Music: Depeche mode: Ultra

Mood: Clove bud and patchoulli.

Wow... Becoming intensly steeped in the Indian tradition/science of Ayurvedic medicine/health/ecxercize/nutrition/cleansing... I have purchased a book entitled "The Key to Health and Rejuvination", by Andreas Moritz... Pretty good reading. While I don't agree with everything... Many of the points he, and ayurveda bring to light are 129% on the ball...

I am going to study this A LOT more, and attempt to combine the teachings of Ayurveda with those of Dr. D'adamo... The best of two worlds...

Sorry I don't have a whole lot to say, but, here are a couple of helpful, Ayurvedic tips...

1) The yogurt bath: Add some scented massage oil to a pint of organic, whole milk yogurt. Fill a clean bathtub with one inch of warm water. Get in the tub, and massage the yogurt into your skin, head to toe... Finally, rinse off in a hot shower. When your finished, get out briskly towel off. This is EXTREMLY beneficial as far as detoxing the body, and improving skin health. TRY IT!

2) Waking up gracefully: Upon rising, keep your eyes closed, and inhale through your nose deeply. Stretch your arms over your head untill your spine is fully straught and elongated. Now relax. Proceed to stretch like a cat by bending your right knee up and acroos your left leg, while bring your arms to your right. Now relax, and do the same thing with the left and right reversed. This will stretch your entire back. Finally, cup your hands over your eyes, and slowly open them,> Massage your face with your fingertips. Peaceful start = Nice calm day. Believe it. Meowing is, of course, totally optional... He he...

3) Computers, cell phones, microwaves, copy machines, etc. are all terribly powerful sorces of EMF's. Electro Magnetic Frequency Radiation... These waves upset and imbalnce your bodys natural wavelength/vibration... Although there are many ways to shield tourslef fromn this... Some more wacky than others, one simple one is to splash/rub cold water on your face and neck a few times throughout the day. The cold water will help to restore harmony, refresh the mind, and alleviate at least some of the harful effects of the modern day conveniences we have all become so dependant on...

Be well my friends...

"Father, it's been three years since my last confession"

Catholic guilt vs. blog neglect guilt, haha.

It's been a while since my last blog. Like most bloggers, I think we've been spending more time on the reincarnated message board than our usual greymatter pages. If you have not visited yet, I encourage you to do so! Just click on Heidi's column, "On the Diet", and follow her link!

The message board, I believe, is the missing link to following the BTD. I know for a fact that receiving comments in my comment log was getting quite stressful. Some burdens, such as tricky questions which you do not know the answer, but know there is probably an answer out there somewhere, or perhaps you do know the answer but do not have enough time to answer it thoroughly, are better when shared by multiple brains. That, and I still don't have email set up directly on my computer (vs. web-based inbox).

Well, the subject this blog is on Figlio's. I really like this place but I'm a bit tired of all the starches. While I believe offering patrons bread before the main course is a nice hospitality, it's very difficult to 1)refuse it when it comes to the table and/or 2)not eat it when it comes to the table.

I got the chicken pot pie. It was good, but it wasn't what I was looking for. It was too heavy. It also came with mashed potatoes, not on the menu. Again, couldn't help but eat them. I will say that I love their strawberry lemonade.

So all that food is sitting in my stomach right now as I type away at Zeno. I'm about to bust out a French-pressed pot of fair trade Costa Rica blend with soy mlk. Oh yes, a good way to end a meal like that....and with honey.

Blogger Jim is coming to the Twin Cities on Friday and I'm going to show him around my favorite BTD hot spots in the cities. That should be fun to cruise around with a fellow A!

Hmmm....what else? The Wedge has a wonderful type A non-secretor/O secretor salad that I just LOVE: Quinoa tabouli!!! Oh, this is heaven. I had this on my break at work yesterday and every time I eat it, I remind myself how I love fresh unadulterated food like this!

They also have Bengali greens which I would recommend to A non-secs and Os. Yum!

Anyway, trying to figure out what to do with my time right now. I'm always complain that I don't have enough of it, but then when I have it, I don't know what to do with it because I want to do it all!

It's a very unliberated feeling I have in my being right now. Perhaps the world should set me free into the jungle and see how long I survive. Like a domesticated cat or dog, probably not long. Then then I realize, hey, it's not so bad here in America, eh, Grubster?

Well, we'll see about that in the next month, won't we?

You know what I think I want to do? I want to learn another language. I'm burnt out on the English language and the connotations associated with each word that resonate in my brain.

It's much like musical meditation for musicians. There was some study done on musicians vs. non-musically oriented people. When music was played during the meditation for the musicians, instead of relaxing, they became agitated because they focused on all the technical aspects of the music! The non-musicians were able to relax. I feel like this a lot in my own home, too. If I try to listen to music, I analyze it too much and have trouble relaxing, cleaning, concentrating, etc. For this reason, and that being in the middle of a city, usually prefer quiet over sound at the end of the day. I grew up playing piano, then developed my vocal chords and began singing, solo and choir, then picked up mom's guitar sitting in the basement back in 1997. This guitar was older than me! I taught myself chords and am easily able to take basic songs off the radio and techno tracks, find the right chords, and play along as I sing. My ultimate dream would be to form an organic cover band based on techno songs. (Vs. the usual organic song put to techno).

Well, OK, tangential thinking, Erika, quit with the tangential thinking. Point is: my brain is musically wired!

I will say that I enjoy sitar music and other foreign music because I do not fully understand the rhythm patterns and don't try. It's too abstract for my bubble gum pop-infested American brain. Same with music sung other languages. No connotations, good or bad. Just words that I cannot understand, but that sound neat to the ears. To me, that is very relaxing.....

People who keep diaries are more likely to suffer from headaches, sleeplessness, digestive problems and even social dysfunction, according to a small British study. Elaine Duncan of the Glasgow Caledonian University and David Sheffield of Staffordshire University compared 94 undergraduates who were regular diarists with 41 non-diarists. "We expected diary-keepers to have some benefit, or be the same, but they were the worst off," said Ms. Duncan, who presented the findings to a British Psychological Society meeting. "You are probably much better off if you don't write anything at all."



I read this out of the New Scientist the other day and it got me thinking as to why the people in this study would be worse off keeping a diary than those that don’t and what would be the differences between Bloggers and regular diarists.

Symptoms

Headaches…I would imagine that most of the diarists in this survey probably wrote in their diaries at night (probably in bed) in a small notebook which caused them to bring the diary close to their face so they could see what they were writing. Also they probably have already taken their contacts or placed their glasses away before retiring to bed. Bloggers have a much large screen or area to write on and we have the option of making the text larger on our screen

Sleeplessness…I have always had the impression that people who keep diaries write more of what’s troubling them in their lives, than what’s not. I like to use the adage…you are what you write…if you’re writing about issues that are troubling you and you’re reading them back to yourself, it’s just going to compound the issues. This would be like sitting with a Psychiatrist going over your neurosis or character disorder and not getting any constructive feed back as to how to relieve your mental anguish. This may answer why they cannot sleep well…writing only makes it persist in the conscience. Speaking for myself as a blogger, there have been odd occasions where I have written about one or two small dramas, but generally I keep my bloggs upbeat and fun (no?)…Anyway, I sleep like a baby.

Digestive Problems…Are they writing in their diaries while eating junk food or any meal. They must be savoring their words more than their food...Maybe Pizza and “dear diary” go together. We’re BTD bloggers and we know why we experience tummy troubles and it’s not from blogging…more like clogging ourselves with avoids the odd time.

Social Dysfunction…If one is unable to confide some of their personal thoughts and feelings to others and loves ones, it can be said that they are socially dysfunctional. Looking at the 18 faces on the blogger page, I can honestly say that we let many people share our lives and thoughts and we are a very empathetic and honest bunch.

Conclusion: BTD Blogging would be a cure for ailing diarists. Who says , "You are probably much better off if you don't write anything at all." …To that I reply(in my best Britsh accent)…Poppycock!!!

I've had a chance to look at my physical craving for chocolate in the past short while. I used to be able to eat chocolate without difficulties, but as I stayed on the BTD, I started to develop a headache after eating chocolate, even if it was organic. This is a very sad state of affairs, naturally, because I don't want to lose another one of my comfort foods. For the last very long while, I can eat a small amount of chocolate and not suffer the consequences if I space out my experiences. Not very satisfactory for a person who loves chocolate like I do. I think it is second only to my love for ice cream, but that's another post!

I bought some unsweetened chocolate pieces at the bulk food store. Last week I melted two of them slowly in a pan on the stove and added some vegetable glycerine to it when it was dissolved, stirring it all together. The taste result was a very rich chocolate that wasn't very sweet, but definitely edible. I probably could have added more vegetable glycerine and made it sweeter, but I didn't really care that I hadn't done that. The physical response was quite interesting. I loved the richness of it, but a very small amount satisfied me beyond belief, and I couldn't eat very much of it. It took three days to eat it all, sharing it with my housemate, who also couldn't eat very much at a time. I suspect that if I do this a few more times - not very soon - I may never want to eat chocolate again for the rest of my life, which is saying quite a lot. It does make me wonder what they put in chocolate to make it as addictive as it is, in the form we all know and love. Maybe the sugar content is what does it, but I suspect there is something else in there that we may never know about.

