The BTD/GTD Blogs

On Mother's Day I noticed that some of the seeds I planted are starting to sprout! That was a nice way to start the day. I try to just relax on Mother's day and make it fun for my kids. My five year old is old enough to understand it and gave me quite a few little surprises throughout the day. My husband helped our 2 year old to make me a card at church nursery. It was a good day. My biggest and best present was a long nap...just what I always want!

Now my spring garden bed is filled in, and I'm finishing the second bed. I had to dig into the ground a bit for it, to get it level, but it's all put in place now, minus the soil. I'm waiting for a windless day to mix and add the Mel's mix. I also made it to Ikea to buy some cheap terra cotta pots so I can line up my tomatoes along the slope next to the tall back fence. My heirloom tomato starts are still alive and slowly growing, so maybe they'll do well, I also have some more guaranteed hybrid types to put in, just in case.

I tried some turnip greens from the grocery store today for the first time. I figured I ought to try them if I'm going to be growing them. I like them quite well. They're similar to collards, and more exciting than spinach. They'd be great as a wrap for something like cabbage rolls or Dolma. (I think cabbage and grape leaves are both black dots for gatherers).

I even found some Seven Top turnip seeds at a local nursery, that are solely for producing turnip greens, so that was a nice surprise. I couldn't find them online at the places I was ordering other seeds, so I thought I'd have to compromise and get regular turnip seeds. They'd make ok greens, but I'm only interested in the greens so I'm happy to find some just for greens.

I didn't actually need to order as many seeds online as I did, as I found the variety of seeds in the local nurseries are quite adequate. Even the grocery store down the street has seeds for Bright Lights Swiss Chard, which saved me a trip back to the nursery after I changed my mind and decided I wanted them afterall. Next year, I'll probably have enough seeds saved from this year (both from the packets I bought and some I'll collect from the plants). I'm keeping them all in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator, so they'll keep well. I had been keeping them in my garage, but the older ones still germinated well.

In my continuing procrastination (law text books vs cookbooks - guess which one's winning?) I noticed something called the "Gabriel Method" that seems to be advertised on almost every website I visited. As an aside, found some great recipes like pumpkin amaranth pancakes that will definitely be tried out this weekend.

So, the Gabriel Method seemed really interesting - basically he's advertising a diet that's based on changing how your body reacts to everyday stresses to turn off the "FAT" mentality. In the interests of finding out more, I'm currently reading the book. I have to say, it's slickly written and marketed but also has the element of being a non-diet book. It really is more about the chemical reactions that occur in your body when it's under stress and the triggers that force your body into a survival mode requiring fat to be stored. I'm thinking of implementing some of his ideas just to see what the impact is.

I'd say there's a maximum of a chapter devoted to food (which is good, because we have Dr D for food recommendations) where he actually says "There isn't one diet which fits all people". I've yet to check his website as apparently he has some links on there to products etc that he recommends and I"m interested to see if he mentions the BTD. Another good thing that he states is that people need to drink more water; something that I see everyday in the office where the guys will drink cokes and never have a water while I'm drinking a glass or two every hour.

Other than that, I think my husband is a gradual convert as he's been going to a heap of meetings this week where the food provided has been sandwiches/sausage rolls/cakes etc. He asked if the bread was preservative free at least, but then has been demanding more vegies for dinner and enjoyed being able to take his lunch today.

I am what my sister calls a "peeker". She came up with this recently at a family dinner to describe the way I always looked for the Christmas presents my mother had hidden. It is true, I was the one to sneak into my mom's room climb on a chair and search the top of her closet for the presents. I just couldn't resist. My sister on the other hand would cover her ears as I yelled what the presents were. Other holidays were similar, at Easter I always ate my chocolate bunny within a day or so and on my sixteenth birthday I some how knew I was having a surprise party.

Maturity has not changed this, as an adult I still display this behavior. I will read the last chapter of a book to see what happens next and I have even fast forwarded movies to see the end. I always look in the oven before the food is done.

I have always been a peeker I want to see the end.

