This website features recipes that are low-sodium, often plant-based, locally produced, gluten-free, and refined-sugar free. I help people support their chronic conditions in this way.

Recipes may be suitable for people with Meniere’s disease, hypertension, migraines, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, celiac disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

I tag each recipe on this website to help you find the meals that may be best for your situation.  You can search by ingredient, meal-type, and even special diets known to work well with migraines, diabetes, and other conditions.  Please check with your doctor if you have any questions about a particular diet or to ask if a recipe is right for you.

In 2003, I got really, really sick. Off-work-for-six-months sick. Can’t-walk-around-the-block sick. Thankfully, we had great insurance, so the multitude of doctor visits, tests, and two back surgeries didn’t bankrupt us. I was diagnosed (because nothing else explained it), with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and fibromyalgia. There’s no treatment. So, you’re kinda on your own, and too exhausted to research options.

It turned out I also had stress fractures in my back. Even after getting my back fixed, I still wasn’t totally well. Over the years I have shifted to an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean-style meal plan as much as possible, which seems to support my chronic conditions.

As much as possible, I cook whole foods in bulk from scratch. 

Eating more whole foods, primarily plant-based, has been helpful for me, but it’s not for everyone. Please consult with your healthcare practitioner to see what’s best for you.

In January 2014 I was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease with migraine (mine are atypical so I didn’t know I was having migraine attacks), and put on a low-sodium and migraine diet (described in About Me). All my new recipes are formulated without added salt, and are extremely low in sodium. I truly hope these recipes, all kitchen-tested and truly delicious, will help you find your optimal health path.

In November 2022 I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a rare blood cancer that isn’t curable but often doesn’t need treatment. So as of Winter, 2025 I am living with fibromyalgia, migraine disease, thyroid disease, acid reflux, and CLL. I do my best to support my health through eating the foods that tend to make me feel best, which seems to be ever-changing.

If you’re living with chronic illness, please know that I get it.

Change is hard… you have to have some kind of motivation. For some people, turning 50 is the key. For me, I never want to be that sick again. For others, taking back their lives from chronic pain is the motivation. Making these changes, which are now just how I live, have given me back my life. And, we eat very, very well. So I hope my story—and recipes—will encourage you to make changes that will help you feel your best. All my recipes are Husband-tested and Approved, and he was a big meat-and-potatoes guy when we met.

Diet change is a process that, when done slowly over time, can be achieved.  In my book, The Migraine Relief Plan, I guide readers through the process via an 8-week transition.

Eating patterns are part of this change.  That’s why it’s important to discover substitutes in the transition that are equally gratifying.  It’s not as hard as you might think. To get started, here are ten easy swaps:

Download this list and find additional tips and resources on my book website at MigraineReliefPlan.com.

Ten substitutes for migraine-friendly eating

1. Cook with green onions instead of regular onions.
2. Spread sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter.
3. Use stevia instead of sugar or other sweeteners.
4. Trade garbanzo beans (chickpeas) for soy beans.
5. Use no-salt-added canned tuna instead of chunk light canned tuna.
6. Grill corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.
7. Simmer split peas or split mung beans instead of lentils.
8. Enjoy blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries instead of raspberries.
9. Use coconut oil, organic butter, ghee instead of corn /soy / cottonseed / peanut oil.
10. Drink herbal tea instead of coffee, and infused water instead of diet soda.

Please note the following disclaimer: The statements on this blog are my own personal opinion, have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or medical professionals, and are not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent any disease. Please consult your doctor if you have an illness of any kind. This site is intended to share recipes that inspire people to eat well, and not as a source of health or medical advice.