* Please forgive the typo's!

Here is my personal "get healthy/lose weight story." I hope some find it helpful.

Step #1) If you do not already own the book "Cook Right for your Type" then please check it out at your local library.

Step #2) I typed the 14 food categories and their recommended servings on a piece of paper. I stuck this piece of paper on the front of my fridge.

Ex: Seafood servings 1-3 per week

Eggs 1-3 per week

Nuts and Seeds 4-7 per week

Note Please doublecheck the book. I am going off of memory here.

Step #3) Learn recommended portion sizes. Ex: protein is the size of your fist at a meal, 4-6 oz of fruit is the size of one small apple, nuts and seeds are a small handful

Step #4) At the beginning of the week, I ate whatever I felt like (no avoids) and then made tick marks on my piece of paper. Once I had eaten the maximum recommended servings of a specific category, that was that! IT was then time to move on to what was left.

Step #5) Eat frequently. I ate 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. The snacks were easy and fast. (Peanuts and raisins or just peanuts!, Almonds and dried cherries, etc.)

Step #6) I DID NOT count calories. I also left out the "Oils and fats" category on that piece of paper. I used lots of olive oil AND LOST weight.

Step #7) I never went hungry. In fact I felt stuffed most of the time. And while I never filled up my sheet before the seven days were up, if you do -- then eat more veggies. According to the little grocery shopping book, the recommended servings of veggies for A's are ::: UNLIMITED.

Step #8) Once you have lost your weight, get rid of that piece of paper. What do feel like eating? (no avoids, please!)

** One final note. We can't afford to buy organic. Wish we could. So I wash my produce with soap and water, and I buy the canned fish which has been CAUGHT in the ocean. Once in awhile, I get lucky and the organic stuff goes on sale - and then I scoop it up! Also, the multivitamin for A's - if you are eating correctly, then you don't need a DAILY vitamin (my humble opinion). When I am feeling a little sick or tired, then I take my vitamins. Otherwise I don't. And health food store medicines? Let's talk about cost. My O son was on a prescription laxative for two years at 25 bucks a bottle. Meanwhile an 8 dollar bottle of pysllum powder (forgive spelling if it's wrong), works just as well. (Yes, the powder tastes bad. Dissolve it well in chocolate soy milk and put a lid on top of his cup so he can't see it. He drinks it without complaint when he doesn't know it's there.)



And what about fresh greens? They are cheap!! Kale, collard greens, spinach, carrots, and celery - lots of good affordable stuff out there. In the summertime, it gets even better. We have lots of small gardener's around here who sell their produce and don't use pesticides. Healthy and cheap. It is possible!! Take care..........

It’s been difficult finding recipes to please my husband. First of all, O’s do not like rapid change ESPECIALLY in their diet. We have compromised a bit. I refuse to cook what I consider unhealthy, but I keep looking for new recipes that might please his pallet. Since his taste buds are very used to corn syrup and MSG, this is not easy!

Today, I am hopeful. My husband and I were watching Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals. The title of the show was “Oven Poached Salmon…” Basically, one takes a slab of butter:

Places it into the bottom of a casserole dish,

Seasons the fish with salt and pepper,

Adds the chicken broth

Adds a few sprigs of dill to the pan, and

Roasts the fish 12 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

The exact recipe can be found at food network.com under the name of her TV show.

Anyway, wish me luck!

P.S. Next week I will be trying to find something similar to his mashed potatoes. Parsnips, I believe? Does anyone know of anything else, which mimics mashed potatoes?

A couple of blogs backed I was wondering why I was experiencing abdominal cramps after eating breakfast. Today, I ignored the protocols and went for that cup of coffee on an empty stomach. WHAM! Crunch. (My insides were speaking.) Owwwww.

Ding, ding, and ding! There’s the bell going off inside of my brain. Coffee is both a natural laxative and increases stomach acid. The day that I had a very light breakfast (specifically, it was easy to digest) and a strong cup of coffee, I experienced pain. The morning that I had turkey sausage for breakfast, I drank that same strong cup of coffee without any pain whatsoever. Well, meat is much harder to digest, right? Also, D’Adamo advised drinking your coffee AFTER the meal. This makes sense!

I need to drink tea with my light breakfasts and coffee with my heavier meals. So simple. Live and learn.

I succumbed to laziness. My two year old, who has to have new foods one at a time, was given a diet with four new variables. He has been doing so well for so long that I thought he would be reaction free. NOPE.

