If there is one thing that helped us get through the GAPS Introduction Diet the first time we did it, it was squash bars. After days of eating soup and veggies and a little egg mixed in, the boys and I were ready for something that seemed to have a little substance to it (and that looked familiar to our past favorite foods). Had we tried this “dessert” prior to going GAPS, I highly doubt that we would have been so thrilled about it. But after your taste buds start to change, you learn to appreciate the sweetness and flavor of foods that really aren’t considered “sweet”.
I make this recipe by memory; I’m not even really sure on which website I found it. My mom sometimes will add a little pureed chicken into it, as another way to get more protein (great tip for picky eaters!). My boys usually eat plenty of protein-rich foods, so I tend to make it without the chicken.
Squash Bars
2 cups pureed organic squash or pumpkin
8 organic free range eggs (divided)
1 heaping Tbs. ground organic cinnamon
2-3 Tbs. homemade ghee or organic butter, melted
Have two bowls on hand, one small and the other medium-sized. Divide your eggs, with the yolks going in the medium sized bowl and the whites in the smaller bowl. In the bowl with the yolks, add the squash, cinnamon, and butter.
Beat your egg whites until soft peaks form. Then mix the ingredients in the medium-sized bowl (the squash mixture). When the ingredients are well mixed, pour the fluffy egg whites into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well.
Line a 9×13 pan with unbleached parchment paper (I usually take a little coconut oil and spread it on my glass baking pan first, and then the parchment seems to stick a little better). Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. Let cool, slice, and serve in squares. Makes about 12-16 squares (or 9 squares, depending on how hungry everyone is!)
You can eat them plain or drizzle a little honey on top. Very simple, packed with nutrition, and GAPS stage 3 legal!! (If you omit the cinnamon).
They’re a winner for us 🙂
~ Alicia
Healthy Home Body LLC 
Technically these are not gaps legal until stage 4. That is when you can have baked egg whites. There is a lot of confusion, but baking aside from casseroles is not until stage 4.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this! You’re correct, there is much confusion on this subject, as I often see squash bars introduced in stage 2 on several sites. However, egg whites are not introduced until stage 3. Stage 4 is when we introduce baked breads with nuts (instead of frying with nut butter). In my experience, eggs are much better tolerated when baked, and as egg yolks and whites are introduced in stage 3, it would be acceptable to make squash bars in stage three. However, each person is an individual and should follow GAPS as such, so if they find they do not tolerate this recipe, they should wait to make it until a later stage. If they are tolerating eggs, though, they should be able to tolerate them baked in this recipe at stage three. Scrambled eggs are actually more difficult to tolerate for many people. So, based on Dr. Natasha’s thoughts on this and my background as a GAPS Practitioner, I will leave this recipe as stage three appropriate. But anyone should feel free to introduce it when they feel ready for it (from stage 3 onward)!
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Thanks so much for this recipe! I have made it several times (with pumpkin puree) and my son LOVES it! I just wanted to confirm, the consistency I get is firm but similar to a flan or souffle. The top is cooked and dry but when you cut into it, it is slightly wet to the touch. It stays together perfectly and is SUCH a winner…just wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something really wrong!
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That sounds about right! For us, I notice the texture turns out a little differently each time I make it, as the size of the squash varies and sometimes I add more squash. But yes, the texture is similar to a souffle.
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Dairy is a problem for me. Do you think coconut oil could be substituted for the ghee/butter?
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Yes, you could try substituting coconut oil. 🙂
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How do you make squash puree? Can I use summer squash? My questions are embarrassing because I only know how to dump puree out of a can! I’m in day 3 of full gaps but this still sounds amazing. Full gaps is very restrictive to me considering how I used to eat. I plan to stay on full gaps for about 9 months and then go to intro!
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Hi!
Good for you for jumping on Full GAPS! Any diet change like that can be hard in the beginning, but soon it will be second nature. 🙂 So for squash puree, I simply just cook butternut squash in the oven (I place the squash in a covered pan with about an inch of water on the bottom, pierce the squash a couple times with a knife, and cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350F). When cooked, I let it cool a little, cut the squash in half, scoop the cooked squash out, and that’s my squash puree 😉
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