My new Cup-A-Cake Containers

yeah I have finally found the most amazing thing for a mom of a child with celiac. I have been taking Kennedy a cupcake to birthday parties and school events over the last 4 months. By the time to eat the cupcake the trick has been getting it out of the container. With the Cup-A-Cake the worry will be over and Kennedy can enjoy her cupcake with all the frosting.

CUP-A-CAKE was designed and patented by mothers to solve the age old problem of sending cupcakes to school or outings with their children. Before CUP-A-CAKE, taking cupcakes anywhere caused a mess. I can't wait to get these and take them to the next party.

This unique container will hold a frosted cupcake in place with protrusions positioned in such a way that the cupcake will not move within the container if jiggled or turned upside down.

CUPCAKE CONTAINER OF THE FUTURE
CUP-A-CAKE, MADE IN THE USA
USER FRIENDLY - (can be used by the smallest fingers)
PRACTICAL & LIGHTWEIGHT
AIRTIGHT TO SEAL IN FRESHNESS
COMES IN A VARIETY OF COLORS
AVAILABLE IN A SINGLE REUSABLE MODEL
KEEPS CUPCAKES INTACT WHILE IN TRAVEL
ECONOMICAL AND FUN!

SUGGESTED USES

SCHOOL LUNCHES
FIELD TRIPS
PICNICS
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
PARTIES
SPORTING EVENTS
BOY OR GIRL SCOUT OUTINGS

Capital City Public Market

CAPITAL CITY PUBLIC MARKET

Capital City Public Market opened last weekend and this morning we had time before our soccer games to go check it out. It is open Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m. and is on 8th Street between Bannock and Main. There are a lot of great vendors. Great selection of fresh bread, fruits, veggies and if course your normal arts and craft booths. This would be a great place to take visitors this summer. We bought some awesome dried apples from Kelley Orchards. We will be going back to the market to get more!

Happy Earth Day

Get ready to clean out your cupboards on Earth Day


Influential local food blog, Real Food Media, is leading a rolling challenge about the dangers of genetically modified foods set to launch on Earth Day. Go to Real Food Media to learn how to clean out your cupboards and stop eating GMOs.
Similar to the Eat Local Challenge the No GMO Challenge gives consumers a way to organize, educate and build awareness around the serious health and environmental risks of genetically modified food.
Founder of Real Food Media, Ann Marie Michaels says, “The majority of Americans don’t trust GM foods and want GMOs labeled. The sad thing is, there’s so little information about genetically modified food. Most of us are eating it every day and we don’t even know it.”
Most processed foods contain corn, canola or soybean oils, soy lecithin, or high fructose corn syrup.
According to PEW, CBS and ABC polls:• 52% believe GM foods are unsafe • 93% say the government should require labels on food saying whether it’s been genetically modified
Organizers recommend watching the critically acclaimed video, The World According to Monsanto.

3 Month Blood Test Results Are IN

Today I had a message from Kennedy's doctor's office when I got home. The message was about her blood test results from last week. The inflammation and colitis is now within normal range and shows that she no longer has symptoms of that. This is great news. Her immunoglobulin A (IgA), which is a type of antibody that protects against infections of the mucous membranes lining of the mouth, airways, and digestive tract is at 24. When she was diagnosed in January her level was 10. Normal range is 100-200 so it looks like we still have our work cut out for us, but at least we are headed in the right direction.

YEAH STARBUCKS

Yeah, this week we have had some great news for families with celiac. It seems to me that there is more companies that are becoming aware of the growing problem with wheat allergies. I LOVE starbucks and can't wait to try the new Valencia Orange Cake.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Starbucks Corp. will begin selling its first gluten-free pastry in its U.S. stores next month in response to requests from its customers.
The pastry, called Valencia Orange Cake, will be made with seven ingredients which are all 100 percent gluten-free, the company said. The cake will be sold in individually wrapped packages for $2.25 each and will be available beginning May 5.
Starbucks said it wanted to offer its gluten-free customers more choices.
"I think one of the things we learned right from the get-go from our gluten-free customers is they can't eat away from home very easily," said Adrienne Knapp, a product manager in the food category at Starbucks. "A cake is actually really hard to find for someone that's a gluten-free consumer."
Gluten is a protein common in rye, wheat, barley and other grains. More than 3 million Americans are thought to suffer from a condition called celiac disease, which is associated with intolerance to gluten. Even more people claim they are sensitive to wheat and other gluten-filled grains.
More companies are now catering to those looking to avoid gluten. Even beer maker Anheuser-Busch is now selling a gluten-free beer called Redbridge, made from an African cereal grass.
Starbucks said it has received numerous requests from its customers for gluten-free foods on its mystarbucksidea.com Web site. The site allows customers to submit ideas for how to improve the company, its drinks and its food.

