Would you try Anything to get rid of your migraines?

"Midnight in the Garden", acrylic on canvas, Copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

Would you try anything to get rid of your migraines?

ANYTHING?!

Would you ever sit at work with a banana peel on your forehead because you read it might ease the pain?

Would you ever take 14 pills a day – scary meds – because the Dr said it ‘might work’?

Would you take meds that made your hands or arms numb?

Or made your heart race or go out of rhythm?

Would you subject yourself to test after test after test?

Would you have an MRI every time the next Dr asked, knowing your head would be locked in that cage and you would be sent into the machine?

Would you travel to another city to see a specialist who might be able to help?

Would you eat tree bark? Or something that tasted just like it!

Would you brew and drink tea that smelled so vile it made your stomach turn?

Would you give up ALL chocolate for 22 years, or maybe forever?

Would you read every article, every book, every bit of information looking for clues/answers/relief?

Would you sit in the bathroom in the dark, feet plunged into hot water, ice pack on your head hoping, praying for a moment of relief?

Have you tried acupuncture?

Bio feedback?

Tai chi?

Massage?

Have you ever brewed coffee at 3am when awakened by an aura, knowing you have 20 minutes before the sledge hammer slams into the side of your head?  That relentless sledge hammer that would go on for hours and hours, and sometimes days on end.

Would you try ANYTHING to get rid of your migraines.

and then the real question... Have you tried everything? 

Have you tried to eat gluten free? fully gluten free and clean? and stuck with it!

Believe it or not, it's easier than that list you just read. I know first-hand.

And it Just. Might. Work.

Imagine if after 3 or 4 months your migraines were lessening, in intensity and frequency… and then continued to diminish and slide away.

Imagine your debilitating, mind-bending, life-robbing migraines becoming a thing of the past.

Imagine going from 2-3 migraines a week, to maybe 3 migraines a year!

Imagine.

Would you do it?

Would you try it?

Imagine...

Moo Shu Pork and the GF Princess

Last week was the annual book fair at school and after circling dozens of books in the promo flyer, my daughter walked the fair and narrowed her choices down to a wish list of 5.
3 of which were cookbooks.
Her #1 pick was The Disney Princess Cookbook. And she was consumed by the idea of this book. So excited about the opportunity to make Tiana's Gumbo- "we can make it for real, not like in a video game!!"
So, I bought the Princess cookbook for my little foodie, figuring I could convert just about anything to a gluten-free version. I am always up for that challenge!

The first recipe that enticed her was Moo Shu's Pork... easy enough to adapt with GF San-J Tamari sauce, and I even made a killer housin sauce if I do say so myself!  (I used a recipe from Food.com but used Tamari in place of soy sauce, cashew butter in place of peanut butter, and maple syrup instead of honey - and fresh ground ginger!).

"Ginger sketches" watercolor & ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

My husband and I were anxious to sit down to eat, but the little princess took one look and her face fell. "What is that?" she asked.  "It doesn't look right."

We assured her it would taste great, but instead of sitting she went to get the cookbook to show me how it was "supposed to look!"  She was devastated that it didn't match the full page, glossy, color enhanced, picture perfect culinary photo masterpiece.  (when does it ever?!)

Ah, but, the taste - it was perfection!
When hunger won out, and she was ready to taste it - she was sold!  and plowed through a few wraps (Udi's tortillas) with her Moo Shu pork. 
And, We all ate like royalty!

Good Morning Gluten-Free

"The Strutting Rainbow, Gluten-Free", watercolor & ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

In celebration of mornings I created my GF rooster!  

He is nothing but happy! 

He is my testament to wonderful awakenings.

I am no longer slammed by pain upon waking, dragging myself from the bed, calculating how long it would be until I could lay down again. 

That is no way to start any day, and certainly not every day!

So, here is my rooster… Strutting his stuff through the kitchen in the early morning light.

Happy to greet the day!

Happy to be alive!

That, is exactly how I feel!

4 Years Gluten Free!

This week I am celebrating my 4 year anniversary!  
FOUR years dedicated to no gluten.  

The improvements keep coming, it continues to get easier, and what I am capable in my life of keeps growing.  
The food we enjoy is fresh, delicious, and abundant.
It is a beautiful thing!


I continue to be very sensitive to cross contamination and even small accidental gluten - but the reactions now are much less severe than in the beginning.  And I am grateful for that.


I am deeply thankful to my daughter for providing my ah ha! moment.  She is a gem and a joy - and eating well gives me the energy and spirit to be the Mom I strive to be, and that she deserves.  Present and pain free.


One of the most profound changes for me is when I removed the gluten - I removed the migraines that had viciously plagued me since I was 12.  Since I was twelve years old I had lived a life of frequent debilitating migraines.  Over 30 years of trying everything under the sun!


Now they are a rare occurrence.


The migraines went from 1 - 4 per week, down to 3 or 4 per year!!  And if I get accidental gluten, it will trigger a migraine.  Without it, I am clear.


So, I am off to enjoy my 4-year mark and joyfully will be able to include red wine and chocolate in my celebration!!