Melissa Jones

Apparently in some stores, the only rice that can be bought is Basmati. Not too bad for gatherers, as it is a superfood grain.

What is the best approach though, to the food shortages we're seeing? The shortages started with wheat, then rice, and will probably affect other foods as well before the year is over. Of course we need to make sure we have enough for our families to eat, and take care to not waste any, since the shortages are worldwide.

A home garden is a great thing, if you have enough land you have many options, if you don't have much flat land, there are other options, like square foot gardening, container gardening and vertical gardening. So if there are some foods you don't want to be without, grow them! Not only are there shortages to worry about, but also food quality issues, like e. coli contamination and some of the other issues we've had with the food supply.

I need to practice what I preach though. I love to garden, but have trouble finding the time and space. I have a spot where I can put a 3X6 foot square foot garden, but I need to fix a sprinkler head and build the box, etc. etc. I did plant a few peas, which are starting to sprout, and a couple elderberry bushes (I hope they survive, they aren't looking great). I can also annex some of the side lawn to put garden boxes on...it's just a matter of actually doing it.

Same would be true for Vegas.

I spent a couple days in San Francisco last week and had a great time, as well as some great food. I couldn't find much written about gluten free food in San Francisco, though most of the nice restaurants have a chef on hand ans I think would do a good job of it. The only place I heard much about was Cafe Gratitude, a great little vegan raw place. I'm not a vegan or raw girl, but it is mostly gluten free (some question on the soy sauce, but I avoided that). It was a really great place, and other than not liking or eating sunflower seeds, the food was awesome. I've never had better guacamole (black dot for gatherers). I don't know what status Irish Moss would have (it's a seaweed that they use to thicken desserts) but the results were amazing...I tried a hazelnut chocolate pie that my husband had them bring me. Wow. It was really nice to be able to order drinks with almond milk and agave...that's a first for any restaurant experience for me.

As I researched other places to eat I was hoping to find an Ethiopian place that uses just teff in their injera bread. I couldn't find one that didn't have at least a little wheat in it. So I googled "dosa" and lo and behold there is a Southern Indian restaurant called Dosa in the Mission district. It's not just the namesake, it's their specialty, and their dosas are too awesome for words. San Francisco has a great climate for sourdough, and although I missed the Dosa filled with lamb that I can get in Sandy at Royal India, the food here was just amazing. I ate way too much, because every bite tasted so good. I tasted my friend's Uttapam, which was also good, a bit like a savory pancake. Now, dosas have lentils in them, a black dot for gatherers, but I couldn't resist as I don't get into a big city very often. I ordered one that had farmer's cheese and peas inside it (two diamond superfoods).

That wasn't the worst of my dietary sins, however...the gelato and ice cream in SF are equally amazing and they had some fun flavors I just couldn't pass up. I only had the kid's size, but whoah, no more for me!

Last night I paid penance by spending two hours making two lasagnas...rice noodle, soy cheese for the boys, and zucchini 'noodle' lasagna for me. They were good, and the leftovers will last a while for all of us. I dig the zucchini pretty well, this time I salted the slices and let them drain for a bit so that the lasagna wasn't so runny as the first attempt. I've also been eating more cranberry flax muffins for breakfast or snacks. They hit the spot and are diamond superfoods all the way. I love using vegetable glycerine to sweeten them, as it seems to make them turn out better.

I'm a thirty-four year old type O non-secretor mom of 2 boys, living in Utah. My husband and 6 year old son are A+ Secretors, my 3 year old is an O-, my sons and I are all celiacs or gluten sensitive. I am an Explorer, my husband is a Teacher, and my boys are probably Teacher and Explorer.

I grew up in a small Utah town, the youngest in a big family. I went to college and ended up with a degree in Biotechnology, Plant Breeding and Applied Genetics. In 1999 I found a copy of Eat Right 4 Your Type at a friend's house, and studied it, as I had an interest in diet and genetics and had read many books on the subject. I had struggled with some health issues and witnessed what my older siblings struggled with. I wanted to stop the path I was on: chronic infections, joint pain, weight problems, depression, fatigue. I gradually tested out parts of the diet, one by one, and proved that they all applied to me. So then I went full-bore. My recurrent sinus and bladder infections cleared up, I lost 35 pounds, my back and joint pain drastically improved, I felt more energized and happy in every way. My needs for all prescription medications have drastically dropped, from up to 5 prescriptions a day to just one but with a lower dose (thyroid).

The two turning points, in starting the diet were 1) when I realized that cutting calories back as drastically as 900 a day for a week along with working out 2 hours a day caused me to actually gain weight, and 2) after reading ER4YT and then after eating a late breakfast of champions (wheaties, milk and O.J.) I had to go back to bed with fatigue and back pain. I was once a skeptic, but kept an open mind, and I'm grateful for that.

I love food, cooking, eating out, trying new things, and thinking about gardening. Now that my boys are bigger, I'm starting to actually garden, rather than just think about it. I also like to read, sing, and love to be with my family.

When I began blogging, January 2004, I was just returning to the diet after my first pregnancy and going somewhat astray (other than avoiding wheat like the plague). I started into the non-secretor diet in earnest and lost 36 pounds over 2004. I also realized I had trouble with more than just wheat, once I cut out most processed foods, so I did what I should have done a few years earlier and got tested (positive) for gluten sensitivity. Soon my first son was also tested, as he hadn't been growing well, seemed far too prone to 'stomach flu', and was grumpy and anemic. He also tested positive with flying colors and was soon Gluten-Free and back to his sweetly mischevious self. My youngest also reacts severely to even small amounts of gluten, no testing necessary (although we did have the gene test for him, which was positive).

Currently I'm trying to lose the weight from my 2nd pregnancy, with the Genotype Diet. I've also begun Taekwondo and am now a green/blue belt (6th gup). I never would have imagined I could do that in 1999, when I had joint pain and didn't healing well from even minor injuries.

It's a fun ride, I'm just glad Dr. D'Adamo's work has put me in the driver's seat when it comes to my health.
(updated July 14, 2009)