Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Amazing. Simply amazing. Betty Crocker's gluten free devil's food cake actually tastes like cake. We used egg replacer and put Betty Crocker's milk chocolate frosting on top. They were really moist and had a normal cake texture which is so unusual for gluten free cake. I was a little concerned since the brownies didn't come out so well but we didn't have any issues with these. I will definitely make them again and can't wait to try the yellow cake which we already have in the house. Now I'll be able to make Little Man a birthday cake when the time comes that's safe for our family and really good.

Should we test everyone for celiac disease?

A new study by the mayo clinic found that celiac disease is far more prevalent today than it was 50 years ago and that those with undiagnosed celiac disease are more likely to die earlier. It raises the question of whether we should be testing everyone for celiac disease like we do for cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. Here's the link to information about the study:

http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/06/29/celiac-disease-prevalence-and-mortality/

As someone who struggled for my entire childhood and into my early twenties, I believe we should test everyone for celiac disease. It should be part of our preventive care. It may not be a yearly test like cholesterol but maybe it could be something we test every five years or whatever length of time seems appropriate. I can think of several people off the top of my head that I'm fairly sure have undiagnosed celiac disease. I know for some the diet is a huge challenge but I choose to look at it as such an simple way to be well. Could people avoid other autoimmune diseases, infertility, and just missing out on life if we could identify celiac disease earlier?

Rethinking Pumping as the Ultimate Weight Loss Plan (Weekly Tally)

I posted before about how I've lost more weight than I gained when I was pregnant. This is supposed to be a good thing. But, after losing another pound this week, I seem to be losing about an ounce a day for each pound I lose. My all time high was 44 ounces a day and now I'm down to a little over 39. Little Man drinks about 36 oz a day. I'm still ahead of him but this doesn't leave me with much of a cushion. I'm still pumping on the same schedule that I've been on for the past two months and I even increased how long I pump lately since I'm not getting as much but that hasn't really made a difference. So, my husband and I decided that I may just need to stay a little plump to maintain my production. Ah, the things we do for our kids.
Part of why I've been losing weight is because of the foods we can't have. Before we found out about Little Man's allergies I would eat trail mix with nuts or hard boiled eggs or gluten free cookies as sources of protein and fat but I can't do that anymore and I don't think I replaced those snacks with anything except fruit. Great plan for losing weight, not so great for milk production. We bought me whole milk (I usually use skim) and cheese to see if that makes a difference. I'll keep you posted if this week's tally goes up. Here's the stats for last week:

7/12/09-7/18/09
Total Pumped: 278.75
Total Used: 252
Surplus: 26.75
Average Per Day: 39.82