Tasty Bagel Sandwich (Meatless)

A very sweet person who wishes to remain anonymous wrote in with this recipe. It sounds wonderful! I can't wait to try it. Bonus, it's vegetarian!

1 bagel, hollowed out slightly in the middle and toasted
1/2 finely chopped apple
1/4 cup dried blueberries, cherries, or other allowable fruits (sulfite free)
1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sugar or splenda granular
2-3 tablespoons softened cream cheese or ricotta cheese

Mix all ingredients except the bagel and spoon into the hollowed out bagel. Enjoy!

Food Intolerance and Migraine Triggers

I have made some changes to this post since the original. I would like to thank my friends in the scientific community for your help with this subject.

Migraine triggers are not food allergies; they are more like intolerances. The terms food allergy and food intolerance seem to be grouped together casually as though they are the same, when in fact, they are quite different. In true medical, scientific literature, food allergies are labeled so because the body can generate, in some people, an immune response to certain foods. In the case of migraine triggers, there is no immune response within your body. In other words, migraine triggers are not mediated by the immune system. It is for this reason that triggers cannot be found through pin prick tests, blood tests, or any other similar type of tests. So, how do triggers work? The more you have in your system, the more likely you are to have a headache. So, by avoiding dietary triggers, more unavoidable triggers are less likely to cause a headache, too. I do not want to give away all of Dr. Buchholz's step 2 relayed in his book, so it is important that you read it. However, I will tell you that the more triggers you avoid, the better you feel. In the beginning, it is important to avoid all dietary triggers to let your body heal. After that, the trick is to keep your trigger level as low as possible, and since your body does not generate an immune response to triggers, you may eat your favorite foods once in awhile again. The trick is to only eat them when there are few to no other triggers clouding your system. It is for these same reasons that food triggers do not have to cause a headache every time they are eaten, which can also make them difficult to pinpoint. Dr. Buchholz's method is the only one I've found that can truly eliminate and find all personal triggers for each headache sufferer. Everyone is different, after all, and his method is designed to find your personal triggers. If you haven't read Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain by David Buchholz, M.D. yet, you are missing a real treat.

More Buchholz-friendly websites

More people are sharing their favorite recipes!

Helena's blog is full of recipes and great advice for those suffering from migraines, and also for their friends and family. Be sure to visit.
http://moremigrainefreecooking.blogspot.com/

Bill's blog is designed to help if you are trying to navigate the diet with few cooking skills. He gives some great tips!
http://migrainecooking.blogspot.com

Ricky's quest is to find migraine-friendly food that follows Dr. Buchholz's diet, and she has posted some of her own favorite recipes on her site.
http://notdoneliving.net/migraines/migraine-friendly

Elodie, a professional chef, has started her site at this address so that we may all heal our headaches with food.
http://healingchefelodie.blogspot.com/

David posts tyramine-free recipes, and they are usually free of preservatives as well.
http://lymphomafamilyandfood.blogspot.com

Here is a Yahoo! Group you might find helpful and supportive.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/themigrainediet/

If you have a site like these and I am unaware, please let me know so I can share.

DTOX Radio!

DTOX Radio is a wonderful website and radio broadcast dedicated to people with environmental illnesses! They offer a live radio webcast, a "mall" where you can find products which may help with your specific illness, a "world news" page, and even a blogroll featuring fantastic bloggers who are experts in their area. Please take a look at this jewel of a website! http://www.therobnetwork.com/

Chicken Fried Chicken with White Gravy

Sometimes I am just in the mood for some comfort food. Enjoy!

The Chicken
Canola oil or olive oil
5 chicken breasts, fat trimmed, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick
salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cornmeal and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, mixed

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with oil to about 1/2 inch thick and heat over medium heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts. Dip the breasts in the eggs, then the flour mixture. Repeat. Fry the chicken in the oil for 12-15 minutes, turning frequently, or until the centers are no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from the pan.

The Gravy
3 tablespoons oil from recipe above, or use 3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Remove all but 3 tablespoons oil from the skillet. Add flour and blend with a fork in order to mix well. Slowly add a little bit of milk and blend into a paste. Add more milk, a little at a time, until all of the milk has been added. Heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper. Serve over the chicken and enjoy!

*This meal is traditionally served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Adding Foods Back Into Your Diet

This diet does not have to be a life-long sentence of doom. After you have eliminated all triggers from your diet for about 4 months, or as long as it takes to heal, you can add triggers back in one at a time to see which foods are your personal triggers. Remember, the diet must be strictly adhered to in the beginning. Even if you find, like me, that every food on the list is a trigger for you, it does not mean that you can never eat your favorite foods again. When I began this diet three years ago, I felt so much better that I didn't eat anything on the avoid list for a whole year. When I started to add triggers back in one at a time, MSG was a very obvious trigger, but tyramine was not. For awhile, I thought tyramine was okay for me, but the more I ate it, the more my muscles ached and I became run down and tired. For me, MSG is a much more obvious trigger than tyramine, but for others that may be reversed. The pain of a migraine is such a negative memory to me that I do my best to avoid MSG at all costs, but I could probably have small amounts of it once in a great while if I choose to, as long as there are no other triggers to raise my threshold level. The trick is to not eat triggers very often or in very large amounts. I told someone on twitter the other day that I never eat MSG. Then, I read my words and realized that I need to relax a little. I've been following the diet for three years, and I could probably use a little wiggle room. So, I went to a Mexican restaurant with my family and ordered an enchilada with beans and rice on the side. My husband was overjoyed! Well, I decided to only eat two or three bites of the enchilada and then eat the rice and beans just to be safe. I didn't have a headache! So, a few days later I decided to dip some vegetables in STORE BOUGHT vegetable dip (sparingly, of course). Again, no symptoms! Keep in mind, there were no storms overhead, no hormonal disturbances, and little stress in my life at the time. Also, I had been getting enough sleep and drinking plenty of water. So, after you have followed the diet initially, you may be able to eat some of your favorite foods again once in awhile. I probably could have eaten the whole enchilada if I had relaxed. My husband found it quite humorous. So, don't begin the diet thinking there is no way you could follow it for the rest of your life. Chances are not every trigger will be a problem for you, and even if it is, try to change your line of thinking. Your body will continue to change as you age, which means your headaches will probably change as well. And, can you continue to go on living as you are? Do you really want to take triptans, shots, narcotics, or any heavy medications long term? Don't be afraid to give diet, using Dr. Buchholz's 1-2-3 method, a chance. It is well worth it.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes get a bad rap, mainly because of what foods they accompany, or what additives are put in tomato sauce. Yes, tomatoes can be a trigger for some due to high amounts of free glutamate (not to be confused with an aversion to wheat gluten), but for most migraine sufferers tomatoes are perfectly fine, by themselves. Tomatoes are extremely healthy and may even help aid in weight loss! So, don't knock them before you give them a fair chance. Tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce usually has onion powder added to it, and possibly other additives, which may trigger a migraine. Pizza dough has fresh-risen yeast which contains tyramine, and pizza toppings contain nitrates and possibly MSG. If you make your own italian food at home (which contains tomatoes), and you haven't added any onion powder or onions to the sauce, maybe it's the salad dressing (fermentation) which has triggered your headache. And remember, it could possibly be something you ate from the day before. So, before you blame your headache on tomatoes, which many tolerate well, be sure it isn't something else causing you havoc. After you have removed every migraine trigger from your diet for quite some time, if you still suspect tomatoes, then eliminate them for two to four weeks. If you notice no difference, add them back in. Happy eating!