I have nudged my Honorable Husband toward the BTD for years. He eats what I serve him, and usually takes my advice in restaurants, so he has been pretty close to a Type A diet without much effort or thought on his part. I knew at the beginning that if I pushed too hard he would resist, so some things I have left alone, respecting his preferences and his comfort zone.

He is changing. As he has gone into retirement, and particularly as we watch our friends face increasingly serious health problems, he is asking more questions.

Sunday we had lunch with friends at Chili’s. I like Chili’s because they will give me a hamburger with broccoli instead of French Fries without any fuss. I get a side order of black beans for me and a take out box for the bun. Sometimes I make HH a turkey sandwich with the bun the next day; sometimes I put it in the freezer and feed it to the ducks.

We were eating with our Type O doctor friend who for years was totally convinced that a very low fat diet was best. You have met her in my blog several times. She has come to recognize her need for essential fatty acids, but she is still rightly worried about the danger of hydrogenated vegetable oils and trans fats.

Before she ordered, she asked our server what kind of oil they used at Chili's. The server was clueless, but went to the kitchen to find out. The answer was that they use 100% vegetable oil, so MD decided on a salad.

She asked what oils I used. I said that flax oil was the best source of Omega 3s, but that it is not a good cooking oil, so I cook with either ghee or light olive oil. She asked what I thought about canola, and I said that it was a neutral choice and certainly better than corn oil or coconut oil. She wasn’t familiar with flax oil, and I said that I had started using flax oil on my salads instead of extra virgin olive oil.

We were in a lively discussion and I had no idea that HH was paying any attention. Suddenly he chimed in with “Do you give me that flax oil?” It caught me off guard. I said “No, because you always want salad dressing.” He said, “If flax is that good for you, give me half salad dressing and half flax oil.” MD was laughing hysterically.

Last night I gave HH a salad with half salad dressing and half flax oil. He said he couldn’t taste any difference and said to keep making his salads that way. I am delighted to do so, but I am still recovering from the shock.