Each of my recipes is so easy and uncomplicated that the simple ingredients can be mixed in one bowl, stirred with a spoon in just minutes.  I use clover honey instead of sugar because of the mild taste. Honey is natural, contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Honey is fructose, the same as fruit. Honey is metabolized naturally in the body. Refined sugars are not natural and are not metabolized normally. Sugar is sucrose and has been altered. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so less is required in recipes. I use unsweetened natural applesauce instead of fat. I think it makes the desserts more moist and delicious than those containing fat. I believe my brownies to be super great tasting, and you'd never know they contained applesauce. Most of my recipes have 50 calories worth of applesauce per recipe. You cannot taste the applesauce in my recipes.

Many people have digestive problems, bloating or heartburn. Do you?  I did. Bad fats can be a major cause, as well as many processed food products. The good and necessary fats are called "Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids", and are found in fish, especially salmon, walnuts, and olive oil. They lower cholesterol and are great for the hair, skin, brain, heart and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Don't bring olive oil to a smoking point, as this destroys all that's good and creates carcinogens. The bad saturated fats and other bad fats are found in meats (only eat lean meats), in oils and margarine. Butter is a saturated fat, but is natural and safe in moderate amounts. Hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids are also very harmful.

Many people are wheat/gluten sensitive and don't know it. I didn't. Gluten is the gluey substance found in wheat, rye, barley and oats, and is hidden in a variety of processed foods. It helps bind ingredients together. Rye, barley, and oats can usually be easily tolerated by people who are wheat sensitive, but do not have Celiac Sprue Disease. Wheat caused digestive problems, bloating, weight gain and made my arthritis symptoms worse. The most common things to which people are allergic or sensitive are: cow's milk, wheat, yeast, corn, soy, and eggs. I never use yeast, and use corn sparingly, as 1/3 of all corn has been genetically modified. I never use soy, as nearly all soybeans have been genetically modified. The choice to use soy is up to you. Some people cannot tolerate eggs and you know who you are. Eggs are natural and full of nutrition, including protein and iron. The yolk contains lecithin, which breaks down fat in the body. I eat eggs nearly every day. The consuming of too much saturated fat in meats is usually what increases cholesterol, not the eggs. A lot of food sensitivities are hidden and people don't realize why they feel bad, or can't lose weight. What caused that headache? Well, what have you eaten in the past hour, or the past few hours? If you just pulled weeds and get a backache, that's one thing, but you know when you shouldn't be feeling bad. Healthy people don't have things wrong with them! Gluten-free grains include brown rice, buckwheat (does not contain wheat), millet, quinoa, corn and bean flours. About 25% of Americans are classified as gluten sensitive and many have Celiac Sprue disease, an autoimmune disease in which gluten destroys the lining of the small intestine and nutrition cannot be absorbed. We're not just what we eat, but also what we absorb and digest! Have you ever eaten something that made you feel bad later? Well, people who eat my desserts, main dishes and quick breads say they feel good later, and that their energy level is increased and sustained. I agree. A friend with low blood sugar problems tells me she no longer has the highs and lows when she snacks regularly on my desserts. Others and I have noticed that eating natural foods reduces body odor. Your bowel movements tell a tale on you. If they are not normal, you are eating the wrong foods.

In my recipes, I use stone ground grains. Stone ground flours are ground at a slower speed which retains all the natural nutrients. Flours ground at a high speed steel mill lose their nutrients. I use "brown rice flour", which is easy to digest, full of nutrients, fiber and complex carbohydrates (the good kind). White rice has zero nutrients. I also use "spelt flour", which is a distant but superior relative of present day wheat. It's more easily digestible, lower in calories, higher in nutrition, protein and fiber than wheat. People who are wheat sensitive usually have no problems with spelt flour, although it contains a little gluten. I have no sensitivities to spelt flour. People with stomach or intestinal problems or who have inflammatory disorders, do much better on a low gluten diet. Only people with Celiac Sprue disease need a 100% gluten free diet. I sometimes use buckwheat flour (does not contain wheat), which is very nutritious, low in calories, has dark specks which contain all the nutrients, fiber and distinctive flavor. It's easy to digest. I also use millet flour, a great source of protein, thiamin, iron, fiber and is easily digested. Quinoa flour is high in nutrition including iron, and is the only flour that is a complete protein. Most of my recipes contain both brown rice and spelt flours. Their flavor is mild and they work well together. Some of my cakes may not rise as high and be as light as conventional recipes because all the whole grains and nutrition are intact, causing the cakes to be denser. Personally, I like them that way because they are really filling.