Should have known better. Let’s get specific. I decreased his probiotic from two capsules per day to one, I accidentally gave him some “soy-nut” butter, which has both soybeans and CORN in it, and I gave him the dum dum lollipops. Why the lollipops? Because the poor kids never gets any treats or dessert like substances. I assumed that if the artificial colors didn’t cause a reaction, then the rest of the sucker would be ok. Oooooopppss – it seems that almost all suckers are full of corn syrup. Silly me.

Backtracking won’t be too hard. I’ll be more careful and stick to the things that I know he can handle. When his bowel movements look normal again, I will stuff him full of corn.

Poor kid. Meanwhile, I think I will call the health food store and find out what kind of candy they carry. Eventually, I will be taking an entire Sunday to make cookies, but as they are not my strongpoint, I hate to rely on that.

Lunch today was leftover salad with carrots, cucumbers, spinach, garlic, salt, parsley and olive oil. I also had half a rye and cheese sandwich. I think my most practical discovery since starting this lifestyle would be the salad dressing. I love any salad as long as I can pour olive oil and a little salt on it. Simple.

LOL. I had every intention of continuing my experiment from yesterday. I really was going to eat the exact same breakfast, minus the sugar, and see if I experienced the same symptoms. Even though I was not in the mood to eat the exact same menu, for the sake of science, I was going to endure!

Instead, my children fought over the two pieces of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Toast I had prepared. Inside my head, I am laughing. What other Mom has such problems? In order to soothe the battlefield, I surrender my healthy and beneficial toast to the children. Ha.

Actually, the morning unfolded smoothly. I had defrosted ground turkey (only .59 for a pound at Woodman’s!) and had pulled out sea salt, garlic powder, and parsley. I mixed it all together using my hands, and then grilled the patties on my stovetop. My extremely picky five-year-old child said “thumbs up!” and my two year old wolfed it down. Finally, I have one recipe for breakfast sausage that I can easily prepare. (Speaking of sausage, I am going to back track and read Chanur’s “Sausage Smithy” one more time. I love all of this sharing!)



And just in case anyone is curious, I did not experience any symptoms today and I DID put sugar into my coffee. But, I didn’t eat the bread. I ate the sausage and pears. HMMMPPHH…I am stumped.

Since starting these daily blogs, I have become much more observant and perceptive. For example, I ate a completely compliant breakfast this morning, but still experienced an abdominal cramp 30 minutes after breakfast. Of course, this begs the question, why?

So I took another look at my breakfast, and I found one definite avoid and one possible avoid. The definite avoid would be in the carrageen (soy milk) and the possible avoid would be the sugar I put in my coffee. It’s my understanding that sugar all by itself is not a bad thing, but that Americans in general consume way too much. In fact, the average American in the 1800’s consumed 2 pounds of sugar a year. In the 1900’s, that number increased to 4 pounds of white sugar per person per year. Compare that to the current American citizen: 140 pounds of white sugar per person per year!!!!

(Info obtained from a “Building Up the Brain” class presented by Nancy Watson, CN)

Well, I would like to see some evidence behind my theory. Tomorrow it will be:

One glass of water with lemon before breakfast

One slice of Ezekiel Bread with peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)

Canned pears, drained (no corn syrup, just water and sugar)

Black coffee

The one and only difference will be the lack of things added to the coffee. Until tomorrow…

I couldn’t help but smile as I woke up this morning. Despite the fact that my five year old son yelled “Mmmooomm!!!- Please turn the light on! I can’t pee in the dark and I am scared!” at 6:00 AM on a Sunday, I couldn’t help but smile. How much longer will he need me? How much longer will he cuddle with me and express affection?

I dutifully got out of my cozy, warm bed and turned the bathroom light on. “I will be in your bed, Joshua.”

Sure enough, my son yells again “Mommmmm, where are you?”

“In your bed,” I reply.

“Oh.” Trot, trot, trot, and jump. We are now both in his bed and snuggled deep into his blankets. Sigh.

Of course, the two year old has been woken up, and asks, “Are you ok??” in the sweetest two-year-old toddler voice.

“Yes. Go back to sleep,” was my crisp and short reply. Reassured, the two-year-old chirps happily to himself for the next hour. I stretch, I yawn, and I stumble out of my son’s bed. Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Outside, the snow has covered every pine tree in the neighborhood. As the sun rises, her rays cause thousands of little sparkles to shine brightly as it bounces off the back yard snow. I wish I could send this picture to my blog page. It’s just beautiful.



