I guess people don't like to donate blood on Mondays. Our local blood bank sends a thank you letter to all who donate blood that includes blood type and cholesterol level. But if you donate blood on Monday they send you a complete Cholesterol Lipid Panel. Two or three times a year I donate blood, and I try to do it on Mondays. I have lab reports in the medical file going back to 1995.

I donated blood on June 16, and my cholesterol panel arrived in the mail today.

Drum roll please.

With the exception of one report in 1996, this is the best cholesterol report on file!!

Total cholesterol - 193

Triglycerides - 44

HDL - 82

LDL - 102

Ratio - 2.3

Remember - These numbers are after a year of eating hearty servings of beef or lamb daily. These numbers are after a year of generously putting butter and olive oil on my vegetables. These numbers are after a year of (almost) no wheat.

There could be a subjective element to the fact that my stomach feels better on the Type O Diet or that I have more energy. But a lab report is totally objective. No question the Type O Diet is right for me!

I often write about seasoned salt because I use a lot of it. Today, for instance, my daughter is at a luncheon for honor roll students and both my husband and son are at work. I put lamb, raw spinach, cooked okra, and cooked onions in a bowl. I topped it with olive oil and seasoned salt. With carrot sticks on the side it made a tasty lunch.

Before the Blood Type Diet, I had four standby seasoned salts. After comparing the labels to the "Food Beverage and Supplement Lists" two of them had to go.

I had used Spike for years, but it had multiple avoids for both Type As and Type Os.

A fajita seasoning also had to go. I was inspired by Heidi and decided to make my own. I filled a shaker jar half full of salt. Then I added chili powder, cumin, and cayenne until it tasted good to me. I use it on fish, meat, and salads. It is an avoid for Type A.

Lawry's Seasoned Salt has been a favorite since I was a child. It contains sugar (WHY do they put sugar in seasoned salt?) and the 7th of 11 ingredients is cornstarch. I use it on chicken. It is fine for the As, and I'm hoping the amount of cornstarch that actually winds up in a serving is negligible for Os.

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, I was relieved to find, is fine for Type O. I try to keep it away from my husband, but he really likes it in spite of the Type A avoids. I put it on fish and salads.

I had never used much curry powder until I read that it was beneficial. When I toss leftover vegetables and meat together for lunch, I often top them with olive oil and a mix of curry powder and salt. My husband will eat unfamiliar grains if they are seasoned with curry.

Jim wrote in a blog how much he liked Herbamare. I needed something to replace Spike, so I looked for Herbamare in the store. The ingredients look great for As, but the #3 ingredient is leek (avoid for Os). Before I had time to get disappointed I noticed another seasoned salt by the same company called Trocomare. Its ingredients are great for Os, but avoids for As. So, I bought both. I had Trocomare on today's lunch. I haven't called attention to the Herbamare, but every time I've used it, the food has received compliments.

This isn't an attempt at an exhaustive list. It's just what's in my cabinet at the moment. I like trying new things, so I'm sure I'll write more on this subject in the future.

Last night we went to a fireworks show. The weather was perfect. We set up lawn chairs on a grassy hill and had a picnic with friends while we waited for the sun to go down. Peanut butter sandwiches on sprouted bread for my husband and daughter. Zucchini and lamb in Tupperware for me. The fire works were wonderful. We ooohed at the new style that looked like a string of Christmas lights and ahhhed at the giant bursts that seemed to fill the sky.

After the finale, my husband suggested we all go out for ice cream. That would work for me. They have several flavors of ices which, while loaded with sugar, don't contain avoids. We arrived at the ice cream parlor moments after they closed for the night. Before disappointment could set in, our friends said, "Let's get ice cream at the store and go to our house." Great idea! Then the discussion began about what flavor. Chocolate was definitely carrying the day. My husband remembered me and said, "What can you eat?" I said to go ahead with chocolate, but to buy a small container of sorbet for me. He wasn't sure what sorbet was, so I said look near the ice cream, it's made with fruit.

The men went to the store; the women and teenagers went to the house. Soon the men were back with a half gallon of chocolate and a half gallon of pineapple ice cream. My husband was beaming. Ice cream was on sale, buy one get one free. And he had found pineapple which he remembered was beneficial.

My daughter and I made eye contact. She knew ice cream was an avoid for us both. Quick decision - do we criticize in front for friends or are we thankful that he tried to buy the right thing? We smile. We have a small bowl of pineapple ice cream. To borrow from 1 Peter, Love covers a multitude of lectins.

Swimming has been wonderful! The sun is back out, but the water is still cool from two weeks of rain. One night when I climbed out of the water the guards asked, "How far did you swim, Mrs. Graham?" "Thirty-two 50s," I answered. "If you had done three more you would have had a mile," said the guard. "Wait a minute," I said. "Thirty-two 50s is 1600, and that IS a mile." "1600 meters is a mile," said the guard, "our pool is 50 yards long. You were 160 yards short." So, now I have a new goal - thirty-six 50s.

Ever since Rachel blogged about sushi nori, I have wanted to try it. I've also been looking at recipes beneficial for Type A, and have found miso often listed as an ingredient. I decided it was time to see if there was an Asian market nearby. The first thing I noticed was freezer after freezer of fish. I will have to go back with my "Food and Beverage" list and see if they have any of the beneficial fish I've not found elsewhere.

Sushi nori is 100% roasted seaweed, a Type O beneficial. I filled it with tuna and black eyed peas. I guess I had expected either a soft texture like a wrap or a crunchy texture like a taco. It wasn't either. It was very thin, but tough and hard to bite through. I liked the taste. I can't remember eating a sandwich since last July, so it was great to hold it in my hand and eat it from one end to the other. Rachel, if you are laughing at me because I was supposed to do something to it to make it less tough before I ate it, please let me know.

Last night was the best zucchini I've ever fixed. I poured olive oil in a skillet, enough for a generous coating, but not a deep puddle. I added an ounce or two of water and four sliced zucchini. I sprinkled Italian seasoning generously over it all. As soon as it started to bubble, I turned the heat back and let it cook slowly.

This blog got its start with a comment from Luis. He is Type O, a little older than my son, living alone, weight training, and trying to make the Blood Type Diet work. He said two things that caught my interest because my son will be facing the same challenges when he goes back to college in the fall.

Luis wrote, "What kind of recipes would you recommend; do you know any quick ones?" and "I also find it very expensive to eat right. I know it helps in the end but ruins my budget." I know there are others trying to make the Blood Type Diet work in a simple and inexpensive way. Here is my answer to Luis, a little better organized and with a few additions. I plan to print a copy for my son and put it in the box with his skillet and silverware.

The easiest way to shop and cook is to emphasize single meats, fruits, and vegetables, minimally processed, the way God made them.

I roast or bake lamb, cod, beef, salmon etc. They are delicious just with seasoned salt. I get fresh salmon, but cod is almost always frozen. Leg of lamb, brisket, and eye of round roast are economical. When I roast beef or lamb I set the oven temperature at 425 F. for about 30 minutes, then I turn it back to 325 and let the meat cook until a meat thermometer says it is medium well. When I buy ground beef I go for 90% lean 10% fat. That seems like a good balance between price and quality. Ground beef patties or ground beef sprinkled over vegetables are both good. Canned tuna, salmon and sardines are quick, inexpensive meats. Eggs are good for any meal.

I steam a lot of vegetables (broccoli, parsnips, asparagus) and eat them with olive oil or butter and salt. I bake sweet potatoes. My son and I find them very filling and cheap. I can find collard greens, turnip greens and spinach in the frozen food section at my grocery store. They are inexpensive and easy to fix with just a little water and butter. Black eyed peas, English peas, and okra are also available frozen. Fresh squash is good and inexpensive. Zucchini and yellow squash I cook lightly with a little butter and water in a skillet. Acorn and butternut squash I bake in the oven. I often sauté an onion in butter and add it to vegetables, especially to yellow squash, collards and turnip greens.

Salad greens and raw carrots go well with any meat. Instead of salad dressing I use olive oil and a few shakes of seasoned salt. For lunch I often throw lettuce, leftover vegetables, and leftover meat in a bowl, and top it with olive oil. I buy fresh fruit in season and frozen berries year round. Fruit is a great salad, dessert, or breakfast mixed with nuts.

If you try to buy bread without avoids, that can get expensive. But rice crackers and rye crackers are low priced. Rice and oatmeal are easy to cook and very inexpensive. Os don't need much grain anyway.

While I like to cook sauces, casseroles, breads, and desserts, I could get along quite happily and healthily with the basic foods described here.