A glorious day dawned for me about a week ago. For months I have been hoping that my favorite natural meat store would begin carrying rabbit. I looked for rabbit way back when I started the BTD almost 10 years ago and the only one I found was in a gourmet store tucked into a corner of the freezer section. It looked like it had been in there since the last Ice Age. So I didn’t bother looking for rabbit again until a couple years ago. And then… lo and behold as I was picking up my Thanksgiving turkey, there it was. Rabbit. Yes, It was frozen, but looked lovely. It cost an arm and a leg but I didn’t care.

As I was paying for my meats, I remarked to one of the store clerks that I was so happy they were now carrying rabbit. She replied that they had been searching for a very long time to find a supplier that met their standards. I knew exactly what she was talking about as they have a pledge posted across one wall of the store near the cash register that reads:

Our Pledge… Our Purpose

We believe food should be good… and good for you;

We believe food is a sacred gift;

We believe our health and well being is best served with whole foods, minimally processed, free of chemicals and artificial preservatives;

We believe food, animals, and the land should be managed using sustainable, humane practices, that promote the long-term health of rural families and communities;

We believe food should be produced as close to our tables as possible by people who love the soil and care for the land;

We believe the people who produce our food should earn a just income.



So I knew my rabbit had come from a place that embraces these practices and beliefs. And I know that the core belief of this store is to support family farms and rural economies. No agri-business here. Never. Nada. Zip.

And I think about that pledge every time I am in that store. If I have to align myself to a pledge of any sort… this is the one I choose.

Hiking in the cañon earlier this autumn; it was late afternoon and the angle of the sunbeams sliced through the air in a way that illuminated everything in the space between the cañon walls. Suddenly, the air had volume and presence to it in a way I had never experienced except during snowfall. I was amazed to see the number of bugs and small insects drifting through the cañon. But what was most amazing were the spider webs. Thin tendrils floating everywhere like sea kelp in an ocean… drifting on the air currents. Many clung to branches and the tops of trees waving in the slight breeze. I felt like I was privy to a private world… which had been there all the while. Only this time, with help from the sun I paused long enough to experience it.

About one millionth of an inch thick… called a dragline… most spiders spin silk behind themselves wherever they go. Sometimes called the spider’s “lifeline” the dragline is often used to escape enemies. A spider can drop from its dragline and hang in mid air until danger passes. Or it can float on the breeze with the dragline as a kind of rudder/anchor as I saw in the cañon. “Now… this would be a handy tool to have at one’s disposal”, I thought to myself. Imagine having a built in life line to help you hang in the air or float on the breeze for awhile. As my marriage has ended and I am about to live on my own for the first time since my early 20’s, I am deep in the experience of groundlessness and at times feel adrift in a shapeless, nameless void. Since I don’t possess a set of spinnerets, I have to create my own lifeline from my own knowledge base and life experience. Not an easy task and sometimes I am envious of those spiders.

It got me thinking about what tools I do have at my disposal. Certainly following the B diet/lifestyle recommendations is at the core. And paying attention to how my mind and body react to… well… everything. Right now, my food choices are changing as I am changing. I do not tolerate much dairy nor dense meats right now. I need to eat lighter with more fruits and vegetables. I had to change my exercise patterns too, very light on the aerobic and more strength training. And much more time for centering exercises like deep relaxation, yoga, meditation, and breathing. I am forging new connections to myself and this takes time. And paying attention to minute details.

But then there are moments when quite unexpectedly, the void takes shape, just like the cañon did and I feel myself not drifting aimlessly but moving through, with intent and purpose, to the other side of this experience. I think about the spiders surrendering to the breeze with their draglines trailing… trusting that they will end up somewhere. And knowing that I will too.

I love this time of year. The drifting of summer into autumn…. the shadows lengthen… the sunlight softens… the end of the growing season is approaching… but not fully here yet. I was noticing on my hike today that the lush greenery is at its peak now. We were lucky and had plentiful, if a little sporadic, rainfall throughout the growing season. And it is evident everywhere.

I was gone for the first two weeks of August and asked my youngest son to look after my basil plants while I was gone. This year, for the first time, I tried growing basil in containers on the deck. I had heard that basil does not grow well in pots but I thought I’d give it a try anyhow. I bought 12 plants and placed six plants each in 2 large containers. Early in the season we had several hail storms and I almost lost the whole crop in the first storm in early June. Fortunately, all plants survived except one… and I became ready to spring outside at the first plinking sounds to cover up the basil. Had I planted the basil in the back vegetable garden this year instead of easily reachable containers, they would have been toast. But to my surprise they grew just fine in their soon-to-be-crowded containers. So nice to have fresh basil in the summer! I had enough to make a batch of pesto about once a week. And it is so easy to make compliant pesto: just fresh basil leaves, a little fresh parsley, minced garlic, chopped walnuts, fresh parmesan, and enough olive oil to hold it all together. I like my pesto more like a tapenade than a sauce so I just finely chop the basil and parsley leaves and then crush them a little with a mortar and pestle. Mix all together and…. ahhhhh… so good. I found that I mostly used the pesto as a spread on rice crackers as I do not eat much pasta these days, but it was delish on pasta as well.

