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.