A friend of mine had mentioned a while back that she had gone gluten
and dairy free to help manage her migraines.
I had heard of other friends doing the paleo diet but never gave it much
thought. One day hubby said to me that
he wanted to start a diet and was thinking of doing Atkins again. I suggested maybe we try paleo instead since
it might help with my migraines too and kill two birds with one stone. He agreed.
If you've never heard of paleo it’s also commonly referred to as the “caveman diet”. Think of anything that a caveman would have access to eat during the Paleolithic era and that’s what you can eat. That means lots of fruits, veggies, meat and nuts. The big no-no’s are gluten, dairy, refined sugar, legumes and alcohol.
We started Paleo on July 28th and so far we’ve each lost 10
lbs and I feel much more energetic. More
importantly I have been migraine free!
At first I thought it would be extremely difficult to cut out gulten,
dairy and refined sugars but I discovered that I didn’t miss it all that
much. It’s especially easier to stick
with it knowing that it’s helping keep my migraines at bay. After maybe another month or so I will start
to incorporate dairy and then gluten into my diet and see if I can pinpoint one
or the other that is causing my migraines.
I have a feeling it’s dairy causing them as I cheated a little on Saturday
(had dairy) and I ended up with a slight migraine. Needless to say, I won’t be cheating again
anytime soon.
For those that want to get started on paleo there are lots of resources
out there to help you. I’ve found quite
a few good paleo blogs via Pinterest.
Some of my favorite blogs/websites for recipe inspiration are:
Additionally, here’s a week’s worth of meal plans from things I’ve
done:
DAY 1:
Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs
Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs
Lunch: Mixed greens with sliced
avocado and olive oil
Dinner: Beef with Bok Choy Stir Fry
with Cauliflower Rice
Snack: Apple with cashew butter
DAY 2:
Breakfast: 1 egg (over easy) on top of 1 piece of leftover pork.
Breakfast: 1 egg (over easy) on top of 1 piece of leftover pork.
Lunch: Salad with grilled chicken
& sunflower seed. (just a drizzle of
olive oil for dressing)
Dinner: Turkey stuffed peppers
Snack: mixed fruit and a few almonds
DAY 3:
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs & a banana
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs & a banana
Lunch: Leftover stuffed pepper from
night before
Dinner: Garlic ginger chicken with garlic roasted asparagus
Snack: Fresh Cherries
DAY 4:
Breakfast: 2 egg frittata muffins
Breakfast: 2 egg frittata muffins
Lunch: Baby lettuce topped with 1 cup
avocado basil chicken salad
Dinner: Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
with side salad
Snack: Coconut milk ice cream
DAY 5:
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs and 3 pieces of turkey bacon
Lunch: Leftover wings from night
before
Dinner: Sausage & Veggie Bake
(I added some chopped sweet potato into this as well)
Snack: Carrot, celery sticks and a
few cashews
DAY 6:
Breakfast: 2 egg frittata muffins
Lunch: Leftover sausage & veggie
bake from night before
Snack: Spiced mixed nuts
DAY 7:
Breakfast: Blueberry & Lemon muffin
Lunch: Leftover meatloaf and carrot
rice from night before
Dinner: Shiritake noodles with paleo meatballs in marinara sauce
Snack: “popcorn” cauliflower
