Garden Minestrone

Yesterday, was a rough day. I had the first really bad knock your socks off headache in 3 weeks! It was a sunbutter and honey sandwich kind of night! It really is progress though because a little over a month ago I used to get that kind of a headache at least 3 times a week. I was always in the cycle of getting a headache, had one or was trying to get over one! I think one of the main triggers yesterday was staying up later than usual, driving in the dark rainy night with bright headlights and having a significant cranial chiropractic adjustment. I made it to the other end of the headache though and have this yummy soup to share that I made for lunch today!

This is my mother in law Faith’s famous minestrone recipe tweaked a little to make it migraine friendly. It makes a huge pot of soup that lasts for several meals. I usually make a batch of biscuits to go with it.

Ingredients

3 Tbs olive oil

2 leeks cut and sliced

4 cloves garlic minced

2 carrots chopped

1 zucchini chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can Navy or other small white beans

1 box of small sized pasta like Ditalini

4-5 cups water

Lots of dried basil (at least 3 Tbs)

Salt (More salt is needed than you might think because we are not using premade stock because they contain MSG. I recommend adding a little at a time, tasting the broth and then adding a little more until it tastes right to you),

Pepper to taste, ½ Ts ground fennel

Directions

In a large stock pot, sauté the leeks and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, then add the carrots and zucchini and sauté until the leeks are soft.

Then add both cans of tomatoes and 4- 5 cups of water depending on how thick you like your broth.

 Add the seasonings.

Let the soup simmer and stir every once and a while.

Turn on the pasta water! Start the pasta! (I make the pasta separately as it makes a better leftover, I place some pasta in a bowl and pour soup over it.)

When the veggies are cooked through, add the rinsed beans and check flavor of broth add seasonings to taste.

When the pasta is cooked through drain it in a colander.

You can then serve your soup over the pasta!

If you have other people in your house that can have cheese they may enjoy Parmesan or Romano cheese on top. The rest of us have to go without. That’s ok though because this soup is still really good!

Supplements

Supplements have been a big part of my “turnaround” program.  Some I picked for energy because many of the preventatives and zomig really zap my energy. 

                                                                              My shelf!

Spirulina-(2-4 capsules a day) isa blue green algae that is high in protein and high in b vitamins. I get it in the tablet form because it doesn’t taste great in the powder.

Bee Pollen-(1 capsule a day) is a super concentrated form of nutrients and nourishes the nervous system. I figured mine needed nourishing!

Some like Rutin (3 capsules a day).Make sure you get a good quality Rutin. I got mine here ) Rutin are natural Histamine blockers. Histamine and its relation to migraines and food allergies is a link that keeps coming up the more I research the things that seem to be working on my headaches this time around (diet, herbs, supplements, chiropractic). You can read more about it here.

Butterbar (75mg 2x a day) sold by Petadolex by Wiley and Wiley - (the 50 mg can be found cheaper elsewhere) This really does seem to be working. It takes about 2-3 weeks to build up in your body. I have also read that Butterbar also is a histamine blocker as well as the things advertised on its website. This was given to me by my neurologist to try.

Niacin and B6 100mg 3x a day- These B vitamins are recommended to be taken as a save when you feel a headache coming on. Since up until now I had a headache all the time I just took them 3 times a day, since it was not working as a save for me. I can tell when I have missed a dose of these. They regulate your blood vessels which the swelling of blood vessels is a symptom of migraines – read about it here .

Magnesium- 400mg 2x a day- I have a Prescription for this and I think it’s a little better quality than the kind in the store, but I have taken that too. I also have a magnesium powder that dissolves in a drink that is also great when you have a headache. There is a strong link between low magnesium levels and migraines, especially if you have other problems. For instance I have IBS, which impacts my ability even further to absorb vitamins like magnesium.

DSF Herbal- My chiropractor gave me this for adrenal stress to take for 60 days.

I also take Rainbow Light’s Women’s Multi Vitamin.

WOW that’s a lot!

I am crazy I know! But hopefully I wont be taking all this forever, I am just trying to jumpstart some healing and recovery in my body. By sharing with all of you I hope I have given you some ideas of some new things try if you are stuck in a rut with your current therapy regimen!

Baked chicken and Vegetable Foil Packets

Tonight’s dinner was a quick and easy one. It is something I remember making as a kid on camping trips. We would make these little packets up and let the roast on the hot coals all afternoon while hiking in the woods and come back to a hot dinner. The original recipe had Italian dressing in it, so I made some substitutions to make an easy weeknight dinner.

Take a large piece of foil and place inside a 9x12 baking dish – each dish can fit 2 packets.

In each packet place one chicken breast or chicken thigh or whatever cut you happen to have on hand.

Then pile cut veggies on top! I used leeks, carrots and fingerling potatoes!

Sprinkle with seasoning- I used lots of rosemary, fresh ground pepper, a little ground fennel, a sprinkle of sea salt, and basil.

I finished with just a little splash of olive oil over the top and fold/seal up the packets!

Bake at 375 degrees until the veggies are soft and the juices run clear on the chicken at least 45 minutes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs: An Old Favorite Revisited

Here is a recipe that is one of those all time favorites in many families with children.  The problem is how do you make meatballs and sauce without onions? Turns out it isn’t that hard it just takes a few substitutions. Instead of onions you use shallots- lots of them! Another great substitution for onions although not in this recipe is leeks; you can also use green onions. All do not have the tyramine levels that regular onions do. For the onion and lemon juice free tomato sauce again I turned to bionaturae’s strained tomatoes.

Simple, fast filling and delicious!

