Migraines

So I've been doing a lot of research lately about how to prevent migraines.  I've had them for as long as I can remember and have had scans, sleep studies and been on too many meds to even count.  Still, I'm getting about 8-10 a month.  My most recent neurologist said, "Well there's not much else we can do for you except take Tylonol when you feel them coming on."  Tylonol??? Really?  I definitely did not believe him for a second that any over the counter would touch these suckers.  But I was a good little patient and I have been  taking two when I feel one coming on and about 30% of the time it works!  Ok now we are getting places.  So I thought, okay if an anti-inflamamtory pill works, then why not eat food that is anti-inflammatory and get the benefit from the inside out instead of having to pop pills all the time? Well, after much research, I have compiled a list of anti-inflammatory foods and meals.  Tom said he would try it with me so we are going anti-inflammatory for one month as an experiment.  That means avoiding sugars, high processed foods, red meat, white flour, just to name a few.  I was overwhelmed at first, but I just altered some of my favorite recipes and looked up some more online and now have a meal plan for the entire month of January!  So it's worth a try...even if these meals don't help my migraines, my body will be healthier and happier for it.  Below is the spreadsheet I made for anti-inflammatory foods.

Breakfast	Meals	Food Add-Ins	Snacks	Sides	Avoid
Oatmeal	Tilapia with rice	Olive Oil	Green Tea	Edamame	Refined Grains
Un-sugared cereal	Turkey Chili	Herbs	Smoothie	Green Beans	Sugar
Smoothie	Turkey Stuffed Peppers	Garlic	Banana	Corn	Candy
Whole Grain Bread	Shrimp with rice	Honey	Pineapple	Asparagus	Baked Goods
	Italian Beef (once a month)		Berries	Broccoli	Enriched noodles
	Italian Crock Pot Chicken		Orange	Salad	Cooking Oils
	Pork Roast (once a month)		Apple	Spinach	Trans Fat
	Chicken Enchilada Casserole		Celery	Peas	Artificial Food Additives
	Tuna		Carrots	Brown Rice	High Fructose Corn Syrup
	Chicken Fajitas		Popcorn	Sugar Snap Peas	Monosodium Glutamate
	Black Bean Tostadas		Hummus	Quinoa	Artificial Sweeteners
	Buffalo Chicken Ranch Crock Pot		Edamame		Red Meat
	Chicken Tortilla Soup		Almonds		Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
	Chicken with Wild Rice		Walnuts		Butter
	Chicken Parmesan Rolls		Dark Chocolate		Whole Milk
	Salmon				High Fat Cheeses
	Turkey Meatballs				Processed Foods
	Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp				Soda
	Shish-ca-Bobs				Alcohol
	BBQ Coleslaw Chicken
	Ham (once a month)
	Curried Rice Bowl
	Turkey Meatloaf
	Omlette
	Vegetable Soup
	Crispy Parmesan Turkey
	Spaghetti Squash
	Risotto Cakes with Tomato Salad
	Salsa Chicken
	Orange Curry Shrimp

A new day and a new year ...(almost) :D

Wow.  I'm really excited about my blog.  I never thought I would be a blogger, but here I go and what a great time to start!  The purpose of my blog is to share what I've been doing and what God has been teaching me ever so patiently!  :)  This is my life and hopefully it will inspire someone else along the way.  :)

Over this Christmas break, I have logged more hours than I should have on Pinterest, but it definitely hasn't been wasted.  I've been blessed with the time off and so I've been trying to be productive by trying new recipes, meal planning, changing the decor in my house, reading as many books as possible, working out on the eliptical, planning out a garden for the backyard and also I started painting!!  The picture on the background of my blog is one of my first paintings.  I love it and it is now hanging in our bedroom.  I don't know what it is, but I just LOVE it and I am so glad that I reached out in faith and tried something new.

My first piece...

My second piece...

I've found that the canvas for painting is so expensive so a friend and I went thrift store shopping and found some old canvas paintings for 25 cents.  She had the great idea of just painting over them.  At first I felt bad painting over someone's work, but then as I thought more about it, I decided that if my work ended up in a thrift store for 25 cents I would be okay with someone repurposing it instead of it ending up in the trash. 

Tomorrow I plan to post some recipes that I've been experimenting with and are BONUS...husband approved :)