After to attending to my children’s needs, I switch gears and put my cooking hat on. Let’s be practical today. It’s time for comfort food and time for using up leftovers. Since I have two gigantic pieces of grilled chicken, I will attempt to make Chicken Stew, Chicken Salad, spinach and artichoke dip, and bread in the bread machine. As I have said before, I am NOT THE gourmet cook. I am the typical “let’s buy the box” cook. My cooking skills have been improving, however, and if you are like me, then you might just benefit from my simple and easy recipes.



The chicken stew recipes is as follows:

One bunch of celery

One large can of Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth

¾ of one large red onion (diced

Leftover fresh parsley (about 1/3 of a bunch)

Salt

Minced garlic

½ pound of baby carrots

Olive oil

Optional spices: ground coriander seed, curry powder

Arrowroot powder (thickener)

White rice

2 small bay leaves

I sautéed the red onion in olive oil. I just love the sweetness of the red onion. Next, I added salt and garlic, warmed it up for a minute, and then turned off the heat. I chopped my celery and parsley and then added them to the crock-pot. I cut my grilled chicken (previously cooked with salt, garlic powder and turmeric) into bite size pieces and added it to the crock-pot. I suspect I should have salted the celery, but didn’t. I placed the onion and garlic mixture on top, and then poured in the chicken broth. Finally, add the bay leaves, set the crock-pot on low, and walk away.

While the crock-pot is cooking, I attended to the children. Once they were happy, (Ezekiel raisin toast for breakfast – lightly toasted – and apples), then I made the dip.

One can of artichoke hearts

Fresh spinach

Minced garlic (1 tsp)

Salt

Dairy free mayonnaise from the health food store

Drain artichoke hearts; add all ingredients and pureee in a blender. I must say, I prefer the simple olive oil, garlic and salt to the dairy free mayonnaise. However it is still quite edible and tastes delicious with BTD compliant corn chips (read those labels.) In fact, many generic versions are BTD compliant and quite cheap. Throw in a chunk of farmer cheese and you have a quick and easy lunch. Personally, I prefer more spinach than artichoke.

If there is one piece of advice I could give to newbie Moms: Focus on the dips and the raw vegetables. Black bean dip (A,O) Spinach and Artichoke dip (A,O), etc. If you don’t have the Cook for your Blood type book, please pick one up! There’s nothing faster than compliant cheese, chips, raw veggies and dip!

Time to check on the chicken stew. Practical Tip: Offer your children a taste of your stew BEFORE YOU SPICE IT UP. When you do spice it, place a ladle full in a bowl first and add a small amount of beneficial spice. My two year old liked the ground coriander seed, but did not like the curry. I offered him a bowl full with rice (My two-year-old hates all soups. I am guessing that it is still too difficult for him to eat soup, ergo add the rice!)



The carrots were nowhere near done and if I had been in a hurry, I would have set the crock-pot on high. Since I have all the time in the world today, keeping it on low should provide a delicious dinner. Regarding rice: in the past I have cooked rice in the crock pot (white rice) and it has taken about two hours. But in my opinion, it just tastes better on the stove. What’s fifteen minutes anyway at the end of the day?

It’s about noon at this point, and I am happily blogging away. After resting with a hot cup of coffee and some leftover muffins, I am going to make pumpkin almond bread in my bread machine and assemble a week full of snacks. The pumpkin almond bread recipe is in the earlier book I mentioned, and I am using roasted almonds, macadamia nuts, (expensive, but on sale) dried cherries, raisins, and dried pineapple for my trail mix snacks. I bought those teeny tiny snack plastic bags for the very first time. We are going to stuff a huge bowl full of these trail mixes and take care of snack time in the process.



At the end of the day, I will have had a very productive BTD day with relatively little work. I’m even going to get a nap in today. Cooking day bliss…

This week will be interesting. My shopping budget has been SIGNIFICANTLY restricted. I had to travel to the absolute cheapest store in town (Aldi) and then had to make a second trip to Woodman's. (Aldi's doesn't carry rice milk, soy milk, or a/o friendly flours.) Aldi's has the least expensive produce and eggs anywhere - which is a good thing.

Anyway, it is possible to follow the btd guidelines on a very limited budget. Even O's who really need to stick to organic meat can make up for the price difference by knowing where to shop for their veggies! I admit, I am not certain how far I can make my dollar stretch, but here goes nothing.

On a scientific note, I cheated and immediately expierenced pain. I gobbled down a piece of traditional pizza after my healthy rice and veggie meal. Thirty minutes later, WHAM. Can negative side effects happen that fast? Something was disagreeing with my system. I can't help but compare this to the pain I experienced as an "on" again "off " again smoker. As anybody who has tried to quit and failed, then you know what I am talking about.



#1) You start smoking for the very first time.

#2) Your throat is raw, your tongue seems swollen, and your lungs hurt.

Then, after smoking every day for awhile, the major symptoms disappear.

#1) One's throat doesn't complain, one's tongue does not seem to swell, and your lungs do not hurt.

#2) Then you quit.

A year later, you pick up a cigarrette and then OUCH! All of the old symptoms reappear.

One doesn't question the side effects of nicotine and tar. But eating the wrong foods, it just seems so difficult to pinpoint. I wish I could enter a "no unknown variables" zone and just test these foods one at a time. Unfortunately, it would take six months, I think!

Perhaps it would just be easier to trust Peter.

It’s been a long day. Writing in the middle of the day is much more enjoyable than trying to think at the end of a 14 hour day! But for the sake of science, here it goes:

Yesterday, I thought I was getting off Scot-free. Almost. The honest person in me must admit that I suffered a headache at the end of my day. As I started to reach for the typical over the counter pill, I paused – reconsidered and made a cup of tea. (Chamomile tea to be exact.) I crawled into bed thinking that the tea was not going to ease my pain and I was not going to get a good night sleep.

Hah. I slept like the dead. I didn’t wake up when the hoot owls started screeching. I did not wake up when my volunteer firefighter husband ran on a fire call around midnight. I slept soundly until my alarm jolted me awake. I have to wonder. Am I still eating something I should not be? Or I am just stuck dealing with these symptoms?

The answer is worth the effort, I think. Until tomorrow…

Did everyone hate Einstein? Michelangelo? Did the masses point, laugh and sneer at every new concept thrown their way? Does the world need both types of people – the “Fox Mulder” kind who are open to all possibilities and the “Scully” kind who scrutinize and narrow every possibility down - to it’s provable only in the here and now kind of point? Does it take both kinds to make this world function? I fear so. Frustrating as it is, I fear so. Proof can stare one in the face, but unless proof physically shakes them or throws massive amounts of pain at them, they will not budge.

The world needs both types. (Sigh………)



I am about to comment on something a little embarrassing. Personally, I would not normally share this with people, but from a scientific viewpoint it might be important. You see, for the first time in years, and I do mean years, I did not suffer from PMS this month. Let me elaborate. My PMS symptoms have been so consistent over the years, that I didn’t need a calendar to monitor my cycle. It was always the same. First my skin would break out. A couple of days later, my cramps would start to bother me. One or two days later, my oh so welcome (heavy on the sarcasm) friend was here. Always. Never missed a beat. Mood swings and fatigue would sometimes rear their head. I took comfort in the fact that my crying spells were temporary.

Ergo, I was SHOCKED when my friend snuck up on me. Wow. What was the deciding factor? Is this a fluke? Is it the multivitamins I have been taking? (Blood Type A, of course.) Is it the fact that I have spaced my cups of coffee out 6 hours apart as D’Adamo has suggested? Is it the fact that I have recently started a weight training class and I have been exercising a little more consistently? Is it the fact that I have been avoiding wheat due to my little one’s allergies? Hmmm. Too many variables to rule out here. But I know one thing for certain – I am PMS free.

For the moment. How long will it last?

There is one more certainty. If my nasty friend isn’t so nasty two months in a row, that’s a record. Food for thought.

I enjoy writing. It’s one of those luxuries in my life at the moment. I can hear the roar of the gas fireplace in the background and I can feel the dog snuggling at my feet. Knowing what to write about doesn’t always come easy, but I do so love the peace and quiet! “A” personality types really seem to need it………….

While trying to follow the protocols of the blood type diet, here is what my average day is like:

5:45 AM: get myself ready before the kids!

6:30: Prepare breakfast. Today, my O received a banana and sausage. The A’s enjoyed hot barley cereal with honey, milk, and dried cherries.

7:45 AM: Drop my kindergartener off at school

8:15 AM: Kiss my two year old and send him to the YMCA daycare

8:20 AM: Work out for one hour. IT FEELS SO GOOD! I stretch until my body feels relaxed and then hit the track and weight room.