At my T'ai Chi class last week, the topic of crispy creme doughnuts came up after the subject of coffee began (during our break). We have a man in our group with Parkinson's disease, who is finding much relief through the T'ai Chi movements, a dear soul. He was more than enthusiastic about these doughnuts. As difficult as it was to keep my mouth shut regarding the effects of diet, I did it. Victory was mine. But the real loser is this dear man who loves these tasty morsels that would have me flat on my back in bed. My sense of him is that he would probably not be receptive to a suggestion about changing his diet. Perhaps I will have an opportunity at a later date to mention what the BTD has done for my health, and plant a few seeds of inquiry in his heart, but last week was not the right time to start.

Hey gang... Sorry about the laggin' again. Seems to have become a habit, huh? I'll try and blog more often.

Juiced this morning... Collard greens, carrots, celery, broccoli, shallots, green onion, parsley, cilantro,

garlic, ginger... Iz 'bout it...

The trend latley is to have 8oz in the morn, and 12 oz later on... After work or so...

Breakfast was 2 slices of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with a Tbsp and a half of raw Tahini. On one I drizzled a tsp. or so of blackstrap molasses. The other I seasones with dules, mustard powder, Herbamare, garlic, Nutritional yeast, parsley, and turmeric... Lotta seasoni9ng for one piece of toast! I'm a pretty weird guy though, ya' know?! Maranatha nut butters makes a really nice raw tahini... Threw a small handful of raw almonds, and a few dried mission figs for on the way to work as I was still hungry...

Had a berry smoothy at work about 3 hours later... Lots of water and a cup of Ginger-Aid tea too... Made by Traditional Medicinals... Really good! It's got a helluva ginger kick!

Lunch was raw veggies, same ones I used for juicing, sans a few... A tin of sardines in spring water, and two brown rice cakes by Lundberg farms. YUM! Seasoned w/Herbamare and Annies Green Garlic Dressing. A VINEGAR FREE DRESSING! But... Guess what!? It has a teeny bit of xantham gum thrown in... A stabalizer no doubt... I eat it sparingly and not often... Pretty good though. 99 1/2% sure than the Xantham Gum is an avoid... Just like all other Veg. gums. Carageenan, acacia, locust bean, guar... Damn things are EVERYWHERE! All natural Yes... Promote lectin activuty and clog up liver and intestines? Double yes! Stay away if you can friends...

More green tea and water... Been drinking the greeb teas by Yogi Teas latley... The Kombucha, and the Super antioxidant... Good stuff.

Dinner was a FIASCO. I have develped a serious prob the last few days... OVEREATING to the N'th degree at night... I have NO CLUE why I am doing it... Eating mass quantities of carbs, oils, nuts/butters, whatever. You name it... I'll eat enough for 4 people... I know I'm doing it to... I sit there and eat while reading untill I am so uncomfortable I can't bend! WTH is goin' on? I know damn well I am full, but, my mouth and mind keep putting me back in front of the cupboard! A few hours ago I ate 4 HUGE bowls of cerial (an entire box and then some more of another...) blueberries, pineapple, walnuts, TONS of soy milk... I looked myself in the eye and told myself not to do it again... I must be tryin' to "catch up" after the 43 day "fast"... The jaw wants to move! I'm gonna try and eat more protien and fat during the day and practice a bit of will power in the PM.... That oughtta do 'er...

Later gang... I'll get to the Q's oon as I have some time. Monday night perhaps? Here's hopin'.

Much love to ALL of you.

Darling, last night was WONDERFUL.....

The shiatsu massage, that is.

Yes, had a nice adjustment with my buddy down the way, Dr. Stussy, then off to Great Metropolitan Back Rub for a great shiatsu. This therapist really knew his stuff. For a guy, he really knew about the female reproductive cycle in an empathetic way I've never quite heard before. He, like many wonderful Shiatsu therapists around the Twin Cities, were all trained at CenterPoint in Dinkytown. They are very well-versed in things that you only wish allopathic practitioners were trained in....things like pulse reading and tongue reading.

The one type of healing art that I've found to be quite scarce in the Twin Cities, however, is cranio-sacral. If you've ever had it performed on you, you know what a subtle technique it is. The first time I had it done, I was in Seattle. The practioner's name was Nicholas Night. I met him in a mall in north Seattle where he did some chair massages. I went to him a couple of times after my rotation at the hospital. I was so sore from taking three buses to and from that rotation every day, carrying around a backpack (when you commute an hour and a half each way you need your reading material!).

Anyway, he told me about this cranio-sacral technique he practiced. I was intrigued and made an appointment at his home massage studio about a half a mile from the nearest bus stop! It was a dark rainy Seattle evening. Here I am walking to a total stranger's home for a "massage" I've never heard of before! But it was fascinating! It lasted about an hour and a half and it doesn't really feel like anything is being done to you, but then wham! You get off the massage table and you feel three inches taller! Amazing!

I've heard the same thing about people who are rolfed. I'd like to try that sometime as well. My body really needs it. It's contorted into so many unhealthy positions ranging from what I'm doing right now on my computer (typing slouched) to the repetitive motion of dispensing scripts and not using a headset, because, hey, what's the point when you have to take it off every two minutes as you run across the room to run the cash register, counsel patients, turn off the Baker Cells beaping, or answer a technician question?

Well, at my shiatsu, one cranio-sacral technique was practiced on me...it's called the stillpoint. It's just heaven.....otherwise, besides a few other shiasu practitioners dabbling with it, only one other practitioner down the road has ever practiced on me and I have no idea where that person is anymore. All I know was that my body was aching from all that studying for pharmacy boards in 2002 and when I finally took the NAPLEX after a cranio-sacral session, I did extremely well on that exam!

Well, back to the heart of the blog. Food. Yes, it's been a wild and crazy 24 hours of dining for Erika Klus. OK, not really but I just ate that Swiss Chard I told you all about which I bought at the Wedge. Verdict: too salty. I don't know if some stoned little hippie dude put too much salt into it or if that's the way the recipe was written, but I don't think this will be a repeat purchase. Otherwise, the palak dal was nice. The chocolate-peanut butter yin yang shaped tofu pudding was all right. Also ate some chicken from Lund's. Last night was a mustard-based sauce and this afternoon was a thai peanut-based sauce. Garlic green beans completed the meal. White tea at work.

Tonight was a lovely food night! Got off work, had dinner with a colleague I'd been aching to catch up with from another store. We were planning to go to Sebastian Joe's for ice cream, but I was so hungry by the time I got off work that we went to Chino Latino instead. They have these fun two dollar happy hour specials. I had enchiladas w/chicken and black beans. Also some tortilla chips topped with a fried egg and salsa. Both things were topped with sour cream and that peaved me greatly because I hate sour cream and it wasn't listed on the menu. But scraping it off is always an option so that's about all the bitching I can do when the food costs two bucks a head! Also had a fufu martini: blackberry mojito. Yes, it has some sort of distilled liquor but that blackberry puree with mint was just heavenly!

The meal ended with a dessert considered to be almost as good as the real thing after what it's named: Hot Monkey Love!!! Yes, behold, a deep-fried Snickers bar a la mode. So much for keeping with the BTD. Oh, well. Peanuts, at least......

On that note, time to hit the hay.

Ps- if you left me a comment in the last few weeks in which you'd like a response, hold tight...let me get thru this work week and I'll be more than happy to answer your Qs. Really. Promise.

What teens say about nutrition

1,046 Canadian high-school students (Grades 8 through 12) were asked when deciding what foods to eat, how important are the following:

Attitudes about healthy eating*

Good nutrition: 78%

Kids generally want to eat healthy but lack the know how. Kids get their info and nutrition from three sources…first and foremost parents, secondly, school lunch programs (most are pathetic) and lastly media… teenagers are bombarded with advertising especially the Franken food sort.

Maintaining good health: 83%

Managing my weight: 68%

I would suspect the survey results skued more positive replies from the females than males when asked this question and that is probably why most of the respondent’s skipped breakfast…see below

Energy for my sports/workout: 71%

Eating habits*

Eat breakfast every day: 47%

Statistics show that kids who eat breakfast consistently score higher in tests than kids that do not…proven fact

Eat at least 3 vegetable servings/day: 27%

I wonder how many included potatoes or French fries in their answers?

Eat at least 3 fruit servings/day: 24%

Most think they can drink fruit juice and get the same benefits without the eating the roughage, shortchanging themselves of the fiber

Eat at least 4 dairy servings/day: 14%

The O’s in this survey that answered low or no servings are better off

Follow a vegetarian diet: 7%

Good chance that 35% of the respondents are type A and would do well to be on one

Choose whole grain breads: 29%

I would imagine white bread still rules supreme among kids

Take a multivitamin: 29%

Take a calcium supplement: 15%

The majority of teenagers that took part in this study (78 per cent) say they get their nutrition information from parents.

I wonder what the survey results would be if we did a survey of 1000 kids who belonged to BTD mom and dads, sub categorized by blood group. Sounds like a project.

