Eating For a Healthy Thyroid

Recipes and inspirations for looking after your over-active or under-active thyroid.

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Cauliflower & Ginger Fritters

Hyperthyroidism, over-active thyroid. Hyporthyroidsim, under-active thyroid.

This is another recipe which is good for balancing. As with all my recipes, you don’t have to have a thyroid issue to enjoy eating them! Whether healthy or not, one should aim for a balanced diet.

People suffering from hyporthyroidism are urged to stay clear of eating too many vegetables from the brassica family, such as cauliflower and broccoli. I believe that a little in one’s diet will keep your thyroid functioning at the level it needs to. This recipe also includes ginger and chilli to spur on your system. 

I particularly like this recipe as it makes a large number of fritters. This is good if you’re entertaining people for brunch, lunch or dinner, but if you’re not I cook them up and keep them in the fridge for a few days and reheat them for lunches on my own. You can eat them plain with a simple dressed salad, with smoked salmon and horseradish or with a poached egg and steamed spinach. Yum.

Serves 4-5

1 head cauliflower

120g gram flour

4 eggs

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 in ginger, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

coconut oil for frying

Cut the cauliflower into florets and cook in boiling water for around 10 minutes until soft.

Beat the eggs together with the gram flour then add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chopped herbs, then the spices and salt. Mix well then stir in the cooked cauliflower. It should break up as you stir it.

Heat a frying pan with the coconut oil in. Take a large dessert spoon of the mixture and shape it into a roundish patty. Cook it in the frying pan for a minute or so, until it is golden brown, then flip it over cooking it on the other side pressing the patties gently as the cook.

Remove from the heat and serve warm.

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Sri Lankan Fish Curry

Hyperthyroidism, over-active thyroid. Hypothryroidism, under-active thyroid.

I’ve recently been feeling quite over-active and thyroid-y. Its frustrating as I had been feeling so much more normal, however I’ve been traveling quite a lot recently, perhaps over-exerting myself in other fields and generally becoming off balance. I also find that medication can play havoc with your body’s balance.

I invited a friend over for a catch-up dinner, luckily she was also in the mood for a good hearty, healthy dinner so I decided to make a yummy fish curry. This dish is a brilliant balancing dish, it has a good amount of chilli, ginger and other spices to get your system going but it also needs something to soak up all the sauce and brown rice is perfect for this job. The brown rice provides starch to slow your body down a bit, to calm it down. I can’t recommend this enough to warm your cockles on an autumny evening. I also served it with a raw carrot salad mixed with chopped coriander and toasted sesame seeds that gave it some good crunch.

Serves 2-3

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Birscher Muesli

Over-active thyroid, hyperthyroidism. Under-active thyroid, hypothyroidism.

I am somewhat intrinsically connected to this recipe, its in my history, my genetic make-up. My Grandmother used to ski for Great Britain and would eat Birscher Muesli every morning before a days racing; my father would make a bucket load of it to live off for a week when he was a student, I did the same when I was festivaling round Europe on a shoe-string. Its delicious, nutritious, filling and completely good for you. I introduce it to all the hotels I work with and my good friend Alice always says she knows where I’ve been working as this is on the breakfast menu!

As it doesn’t contain wheat, diary or sugar its really the ideal breakfast. You can pick and choose what you add to it depending on whats in season, or top it with whatever nuts and seeds are in the cupboards.

Serves 2

4 tbsp rolled oats

3 tbsp water

2 large apples, grated with skin

2 tsp runny honey (can add more depending on how sweet you’d like it)

Additions (as many as you’d like!)

passion fruit, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peach slices

Almonds, toasted hazelnuts, chopped brazil nuts, cashews, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, toasted quinoa

Raisins, dried cranberries, sultanas

Combine the oats and the water in a bowl and allow to stand while the oats soak up the water. Add more water if you like your muesli to be a bit looser.

Add the grated apple then stir in the runny honey. Taste and add more honey if you’d like it to be sweeter.

Add any of the toppings you fancy and eat up for a delicious breakfast!