My son did very well with looking after the basil and he even made pesto himself one night! Not bad for a 13 year old. But… I forgot to tell him to check on the zucchini. To be honest… the zucchini was in the back garden and there had been a hot and dry spell before I left. I just did not get around to watering it much. I thought it was practically dead by that point . But there was a plethora of rain while I was away and when I came back the zucchini plants had resurrected. I nervously went back to check it this weekend and I found 2 absolutely huge zukes growing. Those of you with experience growing zucchini know what I mean! With zucchini that large there is only one choice… Zucchini Parmesan, of course. Just like the eggplant variety only substitute the zukes for the eggplant. Now I don’t know about you, but I can no longer be bothered with making compliant bread crumbs for the breading. In my younger years, I used to do that but now I just find that too much fuss. So I substitute spelt flour seasoned with oregano for the breading part. So it goes like this… dip the zuke rounds in flour, then egg wash, then flour again and into the frying pan to sauté a bit in olive oil to set the ‘breading’ Then layer in a baking dish with mozzarella cheese and ‘No tomato Tomato Sauce’ (recipe located in recibase)… and bake. So easy!! And very good too!!

Now… If I can only think of something useful to do with all those weeds that came in with the rain….

Sometimes in life it is important to take pause, to look back… to acknowledge the passing of time.



And a lot of time has passed since I last wrote a blog. More than 3 months now. In looking back, it seems like I am standing on a shore watching endless waves of events pass one over the other… some big waves, others smaller… The IfHI conference came and went so fast it was like a blur. But what a lovely happening it was. And so nice to meet one and all… again and for the first time. So many changes are happening in my personal and professional life that I have had to learn how to find my ground in this groundless place of deep change.

But something that caught me a little by surprise is that I realized that it was in the Fall of 1998 when I first heard about the Blood Type Diet and began making changes to my diet and lifestyle. Nine years. Wow. Almost a whole decade of eating and living this way. What was especially surprising is that I had thought it was ten years of BTDing… not nine… LOL!! But when I traced back to what I remember occurring in that time, it has indeed been nine years. But it feels like I have lived this way all my life; not because it is arduous and grueling and seems like longer in that regard {chuckle} but because it has so thoroughly integrated into how I choose to live my life. Looking back, I think it was giving up corn and lentils and adding in lamb that had the most direct impact on my overall well being. And I remember being so relieved!!!! when I read the exercise recommendations for B’s. That just felt so right. I had previously thought that only strenuous physical exercise was where the real health benefits lie.

I still see the Blood Type Diet as a process… or a journey… not something I do or don’t do. In the nine years of BTDing, I have never fallen off the wagon completely and abandoned the diet. I have had moments, yes, but they were only moments. I think that is because I did more of a gradual transition to this way of life. In the beginning, I ate more of the not-so-great neutrals like wheat and did not pay much attention to the ratios. Also, I didn’t expect to do it perfectly… and I still don’t. But over the years I have found what works best for me. I really have no desire for avoids now, except for the occasional olive. But even olives aren’t that appealing anymore. Corn no longer calls to me. In fact, most corn chips and popcorn smell rancid. Perhaps the BTD has heightened my olfactory sense!

And then there are the indirect, intangible results of The Blood Type Diet that are impossible to measure. But one thing is for sure… The Blood Type Diet sure has increased my enjoyment of life. And for me, that is really what it is all about.

I have noticed… time and again…. how we human beings have a tendency to identify in our ailments; those things that are “wrong” with us or that we would like to change. How many times have I heard someone say… "I am hypoglycemic"…. "I am gluten intolerant "…… even… "I am stubborn"! When one's self identity of "I am" is connected to something that they would like to change, I think it puts our psyches in a quandary. We can become so identified with what we would like to change that it makes change very threatening to our identity of self. So who will I be if I am not hypoglycemic, am not gluten intolerant??? Better to stick with something safe and known than to risk a change of that magnitude.

I thing deep and lasting change must begin with looking at how our imbalances have become interwoven with our self concept, realizing that they are things that challenge us, but do not own us. Separating our health challenges from who we are is a major step toward healing them. Some we have to learn how to live with, yes… very true… but they can become something that we cope with, not something that we are.

So I challenge you to look at your health challenges in a new way… and begin to separate them from the fabric of your self concept. Moving from “I am hypoglycemic” to “hypoglycemia is one of my current health challenges” may seem just like semantics to you. But it begins to create a distance, an objective viewpoint, from which to begin the true work of healing, of regaining balance, and not just alleviating symptoms.

The words we use to speak about ourselves are very powerful…. in both positive and negative ways. Which way will you choose?

The choice really is yours…..