I keep coming back in my mind to Sante J's blog about "Think like a B". I totally agree. The Blood Type Diet became easy and natural when I stopped looking for substitutions and grieving for avoids and ate like an O. Once I was willing to give it up, I found it remarkably easy to "think like an O." When I plan meal, I decide on the meat, then I decide on 2-3 vegetables that would go with it. The little grain I eat is an afternoon snack, not part of a meal. Truly, I don't miss it.

Here is my problem. I am cooking for two As, and I don't know how to "think like an A." Back when Taswolf was blogging, he helped me get inside my husband's Type A head. Now I flounder. Does a Type A decide on a legume, and plan a meal around it? When I was trying to be a vegetarian, I was told to find complementary proteins and build meals around them. Is that how an A thinks? My husband and daughter seem to be different types of As. She can make an entire meal off of salad. He would rather have bread or pasta.

How did we come to have so many culturally acceptable foods that aren't good for any Type? Sandwiches, pizza, lasagna…if our ancestors were thinking like their Type, how did things get so mixed up? This question I think I can answer. Almost every couple we know is a mixed blood Type marriage - usually one A and one O. They prepare traditional foods because they are trying to get along and fix food that they both like.

I can picture it in my mind. An ancient type O wife is happily eating a chunk of meat and offers some to her Type A husband. He puts a little meat between two pieces of bread. He is not completely happy, but he's happier than he was with just the meat. She doesn't see why he spoiled his meat with bread, but it does keep her hands cleaner, and it is easier if they are eating the same thing. So they both eat what is not ideal for either - sandwiches.

Or Type A wife prepares a nice pasta or rice bowl with a sauce. Type O husband comes in looks at the dish and knows it won't work for him. He suggests adding meat. She doesn't really want to ruin her lovely dish with nasty meat, but if it makes him happy, ok. So they both eat casseroles. Add cheese to an A/0 casserole, and the Bs have a little something to look forward to.

To truly think like your type, you will first have to see most popular foods as compromises that didn't come into being because they built health, but because they made life easier. Not because they really satisfied anyone, but because they kept everyone from being completely unsatisfied.

I'm pretty good at thinking like an O. If my husband is going to have better health, and my daughter is going to learn to be a good cook, I'm going to have to figure out how to think like an A as well.