Seeking Recipes due to Medically Necessary "Detox"

[TrvlBug]

I have been diagnosed with 'Silent Migraines' and after clean MRI for acoustic neuroma (whew ) am now seeing a neurologist. He has diagnosed the migraines with the first step of identifying triggers. He states that about 50% of his patients are helped with food modifications.

The only foods I am allowed for the next 3 weeks is 'real food' aka NO processed foods; abosolutely NOTHING from a can, out of a box, a bottle, etc. I keep bumping into recipes that require worchester sauce, broth and other such stuff. No matter how much I'd like to, I just can't see myself eating steak, baked potato with butter and salad every day for the next 3 weeks .

Real food not allowed: citrus, pineapple, banana, avocado, aged cheese (mozarella is allowed as is cottage cheese), nuts (seeds OK), yogurt (anything fermented or cultured), soy, yeast, chocolate. Thank goodness I drink only 2 cups of decaf coffee in the morning and gave up alcohol over a year ago for a healthier lifestyle...otherwise I'd be in real trouble .

I just made a chicken thigh casserole with potatoes, veggies and lots of spices & water. While not on par with my steak, it was good. These are the kinds of recipes I'm looking for. I'm not a creative cook so am at a loss and need help.

I tried Googling but they all require some type of sauce or soy. Thanks for any and all suggestions and recipes.

 

[MC Rider]

Some simple home made chili?
If you want to go whole hog you can buy dried beans instead of canned, but they take a long time to cook. Chili powder is just powdered chilis, I guess you could make your own or go store bought. Add some onions, green peppers, and what not and eat. Is ground beef OK? Or maybe pork.

 

[TrvlBug]

Forgot to add that egg dishes are out as I cannot tolerate one of the proteins in the yolk. A couple of bites are OK but if I eat a whole egg it's like having river rocks in my stomach for the rest of the day.

My breakfast consists of fried egg whites and now rice or potatoes instead of buttered sourdough. Followed by a berry plate sans the almonds and walnuts. Other than breakfast, I eat one more meal mid afternoon.

So far I've got:

Steak, baked potato and salad
Chicken casserole
Hamburger patty and salad

 

[TrvlBug]

Some simple home made chili?
If you want to go whole hog you can buy dried beans instead of canned, but they take a long time to cook. Chili powder is just powdered chilis, I guess you could make your own or go store bought. Add some onions, green peppers, and what not and eat. Is ground beef OK? Or maybe pork.

Great idea. I'll have to make it from scratch as store bought comes out of a can and has a bunch of stuff in it that are no nos. No limits on meats, only that it needs to be unprocessed...no sausages, deli meats or anything that has been processed.

 

[RunningBum]

Is this like Whole 30? If so, google "Whole 30 recipes" for ideas.

 

[MC Rider]

The one I have been using is from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The only other canned things it wants are cut up tomatoes and tomato sauce. Aja8888 I think it was, posted a recipe with a bunch more ingredients on here somewhere. It sounded good.


The pound or pound and a half of dried beans I cooked took iirc about 4 hours simmering, so start those first.

 

[MRG]

We've been eating this way for a long time. Not as restrictive today but let's try.

In addition to the steak, baked potato and salad try substituting different protein and carbs. Fish and rice, Cicken and rice with homemade pan sauce, (stock, lemon and butter? or no pan sauce just butter), with fresh/frozen green beans. Pork chop/tenderloin and a baked apple. Homemade potato chips or fries are fantastic especially if you have a convection oven or air fryer. Eggs with fried potatoes are yummy add in some fresh homemade salsa and enjoy. Don't forget baked Brussel sprouts, beets, other root vegetables.... as fantastic sweet treats for your next favorite protein. Have you had a Cornish game hen lately? a side of baked carrots are great with it.

No need for fancy flavors, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon/lime are all natural and easy to flavor with.

 

[skyking1]

I did not see garlic on the no list. Onions, mushrooms, garlic. Use those and more to spice up your life.
If you eat fish, there are ginger fish recipes, just skip the soy that is in most of them.

 

[MC Rider]

Gotta have that garlic mincing tool, to mince your own.

 

[ncbill]

sweet potatoes if you can get ones fresh in your area.

roast them in the oven low & slow...get that nice caramelization on the inside next to the skin...just slice in half and scoop out.

 

[Janet H]

Make a couple of all purpose topping/dip in a blender. Use them to season things or to top other things:

1.CREAMY: In a blender: Cottage cheese, fresh parsley (or other fresh herbs) and chives, salt, garlic. Serve it over grilled meats and veggies or as a creamy salad dressing

2) TANGY: Quick salsa: Lightly process (food processor):
Fresh tomatoes, onion, fresh cilantro, salt, lime juice, fresh peppers, etc

3) Fruity: Boil chopped apples, a cinnamon stick, clove, some raisins, fresh ginger and diced apricots until soft. cool and mash it up. Chutney meets applesauce


Make fresh tacos!
Buy freshly made corn tortillas, add grilled meat bits, chopped lettuce and salsa.

Pan fried pork chops with home made applesauce.
Lima beans or green beans
Baked sweet potato

Cook a batch of pinto beans.
Serve over rice and top with creamy sauce above

Good salad idea: shredded cabbage, slivered apples, lime juice.

