Panko Crusted Wild Caught Salmon

I am lucky enough to be a part of our local fish buying club that buys from Lummi Island Wild Salmon. I am not a big fish lover, but I really like their salmon! We have a big case in our freezer and pull some out about once a week. Our favorite way to have it is with a panko crust. This time we had it with sides of Israeli style couscous mix and broccoli.

Panko Crusted Salmon

Ingredients
1 cup plain panko style bread crumbs- these are extra crunchy and regular doesn't work!
olive oil- garlic olive oil is yummy!
salmon
salt
pepper

Easy Directions

Coat fish with olive oil, salt and pepper and any other seasoning you desire.

Sprinkle/ coat with panko breadcrumbs

Bake 400 degrees until the panko is light brown and the fish is flaky about 20-25 minutes

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Pie - No Migraine Makeover

I got this recipe from Happy Healthy Mama a blog I love!  However, it called for onions- but with a easy peasy swap with some chives from the backyard I was in business! You can find the recipe here.
I also used some left over mushrooms and less peppers.
Mine took a lot longer than 20 minutes to bake but I think I had more veggies!
I also topped half with real cheese for the non migraine sufferers in the house and half with Daiya fake cheese. It turned out great though just like Maryea said it would!

Diet Mistakes and Medication Decreases

It was one of those weekends. You know the kind. The kind that go by so fast because you spent most of it in bed in pain with a headache or waiting for time to pass so your headache would too. It was beautiful spring weather here too, which is a double edged sword. The sunny spring weather is a killer trigger for me. It does not take long out in that strong unfiltered sun- even in the car to make my head pound!

To make matters worse, I started ever so slightly decreasing my Zonogram preventative. Only by 25 mg but boy oh boy did I feel the difference! I would like to get off most of my medications eventually, but am not feeling very positive after the very negative reaction to such a small decrease.

Then I was eating these cookies I got at our local Mennonite bulk foods store. Delicious blueberry whole wheat bars. I read the ingredients 3 times! I was excited that I could eat them. They do not even have corn syrup! Then I thought about it and remembered DUH, the fruit in the cookies was DRIED- banned on the elimination diet and it had dried figs! Why didn't I realize this when reading the ingredients? I was desperate and it only said blueberries and figs without the dried part which would have triggered the WAIT! YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT! voice in my head! ugh! By that time I had already eaten at least five over three days!

Last one!

MSG- The Hidden Trigger

Monosodium Glutamate is a common food additive that almost everyone out there has heard of.  When I talk to people though (mostly non migraine sufferers) they don't seem to realise how many different things it is in! It pretty  much boils down to almost all processed food down there or it "could' be in almost all processed food out there. The problem is that it doesn't have to say MSG on the label to have MSG in it. There are a ton of things that can be in the ingredients that contain MSG. It is also considered "natural" by the FDA so you can't even trust the more natural brands!

The worst offenders are broths, bouillons, seasoned salt, frozen or ready to eat meals, buffet food, Chinese food, processed meats, low fat/low calorie foods, veggie burgers and most tuna fish.

Hidden names/Sources for MSG*

Hydrolyzed protein- including vegetable/soy/plant and rice
Yeast extract
Autolyzed yeast
natural flavor/s
Broth, Stock, bouillon
Soy protein concentrate
Soy protein isolate
textured protein
whey protein
protein fortified items
malt extract
malted barley
maltodextrin
carrageenan- in every ice cream i have seen!
kombu- seaweed extract
sodium caseinate
calcium caseinate
Glutamic acid
Gelatin
Fermented or Cultured items
Ultrapasteurized items
Enzyme modified items

Its a long list and I am always checking back to it. I bring it to the grocery store with me!
This is why cooking is so important to the migraine diet!
It took me less time to make a batch of oatmeal only cookies than it would have finding a cookie I could eat in a store!
Just the basic oatmeal cookie recipe no raisins!

*List of MSG sources taken from Heal Your Headache By David Buchholz M.D.

