Breakfast revisited - Rooibos Tea & Homemade cottage cheese with fruit#2

Rooibos Tea - or Red Bush Tea - arrived yesterday.
I do like the hearty taste. And it is caffeine free.
Finally - a decent replacement for coffee*.

I wanted to give fruit and homemade cottage cheese another try.
I microwaved the frozen fruit - blueberries & strawberries - for 1min at level5.
I added the cottage cheese.
It tasted much much better.  The fruit was chilled but fruity.  The cottage cheese added to the flavor of the fruit. We'll try this for a bit and then look for improvements and alternatives.

Still having headaches pretty much daily. 

But I'm heading to bed with ice packs one head and heating pads on neck with 2naproxin. They are not heading into migraine status (high levels of pain and long hours) so that is an improvement.

Have I been poisoning my body with my diet for 30years? A diet of yogurt & fruit, bananas, citrus, onions? And caffeine. Has the most of my troubles been caffeine?*

*http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398452375&sr=1-1&keywords=heal+your+headache

So what CAN I eat?

Headache yesterday.
Resisted taking Imitrex and took 2naproxin.  Rested with ice pack on temples and heating pad on neck.
Pinched the area between my thumb and forefinger as recommended by my new acupuncturist; I still don't see the benefits of acupuncture yet. But I'm pinching that area as I breathe deeply and fall into and out of sleep.
Amazingly, it went away after several hours.
Was it just a caffeine withdrawal?
Am I still processing rebound headaches?
Just taking this a day at a time.

I'm following the "do not eat" list from "Heal Your Headache" by David Buchholz* - about 130 trigger items.
Looking at the list, it feels like I cannot eat anything.
Certainly my 10-15 normal food items are not off the list.

Used to be I'd eat yogurt/fruit and coffee for breakfast.
Coffee 3-5xday - half caf / half decaf
Banana snack.
PB&J or tomato/cheese or dinner leftovers or a salad for lunch with milk.
Coffee and toast for snack.
Meat & veggies for dinner; lots of onions & avocados in season.
yogurt/fruit for tv time.
I've been trying to eat low carbs and avoid diabetic meds - so far successfully.

But the "do not eat" list includes almost all my normal 10-15 foods!
coffee
yogurt
banana
peanut butter
cheese
onions
avocados
These foods are my easy to make, comfort foods that really satisfy my hunger.

Now that I'm transitioning out of these foods, I need something to take their place.
It is amazing how dear your "comfort" foods are to keeping your hunger satisfied.
I am thinking about food WAY too much.

I miss my coffee.
Tea is not cutting my craving at all.
Getting up is not as much fun right now.
I'm eager to get my Red Bush tea. Hopefully it will be my replacement.

What to use as replacement to yogurt & fruit?  And bananas? I eat those 2-4 times a day!
So easy to pick up and take along.
Clean to eat. Not drippy like an orange or even an apple. Not messy or crumbly.

I've made some homemade cottage.  Pretty yummy.
Cold fruit and cottage cheese isn't hitting the spot.
I tried heating it up this morning.  It was a little better.
It needs to be something easy and quick and satisfying and good for me. And easy to carry, store & eat.
Still looking.

Lunch standbys are still up in the air.
I'm trying not to eat bread so sandwiches are not my first choice.
I guess lunch has always been "catch as catch can" so it isn't so much different than before.

Dinner just needs more research than before.
Care taken to avoid the "do not eat" items.
Found a great recipe for butternut squash and pork chunks. Just needed to replace the onions with shallots and leave out the lemon.

More research for tonight's meal.

But I am in love with a vanilla pudding from "Migraine-Free Cooking!" by Heidi Gunderson.
2c milk, 2eggs and I've reduced the sugar by a third (I just don't like stuff so sweet).
Yum!  That satisfies my sweet tooth!  But it is more sugar than I normally eat.
I'm letting it into my diet as I make the transition, but it cannot stay on a daily basis.

I am eager to find my best mix of 10-15 food items that satisfy me and can always be found in my fridge.

*http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398452375&sr=1-1&keywords=heal+your+headache

Something to drink in the morning, plz.

I love coffee.
I can get myself out of bed in the morning because I know the $40 cappuccino maker will create a hot, frothy, creamy cuppa java in just a few minutes.
We drink so much coffee that our coffee maker usually dies in about 12 months.
We have taken our coffee maker on vacations with us - just so we don't have to be "without" our hearty brew.
Coffee is a treat for me.  Something I can brew up and feel really good about.

But today is day4 of my Migraine-Free Diet*.
I'm taking out the caffeine, tyramine, nitrate, nitrite, sulfite and chocolate from my diet in an attempt to get my headaches down from 10-15/month to under 2/month.

Day1 was painful.  The migraine started at 11am and didn't let up until late that night.
Day2 was better.  The migraine started about 4pm and I was only down for 4hrs.
No Imitrex.  Just two naproxin is all I am allowing myself so I won't get into rebound headaches.
Day3 held no headache.  I am encouraged.

But I need something to look forward to upon waking.
Something hearty and hot.
So far, the wimpy teas I've tried have not given me the satisfaction I crave.
Just hot water and milk have been better than the teas, so far.

I'm going to try Red Bush Tea from South Africa.
I remember reading about it in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  And our dear neighbor who lived in South Africa recommended it.

I've ordered it from Amazon.  One hundred packets for $16 with 2day delivery.
No headache yet.  But it is early in the day.

*http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398452375&sr=1-1&keywords=heal+your+headache