Blood Type "A" Diet Plan
Affordable Ideas & Recipes For A Healthy Lifestyle
Jennifer Steward
Published by Jennifer Steward at Smashwords
Copyright 2010 Jennifer Steward
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Chapter Five – My Favorite Recipes For Blood Type A
Chapter Six - Weekly Meal Plan, Week One
Chapter Seven - Weekly Meal Plan, Week Two
Chapter Nine - My Personal Exercise Regimen
So here I am at this great cookout at a friends house, eating wonderful food and soaking up the sun on an old colonial porch. Out of the blue my friends and I start talking about different diets that we have heard about and tried and I mention that I would like to know more about a blood type diet I had heard about in the past. My buddy says, "I have that book, do you want to borrow it?".
And that is the beginning of a life change that has taken over my life in a very positive way. I wrote this book as a helpful tool for other blood type A's that are thinking of trying the blood type diet or have already started the diet and might want some fresh ideas and recipes. This is not meant to replace the informative blood type diet books that are out there but to be a helpful accompaniment, to give useful ideas and stay on a frugal budget all from a personal experience. I am hoping that this will be a useful tool and a fun read.
I have just read the last page of "Eat Right For Your Type" and decided that my husband and I should test our blood types, since neither of us knew what they were, and than try this diet. The book seemed to really make sense to me and I needed to test it out. As I explained this great idea to my husband I started to see a flash of panic come over his face. This is a man who grew up on a very traditional New England diet.
We ordered the blood typing test kits and a few days later they arrived. Lucky for us we are both type A, this challenge might end up being a little easier than I first thought. The thought of trying to cook for two blood types seemed a little overwhelming to me.
After cleaning up from testing our blood types, I sat down with my husband and read over the food list for blood type A. I read aloud the positive, neutral and negative lists from all the food categories. I think my husband was trying to hold back tears, realizing that red meat, potatoes and beer were not on our list for positive or neutral; he was so hoping for blood type O. But, what a wonderful husband I have, even while fighting back panic with the thought of change, he was open to trying this diet.
The next step I took was to go through my kitchen and remove anything I had that was on the negative list for blood type A. I know myself too well, if it is in my kitchen cabinets or refrigerator the temptation to eat it would be too much fore me. So, needless to say, I had very happy neighbors. I couldn't waste the food and I knew that I wouldn't sneak a bite if it is in there kitchen and not mine; that would have just been awkward.
The following weekend I researched a few new recipes to try and put together my grocery list. Unfortunately, in the aspect of grocery shopping, we live in the White Mountains so a trip to the store or at least one that would have a big selection is over an hour away. So I had to go on good faith that the new recipes I picked out would be tasty, because I would be buying bulk. I am always trying to save gas and time in my life.
Out of all the recipes I have tried, there definitely were some "not so good ones", but I feel I have narrowed down some great recipes and always finding and adding new ones to my list. Some people might think this is very time consuming and maybe expensive but that is why I am hoping this book will be helpful to many people. This can be done on a frugal budget and be very rewarding. I also feel that if you can spend a few hours a week baking and prepping for some great meals while staying on a budget, that it will feel quite easy. And in my mind, a few hours a week for a healthy life is not too much to ask of myself.
I have doing this blood type diet for some time now and the benefits I have had are numerous and remarkable. The first thing I noticed was in the first week of starting the diet; my energy level had improved ten fold, people at work even noticed. I was always one of those that would have two cups of coffee in the morning before heading to work and would usually need an afternoon cup to keep going. I started to realize that I was not searching out my coffee cup anymore at work. Also in this timeframe I started to realize that I was not as bloated after meals and it didn't seem like work for my body to digest food. I was feeling more energized after meals and most important of all, I wasn't needing to hide my embarrassing belches, there just wasn't any.
My husband came to me a few weeks after starting the diet and mentioned how he was amazed with his energy level too and how he was realizing that all the achy joints and fatigue that he used to complain about was not there anymore bothering him.