On Wednesday I start teaching my first BTD class. I am so excited to see who attends and why they decide to come. The blurb about the class was posted on Sunday and on Monday morning I received a call from a gentleman inquiring about the class.

He stated his name and told me that he is 76 years old and has been overweight for over 10 years, could this blood type diet help him? He wasn't sure what his blood type was, would that be a problem? I reassured him that I could test his blood for about $10.00, as for his age and weight being an issue I confidently stated the facts," No, it will not be a problem".

The whole time I am on the phone with him, I am thinking about the future of this overweight 76 year old man who has failed to be able to lose weight, with all the conventional diets. I am trying to read the last chapter of the book and peek into the top of the closet, I want to eat the Easter bunny all in one day. I want to see what he will become given the right tools for his body, I want to peek.

Odd things that you never thought you'd hear; "There should be a matchmaking service for electrical devices". Sounds bizarre, doesn't it? Well, maybe my recent happenings will help to explain the statement.

Some time ago, my home theatre receiver had died. Not as a result of age, but of poor airflow design. So when I got my tax refund, I figured that it was finally time to find a replacement.

I hadn't planned on buying a receiver on this particular day. One of the stops on my errand list was to a local music store, in search of some comedy cd's. While browsing the store, I happened to find one of the receivers that I had been researching online. Hemming and hawing, I walked out of the store without it. However, after running some more errands, I went back, and bought it. Little did I know at the time what "fun" would soon ensue.

As I happily headed home with my new purchase, I noticed that my car's outdoor temperature sensor was acting up. Even though it was around 70 degrees that day, my display was saying that it was only 41 degrees. I just figured the car was having a mental moment, and would clear itself the next day.

After getting home, I unpacked my new toy, and went about hooking up my various components to the receiver. Cassette deck, check. CD player, check. The VCR, well, that took a little time. Once I finally got a picture, I threw in a VCR tape, to make sure that it worked. There was a picture, but the tracking was off. As I'm trying to adjust the tracking, there is suddenly the sound of a loud "Pop!", and grey smoke comes rolling out of my VCR.

Part of me wants to laugh at the visual before me, but the saner side (and you thought that I didn't have one!) of me is telling me to quickly disconnect everything from the back of the VCR, and get it the heck out of the house! Fast-fingering the disconnects, I head past the kitchen with smoker in hand, only to notice that the clock on my stove is flashing 6:08. Thing was, it was 3 in the afternoon. Once my VCR ceased smoking outside, I headed back inside to reset the clock. Little did I know that the real fun was about to begin.

I found that my dishwasher had decided to act up as well. It would get down to a minute, but would never complete the last cycle. And now, instead of starting at 91 minutes, it would start at 2 hours. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya'! *chuckle* My electronics don't like the newcomer, and are giving me grief!

Off I headed to the computer, the click-clacking sound of keys a steady rhythm, as I roamed the Internet, looking for an answer to my newest problem. I finally found the answer to my problem, but wasn't too thrilled for the process involved in getting my dishwasher back up and running. It appears that some Bosch dishwashers have a bad heater relay joint, and the soldering lets go. However, it was either the process, or shell out $140 for a new circuit board, and a technician to install it, on top of the $140. Ryan's going to be learning how to solder!

With no disassembly instructions, nor soldering skills, I was off to roam the Internet again. After doing some reading about soldering, and watching a couple of short soldering videos, I began the task of figuring out how to disassemble the dishwasher. It took some time, but I finally managed to get to the circuit board, resolder the heater relay joint, and put the dishwasher back together. All well and good, but would it actually work? With crossed fingers, I ran the dishwasher, and watched it as it ticked down its final minutes. Success! It finished, and shut itself off.

So here I am, thinking that everything comes in threes, so I should be all set. Nope. Apparently, three things have to BREAK, before things return to normal. That Sunday morning, the pipe underneath my bathroom sink broke. *sigh*

If by chance you've been having a streak of good luck, that's because I've been getting all the bad luck lately. But I also know that once it's done, it's done for awhile. Better to get everything out of the way at once, than little by little.

