Today is the first day that I was able to get back to the normal routine. Holidays are wonderful, but they throw off your equilibrium and then some. I ate a semi- lousy breakfast (pumpkn bread made by someone who isn't a BTD fan), fed my children what was easy (gluten free cereal with no nutritional value whatsoever), and whisked ourselves off to the YMCA. Once I got there, it was socially delightful- Everyone is there to 'detox' in their own personalized way. I also pushed myself physically harder than I have in a long time, and I hope to reap the rewards tomorrow (better sleep tonight, sore muscles in the morning!).

Lunch for the A's: peanut butter on lightly salted rice cakes

fresh carrots, celery sticks and green grapes

rice milk

almonds

coffee for Mom about one hour later

Both of us feel full, and I think I managed to consume 2 cups of raw veggies. I think I will prepare tuna, rice, and broccolli tonight - along with sliced gala apples. Who knows if the O's will be brave and join us, and decide on another course of action. I just keep trying to get Dad to 'grill' beef whenever possible!

As for the title of this little blog, I wish you had been there. If we had had a video camera, we would have won the 10,000 or the 100,000 prize on America's funniest videos!

My three year old is very reluctant to toilet train. I have done everything humanely possible to prepare him, and it has gotten to the point where he fights me at every diaper change. I finally decided to keep his little behind naked and encourage him to use the facilities when he has the urge. This morning, he did decide to poop in the corner of the bathroom (and onto the floor) which is better than nothing. But whenever a friendly voice asks him to sit on the toilet, he emphatically replies "NO!" (Imagine a bank president slamming down a stamp onto a loan doucmnents or a judge slamming down a gavel. "Permission denied!"

Early this morning, Dad - in a very funny cartoon voice says to him "Do you have any poops or pees?"

My child runs over to his little potty chair and sticks his head into the opening and his naked butt up into the air. We both just cracked up.

I guess he told us.

I take the time to blog whenever an "accident' turns into a easy and delicious meal. This is A secretor, A non secretor, O secretor and gluten free:

1 pound of gluten free ground turkey

lemon pepper

sea salt

olive oil

turnips

carrots

onion

egg

minced garlic

swansons natural goodness chicken broth or organic chicken broth (swanson's does have a little corn in it's broth, I believe - but not much)

I had made vegetable fritters awhile ago and had frozen the leftovers (see Dadamo's cook book).

I had also browned some ground turkey with a little olive oil and a generous sprinkling of lemon pepper. (Pepper is an avoid, but used sparingly will not hurt you.)

Pour one can of chicken broth into a big soup pot or a crock pot. Add frozen leftover turkey. Add frozen leftover veggies. Turn heat on low and walk away.

Hours later (lunch time or dinner time), serve with favorite bread or even over rice. It's delicious and satsfying on a cold winter's day. Best of all, it's easy!

Did I mention that sweet potatoes are ok for O secretors and A non secretors? Just in case there are any newbies out there - I wanted to clarify.

One other misc. note: Baking rice paper rolls create mushy, chewy and yucky results. I am going to try one last technique: pan frying with quite a bit of oil (expensive, if you are using the good stuff.) If it doesn't turn kid friendly by that point, I give up! Take care everyone!

This simple recipe was inspired by a local cooking show and one of my favorite college snacks "beer nuggets." (Try not to laugh - I am just being honest!)

Poke a sweet potato with a fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Slice the potato with a sharp knife from one to end, and then gently squeeze out the potato from it's skin into a big mixing bowl. Allow to cool and then add one egg, brown rice flour, sea salt and any seasoning you prefer. Mix together with hands and place on a floured board. As soon as you are able to ball up the dough (takes just a little mixing), break it in half. Flour your board well and then roll out little strings of dough(imagine a thick pencil.) Slice into the 'pencil' with a simple knife at half inch intervals. Warm up a frying pan using olive oil or another compliant oil. Carefully toss the small pieces into the pan and then sprinkle with sea salt, garlic or other spice you prefer. Allow to brown and then shake the pan every couple of minutes. Fry the pieces in just a little olive oil and shake the pan or turn over the pieces with a fork as needed. When the pieces are as crispy as your kids like them, it's done!

