The Migraine Relief Plan’s Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken Recipe 

Some of my friends who are managing food allergies also have migraines. I thought it might be helpful to introduce Stephanie Weaver’s book, The Migraine Relief Plan and her nut-free, soy-free recipe for Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken. Update: minor edits, added info about The Migraine Relief Cookbook on 8/16/2024

Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Resource for People with Migraines

My friend, Stephanie Weaver, MPH, CWHC, sent me a review copy of her book, The Migraine Relief Plan: An 8 Week Transition to Better Eating, Fewer Headaches, and Optimal Health to read and review. I tried Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken because we like chicken and the recipe looks so healthy and delicious.

All of her recipes are free of nuts, citrus, soy, gluten, salt, cheese, sugar, and onions. Many recipes which are vegetarian/vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and/or grain-free, which are very allergy friendly. The plan also eliminates caffeine, MSG, common preservatives, alcohol, added sugar, and aspartame.

Many of my friends mention that they have migraines which I thought were a bad headache. I was so naive!! I had a headache that was excruciating. All I wanted to do was to lie down in a fetal position with an eye mask.. If it happens again I will see a doctor to confirm!

Now I have a lot of empathy for my friends who have migraines regularly. I hope that Stephanie’s book will help, it seems like The Migraine Relief Plan is worth considering. She outlines “an 8 week transition plan to better eating, fewer headaches, and optimal health” (cool tagline). The plan seems to be a gradual and gentle plan so that the lifestyle changes are easy to start and sustain.

The Migraine Relief Plan

The 8 week plan breaks down big changes into smaller tasks that one can implement one week at a time. Incorporate additional goals each week so that by the end of the 8 weeks, people have a new set of habits and foods to eat.

• Week 1: learn how to track your food, drink, sleep, symptoms, movement and sleep. This establishes a baseline and helps you to build awareness.
• Week 2: go thru your freezer. Stephanie includes suggestions on how to evaluate what will work or won’t work for you.
• Week 3: do the same thing with the shelf-stable items in your cupboard and pantry.
• Week 4: clean out the fridge and start replacing your snacks which is such a brilliant easy change.
• Week 5: transition your breakfast
• Week 6: transition your lunch
• Week 7: transition your dinner
• Week 8: eat at a restaurant on plan. Stephanie includes a lot of tips on how to order and communicate with servers

The next section of The Migraine Relief Plan is about how to maintain the plan and explores topics such as taking care of our bodies, detoxing our body, home and work environments, etc.. The book includes more than 75 allergy friendly recipes which are all nut free, soy free, and gluten free. Many of the recipes are also vegetarian/vegan, egg free, and/or dairy free.

My review is a very brief overview of her plan. But Stephanie gives in-depth scientific reasons to explain why the plan might work and what to do if it doesn’t help. If readers are suffering from chronic migraine headaches and already avoid nuts, soy, and gluten because of food allergies or intolerances, you already have a headstart on making some lifestyle changes to try Stephanie’s plan to see if it will bring some migraine relief.

Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken Recipe

I decided to try making Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken, not knowing what to expect because it used techniques that I haven’t thought of or tried before. I made a marinade in my blender using the white parts of scallions, vinegar, maple syrup, paprika, and sesame oil and then marinated the chicken for a few hours. Then brown the chicken with coconut oil (I used olive oil) on both sides and then add the rest of the marinade and chopped scallion greens and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

• I have never used paprika with my children and didn’t know if it would be too spicy so I used 1/2 teaspoon instead of 1 teaspoon. The chicken was very mild, I think I can be more bold next time with a full teaspoon of paprika.
• I don’t have coconut oil and decided to substitute with olive oil, which is allowed on the plan.

It was eyeopening for me to cook without soy sauce or even without a soy sauce-like ingredient. The chicken was delicious and flavorful without any added salt or sugar. My husband liked the sweetness and flavor of the maple syrup and we all liked the crunch and texture of the toasted sesame seeds.

Allergy Aware Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken

This recipe is free of peanuts, tree nuts (except coconut), milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish as written. 

This recipe is relatively free of allergens except for coconut oil, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Coconut is considered a tree nut by the FDA but is botanically classified as a drupe, which is a fruit. I easily substituted coconut oil with olive oil, which is also allowed on The Migraine Relief Plan.

Sesame Allergy: If you avoid sesame due to an allergy, it’s easy to leave out the sesame ingredients. Sesame has a unique flavor but you can try to substitute with something similar but allergy safe. Try sunflower seed butter to swap out the sesame oil. Instead of sesame seeds, try an alternate seed such as chia seeds, chopped sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.. Check with your doctor if you have questions.

Update: Migraine Relief Cookbook (2022)

Stephanie published a cookbook with 100 recipes in 2022. The Migraine Relief Cookbook: More Than 100 Anti-Inflammatory Recipes for Managing Headaches and Living a Healthier Life looks incredible!

5 from 2 votes

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Maple Sesame Glazed Chicken

This recipe is shared with permission from Stephanie Weaver, author of The Migraine Relief Plan. It’s free of the top 8 allergens except for coconut, which can be substitute with olive oil. People allergic to sesame can still enjoy this recipe by omitting the sesame oil and sesame seeds. 

Course Dinner entree

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Chicken, migraine relief

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 673 kcal

Author Stephanie Weaver, author of The Migraine Relief Plan

Ingredients

• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons dry toasted tan sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Remove the roots and tips from the green onions, cut the white parts into chunks and put them into a blender, slice the green parts thinly and set aside.
2. To make the marinade, add the vinegar, maple syrup, toasted sesame oil, garlic, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and ginger into the blender and blend, along with the white parts of the onion, until smooth.
3. Put the chicken in a large bowl, pour the marinade over the chicken, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
4. Heat the coconut oil in large nonstick lidded skillet set over medium heat until shimmering, add the chicken pieces and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until browned.
5. Drizzle any remaining marinade from the bowl over the chicken and sprinkle the reserved sliced green onions, stirring to coat the chicken, then partially cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low, cook the chicken for 10 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken, cook for 10 more minutes, leave a small opening between the lid and the pan so that some of the steam can escape.
7. Remove the lid from the chicken pan to check for doneness, cook until done (check by cutting the chicken or using a meat thermometer to check for 165ºF), sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, remove from heat.

8. Serve right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Related Recipes:

Most of recipes use soy as an ingredient. However they can be easily converted into soy-free recipe by making one of my two recipes for soy-free soy sauce. Soy-Free Soy Sauce Recipe, Top 9 Allergen Free is an easy recipe using ingredients you most likely have at home.

My other soy-free soy sauce recipe is a by-product of pressure cooking a cow tongue in an Instant Pot. Typically cow tongues takes at least 4 hours to braise in a pot on a stove top. And they typically use soy sauce and other ingredients. My IP recipe is easier. It uses the ingredients from the first soy-free soy sauce to make a very umami rich sauce.

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