I think that from now on, before I bring any electrical devices into the house again, I'm going to unplug everything that I have, and arrange it in a semi-circle on the living room floor. Then I'll bring the new device into the house, and everyone can have a little meet and greet. Maybe that way, I won't subjected to so many breakages all at once. Your day doesn't sound so bad now, does it? *chuckle*

Recently I've been feeling like some treats and, having read the Gatherer GTD information, I"m wondering if I should be incorporating more grainy-type things into my diet. I know that I don't do well with any type of rice, so thought that I'd start off with the seed-type grains - Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet and then try some others if these turn out ok.

Following a link from the boards, I discovered some new powders that I hadn't heard of - Mesquite and Nopal for example. After reading some information about their possible healing benefits and their low GI, I decided to try some. Hence, I tried making the first biscuits that would be safe for me to eat in about 5 years. I used a recipe from the boards and reduced the amount of sweetner (Agave) because the Mesquite is meant to be quite sweet. Let me tell you, it's sooooooo nice to have a biscuit. They are slightly caramel in flavour - possibly due to the combination of mesquite and agave, but they don't seem to be upsetting my stomache. That's a major achievement. Plus, it's nice to have some crunchy, dunkable biscuits with my dandelion tea!

Other than that, it's been a fairly quiet weekend. I did a heap of baking yesterday - lasagne for hubby's lunch, quiches for his breakfast and some banana muffins for snacks for him during the week. Must admit, it's great that B's can have spelt - you can substitute that for wheat at any time. He enjoys the nuttier flavour which is good, and now you can buy more spelt products in Australia. Including Lasagne sheets and wraps.

I love spices, as anyone who has read my recipes on the BTD forums will tell you. Anything with robust flavours appeals to me. I think in some way it makes up for having to remove sugar from my diet. I know that eating sweets will make me put on massive amounts of weight and could cause diabetes or worse, so I avoid them, but what to have instead?

I've tried to develop a savoury tooth instead of a sweet one. I really do notice even a small amount of sugar in a dish these days as it seems to spike my blood sugar almost instantly lol.

Each week I make a batch of my mock Chana Daal (see message boards for recipe), which is basically made with yellow or green split peas and indian spices, a bit of cilantro (coriander) leaf, ghee, water and salt. It's delicious hot or cold, or even as a dip and is a wonderful side dish to a tasty lamb curry. It contains garlic (a favourite!), sometimes coriander (a black dot but hey it's sooooo tasty I'll risk it), cumin, mustard seeds and is packed with taste, a real 'knock your socks off' flavour. Perfect for a Gatherer non taster

Sometimes I make a millet roti bread (a flat pancake-ish thing) to dip in and give me that kind of wheat type texture which I do miss.

I made the lamb (greek style) the other day and it was so good I had it warmed up the next day with spring greens (collards), onions, mushrooms and wolfed it down for my breakfast. Lots of lovely protein, a garlic kick, oregano (to die for.... mmm) and still screamingly tasty even when cold. I guess it would be good with a salad or even in an omelette.

This weekend presents a sugary challenge, the BF (as lovely as he is) is still struggling to give up sweet things, wheat and potatoes. I've planned our eating to make sure he still gets some (albeit a smaller portion) of his favourites and tried to keep desserts to diamonds and/or superfoods for both of us.

The blood test kit for my son (aged 7 going on a 100) should be here Monday, then we can ascertain his blood type although I expect he'll either be an O like me, or an A like his father. Then the fun begins, BF is AB- Explorer, I'm O+ Gatherer and son could be anything lol.

I'm looking forward to the new challenges, increasing the diamonds/supers in our eating, gradually reducing the avoids. First thing tomorrow I'll be searching for fruits, spices and herbs which excite our tastebuds and help to replace the wheat/sugar fest which seems so popular with the masses? Perhaps I'll try my indian style rice pudding, with basmati for me and brown rice for BF, though I may have to play with the spices to suit each of our plans.

