Sweet Debbie Speaks

Interview With NBC

2011-06-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

My son't allergist, Dr. Maria Garcia, called me yesterday at 12 noon, and asked if I could be at UCLA by 2 p.m. to be interviewed by Channel 4 news regarding my son's severe food allergies.

Apparently, a study from Northwestern University was published over the weekend that estimates the amount of kids with food allergies as being much higher than previously thought. Although seemingly bad news, the good thing about this is that now maybe there will be more awareness and more funding for research to find a cure.

Here is the link to the segment that was aired last night.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Kid_Food_Allergies_Los_Angeles-124228193.html

Cupcakes Take The Cake Blog Interviews Moi!

2011-05-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

I am honored to share with you an interview that the very popular blog, Cupcakes Take The Cake, did with me, that appeared today.

What do you do when your child is born with multiple life-threatening food allergies? If you’re Debbie Adler ofSweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, you learn a whole new way of baking, and start a national business in the process. Based in Los Angeles, Sweet Debbie’s provides made-to-order allergen-free cupcakes and sweets, shipped all over the country. Read the full interview to find out more about her business, how she started baking for celebrity clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, and how she almost gave birth while delivering cupcakes.

Name: Debbie Adler

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Website: http://www.sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes.com/

How did you get started baking cupcakes?
My initial idea was to create a sugar-free bakery using all natural sweeteners, since white refined sugar is really so poisonous to your body. The cupcake craze was just beginning and people were lining up outside bakeshops all around the country to eat sugar-laden, saturated fat-filled cupcakes. So I thought by making mine healthful, I could save the world one cupcake at a time.
Do you have any training?
Yes, the Culinary Institute of Trial & Error Sugar-free, Allergen-free Organic Baking.
What other kinds of products do you offer?
We also offer allergen-free, sugar-free organic brownies, muffins and cookies.
What inspired you to go organic and gluten free?
We are actually completely allergen-free, which means we bake with no dairy, no casein, no eggs, no wheat, no nuts, no tree nuts, no soy and, of course, no sugar. I was inspired to do this because a gun was put to my head. The gun was called food allergies. My son was born with multiple and life threatening food allergies and I had to learn how to bake safely for him. I soon learned there are millions of other children and adults with this same fate, and my goal was to make treats that everyone can enjoy safely and deliciously no matter what their allergies.
What are the biggest challenges to allergen-free baking?
The biggest challenges to allergen-free baking are you have no eggs to help the dough rise and you have no gluten to keep it together. The no dairy is not that big a deal because there is rice milk and other milk substitutes that stand-in nicely. The other big challenge was finding a great all natural, low-glycemic sweetener that would lend a moist crumb as well as a pleasant sweetness with no aftertaste. That bill was filled with agave nectar and stevia. I have learned to successfully bake with stevia and I would say that was the biggest challenge of all.
Is there any ingredient you just can't find a substitution for?
There’s no substitute for hard work and a belief in yourself that it can be done. I learned 189 ways how not to make allergen-free cupcakes. On the 190th try, I finally learned how to do it.
Do you have a signature cupcake, or a personal favorite?
I’d have to say my personal favorite is the Chocoholic Cupcake. Like any self-respecting woman, I have a one track mind when it comes to chocolate.
Where are you doing your baking? Do you use a rental kitchen space, own a commercial kitchen, or bake from home?
We rent a commercial kitchen.
Have you ever considered opening a store as opposed to the shipping method?
Maybe one day.
Your website boasts some pretty impressive celebrity clientele. How did you start catering to that base?
It all started with a call from Gwyneth Paltrow’s people. We were asked to do Apple’s and Moses’ birthday parties. When Gwyneth likes a product she becomes its advocate, and luckily, she has lots of friends. Yes, we’ve gotten celebrity clients from other sources, but I’d have to say Gwyneth was the first celebrity to take a chance on us at the very beginning.
Anyone you're dying to bake a cupcake for?
I’m dying to bake for anyone with food allergies or sensitivities that hasn’t had a good cupcake, brownie, muffin or cookie in a really long time and is really chomping at the bit to have one.
What is the best business advice you've ever gotten?
"Everyone has the will to win, but it's only those with the will to prepare that do win." – Bobby Knight
Any advice you wish someone had given you before you started?
To be patient.
What’s the most difficult aspect of running your own business?
How to be a full-time mommy and full-time entrepreneur in the same time zone.
Do you work with original recipes?How do you come up with those?
I had no choice but to come up with original recipes because what I wanted to do was almost non-existent at the time. I came up with the allergen-free, sugar-free organic recipes by substituting one thing at a time until each element worked in conjunction with the other. It was a long and arduous process.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to teach others how to bake allergen and sugar-free, so if they can’t buy baked goods from an allergen-free bakery, for whatever reason, they can do it themselves.
How do you market yourself? Is it largely word of mouth?
Our website is our greatest marketing tool and, yes, good old fashioned word-of-mouth plays the largest part.
How does social media play a role in your business?
Social media is a great way for us to be seen and heard universally.
Any cupcake horror stories?I had to deliver 350 cupcakes to Annaheim for Stonyfield Farm’s 25th Anniversary Celebration while I was in labor. Contractions every 7 minutes and it was an hour in each direction to the convention center. I made it without incident, but it was close.

