I am a stevia user. I was a user before it was legal. That's right Drug Enforcement Agency of America, I was a stevia user pre-2008, before the FDA decided to commit to stevia by saying they have "no objection" to it being used as a food as well as a supplement.

And like any food, supplement or drug, with stevia, there is a difference in quality, taste and after effect between manufacturers.

During my trial and tribulation period with this all-natural, high-in-nutrients, zero-calorie sweetener, I was disappointed with the palateableness and licorice-like aftertaste of most brands. And even though stevia is not supposed to have a laxative effect like sugar alcohols do, some of the stevia brands did create an ......

For Purim this year, our bakery will be making gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan plum/lemon hamentashen. Purim comes out early this year (March 8th) just so you're forwarned. And if you didn't already know, Jewish holidays are never on time; they are either late or early. It has to do with being fashionable, I believe.

Anyway, I am here to give you the recipe so you can make them at home if you're type A and a paranoid allergy-mamma. (I say that with the greatest affection, of course, because I'm one of them.)

Recently NBC Nightly News put out an APB on me and my husband because our son's allergist told them no other child on her roster has quite as many food allergies as he does. NBC tracked us down with just a few hours to spare before air time, to extract graphic detail about our son's anaphylaxis episodes. I gave it to them, as you'll hear in the segment posted below.

Apparently, that very day, a study from Northwestern University was published that estimated the amount of kids with food allergies being much higher than previously thought. Although seemingly bad news, the good thing about this,in my one-track mind, was that now maybe more well-meaning friends and family wouldn't offer to .........

What do you do when your child is born with multiple life-threatening food allergies? If you’re Debbie Adler of Sweet 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.

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 ............

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,.........

When I decided to start my organic bakery, I didn't know where to begin. 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  SunButter cookie, a gourmet dark chocolate brownie and a blueberry muffin. She asked to take some goodies home for her husband. I .........

My husband is an internist that specializes in hypertension, which means he helps people lower their high blood pressure among other rip-roaring, convivial activities. 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 ............

It's no picnic being married to a doctor. No offense to my over-educated 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 ............