In my last blog I mentioned several foods that I used to crave, but that no longer have a hold on me. I also mentioned several foods that I still fantasize about, though I don’t buy them or eat them at home.

One food that I really miss is popcorn. I like crunch, I like salt, and I like butter. Popcorn has all three. Plus it has a lot of fiber. But I rarely fix it because it isn’t good for either HH or me. It is avoid for Type O. While it is neutral for Type A, it is infrequent neutral for diabetic Type As. HH was pre-diabetic until he got serious about the BTD and dropped his blood sugar by 20 points.

Occasionally he can coax me into fixing some air popcorn with olive oil during a movie, but not often.

This week I tried something that satisfied my longing for popcorn.
I bought a bag of puffed millet earlier in the summer. I like it as a snack with a Tablespoon of carob powder and a little almond milk. HH likes it in the mini casseroles I fix him for dinner.

Tonight I put some ghee on top of a bowl of puffed millet and warmed it in the microwave for 45 seconds. I stirred it, salted it, and tasted it.

It’s not popcorn, but it satisfied the part of me that craves popcorn. I have a feeling I’m going to be making this Un-Popcorn a lot.

This week we drove to the city where we used to live for dentist appointments and to have lunch with friends. Our friends suggested a barbeque place that used to be one of my favorites. I don’t think I had ever eaten in the restaurant itself. It was located near the library, so when I would take the kids to get books during the summer, we would pick up barbeque on the way home. Their brisket was delicious, but what made this different from most BBQ was their absolutely amazing creamed corn. Remember now, my children were small, so this was long before I ever heard of the BTD.

After verifying with our friends B and E that turkey was on the menu for my Type A husband, we loaded in the car. As we drove, B said “Did you know that they serve creamed corn as a side?” I said that I remembered how delicious it was. He said, “It’s so good that sometimes I just get double creamed corn.”

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know my standards for BTD compliance. At home I don’t eat avoids. At restaurants I make the best choices available. When I am a guest in someone’s home, I maximize beneficials and neutrals, but I am not offensive if I am served an avoid. While my health is important to me, relationships are even more important.

We were going to a restaurant, so I don’t have to eat creamed corn. I get two side dishes with my brisket, and there are other choices. But the idea of that delicious, mouth-watering creamed corn is now in my head.

As we are standing in line B says to E, “Are you getting creamed corn?” He turns to me and says, “Are you getting creamed corn?” I say that I am thinking about it. That is an understatement. At that moment, creamed corn is all I can think about.

As I got closer to the counter, I knew I ought to say “Brisket plate with green beans and cole slaw.” But instead I say “Brisket plate with green beans and creamed corn.” When my food arrives, I enjoy the brisket and green beans. I am saving the creamed corn for dessert. It is a special treat.

I took the first bite. It was canned corn in a sauce made with white flour, water and pepper. Ugh! I used to like this stuff????

At that moment, I realize how far I have come in my nine years on the BTD. My mouth has become accustomed to fresh beneficial foods, which don’t need pepper and sauces to disguise the taste. The desire for creamed corn has gone the way of pizza and chicken fried steak.

Will I ever lose my desire for ice cream and cream puffs? I don’t know, but I’m glad the desire for creamed corn is out of my system.

DD is married. I thought about blogging about wedding preparations, but decided against it for one reason – it didn’t have very much to do with BTD issues.

When DD and her husband started dating, I called him ESS in my blogs. He was finishing his bachelor’s degree as an Exercise Sports Science major. One of the things that initially attracted them to each other was their interest in exercise and nutrition. By the time they met, he felt called into the ministry. He is attending seminary and preparing to be a preacher. The other thing that initially attracted them to each other was their love for Jesus and their desire to honor Him in all that they do.