All Stevia Is Not Created Equal

2011-04-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

In December of 2008, the FDA came out and said that it had "no objection" to the use of stevia in food and beverages. It was not an all out commitment to stevia, since apparently the FDA is afraid of the "c" word when it comes to healthful, zero-calorie sweeteners that might replace toxic aspartame. But, at least it was a start. Up until then, food companies could not legally use stevia in their products unless it was marked as a supplement. Cupcakes as a vitamin anyone?

So this was a glorious moment for Sweet Debbie's since sweetening our baked goods with stevia was on the top of our "to do" list as soon as it was not considered a crime. My team went out and bought every stevia product on the market and went to town.

Baking with stevia is a challenge, but that's a story for another blog post. The companies we tested all use stevia as the sole sweetener in the product as opposed to combining it with, let's say, erythritol, as Cargill does with Truvia.

So, we got stashes of the NOW Stevia Extract, KAL Pure Stevia Extract, Stevita, Sweet Leaf, Stevia Extract in the Raw, Trader Joe's Stevia Extract, and NuNatural's NuStevia. We baked away and to our sweet surprise, there was one clear winner.

KAL Pure Stevia Extract was far superior to any other brand. It was smooth and sweet, without any licorice-like aftertaste. You can bake with it, put it in coffee or lemonade and still get that same great sweetness.

Just so you know, KAL does not pay us for saying this. They probably don't even know we use their brand in our bakery. I just wanted to let you know, so you don't have to go out and spend your pay check on every brand of this expensive sweetener. Or you can just go online and order Sweet Debbie's stevia-sweetened goodies and leave the baking to us!

An Ode to Moe

2011-04-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

April 8th is Moses Martin's birthday. Moses is the progeny of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. Lovely Gwyneth has ordered from my bakery for various family member's birthdays when she happens to be celebrating in Los Angeles.

I mention this because the first time she ordered I had no idea the cupcakes were for her. A young girl's voice was on the other line and she had her very own debit card. She even mentioned she might have to add money to it in order to pay.

The order had to be delivered on a Sunday and I did it myself. No big deal...until I got buzzed into the Brentwood estate. I walked up the stone path and knocked on the glass door. A tall, blonde woman (everyone seems tall to 5' me) was doing yoga on a mat just inside. She approached the door. Could it be? No. OMG! It was! It was GP herself in a tight-fitting, black yoga outfit. No make-up, alittle shimmer of sweat...she was stunning. She opened the door, looked at the cupcakes through the clear cellophane box and said, "Wow!" She reached down to take them from me and all I could muster in my sheer and utter shock was, "Be careful!" That was it. She smiled, took the cupcake box with both hands (she takes direction well) and said good-bye.

That was my close encounter with glowing Gwyneth. She has ordered many times since then, and it is always one or another young woman on the phone with her very own debit card. But I have yet to see Mrs. Martin herself during deliveries.

No matter. She is a loyal customer and so supportive of small business. Someone like herself can order from anywhere, and she usually chooses up and coming start-ups or women driven businesses because that's just the kind of gal she is.

So this post is in honor of Gwyneth and her beautiful family. And, of course, we at Sweet Debbie's, wish Moses a very, very happy 5th birthday. (even though the cupcakes aren't coming from Sweet Debbie's this year:).

