I am facing a yearbook deadline at the end of next week. So today is another Saturday at the school, proofing student page submissions. I packed tuna, English peas, and parsnips for lunch; and while I eat I thought I'd blog.

In our family my daughter seems to have the best immune system. She is rarely sick and when she is, she usually fights it off quickly. My husband has the worst immune system. When he catches a cold it goes on and on, turns into a secondary infection, and he winds up on antibiotics. My son and I are in the middle. We occasionally pick up a bug, and it takes us several days to fight it off.

I have long been concerned about my husband so frequently being on antibiotics. I have convinced him to try lots of vitamins, herbs, and potions over the years. Nothing has kept him from being on antibiotics 2 or 3 times each winter.

He went to the doctor for a shoulder spasm last week, and that caused us to review our health. We suddenly realized that he hadn't been on antibiotics a single time all winter. We also realized that our daughter had had one brief cold, I had one brief cold, and our son had called from college once seeking advice about a scratchy throat that quickly disappeared. My husband had two colds, but he got over both within a week.

I speculated that his Type A Diet, particularly less milk and meat but more legumes and soy, might be the cause. As I said in my biography, my husband is skeptical, but he can't come up with anything else that was different about this winter.

I had never tasted fresh pineapple juice until today, and I was not prepared for how delicious it would be.

Everyone in my family loves fresh pineapple. I can buy two kinds in my local stores. Mexican pineapples are very inexpensive, but they are not very juicy and not very sweet. Del Monte Golds, grown in Costa Rica, are very juicy and very sweet. They are also rather expensive. I haven't seen a Hawaiian pineapple locally in ages.

After some bad experiences with Mexican pineapples years ago, I decided never to buy them again. I would wait for a good price on the Golds. We eat them slowly, enjoying every bite.

When I started the Blood Type Diet, I couldn't understand why pineapple was neutral but pineapple juice was beneficial. I've read Dr. D'Adamo's explanation, and it made sense - sort of. I keep little 6 oz. cans of pineapple juice around. They make great snacks and are handy for breakfast when we're traveling. But I was appalled at the idea of juicing one of my expensive, sweet Golds. In addition, I know how important the fiber in fresh fruits is to my intestinal health. I didn't want to discard it.

This week I noticed a really good price on Mexican pineapples, and I wondered what would happen if I juiced them. It couldn't hurt to try. The juice came out of the juicer frothy and thick, nothing like the thin, pale pineapple juice in the cans. Everything about it tasted beneficial and wonderful.

Now, whichever pineapples are on special will be in my shopping cart: the Golds for eating and the cheap Mexican pineapples for juicing.

There are several family favorite meals that I no longer make because they call for avoids like cream of mushroom soup or sour cream. When I read in Paul's blog that silken tofu can be used as a sauce, I was very excited. Tofu is a beneficial for the two As in my family, and as far as I know it is neutral for me. I bought silken tofu as my new food for last week.

I put some in the blender, and it did indeed become wonderfully creamy. Then I started blending in things for taste. My husband and daughter were watching a movie together. Every time I thought I might have a good sauce, I would go into the den with two taste spoons. Every time I left the den with decidedly negative responses. They were relieved when I gave up and tossed the creamy mess into the trash.

Next I went on the internet. There are lots of tofu sauce recipes are out there, but they are either for sweet dessert-like sauces or the first ingredient is vinegar. Since vinegar is an avoid for my Type As, I could forget all those recipes.

We had chef salad over the weekend, so I cut some of the tofu into little cubes and added it to the salads. My husband said, "It's ok, but not as good as soy cheese." My daughter gave hers to the dog, and made sure I noticed that even the dog didn't finish it.

They wanted to know what tofu really was. I said that it was a different form of soy, sort of like sour cream and cream cheese are different forms of milk products. Then my daughter wanted to know why I never bought blueberry cream cheese any more. She already knew the answer - it is an avoid for everyone in the family. I said, "What if I blend blueberries into the tofu, would you try it for breakfast?" She raised her eyebrows and said, "I'd try it - but not tomorrow."

So I have failed my first tofu test. The remnant of my first purchase is now way past the expiration date. I'm not giving up. But I will wait a few weeks before I experiment with tofu again.

I've been doing some shopping at the before and after Easter sales. To my delight, I'm wearing a size smaller in dresses and shorts.

Compared to the world of advertising, this doesn't seem like a remarkable feat. I heard an ad on the radio today with a girl gushing how on some diet she had lost 20 pounds in two months. I read a magazine ad that said buy this exercise equipment and you'll tone your tummy in four weeks.

Compared to those wild claims my modest dress size in a year seems pretty tame. It's certainly not going to get me an advertising contract. Nonetheless, I'm very pleased, and I'll tell you why.

I did not go on the Blood Type Diet to lose weight. I was happy enough with my weight before. Oh, I knew I didn't have the perfect figure, but I was content. I started on the Blood Type Diet because nothing else, including some high priced medicines, had helped my indigestion and GERD. When my GERD symptoms were gone in a week, and I could stop taking the medication, I made a lifetime commitment to the BTD.

I don't watch my portions, because I'm not trying to lose weight. I eat whenever I'm hungry, but I only eat beneficial and neutral foods. I eat until I feel satisfied. Even so, I lost 5-6 pounds the first 2 months I was following the BTD. In the 9 months since then, I've lost another 5-6 pounds. That translates into a size smaller swimsuit for the summer.

For me, losing weight has been a bonus. If your goal is to lose weight, I think you will see success on the BTD. Perhaps your bonus will be that you feel better, and then you will do what I did - make a lifetime commitment to eating right for your type.

The current fad restaurant at our daughter's school is a burrito restaurant called Chipotle. My daughter has been eager to go there, so today after church we tried it, and found it to be remarkably Blood Type friendly.

There are only three menu items: burritos, tacos, and bowls. For a Type O the choice was easy. The burritos and the tacos had grains I must avoid, so I chose a bowl.

A server then adds to your bowl (or burrito or taco) only the ingredients that you want.

I chose grilled steak and romaine lettuce, both beneficial for an O. I also chose rice and black beans, both neutrals. I passed on the sauces because I wasn't sure what was in them.

My Type A husband also got a bowl. He selected rice, black beans (beneficial for him) romaine lettuce, and guacamole. My Type A daughter got a burrito with pinto beans (beneficial for her) and chicken.

The portions were generous, so we all had plenty to eat. It was a unique idea and a very enjoyable lunch