Boy do I love the Wedge. So many wonderful groceries came out of that place today! I can hardly contain myself and that's bad because I need to get to bed.

I got a shot of wheatgrass and an almond milk maple latte. Oh yeah baby!

Also picked up a great standby, lemon mint basmati. Now that fall has come, they have a great butternut squash rice (wild and brown rice mixed with said squash, pumpkin seeds, tamari, scallions, etc). Just got done eating that one. YUM!

Hmmmm....also ate a DELICIOUS sandwich, custom made by these great Wedgies, haha. Yes, this sandwich was just delightful. Spelt bread with (drum roll please)......herbed tofu steak, portabella mushrooms, stoned mustard, basil walnut pesto, spinach, red onions, and avocado. Jennifer (fellow blogger), if you are reading this, run, do not walk to get a sandwich at the Wedge!

This is the first time I've ever taken advantage of the sandwich-making process in the deli. And now, I'm thinking to myself: why didn't I do this before???

It's kind of like bicycling. Grubster has told me all summer long that he wants to build me a bicycle for Christmas. We went to a used bike shop to check out the bikes. There was this funky old Schwinn. Haven't riden a bike in like two years! This was so refreshing!!! Then I got on a Biria and thought, man, I'm really missing out on life. These bikes are so cool!

Anyway, sorry for the tangent but despite being sick with a cold, it felt wonderful to ride a bike again. I remember riding a bike around my neighborhood as a kid. Every little bike path taken was like a new adventure. And then even the old bike paths were special. Watch out for that crack in the aspalt! Uh huh, it's that curb again! And then that all familiar sound of the gears click-click-clicking as I cruised down a hill. (Of course in north central Iowa, you folks in more mountainous areas would be laughing your butts off at what are considered "hills" here in my neck of the woods. But you know, that's the way it goes! What can I say? It's flat farmland!)

Back to the Wedge. Tofu peanut butter/chocolate dessert. Haven't eaten it yet. Also yet to be eaten: palak dal (red lentils in mustard-type sauce over brown rice), Swiss chard with garlic, and halva.

On the way out, there is always this fun poster series they have on display. Once it was about edible mushrooms, another was about different apples. This time it was about Garlics of the world. There are SO many types of garlic. I couldn't believe how many varieties!

If you live in a big city, I strongly encourage you to join a co-op. There are so many benefits to joining. The good wholesome food being probably the number one reason!

How do friends? What's "Chilly Down", you ask? Why, 'tis a song on the soundtrack to the old movie, "Labyrinth", starring David Bowie, and Jennifer Connely. One of the coolest movies ever, and a great soundtrack! Burning a bit of Nag Champa and jamming to old tunes while I finish some business on the comp here...

Just juiced... Collard greens, broccoli, ginger, green onion, garlic, carrots, celery, parsley, cilantro, and MAD love baby... Good stuff... Just drank 8 oz or so, saving 12 for later. Air tight to deter vitamin/enzyme loss, of course! Before juicing I ground 2 Tbsp of golden flax seed and put it down with a glass of water. Good for the bowels...

I don't know what I'll have for an actual breakfast, if anything. Lunch will be an avocado w/Herbamare, a slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread, a couple of dried mission figs, and a grapefruit afterward...

Dinner will either be some reheated (NOT w/a microwave!) veg/turkey soup, and a couple of brown rice cakes, or, I may hit a new restaurant in town called the HuHot Mongolian Grill. They serve primarily Asian food, stir-fry, etc. I guess they have an all you can eat Mongolian buffet/stir fry bar where you pick and choose exactly what you want sliced, sautéed, and put in your bowl! Sounds nice and easy to stay compliant... As well as delicious! Whenever I go, I'll let ya' know how it plays out... After dinner, another piece of that Dagoba organic rainforest dark chocolate will do nicely... I LOVE the stuff... Making a bar of it last quite a while! Google "Dagoba chocolate" if y'er interested.

I have another appointment with the Chinese accupressurist tonight... I hope I feel some tangible improvement after this visit... I've spent a lot of money on this guy... I can't afford to just keep seeing him 2X a week for nothing... If this doesn't pan out, I'm going to try acupuncture next. If that fails, it's off to the East Coast to visit the Main Man. Dr. D'adamo... I'll do whatever it takes to sort out these digestive/moving the bowels probs I've been having the past year and a half... I'm quite sure it has something to do with an old back injury... It sure as HELL isn't food related... I think 43 days on the Master Cleanse proved that!

Gotta hope in the shower and cruise to work boys and girls... Again I'll have to fill you in on the rest of what I've been wanting to talk about next time! Colema board... Some other stuff... More intimate details on my "problem"... Same blood type time... Same blood type Channel! Peace and love to you all.

Erika has a cold! Boo hoo!

Well, it could be worse. I'm just glad I don't have to work thru the cold this weekend. Stress and colds don't mix.

Well, despite the cold, Grubster and I have had a pleasant weekend. We have visited Whole Foods a total of three times! OK, three for me, and two for him.

Lots of great blood-type friendly foods. Here is my favorite new snacky food: Spelt Ginger Snaps by the ShaSha Bread Co. Highly habit forming: you can't eat just one so watch out!!

For my cold, I picked up a little bit of zinc/echinacea/elderberry lozenges. I also did some Bikram yoga this morning and was suprised to even get thru it with the cold but figured that rise in body heat and sweating might be good for the immune system.

Grubster has to work today so I drove out to his workplace and we eat a lovely Whole Foods lunch together. Stuffed curry chicken, asparagus and tomato salad, and....key lime dessert. Hey, my blood type dining philosophy is always to give leeway for dessert, haha.

Hmmm...what else? Last night we watched a goofy Nigerian movie called Osuofia in London. One of my techs was born in Ghana so he kept quoting part of the movie, "Big, big meat."

He kept saying it over and over again so finally I told him I had to see the movie for myself. If you can get a hold of this movie, it would be well worth your time, especially if you can understand pigeon English.

Grubby and I went to Atlanta Bread Company for some SOUP yesterday. He had the tomato florantine and I had chicken noodle but didn't eat the noodles. I was breaded out! We snacked on some almonds, jicama with lime juice, a caramel apple, and a sweet potato snack mix during the movie.

Oh, we also stopped by an Indian food stand for some chicken curry with rice and naan. Yum! Sorry this blog is so out of order but I'm a little loopy from the cold. Not thinking very hard as you can see.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Hey fellow BTD's. Again, I've made you wait too long... Neglecting my bloggin' responsibility. But, alas, here we go... I've so much to cram into this thing that I'm just gonna itemize everything with a brief explanation next to it... I think... He he...

Ok... What to begin with...

1) In the pastt weeks, I have been to a chinese doctor 3X. He is an old Chinese man, been practicing accupuncture/accupressure/herbal medicine for 30+ years... Very cool old guy. $$50 a trip. One hour sessions... Not sure this is the answer to my problems (back/digestive/bowels) but, I have faith that SOMETHING out there is the answer. So, I look within myself and others to find it.

2) I'm off the fast! Feels good to be eating again... Sorta... Gotta get used to it again. I have been eating veggie soup, lot's of juicing, the Master Cleanse lemonade mixture, lot's of fresh grapefruit and grapefruit juice, split pea soup (Amy's Organics and Walnut Acres both make delicious type A acceptable versions! Of coure I prefer homemade, but when you're on the go...) Tonight I had a DELICIOUS dinner. I loved it... I had the veggie soup w/added slow cooked free range ground turkey, a brown rice cake, and an avocado w/dulse flakes... Snap! Dessert was a nice cold organic grapefruit, and a piece of organic dark chocolate made by Dagoaba... Phenomenol! Ingredients are Organic cocao, organic cane syrup, organic lavendar, organic blueberries, and... LOVE! What a delicious dinner! All while reading a health food magazine too... I'm so good...

Oh geez... I gotta go! Date to watch Tom Hanks in "The Lady Killers" w/my parents... Sorry! More soon on the rest of the stuff I wanted to talk about... Colemas, liver flushing, the foods I've been eating, the celiac potluck I attended, my new jobs, etc.

Stay true to the game! Eat right! Love and compassion!

I’m here on a Saturday morning sitting in my office (sipping my green tea) at work contemplating ‘Why am I here today’. Since a fellow manager (and good friend) got ‘let go’ a few weeks back, my responsibilities have gone from 16 people to 21. I’m here today because some of my reps want to get ahead quicker than others and we only allow them access to the office on Saturdays if a manager is present…so here I am.

Earlier this week I was fortunate to attend a seminar…Shut up, Stop Wining, and Get A Life, by Larry Winget. Larry’s style is very confrontational and he doesn’t hold anything back in his style of speaking. I found myself laughing a lot at the many stories of people who failed to take responsibility for the lives and their results. I was really laughing at myself and at the many moments in my life where I felt that I was getting a ‘raw deal’ and didn’t feel I could do anything about my ‘bad’ situation at the time. Some of his philosophies are:

"If you don’t have much going wrong in your life, then you don’t have much going on in your life."

"When you work, work! When you play, play! Don’t mix the two."

"What you think about, talk about, and do something about is what comes about."

"When it quits being fun--quit."

"Time management is a joke”

I can’t say that I agreed with all that he said yet the most interesting (under his tough stance lies a very warm heart) part of his talk is Winget’s emphasis on the importance of love and service to others. He explains that these two factors are the key to all success, happiness, and prosperity in both your personal and professional life…this I do agree with whole heartily. Many have wrote and preached about this through the ages…some have mastered it, some have tasted it and many have been deaf to its message.

We all have had bad life situations. For me to this present moment, my failed marriage and my alopecia have to be the two biggies so far (may seem very mild in comparison to others). These were two occurrences that forced me to change (another theme of Winget’s talk was that people hate to change). My theory is if you do not constantly try to re-create yourself, life and it natural forces will force you to.

So to answer my question ‘Why am I here today” As a manager in my job, it is my duty (more like passion…I love what I do) to provide leadership and to be of service to employees so that they can grow professionally and personally. I’m blogging because writing up until earlier this year was something I never did (unless I was forced to). I’m on the BTD diet because it works for me on many levels and allows me to take responsibility for my own health.

There might be a little ‘wine’ in my question but mostly my wining these days comes in the form of an occasional red with dinner.

I have a very suggestible mind. Too suggestible, some might say. For example, someone on the non-secretor list recently talked about the work of Dr. John Sarno, whose name had escaped me until the day I read the post. I noted his name down and tracked down his books at the Toronto library, and now have them in my hands. The first book I got was his older one, about healing back pain through confronting the emotional issues we all have from time to time, at which time the very real pain in the body would disappear for all time unless there was a relapse of the mind not taking responsibility for current difficult issues in one’s life. The second book, written in 1998, and therefore much updated on the basis of his further experiences in his clinic, talks about the fact that just about every dis-ease known on the face of this earth can be traced to the failure to face up to emotional disasters in our lives. I haven’t had much time to look at this book, and have only dipped into various areas very briefly, so I should probably not be talking about it. However, these books have left me pondering the state of my health, the condition of my body-mind, and what else I can do to promote quality of life for myself.

Around the time of my move at the end of July, I visited my family doctor for various tests. I wanted to know if the tincture I’d been taking to dissolve the stones in my gall bladder had actually done that. The ultrasound I’d had a year earlier had shown my gall bladder looking quite tight and bulging with a great deal of stones. A flush earlier in the year had yielded nothing but discomfort, and I was delighted to find the tincture at a local herb shop. Even if the stones were still there, I was not disappointed with the tincture for a great many things in my body had changed – there was a lot more body in my hair, my bowel movements had improved in terms of quantity and texture (yes, I know, we’re not supposed to talk publicly about such things) and I had a lot more energy. Friends who had not seen me for a while commented on how well I looked when we met, after taking it for a few months.

The various tests results ordered by my doctor brought relief and concern at the same time. My gall bladder no longer bulges, though it still has stones to a fair degree. More of the tincture should help to alleviate this condition, and I have no problem taking more of it. The doctor even approved of my taking more of it! The tiny cysts on my liver noted a year earlier had disappeared. The doctor had basically laughed them off last year when the report was received, with no real information as to what they represented. The bad news was that my cholesterol readings, traditionally high for many years, have actually climbed a few points higher. To complicate matters, my heart is very strong, I don’t have any signs of diabetes, and my blood pressure is at a very comfortable low point. My average pulse during the days registers under 60 beats per minutes when I remember to take it as a check-in point. I’ve spent a lot of money for pantethine supplements, which did lower the cholesterol reading slightly in the past, but not enough to please my doctor. I’ve also tried red yeast rice supplements, but don’t take it regularly enough to do anything positive, it seems. The doctor wants me to take drugs to lower the cholesterol reading. I am more than reluctant to get the prescription filled. I feel very well indeed. I walk a lot, and recently returned to the discipline of T’ai Chi since there is a centre not far from my new home. I also returned to doing a bit of Turkish dervish whirling, which I like a lot but haven’t been able to do for some time because of poor physical conditions in my home.

I belong to that class of people who like to “fix” things - particularly myself. I like to fix my medical condition, my health decline, my low energy level, my general environment. The years I lived at the Ashram taught me to question myself at every turn, to take responsibility for my thoughts and actions, basically for my life. At age 66, with wrinkling skin and graying and thinning hair, I am at the stage where I need to not only try to fix things, but to allow myself to relax in those areas where fixing is not a possibility any more. I have come to the brilliant conclusion that pain will not kill a person, and no-one has ever died of it. Fortunately, I live with little pain at this point in my life, though I have a tendency to experience stiffness/pain in my right neck area, and the bunions in my feet seem to be turning into an arthritic condition that is forcing my big toes towards the rest of my toes, creating a pressure on the second toe of each foot. This doesn’t create pain, just a new, uncomfortable feeling in the feet, and it certainly doesn’t stop my movements.

So, to return to my starting point: how to integrate the information that I absolutely believe is correct, given by Dr. Sarno, into my current lifestyle that perhaps could reduce the pain in my neck, the movement in my toes, and reduce the build-up of cholesterol in my veins? So far I have not found any information on how/why cholesterol builds up in the human system. Perhaps I am forgetting about some basic things I learned some time ago about the importance of relaxing my body on a regular basis. Dr. Sarno’s second book mentions Norman Cousins, who confounded medical science by laughing himself out of an imminent life-threatening condition and then worked at UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles, for the benefit of non-North American readers) for some years before he finally did die, helping a great many people to work with their particular conditions, using a form of relaxation and visualization exercise with all of them. It sounds like it’s time to read the books of Mr. Cousins one more time to refresh my memory. I don’t think my doctor will be able to understand any of this blog.

Ahhhh....here I am once again sipping a soy latte at Panera Bread and finally, FINALLY getting in a much-needed blog after a lovely road trip to meet the wizard (Dr. D'Adamo).

I ate a nice sourdough breadbowl of vegetarian black bean soup before opening my laptop to see if there were any wireless networks in the bldg. Thinking that Panera had its own network (making assumptions is a BAD thing to do in the computer world), I clicked on my web broswer.

A message comes up, "None of your trusted wireless networks could be found. Would you like to join "c*ck-gobblers"?

Um, sure, I think to myself.

So here I am. Thanks to c*ck-gobblers.

I started my drive on Monday. I wanted to start earlier, but tornado weather prevented me from doing so. I listened to some wonderful audiobooks on the way, some old, some new. Anything by Carolyn Myss is a winner. Learning to be a healer and a spiritual alchemist. So much fun! Also worth noting: Garrison Keillor's "Home Grown Democrat." What else? Oh yes, a wonderful five CD audiobook on the history of Jerusalem. Very informative. And fascinating, especially after having visited Jerusalem in 1997.

I stopped in Madison for a quick caesar salad from Panera and then coffee from Atlanta bread company. Both places I was trying to get wireless but Panera did not have any and Atlanta bread's didn't work! Ugh! But I did something stupid with the coffee. I added half and half since they did not have soy milk. Then I added juice from a lemon wedge. You know that whole curdle thing that happens? Yeah, I drank curd coffee from that point on. Oh dear.

Got back on the road and stopped to get gas. At the gas station there was a "chinese" food deli. Nothing but the fried rice looked safe, as in Blood Type Diet safe. But it was food.

Got back on the road and went through about a bijillion toll booths in Illinois. Arrived in South Bend, IN, to stay with family friends of Grubster. I had a short but wonderful sleep followed by a nice oatmeal breakfast and coffee as well as great conversation. Back on the road by about 7:30 Tuesday am.

Drove through Indiana, Ohio, stopped for lunch at, oh no, MCDONALD'S! I had some of those new chicken strips they've been advertising. Well, what can I say? I could smell the fried devil food all the way from the gas station so I figured, hey, why not? It's just a couple of chicken strips.

Also, while driving, I ate that flax and soy cereal made by . Can't remember the name. Geez, for all these brands I DO advertise on this blog I should be getting paid!

Pennsylvania is a BEAUTIFUL state. I definitely enjoyed my drive through PA. Also appreciated the road construction signs that paired with a 45 mph speed limit. In large child-like font letters: "Slow down: My mommy works here." Just the thought of hitting some young child's mother on the interstate is enough to land you with an instant awareness of a fragile human life if not an instant guilt trip for speeding!

Tried to visit a friend in New Jersey, but due to time constraints I was unable to visit NJ. So I drove straight to Stamford. Can I tell you how sore my butt was from all that driving??

As I've become older, I've found one of the only ways to successfully deal with my control-freak tendencies is to quit planning. I didn't plan for much during this trip. I didn't even reserve a hotel room. This lack of planning came crashing down on me as I called the Sheraton in Stamford Tuesday evening only to learn that hotels are $239/night! Well, I figured, I'd wait to see if I could find something cheaper that's hopefully a bit cleaner than a Motel 6.