Between the third to fourth week people started asking me if I had lost weight. I hadn't been focusing on that aspect of the diet but I weighed myself and realized I had lost four pounds. I was not having as many cravings in between meals or searching out something sweet after a main meal either. At this point I knew it was not just a diet but an easy life change.
When I started this diet I decided that I needed to do this completely, to be sure I could honestly notice changes. So I was very careful in my choices of foods, especially if I was out at a restaurant or at a friends house for supper. I have to say that it is always a great topic of discussion with friends during dinner and I have actually had many friends pursue the blood type diet themselves and are also seeing a lot of benefit.
This will be a very short section because the only real con I can find is the difficulty eating out at a restaurant or at friends and families homes. I have decided for myself that my goal is to follow this diet 90% of the time. I feel that stressing myself in these situations is just not worth it, mind you I still try to make conscious healthy choices, and friends and family are usually very accommodating with meal menus; some of my friends and family actually find it to be a fun challenge. Restaurants are usually very accommodating too, I usually can find an item that will work well for type A and have them leave out a few ingredients that I should avoid.
I do feel that for anyone to notice a change in there body while following the blood type diet, you need to be committed to the change as much as possible.
Chapter Five – My Favorite Recipes For Blood Type A
Cornmeal Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups stone ground yellow cornmeal (I use indianhead)
1 tbsp raw sugar
½ tsp salt
2 cups soymilk
2 eggs
½ cup rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup ghee
ghee for the skillet
In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients
In another medium bowl mix all the wet ingredients
Combine both, mix well and let sit for 10 minutes
Stir and ladle onto a heated skillet, cook both sides and enjoy!
(this stores great overnight too, just stir well the next morning before using)
Rice Flour Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
½ tsp xantham gum
2 tbsp raw sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cup soy milk
2 tsp oil
Mix rice flour, xantham gum, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl
Beat in the soy milk until the mixture has smooth consistency
Add the beaten egg and oil and mix until just blended
Stir and ladle onto a heated, greased skillet, cook both sides and enjoy!
Blackstrap Salmon
Ingredients:
2 salmon filets
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
¼ cup soy sauce
Marinate the 2 salmon fillets in mixture of 1/3 cup molasses and ¼ cup of soy sauce for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Remove from the refrigerator, spoon out the marinade into a saucepan and reduce over medium-low heat until you're left with about half the original volume ( about 10 minutes ).
Cook on a heated skillet until the center of the salmon has reached an internal temperature of 140-155 degrees. Baste with leftover marinade throughout. Remove about five degrees before finished, cover and let sit for 5 minutes than serve.
(I found that our local grocery store can do specialty cuts on the salmon, if I ask for the captain's cut, they cut the thin piece out and package only the thick piece, this makes for consistency throughout the fish while cooking)
Sardine Patties Over Salad
Ingredients:
1 can sardines in water
1 egg
1 spoonful raw oats
dash of lemon juice
Mash the sardines with lemon juice
Mix in the oats and egg
Drop large spoonfuls onto a heated skillet in a bit of olive oil, cooking the sardines this way makes them less powerful with taste and very yummy
Serve over salad greens; I prefer mixing kale, romaine, swiss chard with chives and scallions on top. You can also add sprouts, buckwheat and cooked beans if you like.
Pineapple Peanut Stew over Brown Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch kale or swiss chard
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20 oz.)
1 package firm tofu
½ cup peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
½ cup chopped cilantro
sea salt to taste
crushed skinless peanuts
chopped scallions
Saute onions and garlic in oil for about 10 minutes stirring frequently until lightly browned.
While onions are cooking, wash kale, discard large stems, stack leaves on cutting surface and slice crosswise into 1 inch thick slices.
Add pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the kale or chard, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes until just tender and than mix in tofu.
In a small bowl mix together peanut butter and soy sacue and add to pineapple mixture, mix in cilantro.
Add sea salt to taste.
Serve over cooked brown rice and top with crushed peanuts and chopped scallions.