The new Gatherer supplements are available here, so I've ordered a set, can't wait to try them and see what difference they make. I know that when I take deflect I feel better on the occasions I can't avoid an avoid (does that makes sense?).

Next week my LegMagic should arrive, not sure how I'll get on with it, but I do need the exercise so I'm going to stick with it I'm a typical pear shape so it's an area I'd like to target and get moving.

Well, back to packing the car and then on the road. Enjoy your weekend everyone. I know we will.

Whew, with dual credit finals over, my Darling Daughter and I took a day off from school to register her for her college classes. She has a summer job, so this will be the last time she visits campus until she moves into the dorm in August.

We listened to CDs as we drove. She was driving and I was dozing. Through the brain fog, I heard the words, “Everything I love is killing me.” I woke up and asked her to play the song again. It was an Alan Jackson song about a man giving up his favorite things – coffee, liquor, and cigarettes – because they are causing him bodily harm.

DD and I started to laugh – it could be the BTD song. We started to sing the chorus substituting BTD/GTD avoid foods. Ice cream and catfish were two that rhymed particularly well.

Seriously, I have known several people who abandoned the BTD because they could not give up certain avoids. When I talk to Type Os, they often look at me incredulously and ask what I eat if I don’t eat wheat. I need to sing them a chorus of this song. Sure I loved wheat, but while the pain in my stomach might not have been killing me, it hurt! I know several Type As who couldn’t make themselves give up chicken fried steak. If the beef wasn’t bad enough for you, the deep-fried will certainly finish you off.

Popular, processed foods combined with foods that are avoid for your Type really are killing you. We need to find new loves. The best place to start looking is not in a Honky Tonk, but on the beneficial food lists.

About three years ago we adopted a Yorkshire Terrier from a family in the Bronx in NY. The family we adopted the dog from had 5 small children and a pitbull. The owner of the dog said they were moving and could not keep the dog. Mocha as the dog was then named, was not all that attractive. She was scared, scrawny and had a scraggly haircut she was quite a pitiful sight. I was a bit leary of the whole thing, what if the dog was sick? What if she was a biter? My husband Jeff believed it would be alright; I had faith in his confidence, so we took the dog home. She remained a very frightened animal for about 6 months. If you raised your voice she would cower, if you raised your hand she would run to a corner, she wouldn't go down the stairs and she didn't bark.

I have often wondered what her life was like, with 5 kids and a pitbull to torture her. Why did she cower in the corner? Did the kids chase her and mishandle her? Was she put in the same pen as the pitbull? I will never know the answers to her early life. I just figured she had a few internal emotional scars that would heal over time. We all are not unlike my Yorkie (who I renamed) Molly, we all carry our own personal scars, our past histories, that effect how we respond to the world.

I was raised by a Polish father and an Italian mother. Their culture influenced what I ate as a child. My mom was raised in a home where pasta was the meal of the day, rarely did her family have fresh vegetables or fruit. As a result of this her mom died of diabetic complications early in life. When my mom finally had a family of her own; she made sure we had fresh vegetables and fruit in the house all the time. She knew the evils of sugar, fatty meats and canned vegetables. She tried her best to commit herself to helping us eat healthy. She took her food history, her personal scar and used it to improve her families life.

Repeating our past is easy, it takes very little thought. We do it when we pull the same box of crackers off the shelf in the supermarket or make the same mac and cheese meal we have been making for our families. It takes thought and patience to change our food histories and heal the scars.

I have scars from my past beliefs about food that I will always carry with me. But like my mother I don't want to repeat them in my children and like with Molly (the dog) I know they take time and patience to heal. For me the GTD heals my past food history by providing a way to navigate the future. I know when we change the pattern of the past and heal our scars that we give the greatest gift to the future both for ourselves and families.

Slowly Molly (my dog) began to come out of her shell. It has been 3 years from the day we brought her home. Now she is a happy, wonderful dog, who loves to alert us with her barking, her hair has grown, she has gained weight. Her scars have become less visible.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost