About

What’s in the name “Thyme and Balance”?

Thyme is a powerful herb. It can be used in a variety of recipes and for a variety of purposes, has powerful flavors and helps balance many dishes. It is also a word play on time, as we all have to manage our time, find time to do things, and learn to live in the moment. 

Balance, because every meal needs a balance of flavors to make it perfect. But balance is also needed in life! Balancing work and family life, balancing physical health and mental health in today’s world where so many things demand our time and attention. Like so many, I too struggle with all these, but little by little, we can make it work.

My Story

In 2006 I was diagnosed with celiac. To me, it was always just a food intolerance, and I never knew it was an autoimmune disease. I balanced my diet as best as I could. But indulged in gluten here and there, because I thought my reactions were minimal and easily manageable. 

If I had known it was an autoimmune disease that can cause other autoimmune diseases to appear, maybe I would have managed it differently. I don’t know.

In about 2012 we went on Paleo for a while and had good results. While we no longer follow the paleo diet, we still follow many of the principles. 

In 2023 I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Doctors aren’t ready (or willing?) to help me yet. My TSH levels were still within the “normal range”, although it was at the upper limit of normal. 

My T3 and T4 levels were normal, and my antibodies weren’t crazy high. But they also could not help me address all the symptoms I was experiencing. All the small little niggles that jointly made life more uncomfortable and less enjoyable. 

In January 2024 we embarked on the autoimmune protocol (AIP) elimination diet. Within 5 months I lost 25 pounds and felt a million times better. Most of my symptoms subsided and my TSH levels lowered to a more normal level. Best of all, I never felt deprived of food or went hungry. Quite the contrary, I have never eaten so much but, the weight still came off. 

Somewhere along the line, my reintroductions failed. I am not sure where I went wrong, but my symptoms came back, with some new ones and some worse than ever before. So, we are back to the drawing board, back on AIP, and back to figuring out what my body does not like.

Of course I did not do this by myself. I could never come up with all these recipes or do all this cooking, never mind staying motivated and creative. 

This is all Ken, the master chef in our house! I am forever grateful for his love for cooking and support in stumbling through all these dietary changes! Most of the recipes on this blog are his doing, but together, we have decided to share what we did. Hopefully we can help others, and also for a reference for us to revisit if we need to.

Dealing with autoimmune diseases is not all about food, but also lifestyle changes. Eliminating toxins, reducing stress, and living a healthier life.

While we made many changes throughout the years, this has spurred on a few more additional changes. We are constantly exploring new options to live a healthier, more balanced life. We also strive to reduce our ecological footprint, and be more conscious of what we consume on this planet.

And then there is the garden. In January 2023 we moved to our new home. It has beautiful, enormous trees and backs onto a small park with some natural forest. But, it has far too much lawn for our liking. 

We would love to grow some of our food, so we aim to convert parts of our yard, front and back, into a food forest supported by native plants and pollinator gardens. That means removing invasive species, building raised beds, and planting fruit trees, bushes, and flowers. 

And a ton of research along the way to make it all happen. I am excited to see where this will go and look forward to sharing our progress and all we learn along the way with you.

How To Use This Site

If you are looking for inspiration in the kitchen, be it gluten-free, AIP-friendly, Paleo, vegetarian, meaty, etc., visit the “In the Kitchen” Link. Here you will find a little bit of everything. I will try to categorize all recipes so you can easily find what you are looking for. I will also add some tips and tricks and how-to’s here.

As we start establishing our food forest supported by a pollinator garden and a variety of native species, I will share our progress and lessons learned in the “In the Garden” section.

For all things natural living, cleaning, reducing waste, various DIYs and crafts, and other ideas on reducing our ecological footprint, visit the “Lifestyle” section.