Sweet Treats

An expert baker I am not. Perhaps one day I’ll get there if I watch enough Great British Baking Show, but I’m way too impatient for the measuring baking requires. Most of the time I eyeball my teaspoons and just throw random spices together. With baking, you really can’t do that. So, I keep my baking simple, and the first few recipes in this chapter reflect my baking style.

The next section of recipes comes from my friend Jennifer Bragdon, a.k.a. “The Dizzy Baker.” You’ll learn more about her on page 206. Her recipes are a little more ambitious but still straightforward and easy to follow.

As you are considering all the tempting treats in this chapter, it’s important to note that excessive amounts of sugar can potentially be a migraine trigger. When you eat simple carbohydrates, your blood sugar can rise. In turn, your body produces extra insulin, which causes your blood sugar to drop. Large increases and drops in blood sugar can lead to migraine attacks. My tip for consuming sugar when you live with a migraine disorder is to make sure you’re consuming sweet treats with a little bit of protein and fiber. Doing so will help regulate your blood sugar levels so there’s not a massive rise and fall. Like most things in life, everything in moderation works best.

I like to keep my cookies in the freezer so I’m not tempted to eat one every day, but they are still there on those days you just need a dang cookie! Just be aware of what you’re eating and don’t binge a bunch of desserts just because they’re “allowed” on this diet.

A super-quick sweet treat is head-friendly vanilla ice cream topped with fruit. I love to sauté a few pears or apples with cinnamon and a tiny bit of butter. When searching for a good vanilla ice cream, look for as few ingredients as possible on the label: milk, eggs, cream, vanilla. Häagen-Dazs makes a stellar one.