Blog Posts and Articles

Coming full circle
In March of 2014, I wrote a cookbook update about having been on a writing hermitage on a peninsula on one of Minnesota’s lakes. The first morning of my retreat, I open the kitchen cupboard and this cup is staring at me – it practically jumped into my hand.

This image has been imprinted in my mind and has largely been the wind at my back for the last few years. 

You may know that the thyroid is referred to as “the blue butterfly.” It’s a butterfly-shaped gland and the 5th chakra (the throat chakra) corresponds to the color blue. Chakra means “wheel” or “turning” in Hindu and it’s where the name Blue Wheel Press, our publishing imprint, came from.

The throat chakra is all about self expression, clear communication, and connecting thought to spoken word. It’s about speaking your truth – and not being afraid to do so. It’s about power, honesty, and the ability to fully express who you are.

In my work with clients over the years, I’ve found that many with Hashimoto’s struggle with self expression, including ignoring their artistic and creative gifts. Many have said that they have a difficult time speaking their truth or speaking up.

So while it may seem “woo woo” to some (many people come into the journey of reversing Hashimoto’s saying, “Just tell me what to eat”), self expression and speaking up are serious considerations in healing any thyroid condition.

Lisa and I are so grateful to feel fully expressed in who we are and what we stand for with this cookbook. The most rewarding part of writing and publishing it is that we’ve done it on our own terms.

According to American Indian animal wisdom, the butterfly’s power lies in its ability to transform and change. And yes, we’ve been transformed and changed.

Last weekend, she and I were feeling relaxed about where we are with this launch and took the whole weekend off – something we hadn’t done in a long time. (She’s very pregnant, so she shouldn’t have been working anyway!) 

I was in a calm, reflective state and took my daughter to the zoo, where there was a new butterfly exhibit. I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

Feel the fear, but speak the truth anyway
In April of this year, I wrote the post, AIP: I Had to Speak My Truth, about how Lisa and I don’t feel that the AIP diet is a cure-all or one-size-fits-all diet for those with autoimmunity.

We have a chapter in the cookbook called, “Why This is Not Another Paleo or AIP Cookbook” – you can find an adaptation of that chapter here.

Yes, it was scary to write it – it goes against what we’ve been beaten over the head with the last few years about what/how to eat when you have an autoimmune condition.

But I wrote it anyway (with a lot of references and backup research) and Lisa and I have received a great deal of support from the functional medicine community about our “non-dogmatic” and “well researched” approach.

At the time, I didn’t realize just how aligned that post was with the throat chakra – making it that much more meaningful.

It hit me over the head during a recent email exchange with the renowned Dr. Alan Christianson. You likely know him – he’s a naturopathic doctor, natural endocrinology and thyroid disorder specialist, and author of the NYT bestselling The Adrenal Reset Diet.

After expressing my concerns about AIP, he said, “Seriously, I really appreciate that this cookbook will give readers more to eat than beef and greens. And I share your feelings about the difficulties of going against the popular approaches of the day. But we’ve both placed speaking with our deepest integrity above our own short term needs.”

Another connection that Dr. Christianson and I have is that I live in Minnesota and it’s where he grew up.

If you’ve been with us a while, you may know that in the 11^th hour, Lisa and I pulled printing of our cookbook out of China and brought it home to Brainerd, Minnesota.

Dr. Christianson was excited to see this and said that the town he grew up in “has the other Paul Bunyan statue.”

Last Tuesday, my husband and I drove to Brainerd to see this cookbook get printed. It was truly one of the most exciting days of my life – right up there with graduating from architecture school, getting married, and becoming a mom.

I was almost in disbelief – it was a surreal experience to say the least. 

Below is a little photomontage. And here is a micro video that Lisa made from the day, including actual video of a printing press in action – check the 15 sec. and 49 sec. marks.

The Essential Thyroid Cookbook pub date: September 19.