A Hankering for Hemp

2011-04-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

Just so you know, hemp seed has nothing to do with marijuana, since it does not contain THC, and it doesn't make you all high and hungry. As a matter of fact, hemp seed has so much dietary fiber that it has been known to aid in weight loss. Also, hemp contains heart-healthy Omega 3 and 6 and vitamins A, B, D and E. Calcium and iron are also in there. Pretty impressive, huh?

As if that weren't enough, hemp is also a complete protein. So, since many of my customers are vegan, I came up with a recipe for hemp muffins, and I'd like to share it with you, my devoted followers. The muffins are not yet offered on the Sweet Debbie's menu, so you're getting first dibs.

Hemp Spice Muffins

2 cups gluten-free flour (Bob's Red Mill)

1/4 cup hemp powder (Nutiva)

1/3 cup hemp seeds

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon hemp oil

2/3 cup agave

1 1/3 cup rice milk

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325F. Generously grease 2, 6-cup muffin tins ( I like the larger ones) with grapeseed oil; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, hemp powder, hemp seeds, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Combine hemp oil, grapeseed oil, agave, rice milk and vanilla. Mix slowly and thoroughly with dry ingredients.

Pour into greased cups, about 2/3 full and put into oven. Rotate racks (bottom one on top and vice versa) after about 12 minutes. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes. Take out of oven and put onto wire racks until cool. Take muffins out of tin, put onto wire racks and cool completely.

Let me know how they come out!

The Fabric of Friendship

2011-04-05T08:13:00.001-07:00

I met my best friend Elissa when I was 10-years-old at a day camp on Long Island in New York. At first she thought I was a bitch. I guess shyness can be interpreted that way, even with the best of prepubescent intentions.

I only went to that camp for a month, but Elissa and I stayed in touch. Every holiday vacation either my dad would drive me out to Woodbury to stay with her for a few days, or her dad would drive her to Queens to visit me. Even though her house was only 20 minutes away, it seemed like a great distance and I suffered from jet lag both ways.

Elissa was a domestic goddess. She sewed her own clothes, made her own outfit for her Bat-Mitzvah and then weaved her own wedding gown. How many of us gals can say THAT?

Of course, as life went on, our physical distance from each other grew as we moved to different states. For a brief stint, she even moved to France when she married her husband. Talk about jet lag.

Now she resides in Massachusetts with her two lovely girls and French hubby. And recently, my family and I moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles. Elissa tells me that when she moved, she was greeted with baskets of fresh vegetables and fruit from the gardens of her neighbors and other such lovely gestures. We've been in our new home for nine months now and no one has brought over a tomato or an orange or even a hello. The only communication we've had has been with our next door neighbor who asked us to pay to fix a wall on HIS SIDE of the property line.

So yesterday, we received a parcel post in a box wrapped in brown paper addressed to my 3-year-old. I opened it up and took out an exquisite patchwork quilt, hand sewn and carefully crafted to meet the taste of my discerning son. Of course it was from Elissa in honor of my son's birthday. Never mind my son - I really needed this blanket. Made with such care, attention to detail, and love. I can wrap myself (and, all right, my son, too) in this patchwork of fabric and feel the closeness of a person who I know will always be there for me.

There is no price you can put on such a gift, as the gift of a friendship that has lasted 39 years. (OK, so now you know how old I am).

Hypnobirthing Is For The Birds

2011-04-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

When I received the official news that I was pregnant (2 pink lines!) I immediately decided that I wanted to go ‘au natural’ for the birthing process. I even flirted with the notion of hauling a birthing tub into our cramped apartment and giving birth underwater like a whale.

My physician husband wouldn’t hear of it. He wisely pointed out that if, heaven forbid, there were an emergency, what would we do. Call Seymour, the carpenter from down the hall, to come in and lend a helping hand? We needed to be in a hospital, end of story.

OK. I agreed to not birth in the bedroom, but what about taking a birthing class? Lamaze, The Bradley Method..there was so much to choose from. Yet, nothing seemed exactly right. Then I stumbled upon a method that did sound right up my alley. Hypnobirthing. You learn how to hypnotize yourself into a state of otherworldliness where you think about colors and meadows and the dawn’s early light. And then supposedly you don’t feel any pain. Voila, now this was the method for me.

So, armed with a thesis on why this was the only way to go, I asked my husband if he’d take a hypnobirthing course with me. He agreed without missing a beat. I was shocked. There was no argument, no resistance, not even a chuckle. Men.

So, on the first day of class, I knew I’d made the right choice. Melissa Joan Hart, (aka Sabrina the Teenage Witch) was in attendance. Ready and willing to hypnobirth her son into the world, too. Sometimes the stars are just right in alignment.

And accordingly, I was in heaven. Closing your eyes, and counting, and thinking about strawberry fields forever is really easy…WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN PAIN! I completed the four week course successfully by breathing slowly and writing out an exhaustive birthing plan, instructing nurses, doctors and anyone else in the labor and delivery room to not give me any drugs under any circumstance while I was taking up residence there.

And then I had my first labor pain. How the hell are you supposed to breath, count or do any other such ridiculous thing when someone is hammering inside your womb so hard you feel like you’re going to implode! Needless to say, after eight hours of this nonsense, I told my husband to high-tail it to UCLA. Upon entering the L&D suite, I handed the admitting nurse my birthing plan and told her to shove it, I mean, shred it, and then I ordered the doctors to give me an epidural...STAT!

It was the smartest thing I ever did. The epidural allowed me to relax, enjoy the process of giving birth to my son, and not curse my husband out, even once, throughout the entire process.

After all was said and done, I asked my husband why he so readily agreed to this hypnobirthing crap, I mean class. He said, “Oh, I was just humoring you.” Men.

Oh, and by the way, Melissa actually did hypnobirth her son into the city of Los Angeles. What can I say? She’s a better witch than I.

A Modern Day Purim Story

2011-03-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

For Purim this year, our bakery made gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan plum/lemon hamentashen. They sold out in an hour. I am here to give you the recipe so you can make it at home, since we won't be making them again till next Purim. For those of you not familiar with this holiday, I'd like to share with you my updated version.

King Ahashverous (they called him Charlie) wanted his wife Vashti (the biblical name for Brooke) to dance in front of him and some of his Warlock cronies one night. She refused, so he threatened to banish her, and she left him. So the King, decided he wanted to look for some more goddesses.

He went on The Bachelor and gave the final rose to a hot Jewess named Esther (Madonna?). Esther found out that an advisor to the King wanted to kill all the Jews. His name was Haman. Esther's cousin Mordechai found out about this and said that Esther should beg the King to prevent Haman from doing this heinous deed.

Esther decided to fast for 3 days (and it wasn't a Master cleanse, she really didn't have a sip or morsel of anything) and decided to dress up, for the King, as catwoman and purr (that's why it's called Purim). This worked, the King hung Haman, (it went viral on the internet) and Esther went on to found the Kaballah movement.

And here's the recipe:

Put parchment paper on two cookie sheets

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Dough

8 oz. vegan butter ( 1 stick Earth Balance)

8 oz. vegan cream cheese (1 tub Follow Your Heart)

2 cups gf flour (King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 teaspoon stevia (KAL)

Filling

12 oz. dried plums (otherwise known as prunes)

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Put prunes in pot and fill with water until it covers all the fruit. Bring to boil and simmer until prunes are soft. Strain out prunes and add lemon peel and lemon juice. Put in food processor and process till smooth.

1. In mixer bowl or food processor combine vegan butter and cream cheese

2. Add flour and stevia

3. Wrap in wax or parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.

4. Roll dough to 1/4' thickness and cut about 3" circles on cookie sheet.

5. Put about a teaspoon of filling into the center of each circle and pinch the sides to form 3 corners.

6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned

7. Let hamentashen cool for a few minutes and then remove from cookie sheets to wire rack

At Least My Son's Not Allergic To Me!

2010-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks after my son's 1st birthday, my husband and I took our son to a local frozen yogurt shop. We gave him a taste of the vanilla, and he couldn't seem to get enough. We were happy he tried something new and liked it. After we got home, about 20 minutes later, he started throwing up. This was a highly unusual occurrence. The last time it happened, when he was about 8 months old, I had given him the cheese topping of a slice of pizza. I mentioned to the pediatrician that I was concerned he might be allergic to dairy, and the pediatrician poo-pooed the notion, saying it was probably just an upset stomach.

As we mom's all know, a mother's gut instinct is usually the one to put your money on, and during the yogurt incident, I quickly gave my son a dose of Benadryl. Soon his blood pressure got so low he went limp in my arms. My husband lied him down on the floor to get the blood back to his head and I called 911. While I was on the phone, my son was barely breathing. My husband was prepared to perform CPR at any moment. The paramedics eventually came and my son sort of perked up a bit when they did. I attribute this to the Benadryl, which was probably kicking in a bit by that time. Then we were rushed to the hospital. I won't go into the details of how utterly unprepared this particular hospital was to deal with a crisis such as this. My husband insisted we get transferred to the pediatric unit at UCLA in Santa Monica, and eventually (5 hours later) that's where we ended up spending the night. This was the first of 3 emergency visits and stays at the hospital we would endure due to my son's ever increasing list of allergic reactions to food.

It happened again with sesame and then again with flax. We had him tested and found out he is also allergic to casein, lentils, eggs, cashews, pistachios, almonds, coconut and strawberries.

My husband, the internist who went to medical school, had previously thought people who claimed to have food allergies were making it up. Well, these crises with my son, turned him around a quick 180, and he has become an active member of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and reads all the latest studies on what is being done to help cure this most prevalent and devastating trend.

As a baker, I have invented ways to make my organic cupcakes, cookies, brownies and muffins free of egg and dairy. My company, Sweet Debbie's, is now completely vegan and offers gluten-free options, since so many of our customers require it.

As for my son, he doesn't like cakes and cookies and things of that sort (is he really my son?) but he does love smoothies. Here are two of his favorites that I'd like to share with you.

CHOCOLATE BANANA (dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free)

1 frozen banana

3 Tablespoons organic cacao

3/4 cup rice milk

1/8 teaspsoon stevia powder (KAL brand)

1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla powder (Auhentic Foods brand)

Put all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. This smoothie is rich, thick, and absolutely delicious.

MANGO

3/4 cup frozen mango chunks (Organic O's brand)

1/8 teaspoon stevia powder (KAL brand)

1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla powder (Authentic Foods brand)

3/4 cup rice milk

Put all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. This is wonderfully refreshing and the combination of the mango and vanilla is out of this world.

How To Start a Business for $29.99

2010-06-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

When I decided to start my organic bakery, I didn't know where to begin. Yes, I had my recipes all figured out, but that was about it. My husband suggested hiring a consultant. This sounded like a reasonable thing to do, so I searched online. I found someone who had her own dessert catering business, who said she had consulted with the Sprinkles people in their early stages. I called and made an appointment for her to stop by.

A slovenly, unkempt woman showed up at my door. I was a little taken aback. She immediately asked to see my recipes. Reluctantly, I showed her a few. Then she requested samples to taste. I gave her some. She ate her way through a peanut butter cupcake, a gourmet dark chocolate brownie and a blueberry muffin. She asked to take some goodies home for her husband. I made her a doggie bag. She made suggestions ending each sentence with, "...because that's what Sprinkles does." I made it clear I had no intentions of copying Sprinkles in any way, shape or form. Then she told me her project fee was $10,000. I said good-bye.

Back to square one. I got depressed and ate a pound of granola. What to do next? My sister-in-law suggested getting a booth at her son's school fair. Fair enough. I made the appropriate plans and schlepped dozens of organic baked goods to Sherman Oaks Elementary. A mom came up and bought a cupcake for her daughter. A dad drifted over and bought 2 brownies for himself and his son. Soon kids were giving me carnival tickets, using their purchasing power, to buy from Sweet Debbie herself. One little girl asked if I had a website she could take a look at. Uh, no. I felt like a dinosaur. What business in this day and age doesn't have a website? I told her it was under construction.

I came home that evening feeling overwhelemd. So much to do, so little money. I needed a website, a logo, pictures of my products and copy. I decided to call a local art school to see if any of the students would be interested in creating a logo for me for a few hundred bucks. The head of the department said it could be a class project instead, and that all the students in his class would come up with a logo after I did a presentation about my company. I could come in after a few weeks and pick the one I liked best. Wow! What a deal. It worked like a charm. Although all of the students were young men, and wouldn't know an organic cupcake if it bit them in the behind, they all did a decent job. One guy really 'got it' and I chose his design.