Schwans Turkey Meatballs and Pasta Dinner

Our turkey meatballs are so full of flavor you will forget they are good for you. We make them with ground turkey breast meat and a touch of pork, and then season with onion, mushroom, garlic, spinach, basil. They come served up on a bed of Quinoa rotelle pasta and topped with a classic tomato basil sauce. A serving of tender 100% Grade A broccoli completes the meal.


Did anybody watch The Celebrity Apprentice last night? The task was to create a new dish and marketing campaign for the Schwans frozen food LiveSmart line. Team KOTU, led by Herschel Walker, made Asian orange chicken. Team Athena, led by Jesse James, made turkey and spinach meatballs with GLUTEN FREE pasta. Guess which team won? I personally want to thank Annie Duke for coming up with the idea of having a gluten free dish. And for mentioning the words celiac disease and gluten free like eighty-seven times. Well maybe not that many.

Gluten Free Monkey Bread

4 Cups Pamelas Baking Mix
1 C. Shortening

1-1/3 C. Milk

1 C. White Sugar

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 C. Butter

1 C. Packed Brown Sugar

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube/bunt pan.

2. Mix gluten free baking mix, shortening and milk.

3. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Roll dough into small pieces. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces into the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all the dough is coated and placed in the pan.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let the bread coon in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Soccer Saturday

What a great day for soccer and the weather was great. It got up to 65 degrees today so we enjoyed being outside. Karleigh had a great game. The Fire Balls won today 5-0. Karleigh played most of the game on defense, but when she got to move to striker she made 1 goal. Kennedy's game was good too. We don't keep score in the U4/U5 games and this was a game that I am glad there was no record. The Cheetahs lost-big time!

Kennedy had more exciting news today other than soccer. We have been increasing the fiber in her diet for 2 days and today we noticed that it seems to be making a difference. I have been adding flax seed to every meal and we have decreased the amount of rice products that she eats. We tried Corn-Quinoa pasta with our spaghetti instead of rice noodles. They had great texture and taste. The fiber and protein are higher for this pasta so that should help. For more information on Quinoa you need to visit this website. http://www.quinoa.net/

When Dad is away, the girls will play

Kevin left today for Washington and it will be me and the girls this week. We have 3 soccer games this weekend so that should keep us busy. Tomorrow night Karleigh is going to have her friend, Abby, stay the night and Sunday we are going to Malulani's 8th birthday party. Hopefully I can get some laundry done in between all the running around. It is going to be a great weekend. Looks like we will be into the 70's all week. I love it!

Kennedy's 3 Month Check-Up

Well today we went to see Barbie, RN at Idaho Pediatric Gastroenterologists. It was for Kennedy's three month check-up. She has grown 3cm and gained 100 grams over the last 3 months! We are still concerned that she is not responding to the gluten free diet as well as she should. We are going to try and bulk up her diet with more fiber and protein. This is hard to do when you are dealing with a 4 year old that does not understand why she is eating this "weird" food. If after 2 weeks of tyring this we do not notice a difference we will eliminate lactose (milk products) for 2 weeks. In 2 months if we have not seen a big change then we will have to consider going back for an additional surgery and do the biopsies of the colon and esophagus to see if there are any changes. I guess that there is a chance that she could have refractory celiac and that would require immunosuppressive drugs for 3-6 months. I have attached some additional information below that explains refractory celiac disease. We will work hard over the next two months and pray that Kennedy is able to get better without drugs.