I think I will try a little cayenne pepper in the mix next time. Both my A non-secretor and my O secretor enjoyed their warm snack, and I climbed into the avoid boat and ate them too. Again, I have to laugh at the 'switch' in my perspective. I will gladly enjoy an 'avoid' vegetable over a store bought pizza or soda any day of the week.

Take care everyone.

First of all, let me say -- Thanks miss V! The gluten free ginger snaps do sound easy! Three family members are sick and stuck in the house, so it's the perfect time to bake in the kitchen.

We just got back from the doctor's office, and my three year old has a sinus infection. Yippee! It isn't an ear infection! Poor kid. I do feel like we have turned a corner, and I think a little preventive medicine is in order. The husband and I have been debating on the cost of air duct cleaning - it is a no brainer now. Of course, this particular episode was caused by some unfriendly bacteria- but clean air helps the allergies stay quiet.

I had backed off on the cod liver oil as his stools have been loose for over a week. But the medical doc says loose stools are caused by all of the extra mucus from the sinus infection. I can't get my little guy to sip lemon juice mixed with warm water yet, but I think I will start trying again. The cod liver oil was supposed to act like an anti-inflammatory - according to my sources. It was probably a mistake to discontinue it. Live and learn.

Anyway, fenugreek is mentioned within one of my Dadamo books. I need to take another look and find out more. Take care everyone.

My husband loves my turkey cutlets dredged in white rice flour and seasoned with sea salt and tumeric. I pan fry the cutlets in a little olive oil or sometimes use canola. Since he likes it SO much, one has to ask themselves, why?

If you take a moment to look up tumeric in the typebase section, you would find that it is a diabetes and cancer superbeneficial for O's. It also lowers indican levels. I have a sneaky suspicion that I need to add a lot more tumeric to his diet! For those of you who are new to my blogs, my husband is not willing to change his diet for anyone or anything. BUT, he is willing to eat what 'tastes' good to him, so the more I can substitute healthy dishes into his lifestyle, the better off he will be.

How are your indican levels? Food for thought

A dedicated individual to the BTD noticed that my favorite cookies contained avoids. Yes, she is right to point it out. Yes, it would be wonderful if I could actually make cookies that tasted that good WITHOUT any avoids. But unfortunately, I am not there yet. Someday I hope to be able to offer only beneficial foods, but as a busy Mom juggling to many jobs, it just isn't possible for me -- yet.

I do need to share that I over indulged at a "cookie" party, and I felt the negative consequences of my actions in an EXTREMELY loud manner. Wow. How did I get away with abusing myself before? Anyway, overall life is good and our meals are at a kind of pleasant standstill.

I would love to have a nutritionist analyze one of my 'nutirent dense' breads and let me know the exact breakdown of "known" important nutrients. I threw together a gluten free carrot raisin bread in the bread machine, but until I have had a chance to taste it, I won't post the recipe. And what is the lowdown on tapioca flour? It reads as if it has hardly any nutritional nuggets whatsoever, but I keep thinking that there is some hidden benefit to it that simply hasn't been published yet.

Tomorrow's breakfast will be:

Amy's gluten free chicken sausage (no nitrates or preservatives - hooray!)

strawberries

carrot raisin bread

Lunch will be grilled moz on Ezekiel bread, broccolli and juice for the O (not that he will eat the broccolli, but I keep putting it into his lunch box hoping that one day he will.)

Toasted millet bread with ghee and almond butter for the A celiac

Leftover black beans and rice for Mom

celery and carrots

Dinner will be an experiment. I will try to make a healthy version of beef stroganof. (rice noodles, some kind of sauce - definately haven't figured that one out yet) and the A's get leftover turkey cutlets. Mixed green salad on the side with a simple olive oil and garlic dressing.

Oh well, at least I look forward to pouring through cook books tomorrow! Good eats everyone.

For the most part, I feel as if I understand the diet and I am able to 'whip' up appropriate dishes when food supplies run low. Pleasing everyone is not always possible, but I just keep experimenting until all family members give dinner a 'thumbs up.'

