Cuisine

For five years now I’ve been a clean eater. What’s that? Well to my understanding it’s essentially that you eat fresh foods; no preservatives.

Eating without preservatives can be a challenge, but thankfully California is all about the health movement and there’s quite a few options to shop for such goods.

I shop at:

• Sprouts
• Trader Joe’s
• Whole Foods
• Farmer’s Market
• Ralphs
• Costco
• Smart & Final
• 99 cent store

I eat this way because I’ve suffered from chronic migraines (daily) for the past 9 years, and 6 years back I attended a migraine class at Kaiser Permanente, learning about migraine triggers. Each person has their own set of contributors to their migraines and it’s a trial and error way to figure them out. Migraines can only be prevented, not stopped once they’ve begun. These are the triggers I’ve deduced so far:

SPECIFIC TO ME

-less than 8hrs sleep

-interrupted sleep

-food preservatives

esp–>monosodium glutamate (MSG,a  flavor enhancer which is in almost everything), thiamine mononitrate, sulfites (found in wine), nitrates (found in deli & lunch meats) Oooohwee, those all get me good!

-aged food & beverages (cheese, choc)

-hunger; need to eat every 2,3 hrs

-odors (I have a strong nose with sensitivity to smell)

-bright light

-loud or constant noise

MORE COMMON TRIGGERS

-dehyradtion

-lack of exercise (yoga helps)

-poor pillow (gotta have that firm!)

-certain up-do’s

All that, and I still have mysterious triggers I’ve yet to find. However, my migraines have gone from a 6 (on a scale of 1-10 pain level) everyday, to a 1 daily, with a 8-10 once a week. That’s improvement!

I might try a gluten-free diet soon to see if that’s a culprit….

Anywho! I cook almost every meal, and eat every 2,3hrs. So now I present you with my ingredients, where I got them, recipes, and glorious pictures to tantalize your eyes.

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