After reading Millie and Kevin's success story on the GAPShelp Yahoo group, I thought of something that I wish I could do. Only I don't have the money to do it, and am not sure how I would go about it. It would have to be a non-profit organization, and it would need to be privately funded.

If I won the lottery though, and I was able to heal myself through GAPS and become a success story myself, this is what I would love to do.

Find a big piece of land somewhat away from civilization, like at least 50 or maybe 100 miles from the nearest stores and fast food joints.

There would ideally already be a big house on the property, with lets say six huge bedrooms. Big enough to house a family of four or five people.

There would be a huge kitchen, with four separate cooking stations. Each station would have its own refrigerator, stove, and preparation area.

There would be a master chef on premise, who was well versed in all the tenets of the GAPS diet.

Organic food would be provided as part of the program.

There would be a very large dining room area for families who wanted to all join together and eat at the same place, and two other smaller eating areas for families who preferred some privacy, or perhaps whose diet was more restricted than the others who could eat at the communal table.

Families would be able to come to this “house” for a period of time, perhaps one month at a time on a scholarship.

There would also be staff available to “babysit” children while the parents took instructional classes, which would consist of cooking and also learning more about GAPS. Children would always be welcome and encouraged in all teaching sessions. All classes would be audio taped so if parent had to step out with their child they would be able to go back and listen to the class.

The master chef would teach the parents all about GAPS cooking. The four cooking areas would be used to prepare the meals for the family for the day. Parents could use the babysitting services at this time, or include their children in the daily cooking. It would be suggested that children are present for about 50% of the daily cooking, just so they are able to take part in the learning process.

Families could come here to do intro, get started on GAPS, or refine their diet, away from the societal pressures of fast food joints, television, etc.

Speaking of television, it would be available, but limited to a small room with a small television. Children and parents would be encouraged to spend time outdoors in the sunshine, playing and enjoying themselves and just relaxing.

Possibly one bedroom would be completely soundproofed, in the event a family is in attendance with a child that has greater gut issues and would disrupt the rest of the facility with loud crying.

The place would have a garden, hopefully a swimming pool (no chlorine), horses, chickens for their eggs [affiliate link] (and eating), goats for their milk, for those who can tolerate dairy.

I think it would be a great help to families to get a start on the GAPS diet if they had someplace they could go. I know how difficult it was when my children were younger and we were doing the lowfat and white flour and no sugar diet. When I took them to the grocery store they wanted all kinds of stuff that we weren't allowed to eat, like candy bars, or ice cream, chips, etc. When we'd drive past fast food joints, they wanted a burger and fries, or tacos and a burrito. Television was a constant source of foodie commercials.

It would be awesome to be able to go somewhere and just slow down life. Slow way down. It would also be a time where I would suggest that computer time was limited to no more than an hour each day for adults, none for children.

OH, and this wouldn't be ONLY for parents and children. Adults could attend also.

I envision it would be wildly popular and there would be people signed up on a waiting list for months at a time. It would need to be first come, first served. Maybe once the house was well established, other houses could be opened in other states around the world! 🙂

Wouldn't that be cool?