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Elderflower and Honey Ice-Cream

Under-active thyroid, hypothyroidsim. Over-active thyroid, hyperthyroidism. 

This recipe doesn’t actually have any real healing properties for an over or under active thyroid, but it is delicious and its great to have some desserts on stand-by that aren’t devilishly bad for you. Elderflowers are in bloom all over the UK at the moment and spending a day foraging in the countryside is so so good for you!

In this recipe I make my own elderflower cordial to use in the ice-cream but you can use the stuff bought in the shop, although it has a higher sugar content. Making your own means you’ll have some left over to drink throughout the year.

Elderflower Cordial

Makes just over 1ltr

15-20 elderflower heads

1.35kg granulated sugar

1.25 ltr water

3 lemons, thinly sliced

3 oranges, thinly sliced

Combine the water and sugar together in a large saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to the boil then add the elderflower heads and bring to the boil again.

Take the pan off the heat and add the sliced oranges and lemons. Cover and leave to infuse for 24 hours.

Strain the liquid and discard the elderflowers, lemons and oranges. Transfer the liquid into a bottle and either freeze or keep sealed for drinking another time!

Elderflower and Honey Ice-cream

Serves 6

3 eggs

3 tbsp runny honey

5-6 tbsp elderflower cordial

275 ml double cream

1 lemon, zested

Separate the eggs and in a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Slowly whisk in the honey until its combined and the mixture is thick.

In another bowl whisk the egg yolks then add the elderflower cordial.

In a third bowl whisk the double cream until it thickens. Fold this cream mixture into the egg yolks then fold the egg whites into this mixture.

Add the lemon zest and stir to combine.

If you have an ice-cream machine make sure its chilled then add the mixture and churn. If you don’t have an ice-cream machine put the bowl of in the freezer and make sure you whisk every half an hour to stop crystals forming.

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Summer Slaw with Black Quinoa and Radishes

Over-active thyroid, hyperthyroidism.

Summer is heating up and it’s important to look around at the ingredients that are available at this time of year and cook with them. In Scotland we’re lucky enough to have our own kitchen garden and pick vegetables whenever they’re ready - nothing could be more seasonal!

This recipe is brilliant for those with hyperthyroidism in the summer. The cabbage gives us some goitrogens to remind our thyroid that it can’t just sit back and laze away forever. I added some black quinoa to this recipe which is so yummy, it has a lovely nutty flavour and you can really smell it when its cooking - it also provides a bit of bulk to the recipe as its important to keep something for your body to digest. Lots of herbs and lemon keep your body cool in the summer. I make this for a light supper and it really keeps you satisfied!

Serves 2

¼ large cabbage, you can use any cabbage - white, red, savoy, slice it thinly either with a knife or in a magimix

5 carrots, finely sliced or grated

6 whole red radishes, finely sliced. I finely slice the leaves and add them in too

150g black quinoa

small bunch of chives (can add the flower if you have them) finely chopped

1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 lemon, squeezed

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

a couple of pinches of sumac powder

Put the quinoa in a saucepan and cover with water and bring to the boil, simmer on a medium heat until it has puffed up and is fully cooked. Drain and put in a large mixing bowl.

Add the sliced cabbage, carrots, radishes, radish leaves, herbs and sun-dried tomatoes.

Mix well with the lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper then garnish with the chive flowers and sumac powder.

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Chilled Cucumber and Mint Soup

Hyperthyroidism, over-active thyroid

As the summer starts to show itself, it is welcomed by everyone apart from those suffering from hyperthyroidism. If you’ve found yourself peeling off clothes in the deep mid-winter the summer looms scarily on the horizon as your body temperature continues to soar. I am big fan of cold soups which are cooling to the body, cucumbers are also very cooling so double whammy! Its very easy to prepare, all you need is a food processor.

Serves 2

1 large cucumber, cut into rough chunks

1 handful mint leaves

1/2 handful dill

300g yoghurt

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

a good pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Place the cucumber, mint, dill (save a few nice pieces for garnishing) and yoghurt together in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add the salt, pepper and vinegar and blend again. Taste and adjust seasoning adding some more vinegar if it needs an extra kick!