More toll booths. Listened to Paul Oakenfold throughout this east coast whirlwind of highway interchanges. It was so fitting and made every mile toward the final destination more exciting. Finally I got off the interstate and into Stamford. I didn't know where the hell I was going, but followed instinct. I came to the downtown area and then along a very college campus-friendly street full of cute little restaurants and shops. Stopped in a pharmacy to ask for hotel recommendations. The pharmacist wasn't that much more help and the pharmacy didn't sell local maps. My mapquest maps were not very good. I just didn't plan ahead. I had earlier seen a Stamford Suites but figured suites would probably cost more than the Sheraton. Nevertheless I went into the lobby to inquire about rates.

"We are running a Labor Day special. The rate is $125." OK, let me tell you, this suite was as big if not bigger than my apartment! I walked back to the street with the dining establishments to reward myself with a glass of merlot and a flatbread with goat cheese, tomatoes and.....ok, I don't remember now, that was too long ago. I also had a sinful piece of chocolate cake. I think I had less right for my blood type coming out to Connecticut than I have in the last few months! Ironic (don'tcha think?)

But the pipes in the building were very loud and despite my getting to bed by midight I was awakened by 5 am. Once again, I took out my laptop, figuring, JUST IN CASE there is some wireless connection...and there was a faint one, most likely coming from someone's nearby apartment. I was able to check the weather, mapquest directions to the D'Adamo clinic, and email. Very nice. The suites are less than a mile away from the clnic. Thank goodness for wireless.

I still don't know who owns "c*ck gobblers". Nor do I want to.....

Wednesday was a cold, rainy day in Stamford. I ate a mini-croissant and drank coffee in the lobby, telling the concierge who'd never heard of the BTD what brought me all the way from Minnesota to his little state. He seemed intrigued.

I arrived at the clinic just before 10 am. Like a good Minnesotan, I brought along some free-trade White Earth reservation wild rice as a "thank you" gift for allowing me to pick the brain of the great naturopathic physician for a day.

Up the elevator I went. Soon after, Nathan (office manager) and Peter D'Adamo pop up via elevator, too.

"Well, it's the famous Erika Klus!"

Me famous? OK, now, hearing that from someone with a best-selling diet book published in 50 different languages perplexed me, but hey, I humbly accepted this greeting from my personal hero. The office abruptly opened for business and after a quick chat, we saw the first patient of the day.

The clinic reminded me a lot of a VA outpatient clinic, but in a good way...you see, when I completed an ambulatory care rotation in Lincoln, NE, in 2001, I was very impressed by the teamwork and computer system in the VA system. Pharmacists are well-respected professionals in the VA system. While there were no other health care professionals working along-side, the format of these naturopathic visits was well-organized. The dispensary, an herbal pharmacy of sorts, satisfied my apothecary-like nerdiness! Speaking of apothecary, if you ever get a chance, visit the pharmacy museum in New Orleans. It's so cool!

After seeing the first patient, then another, and then a phone consult, Dr. D ordered us some soup at a nearby Italian joint. The soup was white beans, tomatoes, and escarole in a clear broth. This was the part of the visit I liked most because I pictured myself as some Vanity Fair journalist asking questions and carefully observing the famous interviewee. That's when I pictured the article in my head stating:

"And out of his bowl, he ate everything but the tomatoes, just like his diet prescribed...."

Strangely enough, meeting Dr. D wasn't all that mind-blowing. After reading his books, blogs, and hearing his voice on the conference CDs, and in turn, he reading my blogs for the past nine months, it was like meeting a kindred spirit.

Back at the clinic, the last patient of the day waited. He was a funny guy. Very East Coast. When I told him I drove all the way out to CT from MN just to meet Dr. D, he called me some yiddish word for crazy. If only he knew, haha....

Anyway, the Japanese film crew came in to do the interview. In the interim, I chatted with Dr. D's sister-in-law who handles PR for the clinic and NAP. Later, I had a chance to chat with John Harris as well. After listening to his lecture at the last conference in 2003 I was fascinated to meet the man behind the mic who helps people find the food to sucessfully follow the diet.

With the Japanese's peculiar interest in Dr. D's practice it reminded us both of a scene from the movie "Lost in Translation."

The whole day full of all these cool people was a BT Dieter's dream. A song by Tori Amos kept popping into my head. I draw a parallel. In this case, instead of knowing the truth about what happened with Jesus and the Bible in sort of a DaVinci code way (discarding/disregarding the sacred feminine), it's symbolic of the truth being kept from millions of people by the allopathic medical establishment/commercial lobbyists about the path to better health through nutrigenomics. That song was "Muhammed My Friend." I won't post the lyrics on this blog because I'm afraid people will take it too literally and not realize the true meaning behind the lyrics. Tori is a complex writer. Someday, it wouldn't surprise me if some college campus offered a course on her music and/or lyrics the way UC Berkeley offers a course on Tupac's lyrics.

All in all, the long drive was worth it for me! After Stamford, the evening drive to Buffalo, NY to see a friend that I have not seen in YEARS was brutal. Rain the whole way. Semi trucks splashing water all over the windshield as they sped by. Trucks should not be going that fast. And to think, it's all in the name of capitalistic commerce. My favorite truck that whizzed by me dangerously at 80 mph in the pouring rain: KRAFT FOODS. Oh, how fitting...

My cell phone ran out of battery power just as I entered Buffalo. Not good considering I didn't know where the heck I was going. Stopped at a convenience store in a questionable neighborhood at midnight to plug my cell phone into the wall and call my friend to have her find me! The people at the store were very cool though. I used my Minnesota dumb midwestern charm to get through that strange moment of confusion.

Spent Thursday in drizzly Buffalo checking email at Cafe Aroma. Apparently, Ani DiFranco stops into this place to grab a muffin every once in a while. Before hitting the PowerBook, I ate a wonderful lunch: frittata w/BTD-friendly ingredients and mixed greens topped with olive oil and lemon juice. Followed by a soy latte. Strolled along the adjacent book shop. Bought my friend the Eat Right book since Live Right was not in stock. She's very interested in trying the diet as an O positive. Her beau is also an O so she can cook for the both of them. I'm excited to hear how well it works for her!

I also picked up a book called, "How to Keep Kosher." I have this strange fascination with Jewish kashrut dietary laws as of late. Why? Not quite sure, but I think Jewish faith is onto something in light of their pork prohibition among other restrictions. How I would love to see pork less consumed in this country......if not for our health, for the health of the environment (which indirectly leads us back to our health anyway). If for no other reason, the Jewish are people who have persisted for centuries despite being a minority, disenfranchised, if not hated and slaughtered, among Gentiles. Diet, whether seen as a sacred or a secular practice, HAS to have something to do with this.

Later that night, stopped by a liquor store to pick up some wine before we had dinner at one of her friend's houses. Two wines struck my eye and I found myself buying them upon recommendation from the liquor store owner:

Old Fart

Cat Phee on a Gooseberry Bush

I'll let you know if these live up to their reputation when I get around to drinking them.

Within the last two weeks, I've had a lot of wheat and this night was no exception with pasta, bread and other wheat-filled cuisines. But the company was good. I found myself again professing my faith in the BTD, showing people the books and explaining why blood type is so crucial to health and the immune system.

Listened to a home poetry reading later that night. A friend of hers came over who lived in Japan for two years. He told me that they are nuts about blood type over there. First thing they ask is, "What's your sign?", followed by, "What's your blood type?"

Went to bed, got up, and visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with said friend. Very cool! I wanted to visit Mike in Toronto, but of course my lack of planning got in the way as impromptu visits to foreign countries don't always work well for people who have work commitments in the middle of the day, haha! No sweat, Mike, I'll catch ya another time....

Drove back toward the midwest. Stopped in a Waffle House outside of Cleveland. Now, I'm telling you, those Waffle House people have it all figured out. They only take cash. Oh, you don't have enough cash on you? That's OK! They had a "cash" machine! It costs a buck fifty plus whatever amount you'd like to deduct from your debit card. They don't allow you to deduct more than $20. I supposed that's good considering you woudn't want to be mugged coming out of a Waffle House, but still, a buck fifty fee for only twenty bucks cash withdrawal? The receipt goes to the register. You order and then you get your change back. Genius, pure genius, Watson!

Waffle House is slim pickin's for Blood Type living. I ate an egg, hash browns, toast with apple butter, and coffee with honey. Took some water with lemon squeezed into it to go. There was a waitress there who reminded me of Parker Posey in "Waiting for Guffman". I mean, this beautiful young woman stuck in a Waffle House, going to school and working two jobs. It made me want to cry. Well, maybe not cry. But something.

Stopped in Chicago to visit a dear architect friend of mine. Oh, we had SO much fun! I really miss him and wish we lived closer to one another. We stopped by a great steak house near the L. I made an L is for Losers joke knowing he rides the L. Hey, if I didn't pick on him, he wouldn't know I like him! Anyhoo, he had a steak risotto and I had an ahi tuna dish. We split a piece of key lime pie and drank decaf coffee before parting ways.