Honey is also difficult to use as the only sweetener because it too is dense with nutrients and adds extra unneeded liquid to the recipe. I have overcome this obstacle. Even though eggs are natural and very nutritious for you, many of the recipes in my cookbooks have only one egg. If you're allergic, you may use an egg substitute. Many of my recipes are also milk free. Rice or soy milk may be used as a substitution for those with allergies. I use fruits, spices, chocolate, pure maple syrup and nuts. I prefer walnuts because they are high in nutrients, protein, iron, magnesium, antioxidants, fiber, and the good omega 3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol and are good for the skin, brain, heart, and have an anti-inflammatory effect. I also use Pam spray or a generic spray equivalent. Walnuts and honey are not low in calories, but being natural they didn't keep me from losing weight. In my meat and vegetable dishes, I found a way to cook naturally without bad fats, sugar or wheat. My meats are either moist, tasty, and tender, or crispy as if they've been fried.

Pay attention to the cookbooks or websites that claim "fat free" or "low fat" and notice in the ingredients that "1/2 cup of oil" or "2 sticks of margarine" or "1/2 cup soy" something or other (soybeans are oil). And how about those "healthy" recipes that contain "raw cane sugar"? In any form, sugar is sugar! How about brown rice syrup? Think it's healthy? Think again. It's like "corn syrup" in that it's been processed and all the nutrients have been removed, and it's no longer what it was, leaving the "simple carbohydrate", the bad kind. You are left with "refined sugary syrup", like "corn syrup" like "sugar". Most people gain weight from using these processed sugars. Read the labels. Think about the ingredients you are using in a recipe. Have you seen those "healthy" brownies or chocolate cake recipes that contain "pureed prunes"? YUK! Where's the nearest restroom? How about those "10 packets of aspartame" I saw in one sugar-free recipe, or the egg substitute with additives, or tofu? Have you seen those very high calorie complicated gluten-free cookbooks? They overwhelm me. One that I read states that brown rice flour is difficult to use because it's grainy and gritty. So they used combinations of such things as tapioca flour, cornstarch, bean flour and xanthan gum. WOW! Xanthan gum is made from a tiny microorganism called Xanthomonas Compestris. Is your mouth watering? How about astragalus gummifer, BHA, BHT, Carboxymethlcellose, sodium silaco aluminate, MSG, polysorbate 60, 80, sodium nitrate, want me to go on?

Apparently, these things won't kill you, but I keep thinking about those kittens...... (see on page: Shocking Study On Nutrition ). I'm allergic to MSG and nitrates, and while we can't avoid these additives completely, doesn't it make sense to use them little as possible? I use brown rice flour in every recipe. Brown rice is off-white in color. I discovered that some brands I have tried are grainy like sand and ruin my recipes. But I found one brand that mills brown rice as soft and silky as the finest flour. I tell you the brand in my cookbooks. I'm not promoting this product, I just use it. If you can find another brand that is soft and fine, you may use it.

I created my desserts out of necessity because I couldn't find any cookbooks that were truthfully all 3, fat free, sugar free, and wheat free. I created my main dishes, quick breads, and drinks, because I couldn't find recipes that were natural, pure, simple, and really avoided the harmful foods and ingredients. Life is so busy, so complicated and as consumers we have all been too trusting of the food industry. Today, the airwaves are saturated with the news that manufactured foods including sugary soda pop, have caused health problems including diabetes and obesity in American children and adults. As of 2003, 63% of Americans are overweight. That's approximately 176 million people. That's unbelievable isn't it. We are assaulted with infomercials that promise us a quick fix, but don't deliver. The answer is so simple that it's been right in front of us all the time. We need to eat natural foods, prepared naturally. We need to stop eating unnatural foods that put garbage into our bodies. Wheat is not the only flour out there. Sugar is not the only sweetener. I eat natural foods 90% of the time, and man-made foods 10% of the time only as a treat. The body will and can heal itself. Mine did. It's never too late.

*Did you know that baking powder contains aluminum, a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease and other health problems? Check the label on your can of baking powder. I use aluminum-free baking powder and it works just as well.