What if patients fail to respond to gluten free diet?
Failure to respond to a gluten free diet can be due to several reasons:
1) Patients are not following a strict gluten free diet and are still eating small amounts of gluten.
2) Patients are unknowingly ingesting unsuspected sources of gluten such as starch, binders and fillers in medications or vitamins.
3)Patients may have another co-existing condition such as irritable bowel syndrome, bacterial overgrowth of the small bowel, microscopic colitis, or pancreatic insufficiency that are causing the symptoms.
5)Patients may have refractory disease, or complications of celiac disease.

What is refractory celiac disease?
Refractory celiac disease is a rare condition in which the symptoms of celiac disease (and the loss of villi) do not improve despite many months of a strict gluten free diet. Before making a diagnosis of refractory celiac disease it is important to exclude complications of celiac disease and other co-existing conditions that can produce similar symptoms. It is believed by many knowledgeable physicians that refractory celiac disease is a malignant condition, that is, it is a cancer.
What is the treatment for refractory celiac disease? The treatment of refractory celiac disease is first to make sure that all gluten is eliminated from the diet. If there still is no improvement, medications are used. Corticosteroids such as prednisone have been used successfully in treating some patients with refractory celiac disease. Immunosuppressive drugs (medications that suppress a person's immune system) such as azathioprine and cyclosporine also have been used. (These drugs also are used in treating some types of cancer.) Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs are potent medications with potentially serious side effects. Many patients with refractory celiac disease are malnourished and have weakened immune systems, and corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents can further increase their risk of serious infections. Thus doctors experienced with treating celiac disease should monitor treatment of refractory celiac disease.

NO MORE FOOD DYE FOR THE BELNAP'S

So, Easter was our first Holiday that we celebrated with Kennedy having Celiac. It was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. The Easter baskets did not have candy this year. It did not seem like the girls even missed the candy. We did go to an Easter egg hunt and I let Kennedy have a Tootsie Roll and Peanut M&M's! YIKES!! This was the first time in about 6 weeks that I have let her have food dye. Since we have eliminated food dye from her diet we have noticed that she has been a lot more focused and not so hyper. I also decided to make some gluten free marshmallow rice crispy treats. I used Enviro Kids Koala Crisp(gluten free chocolate rice crispies), organic butter and Kraft marshmallows. All ingredients are gluten free, but the marshmallows have BLUE 1 dye. After Easter dinner we could tell that Kennedy seemed to be more excited and had a hard time listening. Bedtime did not go smooth either. She fought going to bed and was restless in her room for about 2 hours. After looking at the food that we had let her eat earlier that day it was obvious that food dye affects her. In fact food dye is not safe!! Please look at the list below and go through your food. Do more research on the food you are eating.

Food Additives

Shopping was easy when most food came from farms. Now, factory-made foods have made chemical additives a significant part of our diet. Most people may not be able to pronounce the names of many of these chemicals, but they still want to know what the chemicals do and which ones are safe and which are poorly tested or possibly dangerous.

SAFE

ALGINATE
ALPHA TOCOPHEROL (Vitamin E)
ASCORBIC ACID (Vitamin C)
BETA-CAROTENE
CALCIUM PROPIONATE
CALCIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE
CARRAGEENAN
CASEIN
CITRIC ACID
DIACYLGLYCEROL
EDTA
ERYTHORBIC ACID
FERROUS GLUCONATE
FUMARIC ACID
GELATIN
GLYCERIN (Glycerol)
GUMS: Arabic, Furcelleran, Ghatti, Guar, Karaya, Locust Bean,
Xanthan
LACTIC ACID
LECITHIN
MONO- and DIGLYCERIDES
NEOTAME
OLIGOFRUCTOSE
PHOSPHATE SALTS
PHOSPHORIC ACID
PLANT STEROL ESTERS
POLYSORBATE 60, 65, 80
POTASSIUM SORBATE
PROPYLENE GLYCOL ALGINATE
SODIUM ASCORBATE
SODIUM BENZOATE
SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE (CMC)
SODIUM CASEINATE
SODIUM CITRATE
SODIUM PROPIONATE
SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE
SORBIC ACID
SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE
STARCH, MODIFIED STARCH
SUCRALOSE
THIAMIN MONONITRATE
TRIACETIN (GLYCEROL TRIACETATE)
VANILLIN, ETHYL VANILLIN
VEGETABLE OIL STEROL ESTERS

CUT BACK

Not toxic, but large amounts may be unsafe or promote bad
nutrition. See main text for details.