Back at work on Monday. Now that our summer intern went back to school and our whiz tech also went back to school we are left with a skeleton crew. The pharmacy is chaos. The manager is taking his vacation, too. I don't think I can take this much longer. Top it off with my car getting vandalized within the last couple of weeks. Who would do such a thing? A neighbor? A patient? A fellow employee? A random technology-gas-guzzler-driver hater? Who knows? I'm a blunt person and my lack of sensitivity regarding the hundreds of insurance plans I have to deal with everyday probably does not make me seem like a nice person. But I'm thinking that I either need to float again, work less, or even switch companies. Or switch careers. Summer was great, but here we are in the fall, unable to keep up with the volume, and the holidays are looking even more bleak. I'm not doing what I did last year. I'm not allowing my health to go to crap like it did with my heart. Since that spring, I have not had heart problems. I am convinced it was job stress that brought on my symptoms.

On a final note, Gov. Dean was in town to visit the Twin Cities. He had a stop in Edina to sign books. The rep at the front of Barnes & Noble explained that he would not be doing any personal signings and would only autograph two purchased books. When I came up to him to have my two books signed, I told him, "this one is for my friend stationed in Iraq."

His heart softened. "What's his name?"

"Paul. He's in the JAG corps. He really wanted you to be president."

Dear Paul,

Thanks for serving!

Howard Dean

Needless to say, I thanked him. I walked away with a smile on my face and a warm feeling all over. I began reading his book during my dinner at Good Earth. Thinking back to this moment, it probably didn't hurt that his son's name was Paul, too. An auspicious coincidence for my friend in Iraq. Funny thing is, he sort of looks like Dean! I can't wait till he gets the book in the mail.

I about cried when he dropped out of the primaries early this year. Oh well, at least he's still out there promoting democracy.

OK, well, I'd write more but I think it's time to stop for today. Hope you enjoyed my east coast tour. Check this blog later as I might add on tidbit reflections of the journey!

Hey, Fellow BTD's! I'm VERY sorry it's been so long. Neglecting a responsibility here... I'm also really excited to announce that I went grocery shopping with my mom today! This means... I have food in the house! And, I'm gonna eat some! I can't wait to start incorporating solids back in... I'll have to take it slow... Little bit 'o' discipline required...



Here's the list:



Kale

Carrots (organic)

Broccoli

Grapefruit (organic)

Green onion

Shallots

Yellow onion (organic)

Ground turkey (frozen, organic, free range)

Spaghetti squash

Butternut squash

Avocados (organic)

Celery (organic)

Cherry juice (organic, not from concentrate)

Pineapple juice (organic)

Soy milk (organic, unsweetened, no gums)

Ginger root

Sugar snap peas

Green beans

Braeburn apple

Frozen blueberries

Lemons

Limes

Maple syrup (organic, grade B, no formaldehyde used to extract)

Golden flax seeds

Dried dill (organic, non-irradiated)



Now, an explanation of it all...



I'm just gonna use the grapefruits for juicing tomorrow morning, maybe tonight if I get crazy... The pulp I'll freeze or something to make a sorbet of sorts...



Most of the veggies will just be used for juicing. The apple too.



The soy milk, I'll wait a few days before I drink... Protein.



The avocados will supply the main source of fat... Be a few days though...



The blueberries, I'll thaw and eat like applesauce... Maybe add a bit of cinnamon, some soy milk, and a 'lil ginger powder too... Sounds good.



The flax seeds I'll ground up in the coffee grinder and mix with the pineapple/cherry juice for a nice 'lil... Something... He he... More good fats... Omega 3's, 6's, and 9's baby...



I think it's obvious by now what the lemons, limes, and syrup are for... I'll have to taper off of this "lemonade" stuff... Maybe just have a glass or two a day for another week or so. This'll be so I'm not eating too much, too soon... I think...



The squash I'm looking forward to baking. I should get some organic butter to make Ghee with too! Mmmmm... Baked squash with ghee, and some Herbamare! A few sprays of Bragg's Liquid Amino's, and some nice olive oil. Yeah!



And, the turkey! I know I said I was gonna lay off of the poultry, but, it was organic! Furthermore, it was on sale! I could scarcely believe they even had the stuff. I picked up 4 tubes. As I was fasting on my Birthday, and didn't get my annual "Birthday Dinner." My mom and I decided that she would make me a nice soup! I cannot wait to try it... She is going to make a soup base with water, olive oil, the turkey, and herbs/spices/seasonings, etc... Then, all the veggies listed above! A little of each actually! It's gonna be SOOOO good! I'll just drink the broth tomorrow, the soft veggies will be perfect for the next couple of days too! I dunno if I'll actually end up eating any solid bird. I'd love too, but... Maybe I'll just let the family have that... A huge batch to last me a few days, I hope...



To answer a few Qs:



Yes!!!!!! Wheat Grass is a SUPER BENEFICIAL for EVERYONE! Don't worry, and don't quit! Especially A's! Eat it. Juice it. Take a bath with it! Whatever... Just don't juice TOO much of it... Potent stuff... I'd stick to a 3oz serving at a time... If possible, mix it with another , more watery juice, like celery... 50/50.



Bragg's Liquid Amino's you ask? Here's the scoop. They're an excellent source of soy isoflavones, All amino acids, vitamins & minerals, and, even a spot 'o' protein. To top it all off, it tastes great! NO added alcohol, NO added sodium, NO added wheat, NOT fermented (for those sensitive to fermented foods)... It is, essentially, the PERFECT soy sauce. Plus, it's cheap! Get some! Cancer fighting, great tasting, non detrimental... What more could you ask for in a condiment? I buy it bulk, and just refill a small spray bottle. That way, I can just spray it on foods. Awesome...

Later Gang! Thank you for all of your comments and questions. Keep 'em comin'. Lets me know someone out there gives a rip. Inspires me to blog more too... Peace, Compassion, and Love.

Did my first weigh in since my operation and I’ve gained 5 pounds, which is expected since I’m not 100% yet. Just the other day, I went roller blading and I wasn’t paying attention and I rode over a pothole and you can say I was flying through the air (like Muffin Man?) and landed on my right hip and severely strained my right shoulder. It’s been a while since I have had a major tumble, but this one was severe. I’m amazed I didn’t break anything. I popped some bromelain capsules for a couple of days do relieve some of the swelling.

Yesterday, I had the avoid of all avoid dinners at a friends house. He was cooking barbecue so I was sure he would have some beneficial meat, but he was cooking his famous pork ribs. I have not had pork in over two years but they were good and tasty. He had baked potatoes with it as well. Need less to say, I ate it out of courtesy along with the apple pie and coffee he served…I had only one beer. I spent that night tossing and turning and usually I awake very restful and relaxed. I woke up with very heavy eyes and feeling very dazed. Talk about great biofeedback. Boy, was I sorry.

Being away and coming home creates a lot of room for thought about how life is being lived, as well as how to move graciously between two different worlds. One of these worlds is the familiar home turf in which we exist, largely as creatures of habit. We have our regular routines and favourite ways of being. All this is totally disrupted once we leave home for any purpose outside of the ordinary.

In total, I spent 16 days away from home. I was in a different world, so far as I was concerned. Although I was still located physically on the North American continent – and in the same time zone, I was not at all, in any sense of the word, in comfortable surroundings. This is probably good, for without comparison, it is difficult to appreciate home and its comforts. And I have to recognize that Florida, where I was visiting, was home to a great many people, and immensely comfortable for them at the same time that it set up stresses in my own life.

We have been having a cool summer here in Toronto. It has been comfortable, with even cooler nights, and a fair amount of rainfall, which has kept the city quite green and looking very happy indeed with flowers flourishing everywhere one looks. Many of our days have barely been warmer than 20C, with quite a few cooler than this, while we have enjoyed balmier weather going closer to 25C or even 27C or 28C for a day or two. Having been born in Canada, I do like cooler weather, and I have always suffered when it has gotten hot and humid. Suddenly, I was staying in a very beautiful house that had its air conditioning thermostat set permanently at 81F, which is hotter than most of the days we have experienced in Toronto this summer. It did not get cooler at night. By the same token, the house was always cooler than the air outside the house.

In Toronto, I walk a lot, day or night. Where I was staying, a great many of the streets had no sidewalks upon which one could walk safely, and there were no street lights after dark. Hmmmm. My outdoor exercise program became largely curtailed as a result.

Offsetting these physical discomforts was the fact that I spent my entire time with some incredibly beautiful and loving people who have become like my extended family. This created, by the end of my visit, a double pull – one that said it would be absolutely wonderful to be sleeping in my own bed with the windows open at night and cooler air surrounding me - and the other that didn’t want to leave my friends and the atmosphere surrounding all of us.

Coming home, I have had an opportunity to ponder the real dilemma of anyone who is following the BTD first hand. While in Florida, I experienced several occasions where I ate avoid foods, sometimes knowingly and probably unknowingly at other times. Fortunately, none of these occasions created any real distress to my system. However, since coming home late last week, I attended a wedding where the food was East Indian – very delicious, and very full of avoids. I love Indian food very much. I even used to cook it regularly for a while. But too many of the ingredients affect me, and there has been no study undertaken to assess the effect of ingesting several avoid category foods at the same time. I have largely stopped eating one of my favourite ethnic varieties of foods based on the physical reactions that I observe when I do this.