 

[skyking1]

That sounds really yummy!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Several closely related people in my family have had a history of migraines and in their cases they were eating or drinking something acid when they got their migraines. I noticed one person had a migraine every time they had hot and sour soup (made with vinegar) and another from too much coffee, like the Starbucks big cups (even decaf is acid). They all had 100% complete remission with antacids. Magnesium seems to work best but any antacid worked. I keep pH paper in the house and DH is always acid when he gets a migraine and antacids, or alkaline foods like bananas, always help him.

Related link - The Association Between Dietary Acid Load and Odds of Migraine: A Case–Control Survey - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8140036/, In this study, high dietary acid load was associated with higher odds of migraine. It is therefore possible that restricting dietary acid load could reduce the odds of migraine in susceptible subjects.

 

[Dash man]

I used to have migraines, but I started using fish oil and they went away. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or not.

 

[Bamaman]

The only time I have a headache is whenever a person smoking a cigarette is within 50 feet of me.

My wife's had a carbon dioxide buildup in her lungs, and has been using a BiPap to flush out her airways. And her headaches sleeping on The Machine have stopped.

We eat salads one meal a day, and I doctor them up with French's fried onions or salad seeds of all kinds. We also use leftover chicken breast and/or pork in the salad.

We also enjoy eating chicken, pork and beef in stir fries--Chinese style. Onions is the dominant seasoning--and completely natural with lots of fresh veggies.

 

[Scuba]

If you can grill your proteins, they don’t need any sauces. I love grilled salmon, shrimp, ahi, chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or filet mignon. I put spices on before grilling such as garlic pepper and Italian seasoning, or just salt and pepper, or various other spices we have. As long as you don’t overcook them, the proteins come out juicy and delicious.

Serve with steamed or roasted broccoli or asparagus, or steamed green beans, or grilled peppers, onions and squash and/or mushrooms. We don’t use any sauces on our veggies either - just olive oil and spices, butter, or nothing at all. We usually skip rice or potatoes to reduce carbs, and add a green salad before or some fresh fruit for dessert.

 

[athena53]

The pound or pound and a half of dried beans I cooked took iirc about 4 hours simmering, so start those first.

Soak them overnight first- should cut cooking time down to an hour or so.

Someone mentioned grilling imparting a flavor all its own- I like to stir-fry vegetables in a cast iron skillet with just a little oil, turning often but letting them get browned. Roasting vegetables should have a similar effect.

Are you allowed to have spices? I can see where fresh garlic is probably OK, bottled spice mixes would not be. Maybe individual spices as long as they're from a trusted source with no additives? That would expand your range of flavors.

 

[Aerides]

a cast iron skillet with just a little oil

If you don't have one of these, get one.

It is the single best way to add flavor to anything - and especially when you are going with a simple menu. Almost anything is better if you can cook it in one of these. A little salt, pepper, oil, and off you go.

 

[Philliefan33]

Dice some potatoes and roast with some combination of peppers/onions/mushrooms. If allowed, a little “everything bagel” seasoning in cottage cheese is a nice snack. You could make your own hummus and use as a veggie dip. Mix some cut-up melons and fresh berries for fruit salad, no dressing needed.

 

[MichaelB]

Make your own broth. It’s not difficult, just takes some time, but it will give you more options. If you have ethnic grocers, such as Mexican or Asian, you should find chicken legs, necks, and other bony pieces. Add vegetables such as leeks, onions, and carrots, lots of salt. Large pot, add all the ingredients, boil, then simmer for at least 3-4 hours, and you have your own chicken broth, ready to use as a base.

 

[TrvlBug]

Thank you so much for all the great ideas. I have gotten into the habit of getting prepared foods, think Costco fresh prepared in the meat dept. or their commercially packaged food and adding a salad. I now need to go back to healthier real cooking. I have cast iron for my steaks when not grilling and will use it more often. I also bought a Ninja air fryer and can't wait to make some fries! Will make stocks and broth from scratch. I've done it a few times, but it's just so time consuming I have gotten lazy and buy it now. We have a Weber however, don't use it much because it's only DH and me. I'll look into getting a small hibachi which I used to have in my apartment living days.

Unfortunately, this 'detox' is extremely restrictive, but thankfully only a few real foods are forbidden, garbanzo beans being one I had forgotten to mention in my OP. No acidic stuff so even vinegar is out as well as lime juice and the like. I'm being real careful in using spices and reading their labels...while Mrs Dash has no salt, it does have something else I can't pronounce!

Even if my migraines are not the result of food, I do plan on going back to healthier cooking. I suspect they are not and do have an idea what the problem is, however, my docs keep discounting it. I am now keeping a detailed diary as to when and what I'm doing and noting start and end times as well as severity of the symptoms.

Again, thank you so much for all your suggestions. They are extremely helpful in getting me on track.

 

[pacergal]

No acidic probably rules out any tomato/canned tomato product also.

Insta pot or crock pot is great for making broths, if yo don't want something simmering on the stove all day. Also good for roasts and tougher pieces of meat.
Buttered noodles with poppy seeds is a good side dish if tired of potatoes
Any group of roasted veggies are so good, the caramelization really brings out different flavors. A bit of butter or sesame oil, salt and pepper and you are good to go.
Other complete protein choices that are non meat:
Fish, dairy, eggs
Plant-based: Quinoa, Soy, Buckwheat, Hemp, Chia seed, Tempeh, Amaranth.
Seeds and Grains together, grains and legumes

Best of luck and hope for Migraine relief for you!