About Marisa

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.

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I’m Marisa Tolsma, a Certified GAPS™ Coach, mom of 5, and the founder of Bumblebee Apothecary.

I help busy moms heal their families through ancestral nutrition, gut wellness, and simple traditional cooking from scratch.

This site is where I share everything I’ve learned in 14+ years of using food as medicine: for myself, my husband, and our five children.

Tolsma Family

My healing story (and why this work matters to me)

I didn’t always enjoy the vibrant health I have now.

In my late teens and early twenties, I was underweight, exhausted, and struggling with constant fatigue, awful headaches, and horrible cystic acne. I tried elimination diets. I tried going vegetarian (that was a disaster). I tried every “healthy” thing I could find. Nothing actually moved the needle.

Then in 2011, I discovered the GAPS Diet, and it changed everything.

Two years on GAPS resolved:

  • ✅ My cystic acne (completely cleared)
  • ✅ My chronic headaches and migraines
  • ✅ My bone-deep fatigue
  • ✅ My inability to maintain a healthy weight
  • ✅ The foundation for five healthy pregnancies and babies

That experience took me from desperate mom to certified GAPS coach. I trained directly with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride in her GAPS protocol and have personally walked every stage of the GAPS Introduction Diet and Full GAPS Diet, multiple times, through pregnancies, postpartum, and with my husband and children.

Today, I help other families do the same thing.

📖 Read the full GAPS before-and-after story here → 📖 What is the GAPS Diet? An overview → 📖 How to start the GAPS Diet →

What I teach

Bumblebee Apothecary is the only place online that combines all of this under one roof:

  • The GAPS Diet — for adults, children, and babies, including all 6 Intro stages and Full GAPS
  • Ancestral cooking from scratch — sourdough, fermented foods, bone broth, meat stock, raw dairy, traditional preparations
  • DIY natural skincare — tallow balm, magnesium lotion, herbal remedies, soap, baby care
  • Real-life rhythms — meal routines, picky eating solutions, and family-wide adoption strategies

My approach is rooted in the wisdom of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride (GAPS), Dr. Weston A. Price (Nourishing Traditions), and Joel Salatin (regenerative farming) — but translated into the practical, mom-to-mom language of someone living it in a real kitchen with five real kids.

How to work with me

🍲 GAPS to Go — My 30-day done-for-you GAPS Introduction Diet meal plan. 14+ years in the making. Takes the guesswork out of what to eat, how to cook it, and when to advance through each stage. $49 (valued at $349).

🌱 The Ancestral Gut Reset — My step-by-step coaching program with bi-weekly live calls. For families who want guided implementation, real-time support, and someone walking the road with them.

🧴 Bumblebee Apothecary Shop — Handmade organic tallow skincare, made by my friends in small batches with grass-fed, organic ingredients.

📚 Free Resources — Including my free Gut Wellness Class, free Gut Reset Jumpstart Guide, and DIY Home Remedies eBook.

What guides me

I’m a researcher. I don’t take the common opinion and run with it. I dig deeper, and I find evidence-based alternatives that actually work. That’s what guides me when it comes to my family’s health, nutrition, and the products we use on our bodies and in our home.

I love what’s natural, organic, and lovingly handmade. Time spent on a small family-run organic farm and our own urban homesteading adventures have shaped how I see food, land, and the gifts they provide.

I believe in real food as real medicine.

My mission is to bring you timeless, traditional wisdom to impact your wellbeing today: through nourishing recipes, natural remedies, and DIY skincare and home products inspired by the studies of Dr. Weston A. Price and Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.

A little more about our family life

We do homesteading on 5 acres, growing as much of our food as we can: fresh eggs, organic, pasture-fed broiler chickens, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. We hope to expand with more animals and an orchard soon!

I cook from scratch every day, but I’m a firm believer that whole-food, traditional cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be delicious and deeply nourishing. See my recipe collection here →

Where to find me

Thanks so much for stopping by!

If you’re a mom trying to use food as medicine for your family, whether it’s autism spectrum support, eczema, autoimmune issues, leaky gut, food sensitivities, or simply raising resilient kids, you’re in the right place.

I’m so glad you’re here. 🐝

Join our traditional wisdom community, and grab a free DIY home remedy recipes ebook when you subscribe!

FREE DIY Home Remedy Recipes Ebook

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Thanks for stopping by! Be well! 🐝