-starchy vegetables.
Animal fats.

Feb 1, 2023

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What is the GAPS diet protocol? ›

The GAPS diet involves a multi-phased approach, starting with the elimination of certain foods and gradually reintroducing them back into the diet. The goal is to remove foods that are difficult to digest and may damage the gut flora or gut lining, and, instead, emphasize nutrient-rich foods.

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How long does each stage of GAPS diet last? ›

The GAPS Diet occurs in two phases. The Introduction Diet lasts eighteen to thirty days (roughly three to ve days per stage) and involves removing all foods that might be gut irritants, such as dairy, from your daily intake. You then reintroduce certain foods slowly and look for adverse reactions.

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What are the negatives of the GAPS diet? ›

Downsides of the GAPS Diet

There are no peer-reviewed clinical studies assessing the GAPS diet or proving it effective at healing the gut and treating the conditions it claims to cure. In addition, it's unclear if a leaky gut is the result of having a certain condition and not the cause.

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Are bananas allowed on the GAPS diet? ›

Fruits in the GAPS Diet are only allowed in moderation: Apples. Banana. Berries.

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Can you eat eggs on the GAPS diet? ›

The full GAPS diet

Acceptable GAPS foods include: eggs. meat, fish, and shellfish (fresh or frozen only) fresh vegetables and fruit.

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Is cheese OK on the GAPS diet? ›

Other cheeses that are allowed on Full GAPS: Asiago, Blue, Brick, Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Gorgonzola, Gouda, Havarti, Limburger, Monterey Jack, Muenster, Parmesan, Port du Salut, Roquefort, Stilton, Swiss, Romano, un-creamed cottage cheese (dry curd).

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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. Processed foods and refined carbohydrates.

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Can you eat fruit on the GAPS diet? ›

Best foods to consume on Full GAPS are eggs, meats, stock, fish, shellfish, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts seeds, garlic, and olive oil. Meats should be fresh or frozen from high quality sources.

What spices are allowed on GAPS diet? ›

Black, white and red pepper (ground and pepper corns)
Cayenne pepper.
Cinnamon.
Citric acid.
Coriander, fresh or dried.
Dill, fresh or dried.
Ginger root, fresh.
Herbs, fresh or dried.

More items...

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Can you eat rice on a gap diet? ›

It's a subset of the Paleo diet with the main distinction of forbidding starchy plants. This means avoiding or significantly restricting potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains, yuca, taro, and all grains, including white rice. The GAPS diet is not intended as a long-term approach.

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Are potatoes allowed on GAPS diet? ›

Starchy Vegetables

Vegetables that are not allowed on the diet include potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and yams. Beans and legumes are also not allowed on the GAPS diet.

What carbs can you eat on GAPS diet? ›

Fruit to eat: bananas, figs, mangos, grapes, cherries, pomegranates, tangerines, oranges, pineapples, pears, kiwis, plums, dried fruit. BEANS. White navy beans, lima beans, and lentils are all good sources of carbs.

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Is coffee allowed on the GAPS diet? ›

Coffee tips

I encourage you to avoid it completely for at least the first six month of GAPS, while your nervous system and hormones are regenerating. In addition to the stress of the caffeine and other chemicals in coffee, it's heavily sprayed with pesticides, and decaf is processed with terrible chemicals.

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What can GAPS diet heal? ›

Created by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride in the early 2000s, the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet (GAPS) diet came to life to tackle a range of autoimmune and neurological conditions like autism, ADHD, depression, and IBS.

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Is GAPS diet anti-inflammatory? ›

May Reduce Inflammation

Inflammation is also a key component of digestive disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn's disease. The GAPS diet includes many anti-inflammatory foods, such as antioxidant-rich vegetables, heart-healthy fats and fish.

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How do I become successful on the GAPS diet? ›

Additional recommendations while following the GAPS diet include:

Do not eat meat and fruit together.
Use organic foods whenever possible.
Eat animal fats, coconut oil, or cold-pressed olive oil at every meal.
Consume bone broth with every meal.
Consume large amounts of fermented foods, if you can tolerate them.