The Mediterranean Diet is a Migraine-Friendly Way of Eating

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So something a bit different this week. I was asked to work with the team from Red Dieticians to help create a weekly menu with some of my recipes to go with their very informative review of the Mediterranean Diet. Needless to say I was chuffed to be asked and even happier to participate in my first collaboration as a foodie.

The Mediterranean Diet suits migraineurs because it focuses on whole foods, the cornerstone to a Migraine-Friendly diet. Why not grab a cuppa, some quiet space and head over to their site for a very informative read. Plus I think you’ll find some recipes you might like.

 

What is the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet was started as a heart healthy eating plan, and now has also been seen to be associated with lowering cholesterol levels, as well as lowering the risk of cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The Mediterranean diet plan focuses on eating plant-based foods, specifically a high content of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, legumes, and nuts. Although this diet stresses to consume most protein from plant sources, fish and poultry are consumed at least twice a week, and red meat is limited in consumption to a few times a month. Another key component of the diet is to remove salt and instead season with fresh herbs and spices, and to remove butter and replace with healthy oils, such as olive oil or avocado oil.

Keep on reading over at Red Dieticians

Meal in Greece

Flash back to 2007 and one of our first meals in Greece at a seaside taverna on Antiparos. Check out that spread of meze and our younger selves.

Enjoy my friends.

As always, whenever making lifestyle changes be sure and consult your healthcare team. Under no circumstances should you stop or start taking medication or supplements without their consent.

Informed by science, cooked by you.

January 2018 Recipe ReDux: Every Migraineur Needs a Meat Grinder

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Welcome to a new feature; the Recipe ReDux. I am so proud to have been accepted into this community of dietitian and health professionals who write about healthy food choices. The great thing about this community is that all the writers are vetted to ensure their work is underpinned with peer-reviewed scientific literature, making it a one stop shop for your health minded recipes.

Once a month we are served up a challenge to redux, latin for brought back, a recipe into a more healthy version. For me this is a natural fit, as just about every recipe I come across I have to redux to make it Migraine-friendly. Sometimes I feel like my entire cooking career is adjusting and redoing favourites so that they don’t make Stuart sick. At least now I have a bit of an outlet for them 😁.

This month’s challenge is to share a healthy recipe highlighting a favorite kitchen tool, gadget, or gizmo that you received over the holidays, or an old tried and true appliance. My kitchen is very small so I don’t have a lot of space for appliances. I have to be very judicious in my kitchen gadgets. Needless to say I couldn’t justify anything new this year. So I’m going with one of the must have appliances for every household with a migraine sufferer (that’s one in four in case you were wondering)….a meat grinder. Keep on reading!

Review: Pastry Making Class at the Sydney Cooking School

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This class was independently paid for.

My birthday present this year was a pastry making class at the Sydney Cooking School. It was a gift from Stuart, that I chose and sent him the details to book, which was also a gift for him. You see I never learned how to make proper pastry. It just wasn’t a skill that anyone had that they could pass down to me.

My lack of pastry making skills has been a challenge in the Aussie household. One of the staple ways of using leftovers is to slap them in some pastry and hope for the best. This country loves a meat pie. My fillings were good, but the frozen pastry I used left, well something to be desired. I tried learning from the Internet to no avail. Pastry is just one of those things you need some expert guidance to get the texture right. Read More

Slow Food: A Hedonistic Indulgence that is Good for Your Health

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I read an interesting piece a few months back about the positive effects of hedonism on health that rang so true to me that I simply must share it with you. Now before you go running off we need to get some definitions straight here. When most of us think of hedonism an image of debauchery, the extreme indulgence in physical pleasure, pops into our heads. Hedonism actually has its philosophical roots from the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. His school of thought promoted the savouring of moderate pleasures, respecting one another and showing <a href="http://Gratitude“>gratitude all while pursuing a harmonious life without riches or glory.

Keep on reading!

Migraineurs need more Vitamin D, B2, B12 and Calcium

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June of 2016 brought about a flurry of media activity surrounding the idea that migraineurs had low levels of some vitamins compared to non-sufferers. The good news story was based on some preliminary findings presented at a conference. When researchers present findings of studies at conferences they are usually results that have yet to be published in the scientific literature. Therefore they have not passed the rigors of peer review; the quality control mechanism for research and we need to consider the results cautiously. Keep on reading!

Delicious Ways to Boost Your Magnesium

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I was having a bit of a look at my writings over the past few months to figure out where I should be taking us on this journey. The thing that stood out to me was the number of times I used negative verbs like stop, avoid, remove and limit, in contrast to helpful verbs like consume, eat or binge. It’s been a big blog of “don’t do this” and “don’t do that”. Well, other than the whole series on chocolate.

I’ve decided to make a change towards positivity. Not what we shouldn’t be doing, but what we can be doing to reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. They say that to change a mindset you need to do something for at least 5 weeks. So here we go, a change to positivity and things we need to do more of. Keep on reading!