Chicken Fajitas

These were really great! You did not miss the onion at all!

Ingredients

1 package boneless chicken cut up in small pieces

2-3 multi color bell peppers cut in to slices

1 package of baby or regular portabella mushrooms sliced

Fajita seasoning by Penzeys or other non onion containing Mexican seasoning or chili powder

More chili powder- I know we like things spicy!

Tortillas- my husband made these but store bought are fine!

Cook chicken in a frying pan, add spices and veggies when almost done. When onions are just turning translucent but not too overcooked and peppers are cooked but still kind of crisp.

Fill tortilla with the filling. I chose to top mine with spinach which is high in magnesium which is something I am low in and many people who suffer from migraine are as well!

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers

My family has been missing their veggie burgers. I can’t find any that either don’t have MSG or onion! When I saw these on Pinterest/Healthy Happy Life I knew they would be easy to convert!

All I did was take out the tahini and use spices I knew would be migraine friendly. I also did not top with onion, ketchup, or that really lovely but migraine triggering avocado she had in her picture!

They are very soft patties and I did add Panko breadcrumbs to the mixture like she suggested. I also used a can each of adzuki and pinto beans instead of the beans she used because I was out.  Also make sure to use a non nut oil to pan fry the patties in!

They were a huge hit around here. Even my two year old ate his which is something these days!

Herbal Headache Teas

One of the most exciting new things I have been using to help relieve my headaches is my own special blend of herbs in a Headache Tea.  My dissatisfaction with my treatment led me to studying herbalism.  It was through this study that I found a whole new way of treating my migraines!

Instead of jumping right to Zomig or any of the pile of pain relievers like Excedrin that I used to grab when I felt a headache starting to come on, I just put the kettle on for some tea! After experimenting, I found the loose tea is the strongest, but the bags are nice to have on the go. I drink one cup after letting the tea steep in a tea ball or tea net/strainer for 5-10 minutes. If I have a headache raging already, I will have an additional cup followed by another every hour or so as needed. At first I needed to have a cup of tea daily, but now I need it less and less as the elimination diet is kicking in and the Chiropractic adjustments are helping too.

The tea has also really helped me to get OUT of the vicious drug cycle I was in. I was taking more and more drugs to counteract the side effects, withdrawals and rebounds from the others. It’s a difficult thing when you have migraines so often you never fully recover from one before the next one sets in.

On Friday when I had the first bad headache in 3 weeks, I did take Zomig, but I drank a LOT of this tea too. I drank it before and after to kind of nip it in the bud, so I wouldn’t have to take a second dose like I used too! Don’t get me wrong Zomig and triptans are a miracle and you need them when you need them, but they have some bad side effects, make me feel exhausted and I would rather not take them if I didn’t have too!

The Headache Tea helps you and your muscles relax, including your blood vessels. It also helps relieve pain. The tea  contains natural histamine blockers which counter allergic reactions that the migraine is in response to.

This tea is so great; I couldn’t keep it to myself! So I opened Healing Headache Teas on Etsy so you could get some too!

The Headache Tea is a blend of 100% organic herbs (except if you get the kind with ginger- the ginger is from Penzey’s Spices!) Each batch is handmade by me and made to order!

Ingredients:

Lemon Balm- calming and soothes the nervous system, histamine blocker

Skullcap- relaxant and pain relieving

Chamomile- relaxant and pain relieving

Feverfew- pain relieving, histamine blocker

Lavender- relaxing, reduces stress, pain relieving

Ginger- Settles stomach, reduces inflammation

Note: The tea does have a “green” taste to it. The kind with ginger does taste better and in a week or so I hope to offer a variety with peppermint too. I found I quickly got used to the taste and the benefit far outweighed the taste! If it bothers you try adding honey or Stevia!

I hope you can soon experience the same healing effect of the Headache Headache Tea like I have.

I think that’s all any of as headache sufferers seek- relief.