9:30 Head for home – do chores

9:35 Snack in car. Peanuts!

11:00 Cook lunch! Today we had rice, mushrooms, onions, garlic, soy sauce and grapes.

12:30 – Two year old goes down for a nap – I get to read the BTD forums.

2:30 – Five year comes home. Prepare snacks for both kids. Probably grapes and cheese.

4:00 Start thinking about dinner.

5:00 Easy dinner – leftover chicken from yesterday, sautéed collard greens with salt (just one or two leaves, I am still experimenting), sliced apples.

After dinner: think about what meat to pull out and defrost. Look at the menu plan. More chores.

Following the btd isn’t as hard as I once thought it would be. More importantly, I am trying to incorporate all of Dr. D’Adamo’s protocols. For example, A’s need to meditate! I think I am able to obtain that twice a day thanks to boundaries that I have set. I can also honestly say that I haven’t felt any nicotine cravings in weeks. I DO crave chocolate and enjoy my one small piece of chocolate at the end of the day. Sometimes chocolate soymilk satisfies that particular craving. Hmmm, calling all smokers who want to quit: give this diet a try, because something is definitely keeping these cravings at bay! (Some credit should go to the big guy upstairs, too.

Last Sunday proved interesting. (Good Lord, was that only yesterday? ) I believe I had four different types of cooking in process throughout the day. The easiest dish proved the most successful. Figures. Sometimes one simply tries too hard and over thinks the process.

I didn’t really feel satisfied at the end of the day. I also think that I have learned a valuable lesson: I need to pick one type of project and cook until I can’t cook anymore. Whether it’s fish, cooked every which way (baked, sautéed, in a soup, pan fried, broiled, kabobs) or waffles (every fruit flavor under the sun), sticking with that one project will yield the greatest number of successful dishes. I ended up baking two unsuccessful breads (perhaps not all is lost, there are hungry birds around here!), 6 cups of sticky rice, and one very tasty spinach artichoke dip. Thank God for the dip. Yum.

Seriously though, I may be belly aching here a bit, but the lifestyle and the diet are worth it. I recently visited my folks and presented them with a better late than never Christmas present. I cooked them a delicious, A and O btd friendly lunch. I served glazed carrots and onions as the vegetables (oh so good when cooked the full forty minutes) and chicken and mushrooms. It was actually a take off from “Rachel Ray.”

I cut chicken tenders into bite size pieces,

placed them in a hot skillet (olive oil),

waited until the chicken was a nice dark golden brown –

then added minced garlic and parsley,

turned them over

, cooked them a few more minutes and waaalaaah –

deglazed the pan with a nice cooking sherry.

I repeated the exact same process with some mushrooms (baby bellas would be ok for both blood types) and added it all together. DEEEEEliiiicious! Simple.

My mother claims that if she simply had the “quick and easy” recipes and felt confident cooking these new dishes – she would give the btd a try. As a busy mom, I obviously lean toward the ‘easy’ dishes or the food in the raw. I still chuckle every time my 2 year old grabs my clean mushrooms and starts chomping. We could learn a thing or two from our children, I think.

Good eats to you and yours.

Once again, it’s my favorite day of the week! There are some Sundays, when I am lucky enough to just hop out of bed and head right to my stove! Alas, today was not one of those days. My two year old has come down with his second ear infection since January 1st, and he is feeling very poorly. After visiting the local immediate care clinic, he’s been diagnosed and prescribed antibiotics. Now, I have learned the hard way what that means; Sean will develop the big “D”. It happens every time. I am hoping that the probiotic will combat this nasty side effect. Time will tell.

I’ll be dabbling around the kitchen today. Here is what I am hoping to do:

Mass rice production: store for later use

Sweet potato chips: the crispier the better

Canned artichokes and spinach spread or egg filling or??

Vegetable bread.

The vegetable bread will be the big experiment today. After looking at different bread recipes, I am going to try and make some kind of bread featuring Collard Greens and herbs. I once had a fantastic tomato and herb bread – and thought to my self that there must be more possibilities than just tomato!

Plus, I impulsively bought a large bunch of collard greens at the store with the intention of cooking it seven different ways this week. I just haven’t found my favorite way to eat these yet, and I would be thrilled beyond belief if I can get my children to eat this very nutritious vegetable. It has also dawned on me that I really need to stick to the beneficials for my little one until this cold spell has dissipated. Wish me luck! J

In the raw simply means that I am not using a word processing program to double check my typing or my grammar today. What you see is what you get!