During the weeks I was waiting for my logo, my husband, whose hobby is photography, took some pictures of my products. The cupcakes, cookies, brownies and muffins all took turns in front of his Nikon D300.

Ok. Now to build a website. My husband suggested I hire someone. I argued that web designers charge thousands of dollars. I told him I'll do it myself. He urged it needed to look professional. I said go to work, I'll have it done by the time you come home. What he didn't know was that I had found a company that gives you the templates for creating a website without having to know code. For just $29.99! I worked all day on the copy and downloading pictures. My husband walked in at 6 p.m. and I showed him what I had done. He collapsed.

Health by Chocolate

2009-05-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

My husband is an internist that specializes in hypertension, which means he helps people lower their high blood pressure among other fun things. He does this by prescribing beta-blockers and similar type drugs that are not very tasty.

Now, there are indications that high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors can be downright delicious. Happy Heart News Studies at the American Association for the Advancement of Science recently revealed that cocoa and dark chocolate contain flavonols which prevent substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging arteries, as well as helping the body process nitric oxide, a compound that promotes healthy blood flow and blood pressure.

Flavonoids are naturally-occurring plant compounds found in a wide array of foods that are recognized as having certain health benefits. They have ‘antioxidant powers’ that provide protective benefits from environmental toxins. Flavonoids in chocolate are called flavonols.

In addition to these antioxidant capabilities, the flavonols in chocolate are also thought to affect the relaxation capabilities of blood vessels. This is why a soothing and almost euphoric feeling may occur after consuming dark chocolate. Also, these same flavonols may positively affect the balance of certain hormone-like compounds called eicosanoids, which are thought to play a role in cardiovascular health. This is similar to the role a low-dose aspirin plays in promoting blood flow. This reduces the blood’s ability to clot which also reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack.

At my organic bakery, Sweet Debbie's, we use organic raw chocolate powder which has more benefits than cocoa powder processed with alkalis and other chemicals. Raw cacao powder contains significant amounts of Vitamin C, Iron, Folic Acid, Zinc and Copper and has very little caffeine. It also is the highest food source of Magnesium, so it supports heart function relaxes muscle cramps and increases felxibility.

We use organic raw chocolate powder in our cupcakes, brownies, and chocolate granola.

Chocolate or beta-blocker? Hmmm... hard decision.

How Spices Can Save Your Life

2009-05-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe, but I build my baked goods recipes around the spices I want to incorporate. Not only do they add wonderful flavor and fragrance to my organic power muffins, cookies and cupcakes, but, according to my husband's medical journals, they can also add medicinal value to your health. Scientific evidence has shown, through clinical trials and studies, that a few of your favorite ingredients can also have great impact on your health and well-being.

CINNAMON
Cinnamon is one of the most popular and well known spices in the world. It also has unusually potent healing abilities that come from the substances found in the essential oils in its bark. A study reported by the journal Diabetes Care concluded that taking just a half teaspoon of cinnamon every day, radically reduces the level of blood sugar in people with Type II diabetes, as well as decreasing their triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels. At Sweet Debbie's, we put cinnamon in a lot of our baked goods, especially our muffins. Other health benefits associated with cinnamon include: 1) Aiding digestion 2) Relieving stiffness of muscles and joints 3) Killing harmful bacteria such as E. coli 4) Relieving menstrual cramps 5) Relieving arthritic pain 6) Preventing urinary tract infections 7) Relieving congestion 8) Increasing circulation 9) Increasing brain activity 10) Preventing tooth decay and gum disease 11) Toning of tissues

NUTMEG
The mention of nutmeg is usually associated with holiday dishes and aromas. But nutmeg has more to offer all year round than just spicing up your holiday season. Nutmeg, a native spice of the Moluccas Islands in the South Pacific, has been known to have the following health benefits: 1) Lowers blood pressure 2) Soothes digestive upset 3) Eases joint pain and inflammation 4) Provides relief from diarrhea 5) Promotes concentration 6) Stimulates the cardiovascular system 7) Relieves pain from tooth aches 8) Relieves nausea 9) Relieves insomnia 10) Calms muscle spasms and anxiety 11) Helps remove toxins from the liver