Kale and Sardine Frittata
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 can sardines in water, drained
handful of freshly washed kale cut into small piecse
5 eggs
Saute onion and garlic in oil
Add sardines and stir
Add wet kale leaves and saute until wilted
Add salt and stir
Beat the eggs and pour into the pan
Shake the pan to distribute ingredients evenly
Allow the eggs to set about 2 minutes and place pan into a preheated 400 degree oven
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until eggs have puffed up nicely
Pull eggs out of the oven and allow to cool
Cut into pizza like wedges and top with a little fine salt
Lentil Stew
Ingredients:
2 large onions chopped
2 large carrots sliced round
1 tbsp garlic minced
1 package of lentils
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
sea salt to taste
water
a handful of chopped swiss chard (optional)
¼ cup red wine
In a stock pot saute onions, swiss chard, carrots and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent
Add marjoram, thyme and about 2 tsps of sea salt
Mix in the lentils and let them warm
Add water up to about 4-5 inches from the top
Cover and cook on medium with a low boil for 45 minutes or until lentils are done
Stir in ¼ cup of red wine and let simmer for about 15 minutes, serve
Adzuki Bean & Pumpkin Curry Soup
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion chopped
2 ribs of celery chopped
3 large carrots
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cans pumpkin puree
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 ½ cups cooked adzuki beans
handful of chopped fresh parsley
In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat
Add the onion, bay leaves, carrots and celery, turning to coat with the oil, cook for a few minutes until they begin to color
Add garlic, salt, curry powder and turmeric, stir spices into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute
Add enough broth to cover them and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
Add sugar, remaining broth and beans; cook till warmed through
Remove from heat and take out the bay leaves, stir in the pumpkin puree and parsley
Puree soup with a food processor or blender a little at a time until smooth
Add all back to the stock pot and serve
NonTomato Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 can beets
2 cans carrots drained
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
2-3 tbsp italian dried seasoning blend
2 tbsp chopped garlic
Using a food processor blend canned beets and carrots until smooth
Add onions, spice blend and garlic
Transfer to stock pot and simmer for 15 minutes
Use like tomato sauce, I spread over cooked rice pasta, you can even freeze this once cooled and use later
Adzuki Bean and Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked akzuki beans
1 ½ cup chicken breast cut up into bite sized pieces
2-3 carrots chopped
1 large onion chopped
16 oz. chicken broth
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp salt, marjoram, sage, thyme, parsley
2 bay leaves
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Brown chicken pieces in olive oil on medium-high heat until cooked
Remove chicken and add more olive oil and saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes
Place all remaining ingredients plus chicken onion and garlic into a stock pot
Simmer for 20 minutes
Remove bay leaves and serve
Mediterranean Lentil Salad with Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
5 cups water
1 cup barley
1 cup cooked adzuki bean
1 cup cooked black bean
½ cup olive oil
2 stalks celery thinly sliced
salt to taste
THE VINAIGRETTE:
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
Combine barley in 5 cups of water and bring to a boil
After 10 minutes add the lentils and continue to boil about 15-20 minutes, be sure they do not get too mushy
Drain, place in a large bowl and let cool
Toss in oil, adzuki beans, black beans celery and salt
Vinaigrette:
Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic and thyme in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and salt. Toss the vinaigrette with the salad, garnish with parsley if desired.
I sometimes put this on top of romaine or other salad greens.
Brown Rice Stir Fry with Egg
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
handful washed, chopped swiss chard
1 carrot chopped
handful of fresh green beans
1 stalk of celery chopped
3 eggs whisked
Saute chopped onion and garlic in soy sauce and sesame oil until softened
Add swiss chard, carrots, green beans and celery; continue to saute for an additional 10 minutes
Add eggs and scramble until cooked
Remove from pan and add cooked brown rice with a little more soy sauce and sesame oil
Saute for 5 minutes
Add back the remaining ingredients and mixed thoroughly and serve