Grocery shopping day- I love it. If you are lucky enougth to have a Woodman's in your town, you have to check this store out. The variety is stupendous, and the prices affordable.

While waiting for my car's oil to be changed, I planned the weekly menu. Planning one's menu is well worth your time. I had so many "impulses" at the store, and I am certain I would have spent more money if my list hadn't been ready and waiting. OUr mixed blood type family menu includes:



Breakfast for O's: Ezekieal Bread, Raisins, Butter, Honey, wheat free fig newtons, chocolate soy milk

almost compliant breakfast sausage ( I am still looking!! Another writer mentioned that Shelton had complian Turkey sausage, but I just can't find it! I did find a brand with no artificial flavors, preservatives, msg, corn syrup, etc. The avoid would be potato starch. Hmmmm)

Buckwheat Pancakes (I think he is an O secretor), blueberries, more sausage, apples, grapes.

Breakfast for A's: Ezekeil bread, ghee, honey, prunes, coffee (for me!!), rice milk, barley cereal (Bob's red mill - I believe. Cooks up like oatmeal) raisins, pineapples, buckwheat pancakes, eggs, onions and garlic.

Snacks for O's: bannanas, dried cherries with sugar (no corn syrup! yea!!), mozerella cheese and grapes, strawberries (a netural for an O secretor according to typebase 4), , raisins, apples, pears, pineapple

Snacks for A's: dried cherries, pineapple, goat cheese and grapes, peanuts, strawberries, grapes raisins, wheat free fig newtons, pears, sunflower seeds,

Lunch for O's : Zuchinni Pecan Bread made in my bread machine with spelt flour! Juicy juice box juices or a bottle of water. (Yes, this is it for the week. my school age child will not touch cold meat, will not eat hot soup, and will not eat a raw vegetable other than carrots if his life depended on it!) Ergo, I hide the vegies in the bread. Did I also mention that he doesn't like nuts and I have to grind them to a fine powder in order to hide them in the bread? Really!

Lunch for A's: Leftover Rice soups from freezer (kale and mushroom with brown rice, yum), rice with sardines, and garlic, tuna salad with celery on Rye and Sunflower seed bread (thank you Woodman's!), toasted rye bread with honey and fruit,

Dinner for A's and O's who eat together: Chicken and Mushrooms with garlic, parsley and sherry, cheese and grapes, sauteed zuchinni with olive oil, salt, cheese, Italian Chicken (from Cook for your bloodtype with rice, ) Venision meatballs with miso gravy, rice and vegies, romaine and iceberg salad mix (in a bag), Sesame chicken with side salad.

Beverages: apple juice, prune juice, soy milk, water

While I don't have seven seperate dinners planned out, this is enough to cover us easily for the week thanks to leftovers. Heck, we still have muffins coming out of our ears.

Why do you ask, is there so much chicken for dinner? The answer: we bought a freezer full last year and it has to get eaten before I spend our hard earned dollar on something else. But here's the good news: I panfried that cod last night, and the family said "Thumbs up!". Slowly but surely, the learning curve is straightening out.......

Keep it simple is the positive phrase is my life today. Things are starting to pile up, and I have got more work on my plate than I have patience!

When I first started the BTD, I was using the Cook for your Blood Type book. Little did I know anything about cooking! Stir-fry? Sauté? Broil? Steam? Blanche? And spices, let’s talk about spices for a moment! There were so many that I have never even heard of, let alone tasted. Well, I attempted to follow those 30-day recipe guidelines and I did enjoy some of the dishes very much. But as things got more complicated, and I desired to cook for both O’s and A’s in my family, I grew furiously frustrated.

Keep it simple, stupid. (Or silly, if that offends you.)

My little A and I enjoyed a hot grain cereal (took 10 minutes on the stove) along with sunflower seeds, brown sugar, and a can of cherries. That’s right. A can. I dutifully read the label and found one brand of cherries without artificial colors or any nasty added ingredients (just water). I think next time I might even puree the cherries in my blender. Rice milk was the beverage of choice.

My five-year-old O was offered two slices of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread along with a little butter. Chocolate soymilk rounded out the meal. While neither of these are beneficial (I believe), I am content with the fact that there are no avoids in this meal (for an O secretor.)

Someday you just gotta be happy one is avoid free.