Serve in a bowl or cup, drizzle on some of the olive oil and garnish with the dill pieces.

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Yoga

Hyperthyroidism, Over-active thyroid

The benefits of yoga are endless, and if you suffer from a thyroid disorder yoga can really help to balance your body and reduce stress that you are holding inside. In the case of hyperthyroidism its very important to find time in the day to relax and calm yourself down, factoring in some yoga and meditation into your daily routine is very beneficial and helps to keep you sane.

Here are some poses to try that help your thyroid:

Cat Stretch (Marjari Asana): stand on your hands and knees with hands and knees equal distance apart. Breathe in and hollow your back at the same time as stretching your head upwards. Breathe out and arch your back and bring your head down to look between your legs. Repeat ten times.

 Bridge Pose (Setuband Asana): lie on your back and bend your knees so your feet are on the floor about a foot away from your pelvis. Keep your arms by your side, inhale and slowly lift your pelvis, lower back and upper back off the floor. Your chest should touch your chin and you should feel your bottom firm up. Hold this position for a few minutes with your thighs parallel to the floor and breath easily.

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Roast Carrot, Black Lentil & Orange Salad with Yoghurt Dressing

Hyperthyroidism. Over-active thyroid

Slow that thyroid down!!! When you suffer from thyroid disease, especially if your hyperthyroidism is caused by Graves Disease, you will have stages of activity and stages of inactivity. You need to be watchful of what is going on with your thyroid, if it’s lying low or if it has started to get over-active again. Weight-loss, goggly eyes and a swollen goitre are all signs that your T-3 and T-4 levels are creeping up again and you need to slow that thyroid activity down. Lentils and root vegetables are a great for this as they are slow energy releasing.

This recipe is adapted from one my very clever sister @rosesroots_recipes came up with. Delicious and super healthy, like her style.

Serves 2

100g black lentils (whole urad dal)

1/4 butternut squash

1 orange, peeled and sliced widthways

1 handful of mixed baby leaf lettuce (beetroot leaves, lambs lettuce, baby spinach, mizuna, rocket)

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1/4 lemon, juiced

1 tsp honey

himalayan pink salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Dressing:

50g whole-fat yoghurt (never use low-fat yoghurt)

1 tbsp finely chopped mint

1 tsp cumin powder

1/4 cucumber, grated

pinch of salt

If you have time soak the lentils for a couple of hours, this will make them cook more quickly. Drain and cover with fresh cold water and cook on a medium heat until they are cooked through. Drain and cool by running under cold water.

Cut the butternut squash into long fingers, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 180C for around 25 minutes or until they are soft and a little charred on the outside. You can leave the skins on.

Make the yoghurt dressing: mix all the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning. It should hold a lot of flavour.

Mix the lemon juice and honey with the salt and pepper.

Toss the cooled lentils with the butternut squash, add the parsley and other lettuce leaves. Dress with the lemon juice and honey. Add the orange slices.

Serve with the yoghurt dressing.

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Balanced Breakfast

Over-active thyroid, under-active thyroid. Hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism.

There jury is out on breakfasts, some argue that it is a time when the body needs to cleanse itself while others believe that a breakfast for Kings is what the doctor ordered. If you're suffering from an over-active thyroid its a good idea to start your body off slowly in the morning; muesli with fruit, gluten-free toast and porridge will set you up for the day. However if you are suffering from an under-active thyroid then you want to really wake your system up in the morning; green tea, a smoothie or fresh juice with ginger and a light breakfast of fruits.

Here are some good ideas for delicious breakfast dishes:

Kale & mushroom omelette

Birscher muesli with fresh blueberries, brazil nuts and pomegranate

Toasted rye and quinoa bread with mashed avocado, lemon juice and freshly cracked black pepper

Sliced oranges, blood oranges and grapefruit with mint

JIng's Dragon Well green tea

Green juice of celery, kale, ginger and apple

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Arnica

Don't under-estimate the power of arnica.

