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I know this week’s prompt is asking about our average eating habits, but mine shift throughout the month. I’ll begin with what’s typical during the colder months of the year when I don’t have a migraine.
As I mentioned in the morning routine prompt last November, I normally have almond milk and oatmeal with fruit, nut butter, and chia seeds for breakfast.
Lunch is my biggest meal of the day. It’s common for me to eat dishes like pasta, rice and beans with various seasonings and vegetables added in, stir-fry of various sorts, tacos, fajitas, or chilli. I batch cook a couple of days a week, so these are often leftovers from previous meals. During heat waves, I switch to cold options like sandwiches, hummus and pita, large salads that include a source of protein, etc.
Typical dinner foods include options like smoothies, baked beans, big plates of raw and/or cooked vegetables, fruit, some leftover meat or other high-protein foods, eggs prepared in various ways, or other light and healthy meals. This remains pretty consistent throughout the year. I can get heartburn if I eat spicy food or too close to bedtime, so I try to eat just enough of something mild (ish) to keep me full until morning.
We do order takeout occasionally as well, but I try to cook at home as much as possible.
Sounds pretty healthy, right?
If I’m at any point in the migraine cycle, things change. Strong cravings, generally for sugar and salt, are one of the early signs that I’m going to have a migraine within the next few days, and it’s really hard for me to resist junk food on those days.
The closer I get to needing to take my migraine medication, the more painful it is for me to chew hard foods like, say, carrot sticks or apple slices. If you’ve ever had a toothache, it’s similar to that but in multiple teeth on one half of my face.
I experience nausea that makes my body finicky about the texture, smell, and taste of the food that it will allow to remain in my stomach. My sensitivity to noise as the migraine looms closer also makes it impossible for me to use something like a blender then.
So my diet shrinks down to soft foods that have mild scents and do not require noisy preparations until my medication kicks in and I’ve slept off the worst of the rest of it. Sometimes we’ll order in pizza on those nights instead of me trying to cook something.
I will often roast some sweet potatoes and hard boil some eggs a day or two in advance to give myself some healthy options, and I’m always on the lookout for other dairy-free foods to add to my rotation when I can’t chow down on raw, crunchy stuff.
Luckily, I’ve been able to reduce my number of migraines by figuring out my triggers for them, avoiding triggers as much as I possibly can, and following a strict sleep and meal schedule. I can’t avoid every migraine, though, and so that’s how they influence my diet.
I empathise with you about the migraine. They’re awful aren’t they. I get them from time to time, less often now than I did. They would come a few times a week but they’re pretty rare now.
Yeah, they’re no fun at all. Sorry you have them, too., but it’s good they’re less often for you now!
I’ve been blessed with not having migraines. My parents and wife have them. Surprisingly they tapered off for all three when they retired.
That’s very interesting! I hope it happens for me, too, and I’m glad you’ve never had one.
Ha! Somehow I did a week behind. Look at me, not paying attention. Well, maybe I need to write two for today to catch up.
Sorry about the migraines. I had a friend and my middle son gets them, I know they aren’t fun.
Thank you, Kel. If you write a second WWBC post today, I’ll read it! 🙂 But no pressure.
Sweet potatoes are the BEST… sweet or savory, healthy option.
Re: migraines, I’m so sorry. I started getting them for the first time as I went through menopause and they’re miserable. I have a friend who got daith piercings for their migraines and swears they helped more than almost any other thing they tried.
Thank you! Sorry to hear you have migraines, too.
I didn’t know Daith piercings could do that. Interesting.
I used to get migraines… unlike Marianne, mine STOPPED after menopause for the most part (I’m still triggered by sunlight, so have to be careful to always have sunglasses to hand). And I love keeping things that are easy to snack up made up…. I need to get back to doing that.
Good for you, Judy! Yeah, I’ve heard that happens sometimes.
Have fun planning out your snacks.
We get takeout once a week, just to give me a break. 😀
Sorry about the migraines, my aunt used to get them and they were debilitating for her. But I understand about the pain – I have lifelong sinus issues and when they’re acting up, my whole upper jaw hurts from the pressure. It’s not fun. :/
As for dairy free options… there are a ton of new, really tasty brands of vegan cheese out there. Boursin even makes a vegan herbed spreadable cheese that is amazing on some pita. 🙂
My post
Taking a break is important!
Sorry about your sinus pain. That sounds tough.
And, yeah, the new vegan cheeses out there are getting pretty good. I’l keep an eye out for Boursin. Yum.
I’m sorry migraine impacts you so much.
I get them here and there and it’s bad, I can only imagine having them like you.
I love how you use food to make things better.
V
Thank you! I appreciate that. Sorry to hear you have them, too. I never would have guessed so many folks in the WWBC community have them.
Thanks for sharing your usual meal routine – it sounds so balanced and delicious! But I can definitely empathize with migraines, which are absolutely the worst. I’ve been getting them for most of my life, and it’s like everything grinds to a halt when they occur. Fortunately, my medications work pretty well as a preventative measure, and I don’t get them as often as I used to. I hope this year brings you less migraines, and more delicious meals!
You’re welcome. Sorry to hear you have them, too. Yeah, there are some great medications out there for them. I’m glad yours works so well! It took me a little while to find one that worked better for me, but life is better now. 🙂
Hi Ms. Lydia! I am in the migraine group! Oh! I totally understand! Mine have gotten better over the last year or so. They really do make you sick. I love your saying you eat a bigger lunch. I have been thinking about that since starting my healthier lifestyle. I get sick at night if I eat too late, so I am already careful, but I am thinking of switching our larger meal to lunch! Great post!
Ugh, sorry to hear that, but I’m glad you’ve seen an improvement.
I hope bigger lunches work better for you.
I’m so sorry you suffer so much from migranes. My husband gets them, although not nearly as severely as yours. But, you do eat some great food!
Thank you very much! I’m sorry your husband also has them.
I think there’s a weak form of the migraine gene and I may have it. I used to have an aunt who had migraines. I only had headaches but they followed the migraine pattern and could be pretty nasty. They were an almost monthly symptom of postmenstrual anemia until I learned that drinking cool water and soaking in a hot bath made them go away, around age 25. I’ve not really had headaches since but they can occur when I’ve been eating too much sodium relative to potassium and magnesium; either potassium or magnesium cures them. But they’ve always been on one side or the other, sometimes preceded by weird visual effects, and sometimes sickening in intensity.
“Aunt Dotty” always went to bed and made a fuss over her migraines. I usually just worked through mine, but could be very tiresome to others about blinking lights, screens, noise, etc.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was such a thing! I’m glad you found ways to reduce your episodes and cope when they do happen.
And your poor “Aunt Dotty.” 🙁
Wow, it sounds like your migraines make a HUGE impact on your daily life. I’m so sorry! At least it sounds like you have learned lots of ways to manage it. And I’m impressed with how healthy your diet is and how much you cook. I need to learn your ways!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Yes, they can! Things are much better than they were a couple of years ago, though, and I’m very grateful for that.
Thank you for your kind words.
That’s actually really interesting. I had no idea that migraines could have so much influence on eating habits.
Thank you! Everyone’s symptoms are different, of course, but, yeah, it can have a big effect on diet.
I sympathise with you on the migraines. I have them too, but usually can’t eat at all at those times.
Thank you, Tanith. And I’m sorry. That sounds rough.