Recipes to Help Prevent Headaches

August 27, 2019
Headaches can be a real pain. But research suggests that when brain cells have adequate amounts of magnesium, pain pathways are less likely to turn on when they encounter a pain trigger. Wondering where to get magnesium? Rather than reaching for a supplement, try these recipes that include magnesium-rich foods like spinach, black beans, pumpkin seeds, whole grains and dark chocolate.
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Southwestern Three-Bean & Barley Soup

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Serve this zesty bean and barley soup garnished with chopped fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if desired.

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Raspberry Yogurt with Dark Chocolate

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Make your own flavored yogurt with fresh fruit and a touch of honey to cut down on added sugars. This healthy snack recipe is flavored with raspberries, but you can use any berries you have on hand.

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Seeded Whole-Grain Quick Bread

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Bake this healthy, seedy loaf on Sunday and you can enjoy it all week--if it doesn't disappear first. This quick bread recipe is the perfect vehicle for both sweet and savory toppings, so try it as avocado toast one day and with honey the next. Store it tightly wrapped, as all the seeds make it a little more apt to dry out than typical whole-wheat breads.

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Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

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This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients--boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Asparagus & Baby Kale Caesar Salad

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Traditional Caesar salad gets a nutrition and flavor boost with the addition of crisp asparagus and dark, leafy baby kale in this healthy recipe. Use arugula or mixed greens for the salad if baby kale isn't at your market.

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Coconut-Dark Chocolate Truffles

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Coconut macaroons meet dark chocolate truffles in these little treats. Inside the snap of the dark chocolate shell lies the tender coconut-cocoa filling: a mix of naturally sweet dates, cocoa and coconut flour. Coconut flour is a healthy way to add decadent coconut flavor to this coconut-dark chocolate truffle recipe and other baked goods. It packs a whopping 5 grams of fiber per 2 tablespoons (with only 2 grams of total and saturated fat). Look for coconut flour near other gluten-free flours.

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Curried Lentil Stuffed Squash

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In this stuffed squash recipe, a spicy red lentil curry stew fills acorn squash. If you find them at your market use tasty jarred piquillo peppers in this.

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Creamy Cherry-Walnut Oatmeal

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Cream cheese, dried cherries and lemon zest give this healthy oatmeal recipe cheesecake-like flavor. Short on time in the morning? Try our overnight oatmeal variation.

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Strawberry-Banana Green Smoothie

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This green smoothie recipe is sweetened only with fruit and gets an extra dose of healthy omega-3s from flaxseeds.

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Parmesan Spinach Cakes

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If you like spinach-cheese pie, try these simple but elegant-looking little spinach cakes.

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Coconut-Carrot Morning Glory Muffins

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These carrot-flecked, whole-grain morning glory muffins can be made ahead for breakfast or a snack so you can hit the ground running on a busy morning. Add a nonfat latte and your day will be off to a healthy start. Or make this coconut-carrot morning glory muffin recipe for a special brunch. Look for coconut oil, in jars or tubs, near other cooking oils in large supermarkets, in the natural-foods section, or in natural-foods stores.

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Slow-Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

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Like most soups, this Moroccan lentil soup recipe gets better with time as the complex seasonings have time to develop. Make it a day ahead if you can--this easy slow cooker/crock pot recipe variation makes it a cinch to get the soup cooking while you do other things.

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Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

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This roast pumpkin with a mushroom-and-bread stuffing is a beautiful vegetarian entree for the holidays. Use a small pumpkin if you can find one, but a winter squash like kabocha or buttercup also works. For a special garnish, save the seeds from the pumpkin, toss them with spices and roast them. If you use a squash, opt for store-bought pepitas; the squash seeds are too woody to eat.

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