DD changed her name when they married, but she will always be my Darling Daughter in these blogs. ESS, however, no longer seems an adequate name for DD’s husband. So as of today, I’m changing his blog name to SIL. Perhaps you think that stands for Son in Law, but you would be wrong. It stands for Son in Love. He loves DD and demonstrates that in ways that makes this mother so happy. We have welcomed him into our family as a beloved son.

While I didn’t blog daily about the wedding, let me tell you three BTD related stories about it.

From the start, DD and SIL did not want their wedding to be glamorous. They chose as the theme “Build your house on the Rock of Jesus Christ” from Matthew 7. They wanted everything about the ceremony and the reception to reflect their conviction that a wedding marks the beginning of a covenant relationship. Because of that they did not want a stressful wedding. As they sat around DD’s apartment making decorations for the church, they watched Bridezilla on TV. They would look at each other and say, “Our wedding will NOT be like that!” And it was not. We made some of the food for the wedding, so the last few days were busy, but they were never anxious or stressful. Often DD said to me, “Mom, that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that at the end of the day will be married and God will be honored.”

She had an afternoon wedding at the church where they met, and the reception was in the church gym. These days, some kind of dinner is expected at a Texas reception. DD and SIL decided to do sandwiches plus fruit and veggie trays. She started off thinking that she would buy sandwiches from a local deli. A friend of mine is a caterer, and we also got a bid from her. By the time we factored in paying someone to keep the food trays replenished, along with the plates and the beverages, the caterer’s cost was about the same as the cost to do it ourselves.

DD and SIL chose wrap sandwiches because there was less bread. Some were turkey (for Type As) and some were beef (for Type Os). The caterer wanted to do another sandwich on regular bread, and she suggested ham salad or cheese. DD and SIL wrinkled their noses. The caterer said that children were not going to like wraps. I suggested peanut butter. DD loved the idea because peanut butter is beneficial for her. The caterer loved the idea because it would lower her overall cost. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a wedding where they served peanut butter sandwiches, but I think it’s a pretty good idea for a BTD wedding.

When DD’s roommate got married a year ago, she served fruit flavored water at her reception. DD and SIL had loved that idea. The caterer had three large clear carafes. In one she put iced tea. In the other two she had water with fresh fruit floating in it. It was beautiful and refreshing.

Dessert for the wedding was a more difficult choice. Neither DD nor SIL like cake - particularly white cake with rich white icing. When they priced wedding cake, they were quoted $4 - $6 per slice. So they decided to do family favorite desserts. SIL’s mother and grandmother made some. I made some, and DD and SIL made some. We set up a dessert table with antique crystal trays, some of which had been in the family for years. I made hundreds of tiny carrot cake muffins and hundreds of pecan muffins.

Then I made two layers for a carrot cake. I trimmed one layer so that there was a small layer on top of a larger layer. I frosted it with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting. On top of the small layer was the bride and groom cake topper that was on my parent’s wedding cake in 1951. DD and SIL cut the ceremonial cake. The rest of it is in my freezer waiting until their first anniversary. The guests enjoyed a variety of cookies and muffins, none of which were too sweet.

The two of them are now settling into married life. They are cooking together in the evening using the beautiful wedding gifts that they received. They are running, swimming, and bicycling together just as they did when they first met.

I want to settle the calcium issue in my mind. I wrote a blog in June, but I kept reading more. Here is some of what I have learned:

• Asian and African cultures with low calcium intake (300 mg daily) have little osteoporosis.
• Vitamin K2 is necessary to prevent bone loss and most healthy adults are deficient.
• A study from Holland revealed a relationship between K2 and a lower incidence of calcification of arteries.
• K2 deficiency causes calcium to not be deposited in bones where it belongs but to be deposited in arteries, in soft tissues (including breast and kidneys), in feet as heel spurs.
• Calcification of arteries to the brain is felt to be a component of Alzheimer’s Disease. About 25% of people who have a particular genetic risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease all have low levels of Vitamin K.
• The problem is not too much calcium, it’s not enough magnesium. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood stream and in urine.
• If you don’t have enough magnesium you can experience muscle spasms, fibromyalgia, hardening of the arteries, or dental cavities. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium in the kidneys can lead to kidney stones.
• Magnesium has more to do with bone density than calcium.
• Magnesium relaxes the muscles; calcium tightens the muscles.
• High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and its role in preventing viral infections and cancer.
• Vitamin D3 may be better than other forms
• The classic Calcium:Magnesium ratio is 2:1, but some research shows that it should be 1:1.
• Acid substances tighten; while alkaline substances relax. Magnesium is alkaline and relaxes the tension, stiffness, and spasms, as well as headaches, muscle cramps, constipation, and heart palpitations.

Aaargh! The internet gives too much information. I can’t absorb it all, and I don’t know what to believe when statistics are in conflict.

Everyone my age worries about Alzheimer’s. Every woman my age is concerned about bone loss.

I am particularly interested in the idea of calcium in breast tissue, because my mammogram shows this. I blogged several years ago about being called back for a second screening when a doctor was worried about calcium deposits.

I decided to experiment with myself. I have been taking a lot of calcium at a 2:1 ratio. I’ve cut my calcium back to just under 1,000 mg per day. I changed the ratio to 4:3. I’ve ordered some K2, but it’s not here yet.

At first the results were not encouraging.
I’ve had muscle cramps in the night and a crick in my neck. Is this because I’m not getting enough calcium or because after years of getting too much my body automatically discards minerals? I’ve had a slight metallic taste in my mouth. Is that because I’m taking too much magnesium or because unnecessary minerals are leaving my tissues?

I’m going to give my body a week or so to adjust. I also want to see how the K2 works into the mix. I may switch to Magnesium Malate. I’ve read interesting things about how it is absorbed.

Knowing that every Blood Type has different needs and within the Types different people have different requirements, I’m working to come up with a plan that is better for me than what I have been doing.

We were having breakfast with some friends last week, and I was drinking cranberry juice. “T” asked if I had been reading the reports that cranberries were dangerous. I had heard no such thing, but I was curious.

Since menopause, I’ve taken cranberry capsules 3-5 days a week as a preventative measure against urinary tract infections. It has worked great, and I didn’t want to give it up and go back to antibiotics.

I’ve been preoccupied with work, but I finally had a chance to do some research. Every site I went on had mostly great things to say about cranberries and cranberry juice, but there were a few warnings.

One site confirmed what my doctor once told me about cranberry. “People used to think that cranberry worked for urinary tract infections by making the urine acidic and, therefore, unlikely to support the growth of bacteria. But researchers don’t believe this explanation any more. They now think that some of the chemicals in cranberries keep bacteria from sticking to the cells that line the urinary tract where they can multiply. Cranberry, however, does not seem to have the ability to release bacteria which are already stuck to these cells. This may explain why cranberry is possibly effective in preventing urinary tract infections, but possibly ineffective in treating them.”

The danger my friend had heard about was the association between high consumption of cranberry and kidney stones. Even cranberry capsules raise urinary oxalate levels, so it is probably wise not to take cranberry - as a fruit, a juice, or a pill - every day.

Cranberry does react with several prescription medications. I didn’t know that, but since I don’t take any prescription medications, I don’t have to worry.

The thing I learned that surprised me was that cranberry contains salicylic acid - an important ingredient in aspirin. Drinking cranberry juice, like taking aspirin, can reduce swelling and prevent blood clots. In other words - it is a blood thinner. That is a good thing for thick blooded type As, but not so great for Type Os like me whose blood is thin already.

I had often wondered why on the BTD food list, cranberry is beneficial for three blood types, but neutral for Os. Perhaps its blood thinning properties have something to do with that. However on the GTD, cranberry is either beneficial or super beneficial for all Types.

I never found anything that recommended that everyone stop cranberry. You just have to weigh the benefits against the possible side effects.