Supporting your thyroid function with the right diet is a must for people with hypothyroidism, as well as everyone that wishes to keep their metabolic rate up. My thyroid-promoting health advice includes a special and very different diet that speeds up cellular energy production.
This thyroid supporting valentine's dish is more than 100 years old and originally from the countryside of Denmark. The name of the dish in Danish is "Brændende Kærlighed" and directly translated means "Burning Love".
The recipe is very simple, as it only consists of a few ingredients which are perfect for supporting your thyroid function!
Today, this dish is still served in many Danish homes and it is especially great for a cold and dark winter evening and Valentine's Day!
Burning Love Recipe
Two persons
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Mashed potatoes
600 g (1.3 lb) potatoes (russet)
1 dl (2/5 cup) milk
25 g (1 oz) butter
salt
Topping
200 g (7 oz) diced bacon
2 onions
Instructions:
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters.
- Boil the potatoes in unsalted water until tender — this usually takes about 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, peel the onions and slice them finely.
- On a frying pan, fry the diced bacon until almost nice and crisp.
- Add the sliced onions and fry until they become soft, transparent, and a little golden.
- When the potatoes are done, pour away the water and let them cool off a bit without the lid.
- Add the boiled potatoes into a large bowl and whip with butter and milk until mashed. The consistency should be somewhat solid. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with the mashed potatoes at the bottom and the bacon and onions as a topping — the fat from the frying pan is also used as a sauce. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley.
Burning Love is traditionally served with pickled beetroots. These can be hard to find outside of Denmark, but in the United States they can be found at World Market stores.
Thyroid Supporting Diet
The recipe for this dish contains thyroid-supporting ingredients. This might seem strange, but according to Dr. Ray Peat — a leading thyroid expert — the saturated fats from the butter and the bacon support cellular energy production. The well-boiled potatoes are also very suitable for a healthy thyroid function. You can learn more about foods that support your thyroid function in my book How to Boost Metabolism with Food and my Metabolic Nutrition Mastery course.
A normal western diet contains foods that directly suppress thyroid function — both the production of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3 in the thyroid gland, and also the cellular response to the active T3 hormone. By eliminating all the thyroid-suppressing foods and instead basing your diet on foods that promote metabolism and a healthy hormonal balance, your body is strengthened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this recipe good for thyroid health?
The recipe uses only thyroid-supportive ingredients. Butter and bacon provide saturated fats which, according to Dr. Ray Peat, support thyroid function at every level — the release of thyroid hormones, their transport in the blood, and the cells' response to them. Well-boiled potatoes provide a clean carbohydrate source that supports stable blood sugar and cellular energy production. Milk adds protein and calcium, both important for metabolic health.
Is bacon really good for hypothyroidism?
In the pro-metabolic approach, the type of fat matters more than the source. Bacon provides saturated fat and protein, both of which are supportive of thyroid function and metabolism. The concern with most western foods is polyunsaturated fat from vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds — not the saturated fat from animal products. Replacing meals based on polyunsaturated fat with those based on saturated fats and good carbohydrates is one of the core dietary shifts in my approach. I explain the science behind this in my book How to Boost Metabolism with Food.
Are potatoes allowed on a thyroid-supporting diet?
Yes — well-cooked potatoes are a good carbohydrate source in the pro-metabolic diet. They are easily digestible when properly cooked and provide a steady fuel source for the cells. The key is that they are well boiled (not raw or undercooked, which can be harder to digest) and served with protein and fat, as in this dish, to support blood sugar stability.
