Suzanne's Darling Daughter writes her first blog.

I first heard about the Genotype Diet last week. I was extremely excited to discover my genotype and see my new and improved food list. After studying the Teacher food list, I changed my mind and decided that I wanted nothing to with the diet that took away my yummy leafy greens. However, I decided to give the GTD a chance and look at the food lists with a little more open-mindedness.

I have now been eating according to the Teacher GTD for about five days. My Mom suggested I write a blog about how I was adjusting.

Although I am happy that turkey is now Super Beneficial, it is hard to find turkey when dining out (except for a turkey sandwich, which must be disassembled in order to be beneficial). I always relied on chicken as my main dish in restaurants. Besides fish and side veggies, there really is nothing very good for me to eat at most restaurants. When I can find fish, it is usually catfish, shrimp (both avoids), or salmon (beneficial, but outrageously priced). Of the four restaurants my boyfriend and I dined at this past weekend, I found tilapia (beneficial and reasonably priced) only at one.

I immediately noticed that soymilk was a Limited Avoid. For the past five years, my morning has begun with a soymilk protein shake. I was completely devastated and had no idea what I would eat for breakfast. My mother and I took a trip to the health food store and noticed that almond milk was on sale. We decided to give it a whirl. To my great surprise (and satisfaction) it was remarkably tasty. I have had it three mornings so far. Compared to soymilk, the almond milk improves the protein shake texture. I have not had it enough to say whether I like it more or less than soymilk, but I do like it. I had planned to take soymilk, soy powder, and a shaker cup with me to college next year. Because almond milk is so expensive, I will have to make it every night in a high-power blender. This won't be too bad at home, but it will be hard with a community bathroom at school.

As a little girl, I naturally gravitated towards salad and greens. Waiters would give my mother the strangest looks as her 3-year old asked for a side salad instead of a kid's meal. According to the BTD, this wasn't strange, just my natural "A-ishness." On the GTD, most leafy greens are toxins and should be avoided. I do not understand how something that my body and the BTD has told me for years is so beneficial, now suddenly, because my torso is longer than my legs, can be a toxin. As I visited colleges this past year, the dining hall was a huge factor for my decision. Which college would best accommodate my BTD eating habits? I picked a college that had a grilled chicken bar and a salad bar (made up mainly of iceberg/spinach). On the GTD, finding beneficial food to eat in the dorm is going to be VERY challenging.

I am enjoying the different cheeses that I am now allowed to eat.

When I first read over the Teacher food list, the lack of fruits infuriated me. Although I still miss all the formerly beneficial fruits terribly, I am really enjoying some the new fruits like kiwi and papaya. On the BTD, I was always mad that I couldn't eat papaya (another childhood favorite).

Overall, although I really like many aspects of the GTD, my brow crinkles when I think about eating in the dorm next year. The BTD had lots of common foods that were beneficial or neutral for type As (lettuce, apples, celery, cucumbers, etc.). Most of the beneficial Teacher foods are not so common. While living at home and being able to prepare food myself, I think that this diet will be good. However, the chances of finding mahi-mahi, ghee, provolone cheese, adzuki beans, escarole, kiwi, and quince in the dining hall are not very good.