Lunch for the O consisted of pumpkin rye muffins (imagine lol) and juice. Lunch for the A’s consisted of sliced cucumbers with peanut butter and honey. Here’s where it gets funny. I am trying to combine the peanut butter and honey into some appropriate restaurant type of dip, when my two year old grabs the peanut butter laden spoon and starts chomping. So I dot the cucumbers with honey and waaalaaa –we are done. Silly, silly, silly.

Snacks today will include nuts (for the A’s), raisins and mozzarella cheese for the O. Dinner will be wild ocean cod pan fried in canola oil, a little ghee, and rice flour with salt for the breading. Maybe an egg wash first – hmmm gotta play with this one a bit. Veggies will include baby carrots (raw for the O) and glazed carrots and onions for the A’s.

Tomorrow is grocery-shopping day. I can’t wait.

According to typebase 4, semolina wheat and wheat gluten are neutrals for A secretors and avoids for non-secretors. After eating a large plate of this delicious angel hair and garlic pasta, my stomach cramped up once – and then it was over. Several hours later, my right hand started to swell slightly.

I keep thinking about Miranda’s topic for the week. One of the things she mentioned is her genotype and phenotype. One of her parents was an A and the other an O. Further testing revealed that she is as close to an O as a dominant A can get. I have to wonder if I might be in the same category. Was the stomach cramp a fluke, or do I have an intolerance for wheat like most O’s? As a matter of fact, the last time I ate a traditional delivery pizza, my stomach was upset for two days.

I can’t quite figure out my tolerance for tomatoes either. My body seems unpredictable. I think I am going to have to take my own advice. I will eat cleanly for several days and then purposely inhale an avoid and see what happens. I will have to rule out other variables (for example: make sure that I had gotten enough sleep the night before so fatigue isn’t an issue, etc.) But knowing for certain will be worth it. I guess the important thing to emphasize to my children is the question “How do you physically and mentally feel?” We are all individuals, after all.

Let’s face it. My grocery bill just tripled. Like most of the hard-working Midwest, I aimed for what was on sale. I did my homework by visiting three different grocery chains armed with a notebook, pen, and calculator. I recorded key items, their prices, and compared my results. I found the two least expensive shopping centers in town and concluded that we had no choice but to shop at these affordable locations. Little did I know…?

Three years later, I gave birth to an adorable and completely lactose intolerant boy child. Even the pasteurized products produced unbearable pain. And of course, the two most affordable places in town did not carry the beverages and food items he could tolerate. So, in the interest of time and money, we switched.

Now armed with the knowledge of how much JUNK exists within those affordable boxed packages, I just want to shriek. So let’s talk turkey for a second. How much money was spent on unnecessary doctor visits because of the “cheap” affordable food we were consuming? How much money would my insurance company have saved if I had been motivated to bye healthier, less processed food items?

Here’s a specific example: Testing my son for celiac disease cost close to 1,000 dollars. After buying a 20-dollar book at the bookstore on the “elimination diet”, I was able to test my son for this disease myself. It took three weeks and a lot of focus, but it cost not even 1/10th of what my insurance company was charged! Somebody, please pay me 500 dollars and say, “Thank you!”

So, here I am, looking at the family budget and grimacing. I need to cut corners. I need to find economical solutions. I need to find the best prices in town. I NEED to find long-term solutions even if the results of these solutions are intangible to the naked eye.

Food for thought.

Every once in awhile, something jumps up and grabs my attention. For example, after so and so ate a meal which was a 95% avoid and a 5% neutral, he says to me “Ugh. I had so much energy and now I am so tired.” Further evidence emerged about an hour later (we just won’t go into details here.) The proof, the data, the personal experience was shouting, “You shouldn’t have eaten this! Are you listening……?”

The more I am able to read D’adamo’s books, the more I begin to see scientific evidence all around me. Now, I am NOT a person who believes everything she reads and I am NOT a person who thinks that D’Adamo’s ideas are perfect, – but – and this is a very big but, I have to objectively say -- He is on the right track!

Further evidence appeared this morning after my oldest son ate breakfast. For two and a half years, his body has had trouble – well --- to be blunt --- eliminating. The poor child would become more and more bloated, more and more cranky, and more and more destructive!!! He did not recognize his body’s signals, waited too long, and then when it finally HAD to happen – KKKKKAAAAbOOOMMMM! It was an unpleasant, messy and painful experience. So of course, what did he do? He avoided the bathroom, which guaranteed that the nasty cycle would start over again.

