Over the weekend I read a really interesting article by Dr. Mark Hyman called Three Hidden Ways Wheat is Making You Fat. At first I thought it was a weight loss article, then as I started to read it I thought maybe it was promoting the gluten-free diet, but by the time I was done and had some time to digest it, I realized that what I really took away from the article was something more.

Throughout the course of time, scientists and farmers have been working on ways to feed the masses more efficiently – to eliminate hunger, reduce malnutrition, and to keep food affordable. On one hand, they have done that, but on the other hand, the changes that have been made to our food supply are now making us sick!

According to Dr. Hyman:

“In fact, there are three major hidden reasons that wheat products, not just gluten (along with sugar in all its forms) is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression and so many other modern ills.

This is why there are now 30 percent more obese than undernourished in the world, and why chronic lifestyle and dietary driven disease kills more than twice as many people as infectious disease globally. These non-communicable, chronic diseases will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years.”

He goes on to explain that wheat, which is in everything from crackers to lipstick, parallels the chronic illnesses of society over time.

“The history of wheat parallels the history of chronic disease and obesity across the world. Supermarkets today contain walls of wheat and corn disguised in literally hundreds of thousands of different food-like products, or FrankenFoods. Each American now consumes about 55 pounds of wheat flour every year.

It is not just the amount but also the hidden components of wheat that drive weight gain and disease. This is not the wheat your great-grandmother used to bake her bread. It is FrankenWheat — a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years.”

I highly recommend you read the ENTIRE article Three Hidden Ways Wheat is Makes You Fat and then see what small changes in your family’s diet can be made. Personally, I am going to try removing wheat/gluten from my own diet and see what differences I notice over the next few weeks. Since the celiac gene is in our family, I have a feeling that removing the wheat may do my body a lot of good. I’ll keep you posted!

In the meantime, if you are looking for good sources for gluten free cooking and living gluten free, check out these blogs:

• Celiac Family
• Celiacs in the House
• Gluten Free Homemaker
• Gluten Free Mommy

When you have a child with allergies the first thing you focus your attention on is food and environmental elements, but what about all the supplies they use at school?  Many art products such as paint, glue, markers, playdough and clay contain common allergens such as dairy, soy, egg, gluten, latex and even peanuts.

Discount School Supplies is the best resource for all of your art/school supplies, however, if you have a child with allergies or special needs, they are the first place you should look. They have the largest selection of Common-Allergen-Free Products and make it easy to shop by allergy-free product you need. From gluten-free playdough to dairy/casein free glue, latex free craft supplies and kits, and soy free paints Discount School Supplies will help you select products you can be sure are safe for your child.

Additionally if you have a special needs child, shop Special Needs at Discount School Supply to find over 500 products specifically selected to enhance and develop learning and independence.

Looking for printables and crafts your kids will LOVE? We recommend:

• Printables4Kids.com
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• Find Free Activities at Discount School Supply, too.

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Actually, I should call this the best Carrot Cake ever – gluten free or not!! My brother’s family has Celiac Disease, which means they cannot have wheat/gluten in their diet. Over the years my sister-in-law has nearly perfected the art of baking gluten-free. Her cakes, cookies, and treats would never even be detected as gluten-free if you didn’t know better – especially her Carrot Cake!

She uses Pamela’s Products Baking Mix to make pancakes and waffles every week and she thought she’d give the cake a try. The actual recipe is at the Pamela’s site – Carrot Cake.

She doubled the recipe to make a layered 9″ cake and used a different cream cheese frosting (below). She baked the cakes together for 30 min, switching them halfway through the baking. They baked very evenly. And even though they looked a little brown around the edges, they were very moist. The cake serves 16.

Cream Cheese Frosting

No need to double this recipe. It was plenty to frost the whole layered cake. Plus, she reserved a little of it to color green and orange for decorations. (If you do use it for decorations or piping, be sure to add more confectioners’ sugar until
you get a firmer texture.)

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Frost cake and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This really was one of the best Carrot Cakes I have ever had and it looked beautiful, too!

You can find all of Pamela’s Baking mixes at Amazon and GlutenFree.com.