CAFFEINE
CORN SYRUP
DEXTROSE (CORN SUGAR, GLUCOSE)
HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
HYDROGENATATED STARCH HYDROLYSATE
INVERT SUGAR
LACTITOL
MALTITOL
MANNITOL
POLYDEXTROSE
SALATRIM
SALT
SORBITOL
SUGAR
TAGATOSE

CAUTION

These additives may pose a risk and need to be better tested. Try
to avoid..
ARTIFICIAL COLORINGS (CITRUS RED, RED 40)

BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL (BVO)

BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE (BHA)
BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE (BHT)
HEPTYL PARABEN
QUININE

CERTAIN PEOPLE SHOULD AVOID

May cause allergic reactions or other problems.

ARTIFICIAL COLORINGS (YELLOW 5)
ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORING
BETA-CAROTENE
CAFFEINE
CARMINE; COCHINEAL
CASEIN
GUM TRAGACANTH
HVP (HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN)
LACTOSE
MSG (MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE)
MYCOPROTEIN
QUININE
SODIUM BISULFITE
SULFITES
SULFUR DIOXIDE

AVOID

The additive is unsafe in the amounts consumed or is very poorly
tested.

ACESULFAME POTASSIUM
ARTIFICIAL COLORINGS (BLUE 1, BLUE 2,GREEN 3, RED 3, YELLOW 6)
ASPARTAME (Nutrasweet)
CYCLAMATE
HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL
OLESTRA (Olean)
PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL
POTASSIUM BROMATE
PROPYL GALLATE
SACCHARIN
SODIUM NITRITE, SODIUM NITRATE
STEVIA

Easter 2009

Well Easter is finally here! Springtime feels like it have arrived. It was a sunny warm day today and so we enjoyed a lot of time outside. I made a ham, green beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, fruit salad and rice crispy treats. We went over to Bob and Karan Nelson's house and celebrated with their families. All the kids had an easter egg hunt and then we had an adult easter egg hunt. We finished the day off with a few rounds of BINGO. What a great day.

Biggest Loser Competition is over

Well 13 weeks have gone by and today we had our final weigh in and the winner was announced. Donna Gillette won the competition and I took 2nd place. It was a great idea to have the competition. It really kept us focused.

Out on our bikes

Well today was a great spring day. We finally got to get back on our bikes and go for a good ride. We all look forward to many more days of sunshine.

April 4, 2009 Soccer

It was another weekend filled with soccer. Kennedy had a 9:00 a.m. game and it was 36 degrees. Kennedy's team, the Cheetahs, played really good. At times it was like herding pigs for the referee and coach. Karleigh's team, the fireballs, had a great game. They won 9-2. This team plays really good together. Each week you can see the improvement. Karleigh made 1 goal today.

Gluten Free Piroshki Pizza

Well this is the gluten free piroshki. It was awesome. The girls ate it like pizza and of course Kennedy had ketchup on her piece. We will be making this again. I think that we are going to make a breakfast style burrito with this bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger

1 small onion

1 minced garlic clove

4 baked potatoes

cheddar cheese

salt

1 box Gluten Free Pantry Pizza Mix

Follow instructions on the box for pizza crust. Let it rise for 40 minutes. Brown meat, onion, garlic and salt. Mix the baked potatoes and hamburger and keep warm. Divide the dough into two equal parts. For the bottom layer spread half the dough and bake it at 450 for 15-18 minutes. Remove and let cool. Then spread the second half of dough into the same size as the first piece. Layer meat mixture and top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 450 for 15-18 minutes. Top the pizza with the other crust on top and warm.

Hoppy Easter

The girls were taking pictures and playing with Charlie tonight. Karleigh took this photo of the three of them.