We saw a specialist, who prescribed medication, prescribed “training”, and prescribed an avoidance of cow’s milk. That’s right – the calcium in cow’s milk can add to the problem. (Hey, I think a very conservative doctor just sided with D’Adamo! My son is an O.)

The training and the medication helped, BUT the medication was covered with warnings. It went something like this - “Not intended for long term use. Has not been tested – not intended for pediatric use.” Sure enough, my son eventually experienced nasty side effects. I ran to the health food store and tried a couple of different products. I bought the Psyllium powder, which did appear to help. I had also switched him to chocolate soymilk a while ago, and most importantly --- he gets meat every morning for breakfast!

What’s the point of this little sidebar? Breakfast used to be grains. It used to be crunchy and bought off the grocery store shelf. Now, after cooking beef patties with a little beneficial seasoning, my child ate his breakfast this morning – and headed off to the bathroom. (It’s a natural reflex for that to happen right after a meal.) Things are finally, finally functioning, as they should.

Why take my word for it? Experiment for yourself. Eat those avoids, one at a time, and then LISTEN. You might be surprised.

Several people wrote to me after my first blog. For some reason, I am unable to reply to their e-mails. For the sake of time managment here, let me say.....



Miss A, miss K, miss M, and Miss C - thank you for the warm welcome!!

Miss P with a question - In my opinion, if you follow the btd at 100% compliance, your body will lose every ounce of UNNECESSARY fat. It's great to be 35 years old and back at my high school weight. Check out D'Adamo's books at the library first. It's well worth your time.

Good morning! Hello. Welcome. It's exciting to be part of this project. (Not to mention a bit intimidating). Here are my thoughts for the world to see......

I started the BTD about 18 months ago. I wanted to lose 30 pounds (baby weight) and I wanted to improve my overall health and the health of my family. I cannot logically explain why I felt so strongly about the blood type diet. After all, I had not had the time to research Dr. D'Adamo's philosophies or research opposing opinions. All I can honestly say, is that the more I read, the more it just felt right to me. At this point the BTD forum did not exist, and I really didn't have any local support. In fact, I was straining against the current. I did not grow up experiencing the "A" blood type diet. I grew up with red meat, potatoes, vegetables and corn. When I first became a mother, my son wanted the crunchiest, crispiest food. (Breads, crackers, fried fish, etc. Did I mention that he is an O?)

But somehow, the BTD books kept grabbing my attention. It felt right. Since I had nothing to lose and only new insights to gain, I threw myself into the diet. Several months later, all of the weight came off, and my 35 year old physical test results were just .... wonderful. When I looked in the mirror, I had proof that this particular diet helped my body function properly. When I looked at my test results, I had proof that internally, my system was doing very well. And last, but not least, my taste buds were overjoyed.... Garlic!! Olive oil! Onions!! I could go on and on, but I had been missing positive sensory input for years!!

As a mother of two children, nutrition has always been at the top of my list. But this past year, it has held special significance. I have had to run to the emergency room twice, because my little one would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. X-rays and several doctors later, the specialist informed me that he was "full of poop!" Ok. Thanks. How do I stop his pain? Our family doctor referred us to a specialist who ruled out certain possibilites. Unfortunately, that is all the specialist could do and finally diagnosed my son with "toddler's diarrhea." (Did I mention that he had one 17 day stint of non stop diarrhea?) Two blood tests, mutliple phone calls and visits- and he was literally given a diagnosis for "I don't know what to call this or what you should feed him - so we are done." My family has spent a lot of money (not to mention our insurance company), and yet we ended up without answers.

Both the btd forum and the official D'adamo web site came to my aid. I was able to hook up with a local btd consultant as well as talk to other mothers who had similiar experiences. After lots of brainstorming, I finally feel hope. My little one is currently on the elimination diet (the book can be found at Barnes and Nobles) and the probiotic manufactured by D'Adamo. Within 24 hours of administerring the probiotic, there was an obvious improvement. Thanks to the elimination diet, I have determined two foods which are problematic for him and which we will avoid at all costs. And thanks to my local btd consultant, I can now shop at the local grocery store with confidence.

So I guess my very first blog is a testamonial. I AM a healthier person that I used to be. My son is no longer cramping up in the middle of the night. I no longer feel helpless. There is nothing worse than seeing your child experiencing pain and knowing that the food I feed him is probably causing it! Thank goodness that part is over. Thank goodness for people who are open-minded and willing to share.