Day Two- Detox Headaches!!! Grrrrr

After the way I slept last night....or didn't sleep rather....I am not sure if I can call this Day Two of my vegan year or just a long continuation of Day One. I am not sure how long I was asleep last night before the headaches started but I know they didn't really stop until around 10:00 am this morning. Sleep never really occurred and so it is hard to feel like this is a separate and new day when yesterday never seemed to end.

I have never been one to get headaches very often. Ever once in a while I may get some sinus or tension headaches but nothing very serious and certainly nothing that ever lasted for hours. I feel truly blessed in this because I know many people that get debilitating headaches on a regular basis. Today I got a little taste of what that might be like. I couldn't really do anything except lay there and think about how bad my stupid head hurt, nothing helped and everything made it worse. Finally after taking some pain meds and getting some oatmeal in my stomach, the pain began to be manageable and I was able to to get on with my day. I had stay on top of my headaches the rest of the day by taking some more pain medicine throughout the day but  it wasn't too bad most of the time.

After talking with my best friend who happens to be very knowledgeable about natural foods/remedies and has also done lots of research about how horrible the american diet has become, I think I know the reason for my headaches. (Oh and did I mention that she and her husband were/are both nurses) She suggested that my body was most likely in the detox stage of getting all that yuck and filth I have been putting in my body out my system. I have experienced this kind of detox many times before but not with such intense headaches but I have eaten worse in these past few months than I have in a long long time, so my filth more detox I suppose. My friend warned me that day two is when the detox symptoms start but that days three and four are the worse but by day five I should be feeling much better and probably even better than I have in a long time. Bring on day five!!!! :-)

Due to the headaches and my general state of uselessness, my menu for today was pretty easy and bland which with the way I was feeling I didn't really care. For breakfast it was oatmeal again with the apples and cinnamon cooked in it (I will post the recipe soon) and for lunch I made my old McDougall diet stand by, the tater sandwich. I first learned of this simple but delish sandwich in the first Dr. McDougall book I ever read. I made it one day and it was an instant hit with the family plus it is very satisfying. The recipe can be found on the Dr. McDougall website but I will give it to you here as well.

First you simple wash a few taters, yukon golds taste the best in my opinion. After you wash them just prick them with a fork all over and nuke them in the microwave for a few minutes until soft. If you don't like to use a microwave you can bake them in the oven but of course that will take longer. Once they are soft slice them up and "fry" them in a pan. I use my cast iron pan and never have to use any oil, a non stick pan would work as well.

Once your tater slices are "fried" I put them on some toasted bread with whatever healthy condiments and fixings you like. My kids love it with just a healthy bbq sauce on the toast with the taters. The best thing is you can add all sorts of veggies you want to really personal and mix this simple sandwich up. I think it would taste amazing with some carmelized onions, peppers and mushrooms or some humus and sprouts.....definitely gonna try those two in the near future. One thing that makes it so good is the bread as well. We have a really excellent bakery here that makes vegan friendly bread with wonderful whole grains and none of the junk. I use this break when making sandwiches all the time even when I am not eating vegan.

Here are the sandwiches I made for my kids before I put on the top piece of bread. They look pretty bland and I should have taken a picture of mine which was much more colorful but by the time I got it assembled I was so hungry I gobbled it down without a second thought. hahaaha! They are soooo yummy!

This afternoon and evening we got hit with more snow and because I was unable to do any of my errands earlier today I got stuck running around town in the weather. My husband had to work late which was fine since I ended up not getting home until later as well. Once home the headaches started again and the yummy vegan lasagna I had planned for tonight seemed like a huge chore....honestly a bowl of cereal would have felt like a huge chore with the way I was feeling. My family decided to heat up some stuff I had in the freezer instead(I know I am a horrible mother/wife and yes I feel guilty that they had to heat something up rather than have me prepare them a fresh meal, but they are such troopers, I am so lucky) and I made myself another tater sandwich and called it good.

As I write this I am already in my pj's and ready for bed, I missed so much sleep last night I figure going to bed early and catching up would be a good idea. My hope is that tomorrow I feel better and don't have the headaches. I am planning on a yummy kale salad for lunch tomorrow and that vegan lasagna I didn't get to tonight for tomorrows evening meal. I am hoping my friend is wrong and that day three is not worse than day two but I am afraid she is usually right on most things. Perhaps being prepared for it will help though this time because today I was totally thrown off by my headaches and lack of sleep......speaking of which I need to get to bed. Goodnight everyone out in blog land and check in tomorrow for day three of my vegan year.