Ingredients for Meatballs

1 package of ground turkey or beef (we used turkey)

½ Cup bread crumbs

2 large Cloves of shallots chopped finely

3 Cloves of garlic chopped finely

1 egg

Pizza seasoning (about Tbs)***, basil (Tbs), fennel (Ts), Penzeys Spices Bangkok Blend (Ts), Season to taste

Pasta!

Bionaturae’s Strained Tomato Sauce or other no onion or lemon juice sauce warmed in saucepan with Pizza seasoning added. You can also sauté garlic in olive oil first if you have extra time!

Mix together the meatball ingredients in a small bowl.Roll into balls and dredge in flour

Add 3-4 tablespoons olive oil to a frying pan and cook the meatballs on medium high heat until cooked through, turning them frequently, so they do not burn but form a nice crust. 

*Don’t forget please don’t sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top- don’t worry you won’t even miss it after awhile!

I swear I will get off this Italian kick soon!

*** As a kind friend pointed out pizza seasoning does have onion in it! I swear i read it 3 times. Onion is ok in small amounts according to some experts, however since i still am having some low grade headaches this could be why! So, I think i am going to stay away from it sadly for awhile. The choice is of course up to you! That is why this blog is soo important we can all help each other!!!

Easy and Fast No Headache Pizza

Let’s face it pizza is one of those foods that people seem to can’t live without! It is also a triple and sometimes even quadruple whammy in the headache trigger department.

The possible migraine triggers in pizza include:

• Cheese!
• Fresh baked yeast crust
• Onion in the sauce
• Toppings- sausage, bacon, pepperoni, etc.

Easy and Fast No Headache Pizza

The Recipe

You will need:

• A piece of store bought naan or pita bread for each person you plan to make a pizza for (I used whole wheat naan).

• 1 jar of tomato paste- make sure it only has tomatoes as ingredients- no onions! I like Bionaturae’s organic tomato paste in a glass jar (cans have BPA and the fewer chemicals the better for people with migraines!

NOTE ON TOMATOES- some people are sensitive to tomatoes the general guidelines is under ½ cup a day – here we use about 2 tablespoons. If you are avoiding tomatoes you can use olive oil, garlic and basil!

• 1 package of fake cheese – read the ingredients carefully some may have MSG hard to tell I have tried a brand called Daiya mozzarella style shreds – it has some coconut oil in it, BUT I have had it 3 times and have been fine. It seemed one of the best options available in my local stores. It melts well, tastes good, feels like cheese, and looks like cheese. It’s not perfect as I like real whole foods and this is obviously not, BUT a girl has to make concessions when faced with a diet this strict!

• Spinach or other toppings

• Seasoning- I suggest ground fennel, oregano, basil, or any combo you like. I think good quality spices really make a difference and reccomend Penzeys Spices

Directions

• Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

• Place the naan or pita on a cookie sheet.

• Spread the bread with the tomato paste and sprinkle with seasonings.

• Sprinkle with cheese and toppings. Don’t put on too many toppings or it could get soggy!

• Bake for about 8 minutes. I check it frequently! I don’t like it very crispy!

Enjoy!!!!

Welcome to Migraine Mindset

Hi!

I’m Rachel and I suffer from Chronic Migraines.  I am in the midst of THE WORST migraine cycle of my life and I am struggling to reclaim my life.  I have tried so many things in the past to help me manage my migraines as I have suffered from them in varying degrees since I was a child. Many of these methods have worked for me in the past, but currently none of these things is working for me anymore. I have tried Botox, magnesium infusions, antidepressants, beta blockers, Topamax, other anti-seizure drugs, riboflavin, feverfew capsules, biofeedback, muscle relaxants, physical therapy, acupuncture and more.

One month ago, I decided to make some drastic changes. It was after my son’s 2^nd birthday when I had to take more Zomig and drugs than I care to mention here just to get through the two parties. I felt awful, how could I enjoy life like this? I most certainly could not go on like this anymore. I had to do something.

After a lot of research, I decided to try the Migraine Elimination Diet made popular by the book Heal Your Headache the 1-2-3 Plan by David Buchholz. I had actually read this book several years ago, but at the time my headaches were under control and it seemed so extreme. Make no mistake, this is not an easy diet, but I was desperate.

The main premise of the diet is that you eliminate foods that are known to trigger migraines the popular well known ones like cheese, red wine, chocolate, nitrates are there. But so are many foods that contain tyramines, MSG and fresh yeast products. Yep this gets hard!

Some of the hardest foods I am finding to avoid and/or miss are

Peanuts
Bananas
Lentils
Onions- including anything with onion powder!
Citrus
Fresh Bread
MSG foods- almost all processed food aka non homemade has a possible MSG ingredient listed it seems
Yogurt and cultured dairy
Cheese
Soy sauce
Nuts and peanuts
Raisins and dried fruits
Mayo- has lemon juice
Lunch meats

See what I mean?!!!!

And that’s just a sampling here is a pretty good list http://www.headaches.org/pdf/Diet.pdf

Although I am doing things a bit different because I have eliminated all the limited foods on that list for two months and may add some one at a time back in at the end of the two month period.  Some foods I wont bother adding back as I know they are triggers for me like nuts, wine, chocolate and aged cheese, but I miss onions!

Although I didn’t see results right away with the diet, it has been about a month since I started the diet and this past week has been fantastic. I have been doing some other things too which I will tell you about in later posts to come, but I think that diet is a big part of it. My whole breakfast was a trigger! Greek yogurt and peanut butter toast! Yikes!

For those of you starting out on this diet or already on it I have some great ideas for some simple recipes (cause sometimes you have to make dinner even if you do have a headache!) in the works!

It is hard but it can be done! I am hoping this blog will help some of you just starting out or those of you who have been on the diet for awhile and are looking for some new ideas!