I want to start keto to see if it helps my dizziness, but I’m having trouble thinking of meals that I can have that are low in carbs but are high in fats. Also avoiding migraine triggers is important for me. If anyone has meal plans or anything for a low-carb diet while still avoiding migraine please let me know! Also foods that aren’t migraine triggers but are high in potassium is also important!
I got a keto migraine book… it is hard to do keto with migraines, because of things that are migraine triggers (seeds, nuts, avocado) are staples in keto diets. But you can get some ideas. Here is the link. Maybe @turnitaround can add it to recommended books
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More Migraine Diet Books listed here
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I’m pretty sure once you get into ketosis you can eat all the common triggers. Keto would be very difficult to do if you were following HYH or a similar migraine diet because a lot of the good fats are common triggers.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/261026/ultimate-low-carb-zucchini-lasagna/
@annae00 for what it’s worth, my ENT told me to try keto but not to continue with the low histamine/low tyramine diet at the same time because it would be too restrictive. I’ve been following a keto protocol for 3 weeks so I’m still learning, but have found some useful things:
At breakfast I tend to make a bulletproof decaf (coffee with butter and coconut oil blended in) - drinking extra fat means I don’t have to worry as much about the chia/flax/cinnamon/coconut porridge I have being too lean. That porridge is a lifesaver as it’s got lots of fiber and very few net carbs (just make it with a dairy alternative like coconut milk/nut milk or heavy cream to keep the carbs in check). If you stay away from decaf you can bulletproof tumeric tea (or any herbal tea that dairy could conventionally be put in). I thought it would be so gross but now I look forward to it every day. A hot beverage with 2 tbsp heavy cream also adds the fat, just with a touch of carbs as well. If you add butter/oil you should use a blender for it, otherwise it won’t be as good. It was very hard on my sensitive stomach the first day or two but I adjusted fast.
I make a frittata with greens and mushrooms, using mozzarella or goat cheese, butter, and heavy cream. It’s macros are pretty good if you use these proportions: 6 eggs, 1/4 cup cream, 1 cup cheese, 2-3 c veggies, 2-3 tbsp butter (for frying the veg). Use green onion, by far the lowest-carb onion-family member. Have it with dressed salad or some fish for a more substantial meal.
I’ve been eating a lot of big salads for dinner and really enjoying them. I find 2 cups of greens, plus 2 add-ins (radish and cucumber, or celery and fennel, etc) plus half an avocado, goat cheese, pecans or walnuts, a hard boiled egg, and/or some chicken/salmon/tuna with dressing can be a great meal. I like shaved fennel and celery with romaine and tuna and a mayo Dijon dressing. I like radish and cucumber with spring greens or spinach, goat cheese, pecans, hemp hearts and maybe chicken on top dressed with oil and vinegar. Half an avocado goes in every salad - for fat but moreso for fiber and potassium.
Cucumbers with cream cheese are a good snack with a 70% fat macro. If I have dill I will mix some into the cheese. I also love celery and peanut butter and can have a plate of these for lunch with a hard boiled egg and a piece of cheese. I am such a snack-y person and am realizing that most of my meals reflect this. When I plug a meal into mfp, if there wasn’t enough fat I might just eat half an avocado. If you’re resolute on staying with all the other headache diet protocols along with keto, just find another high fat food to use as a tool the way I’m using avocado. Until three weeks ago I was a vegetarian (for the last 15 years) - I’m blissfully unaware of all the meat/fish options but maybe there’s a nitrate free bacon you can just add to meals that need more fat. Parma prosciutto is naturally cured without nitrates.
Fat bombs can help you tweak your macros. They are small bites that are mostly fat and feel like treats. You can make some that are 1 carb each and so if your meal was a little too protein heavy, have a fat bomb or two for dessert. I stay away from all the keto sweeteners (which most fat bomb recipes are full of) and make a fat bomb that is 1 cup cream cheese, 1cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and half a cup of coconut oil blended together. Whip some air into the cream first. I add a bit of flaked coconut, maybe 1/3 cup (to add a bit of fiber without adding too many carbs). Refrigerate that and cut into 24 pieces, each is 1g net carbs. You can add more things here if you want - raspberries, cocoa nibs, nuts. My priority is having a 1 net carb fat bomb. Don’t eat more than 3 per day. You will have to freeze some. It’s not yummy like a brownie, but it’s not gross and it serves a purpose.
Chicken (with skin) plus a cup of broccoli or 1.5 cups cabbage and 2 tbsp butter is likely a decent macro. Cook everything in butter.
I bet there are some meat stews that can be made with decent keto macros. Green onions, celery, mushrooms, fried in butter, add a fatty cut of meat…
TL;DR: Drink fat if you can in decaf coffee/herbal tea (via butter, coconut oil, heavy cream); cook veggies in a few tbsp of butter; if it can’t be cooked in butter, dip it/coat it in a mayo-based sauce; add a 1-net-carb-fat-bomb here and there.
Keep me updated on what works for you, I’m very much still figuring this out myself. I just realized as I typed this that I don’t really eat meals at much as a bunch of foods more or less at the same time lol. I think this means I’m still figuring out the diet.
Thanks! I’ve prettied up your link. We’ve actually run out of space on the Recommended Page, but I’m going to rebuild them, so may get chance to add it there soon. Many thanks for your recommendation though!
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Thank you for the recommendations! How has it been going? Do you feel like its been helping? I know it might still be too early.
I had one week of 100% and now I’m back around where I was with the low tyramine low histamine diet - some head pressure/balance issues/motion daily and nausea a few days a week. Maybe the issues are a bit lighter on keto than low-tyramine. My hormones are still out of whack from the intensity of the start of the diet so I’m giving keto a few months before I change protocols again. I’m hoping that the resurgence of my issues is hormonal upset (I’m a few weeks late - I am a small person and I dropped 5lbs the first week of keto, I’ve gained those pounds back but I think my hormones are still in revolt).
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It’s great you had one week at 100% (idk if that’s a regular event for you but to me that would be a big win). I’m actually trying Stanton Migraine protocol now so not quite keto, but still much lower carbs. It’s only been three weeks so nothing has really changed. And yeah hopefully the hormones smooth out and you and I both begin to feel better 
100% is not common for me at all, even for one day nevermind a week. It was an immense relief and hard to feel it slip away.
What are the Cole’s notes of the Stanton protocol?
I’m sorry, but what are Cole’s notes?
It means the brief general idea.
Actual Cole’s notes are short books printed after literature that kids in high school would sometimes use - if you didn’t have time to read the full text of The Stone Angel or Romeo and Juliet, you could get the Cole’s notes which would be faster to read and tell you what happened in the book and what the themes etc were. I never used them, but the term has become synonymous with giving the condensed idea of something. I didn’t realize this was a Canadian thing! 