One must consider that there is a synergistic effect at times – that combining two foods that are mildly irritating to the system can create a huge irritation. That seemed to be the effect of this weekend’s wedding food on my body. I ate many unknown things, and although I could walk out of the wedding reception hall on my own legs, I really needed to get home and into bed as quickly as possible, taking whatever I could think of to remedy my body’s distress. When I got up the next morning, I had several very itchy hives on my left shoulder to remind me that I had not been faithful to the needs of my body, coupled with low energy for most of the day.

This seems to be one of the major problems of living in a world that does not understand the importance of the BTD over convenience and/or flavour, texture, culture, etc. It is a continuing struggle to maintain energy in the face of continual pressure to join everyone else, all of whom appear to be able to consume vast quantities of foods of any description without ill effect, and none of whom seem to understand what I’m babbling about when I talk about my food problems. It’s sort of like the family photos on festive occasions, when everyone smiles at the camera and looks incredibly happy for posterity, even though the undercurrents rippling throughout do not appear on the prints.

I don’t know the answer to this particular problem. I did decide, after this latest wedding, that I will not attend any more weddings where I am not intimately related to one of the main participants, in which case I should be able to mention my dietary requirements without hurting anyone’s feelings. Mind you, that’s what I said after the last wedding I attended, but I seem to have forgotten about that when the invitation arrived!

Agggghhhhh I could just about KILL my computer!!! After writing a nice long entry and I push save, it goes berserk at the same time, shuts off and doesn't save my blog!!! Grrrrrrr.........

I'm sorry but I'm just too busy today to re-write it. 35 days until the wedding. Today I need to get a trail har-do done, find more tulle, buy the aisle flowers, find large ribbon for the aisle flowers, find interesting tea lights, make the place cards (they're going to look like leaves!!! You should see the card stock i got for it, it's so pretty!), take my dress in for final alterations and look for new til to re-do the kitchen floor. Grrrrrr! I'm so upset it erased my nice, long entry with lots of good info! Oh well, no time for that now....sorry gang. I will be better about blogging now that company's gone but with the wedding, certain things have to come first.....later!

Well, well, well....where do I begin?

I'm going to add to this blog as I go...

Thursday: I did a lot of walking this day. Started the day with walnut toast "brushetta" from Hell's Kitchen. It had berries on top (blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) with marscapone. I also had their homemade peanut butter and homemade mixed berry jam on top of the toast. Had some Lemon Zinger tea.

Went to the MN State Fair. Oh yes! The first thing I ate was, get this, Chicken Fried Rice on a stick!!! Leann Chin's had a booth there. chicken fried rice was put into little balls, covered with batter and friend. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Then I had a gyro. I love gyro lamb. Thank Goodness it's neutral for non-secretors! Also had a s'more. Then went to the the health fair booth. Tested my hearing (borderline but good), bone density (low risk), body composition. That was not so good. Even though I'm at my ideal weight, I've lost a lot of muscle since college where I used to jog and lift weights. Women are supposed to be between 19-24 for BMI/fat, but I am at 26! Here's the good news: had my total and HDL cholesterol checked. My total non-fasting cholesterol is 173! (Down 30 pts from two years ago). My HDL in the past was always good, but it's still good: HDL was 68! Ha! The blood type diet is WORKING!

Left the fair and strolled to Vincent for dinner. Had a glass of red with chilled tomato mint soup and some beets with goat cheese on top. (Along with bread and butter). It was to die for!

Friday: Didn't eat much. Just Cadbury Chocolate shell Eggs (the pastel ones) basically. Sad but true. I've had them since Easter and didn't bust them open till now. After that fair food on Thursday I wasn't very hungry otherwise.

Saturday: Grubster and I saved our tummies for the big binge: The State Fair. I just had to go again. It was so fun. We bussed over and checked out the alpacas and the buffalo. He bought some buffalo jerky. I did have a piece. We then gave in to the ultimate fair temptation: deep fried snickers on a stick! We shared one. Yum. Then we shared a gyro. We went over to the Cub food building and I got walleye on the stick and he got some root beer.

We went over to the Cub health booth and I got him to check his cholesterol. I estimated that his total would be 155. It was 154! But his HDL was 42. Not so good but that could be improved easily by dietary measures.

A while back I got him the secretor saliva test but he hasn't gotten around to using it because he was waiting for me, the mad scientist to experience it with him....well, at the fair they had a blood donation place that tested blood type. I wanted him to do it so that we could confirm his type. He was 98% certain that he was O but before the secretor test I wanted him to be sure so that the saliva test won't go to waste. Indeed, he is O+ so my mind was put to ease.

Later that night we were set to go to dinner with my sister and her clan who were up for a fun MPLS weekend. We stopped back by my place for a little bit of amaranth snackers as well as rye crackers with hemp butter (high in omega 3s). We then went to our ultimate destination: Oceanaire!

There we had one of the best meals in a long time! I had a house merlot. Grubster had two beers. I had a plate of escargot. Grubster had some oysters on the half shell. The main course was just amazing. I had mahi mahi in a soy based broth with green beans. Gruster had grilled swordfish. We passed around family-style veggies for the six of us: creamed corn, mashed potatoes with garlic butter, and HUGE asparagus! I mean HUGE! Wow, that was quite the meal.



Sunday:

Grubster and I woke up and had a leisurely brunch at the nice quiet Seward restaurant called Birchwood cafe. He had the scrambled egg plate and a big glass of OJ. He wanted to drink grapefruit but none was available. I had two scrambled eggs, Birchmade granola w/soy milk, and a soy latte.

We also ate chocolate.

Hey gang. Day 35 of the Master Cleanse is here. I think I'll probably call it quits after 40 days here. I'll start with grapefruit and pineapple juice to get my digestive system back into gear. I'll stick to that for a day and a half or two. Then It's on to using the Green Star Juicer again. It's been sitting silent on my counter for too long! Celery, assorted greens, carrots, you know, the standard affair.

After a few days of just juices and the lemonade mixture, I'm going to do another liver flush! I expect I'll achieve some pretty interesting results with this one. The bowels should be pretty clear, so, with the aid of a colema board I think I'm going to order, I expect this to be my all time best flush. Looking forward to it actually. It'll sap me though. Don't I know it. I'll keep you guys updated as I come off of this. I'm sure you're all anxious to hear about my sick and twisted food concoctions again!

Meals wont be anything TOO interesting for a good week or so after I graduate to solids. I'll likely stick to steamed vegetables, some raw salads, and fruits for a bit, escalating to harder to digest stuff like apples, and raw carrots after a couple of days. Then it's on to nut butters, and, some nuts and seeds. Favs like salmon and avocados will be out for at least a week I'll bet. Looking really forward to getting back into food. It'll be a VERY healthy approach to be sure. Mostly raw.... I think I'm going to go ahead and quit chicken altogether... The store bought stuff is so full oh hormones, antibiotics, and filth, I'm surprised they even call it chicken... Shouldn't be to hard. Fish, turkey, and eggs, will be my only animal foods I think. Occasional kefir, yoghurt, and cheeses too. But not too much... Wild and organic whenever possible of course! Although, the chicken thing won't likely be cold turkey. Sometimes, at restaurants, or family get togethers, etc. It's all a type A can choose!

On an off the subject note... I just watched Passion Of The Christ... I'll bet most of you have seen it already. All I can say is, "Wow." Well acted, well directed film. Even if you're not big into religion, I'll recommend you see it. It really was an excellent movie. I admit. I'm nowhere near a bible banger. Heck, I've never even read most of it. My family never went to church, and I never had any faith pressed on me. I've only recently become a spiritual person. Strictly non denominational. I also don't worship anyone or anything... I believe in love, and compassion. In faith, and in good will. In forgiveness, and evolution. In living in harmony with the earth, and, everything on and around it. In flowing energy and light. In giving thanks, and praise where it's due. You'd be more likely to find me meditating in a Buddhist temple, than in a church. I can tell you that much... I think hypocrisy, intolerance, and hate have no place in this world. Find "God" where, when, and however you can... Doesn't matter to me what name you call "it" by. Universal energy, Allah, God, Jesus, He/She, Ganesh, Buddha, Shiva, I AM, Vishnu, Anubis, The Light... If you ask me, "It's" omnipotent. Thus, I Strive to find "it" in myself. I believe we should all strive to act out of love and compassion whenever we can, be it for yourself, or, someone else. If you're acting any other way... Ask yourself... "Why?"

Later Gators. Health, and Happiness to you ALL~

I was flipping channels on the TV the other night, which is a rare occurrence these days, and caught an NBC Dateline special on Jane Pually (I don’t know if I spelt her name right)…who is one of the hosts of the show. They had a feature on her re: her medical problems. Apparently she suffers from hives, which is an allergic skin reaction…when the hives appear on her, they usually appear on her face, which for a TV newsperson, would be a severe detriment. She has had the condition since she was a child and from time to time they spring up. Apparently she had spent some time in Florida recently, when she had the worst outbreak of the skin disfigurement…maybe too many oranges, who knows?

Anyway the news feature dramatized her treatment with oral steroids (the drug of choice to control any hyper immune response)) to control the hives which caused her to gain weight and change her personality. She was than prescribed something to bring her down from the hypersensitivity caused by the steroids until finally she stopped both of the drugs and than was treated for depression. As she was treated for depression she was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder…. good grief.