CLOVES
I use cloves frequently in oatmeal cookies, my pumpkin pie muffins, and even a chili recipe I conjured up, for added warmth, sweetness and fragrance. But the active component in cloves volatile oils, eugenol, have made them the subject of numerous studies. The results of these health studies revealed the following ways in which cloves are helpful: 1) Acts as a mild anaesthetic 2) Acts as an anti-bacterial agent 3) Reduces inflammatory symptoms 4) Relieves symptoms associated with asthma 5) Relieves symptoms of rhuematism and arthritis 6) Eliminates intestinal parasites 7) Contains excellent sources of dietary fiber 8) Contains excellent sources of Vitamin C 9) Contains excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids 10) Contains good sources of Calcium 11) May stimulate creativity and mental focus 12) Prevents toxicity from environmental pollutants

As you can see, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves have many therapeutic effects and add significant value to a healthy diet. So dig in and spice up your life!

Sugar Sucks!

2009-04-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's no picnic being married to a doctor. No offense to my adorable husband, but, night after night he comes home and tells me about all the sick people he takes care of as an internist, while I tell him to eat his vegetables. It's very depressing hearing about how many unwell people there are in Los Angeles. And since I'm a masochist, I have to ask about every detail of their lives so I feel like I know them and then I get even more depressed. Most of the time, I would say 9 times out of 10, in addition to a host of very sophisticated and terrifying diseases, he says they have Type II diabetes.

Now I'm no MD, but intuitively I tell him that I suspect his patients' problems mostly stem from poor diet, very little exercise, and way too much sugar. He usually defends them saying something like, "Sugar doesn't 'cause' diabetes, a lot of it's genetic, can I have another peanut butter chocolate chip cookie for dessert?"

Since gut instinct does not win an argument with a man of science, I start to do research by reading through the stacks of medical journals that are stockpiled in our living room, dining room, bedroom and bathroom to find evidence of what I know to be true.

Sure enough I come up with study after recent study that shows the detrimental effects of glucose and fructose (fancy words for white refined sugar) on the human body.

I will give you the gist of all the studies in one work. POISON! Sugar is poison in the human body. Beginning and end of story.

Being someone who has to have dessert after each meal, I know my destiny is to come up with recipes for all my favorite desserts with all-natural sweeteners and other healthy ingredients. The trick is to not sacrifice taste or texture. It's not easy.

I start buying every all-natural sweetener out there: brown-rice syrup, maple syrup, stevia, agave nectar, palm sugar, erythritol and xylitol. I experiment with each one. Doing further research, I learn that a big reason sugar is so unhealthy is its high Glycemic Index or Response. This means that when sugar is ingested, there is a very fast and high increase in blood glucose level which wreaks havoc on the body over time. It increases the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and of getting fat.

So I experiment with the all-natural, low GI sweeteners (stevia, agave nectar, palm sugar, erythritol and xylitol). I come up with recipes using agave nectar and xylitol, mixing and matching, depending on the recipe and which sweetener works best for what.

Xylitol (which comes from the birch tree) is also found in fruit, vegetables and is even manufactured in our own bodies. It imitates sugar beautifully for baking purposes and has 1/3 less calories. And if that's not enough, it also fights cavities. In the peer reviewed scientific journals that I steal from my husband's stash, I find out that consuming xylitol also results in the strengthening of tooth enamel and has been shown to increase calcium absorption in the body!

Agave nectar, which I use in my home-made organic granola and sometimes my organic cupcake frostings, contains saponins and fructans. Saponins have anti-inflammatory and immune system-boosting properties as well as antimicrobial capability. Inflammation in the body is a precursor to many diseases, including cancer, so you definitely want to have a diet high in anti-inflammatories. Fructans also have many health benefits. Studies suggest that they are effective in weight loss because of their low impact on blood sugar and ability to increase the feeling of fullness thereby decreasing appetite. Fructans are also associated with reducing the risk of cancer, lowering bad cholesterol, and increasing the absorption of essential nutrients.

So, for my son's 1st birthday, I made a ginormous organic cupcake (see pic above) sweetened with only xylitol and agave nectar. It was devoured in 2 minutes and 45 seconds by 12 people. No one was the wiser. I didn't even tell my husband.