It's been a busy BTD night. A friend from out of state called to talk to my husband and me. He said he was afraid he might not be able to keep his job if he didn't get his weight and diabetes under control. I started talking about the Blood Type Diet, and even though he is a Type A who loves chicken fried steak, he could see that the BTD made sense.

I mentioned on the forum that my husband has torn some cartilage in his knee. He is doing physical therapy to build the muscles around his knee so that healing can take place inside. I've been doing some of the exercises with him, just as a preventative measure.

The physical therapist has also talked to him about the exercises he has done for 20 years since he had back surgery. Some of the exercises they recommended back then have proved to be harmful. Since starting the new back exercises he has seen an improvement in the way his legs feel.

I wrote last fall that I was going to try the Canadian Air Force exercises that Heidi recommended. I have been gradually working my way up the levels - pushups being the thing that slows me down. The plan of setting a timer and getting a whole body workout in 15 minutes is very useful on busy days.

However that exercise program was published in 1962. While some of the exercises are helpful, some of them are really stressful on my joints. Since hearing the therapist talk about how knowledge about exercise has improved in the last 20 years, I have been modifying some of the Canadian Air Force exercises.

My husband is ready to exercise now, so I will close this blog by saying that I found wild caught salmon on sale! It was delicious for dinner tonight with asparagus, black beans and grapefruit. My husband and daughter enjoyed the last of the spelt rolls.

This morning I made blueberry muffins for my husband and daughter's breakfast. As my husband reached for another muffin he said, "These aren't good for me, are they?" I said, "Yes, they are very Type A."

He said, "I don't believe it. These taste too good to be good for you."

It is a shame that artificial, highly processed, chemical laden food is what we think tastes good. Natural food, the way God made it, tastes bad to the modern tongue. It isn't crisp or sweet or salty enough, and (gasp) it must be chewed.

But today is not a day to complain. Today my husband likes the taste of his breakfast so much that he thinks I've given him something delightfully unhealthy. I will laugh and accept the compliment.

At this point I was going to give you the link to the recipe, which I copied last summer from RECIbase. However, when I went to look for it, it has disappeared. So I will just type it in to this blog.

Rice Muffins

4 eggs

1 cup soy milk

1 cup applesauce

½ cup honey

1 tsp salt

2 cups rice flour

3 Tbsp baking powder (add last, stir minimally)

Stir together thoroughly all ingredients except baking powder. Add baking powder last and stir only enough to mix it in. Put the batter immediately into oiled muffin tins. The baking powder will quickly cause the batter to bubble up. Bake 10 - 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is the basic recipe. You turn it into whatever kind of muffin you like by adding a cup of fruit. I have used pineapple, peach, and pumpkin. Today I used frozen blueberries.

Freshmen at my daughter's school take Health. The teacher is a friend and colleague. She is Type A and understands (but does not rigorously follow) the Blood Type Diet. Last year when they were studying nutrition, she took the class on a field trip to a grocery store. This year she thought it would be more interesting to take the students to a local health food market.

When she called the store, they were agreeable to the students coming. However they would never commit to having someone at the store show them around. The closer it got to the field trip date the more concerned the teacher became, so she asked if I would be her back up tour guide.

We took one group of students on Monday and another group on Tuesday. Before we left the school, I asked how many had never been in a health food store before. About half the class raised their hands.

We started in the produce department. Only one of the students (besides my daughter) ate 5 fruits or vegetables per day. When I told them I aimed for twice that number they were shocked. We talked about hormone and antibiotic-free meat at the meat counter and the difference between real cheese and processed cheese in the cheese section.

Most of the class had never heard of anything but wheat bread. It's hard to say whether they were more curious about the variety of grains or the idea that I didn't eat wheat. They asked lots of really good questions about vitamins, herbs, tofu, and sodas.

Our last stop was at the bulk bins. The teacher had told them to bring a few dollars to buy a snack. I encouraged them to be brave and try something new - a fig or a walnut or some tropical trail mix.

I did not try to talk about the Blood Type Diet. I doubt any of them would have known their blood type, and it would have been quite complicated explaining how four different food lists worked. This time I focused on introducing them to simple ways they could make healthier food choices.