This small flower tends to grow on alpine pastures in the summer and has the most wonderful healing properties. It is mainly used for bruising as it is an anti-inflammatory but my granny uses it for any sort of illness and urged me to apply some to my goitre (swollen thyroid glad). I am happy to report that is has made a significant difference and reduced the swelling by a remarkable amount! Hooray!

I've been using a cream and rub it on with my moisturiser in the mornings. Alternatively you could take a wee pill once a day, they actually taste yummy.

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Grilled Lettuce, Zucchini, Stilton and Lemon

Under-active thyroid, hypothyroidism.

Its important to have delicious, light dishes to fill you up without slowing your system down when you suffer from an under-active thyroid. This dish is full of flavours and textures and will fill you up without making you feel heavy.

Served 2

4 heads of baby gem lettuce, outer leaves removed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

2 zucchini, 1cm slices

1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil

Himalayan Pink Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

5 sun-dried tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 lemon, peeled and juiced

100g stilton, or feta

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 spring onions, finely chopped

Slice the lettuce heads in half lengthways and arrange on a baking tray, drizzle with sunflower or rapeseed oil and season with the Himalayan salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Sprinkle on the garlic slivers and grill in an oven for around 7 minutes until the lettuce has begun to colour and crisp up.

Heat a little more oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the sliced zucchini, keep on a high heat so the slices become golden brown and coloured on both sides. Season with Himalayan pink salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Allow the zucchini and lettuce to cool then mix together in a bowl. Take the lemon peel and cut into very thin slices, there should be no white on the peel. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, lemon peel, lemon juice and crumble on the cheese. Mix together and serve.

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Lemony Snicket Hummus

Over-active thyroid

I like my hummus lemony, really lemony. I think it goes exceptionally well with raw carrots that you can dunk in and come out with a huge mountain of hummus on top. I have added sumac which makes it even more lemony and turmeric which makes it very yellow but turmeric is a wonder spice with very healing properties that cleanse the body. Chickpeas and tahini help slow down the manic system when you are suffering from an over-active. Its great to keep a big bowl of this in the fridge ready to take out for pre-dinner nibbles or an extra addition to lunch.

300g dried chickpeas, soaked over night

50g tahini

2 lemons, juiced

3 cloves garlic, peeled

50ml extra-virgin olive oil

himalayan pink salt and freshly cracked black pepper

2 tsp sumac powder

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Drain the chickpeas then put in a pan and cover with fresh water, cook on a medium heat for around 30 minutes or until the chickpeas are cooked through. Make sure there is enough water. Drain the chickpeas but keep the cooking water.

Put the chickpeas, tahini, garlic cloves, turmeric powder and coriander leaves in a food processor with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Blend the chickpeas until smooth adding more water if its too thick.

Add seasoning, lemon juice, sumac powder and extra-virgin olive oil and continue to whizz. Taste and adjust seasoning.

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Blood Orange & Feta Salad with Green Dressing

Over-active thyroid and under-active thyroid, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

January and February is the best time of year for citrus fruits, especially blood oranges which are soooo delicious! Their sweetness works really well with the salty feta and all brought together with lots of different leaves. Its important to continue to eat dairy, don't cut it from your diet as you need calcium to keep healthy bones. If you suffer from an over-active thyroid I wouldn't suggest living off salads alone but when you start to get better this is a lovely light lunch, excellent for people suffering from under-active thyroid issues.

Serves 2

2 blood oranges, peeled with a knife to get pith off as well as peel

100g feta cheese

6 radishes, sliced thinly

large handful rocket leaves

large handful beetroot leaves

10g parsley, chop off thick stalks

10g coriander, chop off thick stalks

Dressing (will make more than you need)

1 avocado, flesh only

60ml extra-virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil

1 tbsp coriander leaves

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

water if you want to make it thinner

First make the dressing: put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend together until smooth, add cold water if you'd like it the consistency to be a little thinner.

Slice the peeled blood oranges sideways in 1cm slices.

Mix the salad leaves and radish slices together and dress with some of the dressing. Arrange on a plate and add the blood orange slices. Crumble the feta on top and serve.

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Quinoa Kedgeree

Over-active thyroid, hyperthyroid.

Kedgeree is an anglo-Indian dish created at the time of the British Raj. Its similar to a comforting Indian dish called kitchedi which is made from left-over rice, dal and yoghurt; so you can see where the similarities lie. Quinoa is very beneficial to those who suffer from hyperthyroidism as it regulates the system. Its also important to keep the levels of Vitamin D high in the body as it often diminished by Graves Disease.

Serves 2

250g smoked haddock

1 small onion, finely chopped

20g butter

150g cooked quinoa, I like brown quinoa

1 tsp Madras curry powder

2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1/2 tbsp full-fat yoghurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Place the haddock in a shallow wide-based saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover and allow to poach on a medium heat for around 4 minutes until cooked through. Strain the haddock, keeping the poaching liquid. Cover the haddock so it retains its heat.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the chopped onions and saute until soft. Add the curry powder, 1/2 tbsp of the poaching liquid and the yoghurt. Add the quinoa and stir until heated through.

Take the skins off the fish and flake the flesh into the quinoa. Add the chopped parsley, lemon juice, egg and seasoning. Taste and add a little more poaching liquid if its too try and adjust the seasoning.

Serve immediately.

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Kerala Prawn Curry

Under-active thyroid, hypothyroid.

This curry is delicious as well as being extremely quick and easy to prepare. The coconut base is indicative of the style of cooking in Kerala and the South of India where the best spices in the world come from. The spices in this dish are brilliant for stimulating the system and includes turmeric which is an anti-inflammatory and cleans the system. Prawns are low in carbohydrate and provide a good dose of vitamin D to get you through the winter months.

Serves 2

1/2 onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

4-5 black pepper corns

1/2 green chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp garlic paste

1 in ginger, peeled and grated

5-6 curry leaves, preferable fresh but they are often hard to come by so dried will do

250g peeled, uncooked prawns

1 can coconut milk

100ml water

salt

Heat the coconut oil and add the sliced onion, cook on a fairly high heat until the onion begins to brown. Add the mustard seeds, black pepper corns and green chilli, continue to heat until the seeds begin to pop.

Quickly add the garlic paste and grated ginger and stir-fry for a minute. Add the turmeric and curry leaves.

Add the prawns and the water, deglazing the pan as you go.

Slowly add the coconut milk and simmer until the prawns are fully cooked and the liquid is reduced by around a quarter. Season with salt.

Serve with steamed brown rice.

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Banana Bread

Over-active thyroid, hyperthyroidism.

Although tend not to eat too many sweet things, its nice to have something available that will satisfy your sweet tooth without being too bad for you. When you suffer from hyperthyroidism its very important not to consume refined-sugar as it stimulates your system in an artificial manner, it will result in your heart beating far too fast. 

You'll need a 900g loaf tin, greased and lined.

300g ripe bananas

300g butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large free-range eggs

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g ground almonds

100g gram flour (you could use rice flour, spelt or any other gluten-free flour)

1 tbsp flax seeds

50g raisins

30g walnuts

Mash the bananas with the butter together with a fork or in a food processor until smooth. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract, eggs and sieve in the bicarbonate of soda. Mix well together.

Add the ground almonds and flour and mix well. At the last minute add half the flaxseeds, raisins and walnuts but make sure you don't whiz it too much if you're making the cake in a food processor, you don't want to break them up.

Turn the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, sprinkle on the remaining flaxseeds and bake in the oven at 170C/Gas mark 5 for 1hr. Check if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer, if it comes out clean its ready, if some mixture sticks to it return it to the oven for another 1/4 of an hour.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cool fully and help yourself to a slice every now and then!

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What to Avoid

If you have an over-active thyroid and are suffering from an auto-immune disorder such as Graves Disease its important to avoid some foods as these will aggravate your system. I have found that omitting these foods has helped my system re-balance.

* REFINED SUGAR

* COFFEE AND CAFFEINATED DRINKS 

* BLACK TEA AND CHAI

* GINSENG

* GLUTEN