I do, however, need to take the time to print out some new recipes and experiment with more beneficial foods. Blackeye peas is next on the list. I also want to mention one specific food company - sunflourbaking.com. Their main ingredient in their cookies is pinto bean flour. It'a a 'gluten" free cookie that has 7 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, 88 grams of carbohydrates (wow - that's high), 39% of one's daily calcium, and 11 percent iron. For a tasty snack on the go, it is very kid friendly- not to mention the fact that it is much more nutrient dense than traditional cookies!

Thanks Miss V and Miss R for your comments! No, the amaranth was supposedly corn free and gluten free. It also wasn’t the first time that he had eaten the cereal, but nonetheless, he had the classic inflamed ear symptom appear immediately after eating the cereal for breakfast.

According to the net, iodine occurs naturally in garlic and a few other choice veggies. Since I love cooking with garlic, I am going to assume that we are getting enough. Plus, my children’s vitamins contain some as well.

Cooking day didn’t happen today. I keep hoping to start that routine again. Here was my menu for the day:

Scrambled eggs with yellow squash, garlic and parsley

Half a slice of French toast

One small baby sized organic yogurt (yum!)

One pumpkin waffle

Two cups of coffee (spread 6 hours apart)

One small dish of applesauce

One large romaine salad with grilled chicken sausage

Two peanut and raisin balls with honey

My three year old was offered everything I ate, but he chose differently. He has eaten:

Two slices of gluten free French toast with maple syrup

Several glasses of rice milk (with probiotic mixed inside)

Half of a pumpkin waffle

Three tangerines

One gluten free biscuit (rice flour)

I am always amazed that he manages to get enough protein, but his needs are very different than mine right now.

Til next time…

Writing on a daily basis is much easier than trying to recap important events over the course of several months. Yet, for simplicity sake, please allow me to streamline:

I have stuck to the BTD principles as much as possible.

I offer all four-food groups at every meal in order to accommodate the different nutritional requirements of different family members (rice milk counts as dairy in my book.)

I have postponed a multitude of family responsibilities in order to prepare for my upcoming 3-day exam. (Personal Trainer Certification.)

I need to schedule 3 dentist appointments and two doctor appointments for family members.

I need to buy 3 family birthday gifts.

I need to Christmas shop.

And last but not least, I need to vent my frustration with AFAA (Aerobics Fitness Association of America.)

Why? Because they have cancelled my exam, and the next available exam is over three hours away from my home.

How incredibly inconvenient. I was notified 24 hours prior to the start of the workshop. Now of course, anything could have caused this. Perhaps the instructor fell ill. Perhaps I was the only participant who signed up for the exam and the workshop was no longer economical for the host. Whatever the reason, I find myself with little to show despite all of the effort and study time I have put into trying to prepare for this exam.

I am furious.

However……..

Maybe just maybe – there is a guardian angel trying to protect me from something. In the past, I have been severely disappointed by goals that fell through unexpectedly, but in the end it was a blessing in disguise. I suppose these challenges will only make my eventual success taste somewhat sweeter. (Ha – that’s the mature part of my brain talking. I am still furious.)

AFAA is going to be plagued by phone calls from me until I receive reassurance that my next scheduled exam WILL NOT BE cancelled!

Ok, ok – on with the diet.

Prior to Thanksgiving, I stupidly drank 16 cups of coffee during “cleaning day.” It was one of those mindless things where I just kept sipping from my cup and kept on brewing a new pot until the work was done. I also gave myself one of the longest heartburn episodes I have ever experienced.

My family doctor had explained to me once before that heartburn can actually ‘simmer’ in your stomach for a long, long time and be reactivated at every meal. So, it was easy to figure out why my stomach kept on hurting after day three. What does one eat after one has damaged their stomach with coffee?

Brown rice. In my humble opinion, it was a simple brown rice pilaf (basmati brown rice from Lundberg farms) that finally calmed my stomach. I had to eat it for three or four meals, but I started to feel relief after the first. In fact, I find myself craving it. Throw in some white beans, leftover turkey, chicken, etc and it is definitely a ‘comfort’ food on a cold winter’s day. The recipe is on the back of the rice package.

Anyway, I am about to phone AFAA for the fourth time today – maybe I will try e-mail instead. Take care everyone. God Bless.