Anyway, they made a drama out of it and not once did they mention if she was tested for food allergies…. obviously the producers of the show felt it wouldn’t be good for ratings.

She is on drugs now to control her Bi Polar depression (very high occurrence in blood type O…see ERFYBT Encyclopedia).

You would think that a person like Jane, who is very concerned with what comes out of her mouth (choice words and good questions), would think to question what she puts in it.

Obviously not.

OK, procrastination is my middle name. Yes, that's right, Erika Procrastination Klus.

It's time to blog!

Starting with Friday. I started the day with the remainder of my Urban Fare apricot lentil soup. This is soon to become a staple in my diet. It's quick, it's blood-type compliant, and it's yummy.

Had some white tea later in the morning then went to my chiropractor's office. Man I love those guys! I'm starting to refer pharmacy patients there for migraines. The one I got on Sunday was definitely period-related but chiropractic care has kept me from getting a lot more of them!

Stopped by INtelligent nutrients. First I drank a shot of wheatgrass. I'm getting really sad. Uptown used to be hippie paradise, but is slowly becoming a pretentious yuppie utopia. Hence, INtelligent nutrients is moving to NE Minneapolis near its Aveda-based headquarters. I'm really going to miss its location. Hopefully something of healthy use will move in its place and not some crap chain food factory.

While there I had a rice milk with soy protein shake with three key ingredients: maple, walnut, and fig. Wow, that was really sweet. It would have been a good after dinner choice, but foreshadowing that the pharmacy staff would get me cake to celebrate my b-day during my evening shift, it was not the best timing.

Since I was all sugared out, I decided to walk over to Tonic, that new bar. I wanted something small without carbs since I just loaded up on them in that shake. They have something very FUN on the

menu. Do it yourself sizzly plates! So, I was given some sushi-grade salmon w/lingonberry sauce and a triangular iron hot plate and watched the meat cook at the bar before my eyes! The meal also came with a bed of salad greens.

The bartender asked what I wanted to drink. I told him nothing. He was perplexed.

"Not even water?"

"No, not with a meal; it dilutes stomach enzymes and inhibits proper digestion."

Unfortunately, the nerdy pharmacist does not leave her brain at the pharmacy counter when she's out on the town. Yeah,perhaps I should lighten up, but this is my only body God gave me so I'm gonna

attempt to treat it right.

Well, he felt so bad that I wasn't drinking anything so I went for a nice jasmine peach green tea at the end of the meal. I slipped some gentian in for good measure though. Hey, better late than never!

Got to work and within an hour, I was presented with a gorgeous turle cake fromnext door! Wow!

Didn't eat it right away because I was still full from lunch, but boy when I did, it was worth it.

Next day, hmmm...what did I eat besides two pieces of cake during my 9 hour shift? I'll have to get back to you on that. Saturday was my birthday and it was a bad day. I found out that my nine hour Saturday shift will soon become a TEN hour Saturday shift starting next week. This was a district-wide decision with obviously no input from the employees it directly affects! It's bad enough working nine

days in a row. I'm not even going to start with how I feel about this ten hour with no official break crap or I'll go on a rampage. This is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question: would you like me to fill your prescriptions after I've been working on my feet ten hours straight? Would you feel safe? If the answer is no, don't support this business decision. Don't come up with a new prescription at the last minute of the shift. It's dangerous and inconsiderate. Go to a 24 hour pharmacy if you need something at or after closing time. That's why they're opened 24 hours. OK, I'll stop now.

Luckily, in coming home, Grubster had sent me roses since he couldn't be with me on my birthday. Thank you Grubster!

Sunday. A day of extreme misunderstanding. The intern, "unofficial" senior tech, and I made plans to go out for dinner and drinks after our shift for my b-day. The intern then realized that she promised a friend early on that she'd cook him dinner for HIS birthday. We changed our plans to a Sunday breakfast before work. The tech and I met in the parking lot and drove to where we thought we w

ere supposed to meet: the uptown GRILL. The intern said the Uptown DINER. The locations were only four blocks apart but this misunderstanding made for a very rough start to the morning! The intern thought we ditched her! We only wonder how many other people have gone through this same confusion with two restaurants with such similar names and locations!

But anyway, the I had a mediocre omelet with red onions, broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes, and hmmmm. Don't remember. All BTD compliant though. Also had coffee. Took the leftovers for lunch.

Sunday night. Amaranth snackers by Nu-world. Jennifer, I initially forgot the name, but that's what they're called! The flavor is French Onion btw. (responding to her blog). They are like croutons. They rock.

Had some mache with a creamy onion cilantro dressing.

And sardines. Yes, the sardines. Drenched in olive oil. I bought them a while back but for months they were sitting on my shelf. I decided that Sunday was the day to crack open the sardines! Someday, if and when I'm pregnant, I bet I'll crave them!

Headache began that night. Didn't take anything for it and just went to bed. Whatdoyaknow? It was right there again when I got up.

Went to work on Monday and drank a Vanilla Almond soy shake from one of those bottled juice companies. (Odwalla I think?) Headache was light, manageable. By afternoon, with the phones, the noise, the stress of a Monday in the healthcare business, it got worse. I took 25 milligrams of Imitrex. Nothing. Went outside to eat lunch. Had insalata caprese. Had a choclate truffle from that Vermont chocolate company. Sunlight. Ugh. Made migraine worse.

Took 25 mg more. Still nothing. By the time my shift was over, I was asking an assistant manager to drive a big stick through my left temple to ease the pain. My vision was blurry and I was ready to leave!

Went to Dr. Stussy and he adjusted me. Some instant relief. He took the edge off. Stopped by Fresco for wheatgrass shot and juice: beet, ginger, and grapefruit. Then went to Back Rub for an emergency 60 min. shiatsu. Jen George is the therapist and she is amazing. She has a wonderful command of the meridians! My headache was gone by the end of the massage!

We'll stop here today (do I sound like a shrink?) and I'll give you time to absorb this blog. I'm going to attempt a daily blog so readers don't have to shut out the world to read these, but somehow these marathon typing sessions keep cropping up! Good thing I type fast!

Note to self for next blog: chino, mpls cafe, and birchwood.

That does it. It's Sept. 1st. I have been on the Master Cleanse for a full month now. All in all I have nothing astonishing to report. I can honestly say, after reading the book, "The Master Cleanser" by, Stanley Borroughs, that I expected something far more dramatic to happen... I dunno... Old scars opening up and disappearing, all skin blemishes to disappear, loss of all body fat, cleared sinuses... So far, the only thing that's actually changed is my body composition. I have virtually no body fat. Still a tiny bit here and there though... Perhaps it's just not for us type A's? What with all the cayenne pepper in the lemonade ("avoid") and senna (avoid for non-secretors, and a "neutral: allowed infrequently" in the cancer/diabetes books. Or perhaps it's the fact that I have been meddling with the formula since day 1? I have been drinking a TON of different herbal tea's every day. Even some green tea (caffeinated) in the beginning. Or... Maybe I haven't gone long enough yet? Perhaps due to the VERY unhealthy, slightly nihilistic, lifestyle I used to lead, I need more cleansing/time than others? Who knows? As with all questions regarding this type of stuff, there are a billion intrinsic cofactors one cannot possibly take in to account all at once... I dunno... Maybe ten more days and we'll call her quits. Forty days is a pretty well rounded fast I'd say... I know that I'll defiantly try this fast again. Next time I won't monkey with the formula. I'll also try and take care of some suspected chiropractic problems I'm having first. This, I suspect, is a MAJOR contributor to all of my ailments & inability to fully cleanse/heal.



Quit my job yesterday. Pretty crazy move. As of right now, I am unemployed. I have an interview tomorrow with a retail sales outlet where I would be based on commission. this opens up the opportunity for a lot more income... I hope. I also have an interview at a natural foods store in town here. It would really rock to work in a place like that, but I highly doubt I'll receive an offer for the hours/pay that I would need. Here's crossing my fingers. Wish me luck gang.



Taking care of a lot of computer stuff this morn. Listening to Radiohead: OK Computer, and burning lemon, clove bud, and patchoulli oil, all at the same time. Delightful combination. As soon as the room is fully saturated, I'll meditate for an hour in it.



Here are a few space age tips for you until next time:

1) ONLY use cast iron, stainless steel, lead free glass, un-glazed ceramic, stone, or earthenware pots and pans! Avoid copper, aluminum, Teflon, all adonized surfaces, lead, graphite, anything glazed, tin, nickel, etc.!

2) If the city water supply where you live is chlorinated. Drink filtered water, and, GET A SHOWER FILTER! They're not too spendy, and you needn't replace them often.

3) Get a juicer! Use it whenever you can!

4) Try and burn beeswax candles only! All other types release deadly soot/toxins into the air.

5) If you have a CRT (cathode ray tube) computer monitor, ditch it and buy an LCD! Cathode ray tubes that close to your face irradiate you with neutrino emissions, bad EMF's, etc. LCD's use 1/8 the electricity, have FAR lower emissions, and save space! As the great Paul Buckless would say, "They look a treat!" We miss you Paul!!!

Over and out Gang.