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One of the most frustrating things for me when I first started the Heal Your Headache Diet was that I could no longer find pre-made items that were safe. Every salad dressing and mayo contained some kind of citrus at the bare minimum, and the majority have MSG. A quick look at Olive Garden’s Italian dressing shows it has romano cheese (aged cheese) and natural flavoring (MSG), while most others contain balsamic vinegars. Believe it or not, you can actually make a decent salad dressing and mayo with distilled white vinegar.
Migraine Diet Mayo
I was able to incorporate Sir Kensington’s Mayonnaise which has a small amount of lemon juice but no artificial preservatives or MSG. The lemon juice is right next to the sugar as an ingredient, and the sugar has 0 grams on the label, so you know it’s really low. So far, no one has mentioned this bothers their symptoms. Another good one to try without citrus is Primal Kitchen’s Avocado Oil Mayo. While avocados aren’t allowed on HYH, the oil is so processed and would not contain a high level of tyramine, like an actual avocado might.
You can find safe dijon mustard from HEB’s Organics and Annie’s Naturals. I do find many mustards contain wine so be on the lookout for that.
Here are a few of my staples.
Basic Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, Be careful with ingredients here. HEB Organic and Annie’s Naturals are good brands
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Whole30 Mayonnaise
Ingredients
- 1 cup light olive oil or safflower oil
- 1 egg at ROOM TEMPERATURE, wash your egg under warm water or buy pasturized
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the egg, 1/4 cup of oil, mustard powder, and salt in a mixing bowl, blender, or food processor. Mix thoroughly till thick. I find this is best done in a high speed blender (like Vitamix) or food processor.
- While the food processor or blender is running (or while you’re whisking), SLOWLY drizzle in the remaining cup of oil in a steady stream. If you dump this in all at once it will be a gloopy disaster. The slower you can do this, the thicker the mayo will be.
- Once you’ve added the oil and the mixture has emulsified, slowly add in the distilled white vinegar to taste. Stir gently to incorporate.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
For some reason the “basic salad dressing” triggered me. Are there any ingredients within it that maybe I should try without that could be the culprit?
I’d check your dijon mustard for sulfites/wine. If that’s not the issue then it probably wasn’t the dressing and may be a build up of other triggers unless this dressing consistently gives you a migraine after testing 3-5x while other outside triggers (hydration, weather, stress, etc.) were stable. In that case you may want to look closer into things like garlic/vinegar…but we often blame food unfairly.
Hi! I’m new to the headache diet and was wondering if you can substitute/ use avocado oil when doing to making dressings? I know the list includes no avocados but doesn’t specify on oil.
Thank you!!!
Found a way to rescue liquid mayo… Daisy Low-Fat Cottage Cheese. Simply blend in a few big dollops of it at the end and within seconds it all emulsified into a rich, creamy mayo. I stirred in about 1 tbs of distilled white vinegar to taste and extend fridge life. The cottage cheese blend makes it a healthier spread, as well.
I’ll have to experiment more with this approach, as I gave up full fat mayo years ago.
So…I have tried making the mayo several times now, and it had only worked once – the very first time, and I used EVOO, because that’s all I had. It did not taste good, so I’ve been trying the other oils since then. However, I can’t seem to get it right. It seems I am going too slow in pouring the oil, because my mayo is coming out almost solid. Then it sort of separates and falls apart when I add the vinegar. It is pretty unappealing. Is there any way to salvage it? Or any other tips or suggestions on getting it right? I’ve been using pasteurized egg at room temp. Thank you!
Are you using a food processor or an immersion blender? Some people find it easier with an immersion blender. Sunflower or canola seem to be the best oils to use.
Why didn’t you answer Robin Kimball’s question? You answered other questions. I would also like to know. How long will the mayonnaise last in the refrigerator? It would be much more convenient if I could make the mayonnaise ahead, but I have never made homemade mayonnaise in my life so I have no idea.
Between managing a facebook group, instagram, and email I can receive over 100+ messages a day, so some do get lost or missed. This keeps about 4-5 days in the fridge. The aquafaba mayo has a longer shelf life. I keep that for about 7-10 days.
I made the Italian Salad Dressing (because I was out of milk and couldnt make my FAVORITE ranch one from this site) and it was pretty good! I definitely enjoyed it fresh, not as much the 2nd day though. The oil obviously solidifies in the fridge so I had to warm it up a bit but I also found the flavor a little lackluster by day two. But still good and a great replacement for store-bought! I whipped it up in my tiny 3.5 cup food processor in no time.
How long does the mayo last in the refrigerator?
This keeps about 4-5 days in the fridge. The aquafaba mayo has a longer shelf life. I keep that for about 7-10 days.