If there's one downside to fabulous, food-filled holiday celebrations, it's the gurgles and groans of post-feasting indigestion.

"We assume it's because we overate, but for a lot of people, that pain and sick feeling may not be about how much you ate but what you ate," says Kyra Bussanich, (www.kyrasbakeshop.com), two-time winner of The Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" and author of a just-released recipe book, "Sweet Cravings: 50 Seductive Desserts for a Gluten-Free Lifestyle" (Ten Speed Press; Random House, Inc.)

"About 2 million Americans have celiac disease - an auto-immune reaction to gluten, the protein in wheat," says Bussanich, whose painful symptoms became life-threatening before she was finally diagnosed with the illness. "Most of those people aren't diagnosed though, because the symptoms look like so many other intestinal ailments."

People with celiac disease must completely avoid gluten, which is also in rye, and barley, to avoid a case of painful and gut-damaging indigestion. But, as Harvard Medical School reported earlier this year, avoiding gluten also appears to help people with less serious digestive issues.

"It really does seem to provide some improvement in gastrointestinal problems for a segment of the population," says Harvard assistant professor Dr. Daniel Leffler.

For Bussanich, a chef, there was no choice: One speck of gluten would make her ill. But she refused to give up pastries, cakes and other treats, so she perfected gluten-free varieties. Her award-winning desserts left their flour-based competition in crumbs on "Cupcakes Wars" in 2011 and 2012, and she was a runner-up on the show's "Cupcake Champion."

Bussanich offers these tips for whipping up gluten-free baked goods this holiday season:

• If you're following a recipe, don't substitute the listed flour or starch with another type unless you're familiar with its properties. There are many different types of gluten-free flours and starches, including millet, sorghum and sweet white rice flour, and potato and tapioca starches. Each has its own idiosyncrasies. For example, millet flour has a slightly nutty flavor and is well-suited for goods with a hearty texture. Sweet white rice flour holds moisture well and is good for recipes that have a slight gumminess to them. Potato starch is light and good for fluffy cakes.

• Use eggs and butter at room temperature. Eggs are often used as a binder, the protein that substitutes for the missing gluten. Eggs and butter are both easier to work with when used at room temperature, and room-temperature egg whites whip up fluffier. If you forget to pull the butter out of the refrigerator beforehand, heat it for 7 to 12 seconds in the microwave. Put cold eggs in warm (not hot) water for 30 to 60 seconds.

• Don't overwork batter and dough with xanthan gum in it. Corn-based xanthan gum is often used as a stabilizer and thickener in gluten-free baked goods, sauces, dressings and soups. Once this ingredient is added, overworking the dough can give it a slimy, gummy texture, and cause it to lose flavor. (A good substitute for xanthan gum is ground psyllium seed husk.)

• Heat higher, cream longer for lighter cakes. One complaint people sometimes have about gluten-free baked goods is that they're too dense. To prevent this, try setting the oven temperature 25 degrees warmer than you would for flour. This will cause the butter in the recipe to release its water as steam, which helps the cake rise quickly. Also, cream eggs and butter together longer - about 10 minutes - than you would for flour cakes.

Try some gluten-free desserts and maybe your holidays will be indigestion-free this year, Bussanich says.

"If your recipe doesn't turn out wonderfully the first time, don't give up," she says. "I promise you, anyone can make delicious gluten-free desserts. It just may take a little practice."

About Kyra Bussanich

Kyra Bussanich is a two-time winner of The Food Network's hit show, "Cupcake Wars." She graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu and opened her award-winning bakery, Kyra's Bake Shop, which features gourmet, gluten-free sweets. She has branched beyond desserts to other gluten-free goods in order to help those with celiac and other autoimmune diseases enjoy quality treats

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today questioned whether the federal agency in charge of implementing the Affordable Care Act appreciates the consequences of whether health care plans participating in the program are subject to key anti-fraud protections.

"I'm alarmed that the Obama administration doesn't understand the capacity for fraud in the new health care program," Grassley said.  "The head of the agency in charge doesn't seem to appreciate that the billions of dollars in subsidies for individuals going to health insurers to join Obamacare are federal tax dollars.  Those dollars should be subject to anti-fraud laws.  Why wouldn't they be?"

At a Finance Committee hearing today, Grassley asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to explain her letter to a House member that qualified health plans and other programs related to the federally facilitated marketplace and other programs under the Affordable Care Act are not considered federal health care programs.  Grassley questioned whether that would mean Obamacare programs are not subject to federal anti-kickback statutes and the federal False Claims Act, one of the government's most effective tools against fraud, especially health care fraud in recent years.

Sebelius argued that the federal exchanges offer plans from private insurers that should not be subject to anti-fraud protections designed for taxpayer-funded federal programs.   After Grassley pointed out that Medicare Advantage also offers plans from private insurers and is subject to those anti-fraud provisions, Sebelius argued that the exchanges were different from Medicare Advantage because of the direct payments from the government to the insurers.  However, after the hearing, Grassley questioned whether Medicare Advantage and Obamacare should be treated differently for federal anti-fraud protections, since both involve direct payments from the government to private health care plans.

Adding to the confusion, the department put out guidance this week saying it "has broad authority to regulate the Federal and State Marketplaces" and "discourages" providers from giving premium support and other help to enrollees.  The guidance is available here.

"I intend to do everything I can to get to the bottom of whether the federal agency in charge of Obamacare will apply every available anti-fraud protection to this program," Grassley said.

Grassley is the Senate author of the 1986 whistleblower amendments strengthening the federal False Claims Act, making it more effective than ever in exposing fraud against the government.

Amana - Tru, a dramatic comedy about the life of famed author Truman Capote by Jay Presson Allen, opens on The Old Creamery Theatre's Studio Stage Dec. 5.

Truman Capote, or Tru to his friends, was a flamboyant writer who stood out from the crowd. His ability to weave truth with fiction led to some of his greatest works such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "In Cold Blood." This play gives a glimpse of the man behind the pen, the socially elite and at times outcast Tru, whose impact on literature still runs deep.

Featuring Jeff Haffner of Cleveland, Ohio, Tru is directed by Jackie McCall of Marengo and runs through Dec. 22 on The Old Creamery's Studio Stage in Middle Amana. Tickets are $27.50 for adults and $18 for students. Tru is sponsored by The Gethmann Organizations with KMRY as the media sponsor and is rated Theatre R.

Call the box office for tickets and information 319-622-6262 or visit us online at www.oldcreamery.com.

The Old Creamery Theatre is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1971 in Garrison, Iowa. The Company is celebrating 42 years of bringing live, professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest.

WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to protect taxpayers, hold corporate wrongdoers accountable, and deter future fraud and abuse, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are introducing legislation to rescind tax write-offs for illegal corporate behavior.  The bipartisan Government Settlement Transparency & Reform Act would close a loophole that has allowed some corporations to reap tax benefits from payments made at government direction stemming from settling misdeeds.

Corporations accused of illegal activity routinely settle legal disputes with the government out of court because it allows both the company and the government to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of going to trial.

Federal law prohibits companies from deducting public fines and penalties from their taxable income.  But under current law, offending companies may often write off any portion of a settlement that is not paid directly to the government as a penalty or fine for violation of the law.  This allows some companies to lower their tax bill by claiming settlement payments to non-federal entities as tax deductible business expenses.

The Reed-Grassley bill would require the government and the settling party to reach pre-filing agreements on how the settlement payments should be treated for tax purposes.  The bill clarifies the rules about what settlement payments are punitive and therefore non-deductible and increases transparency by requiring the government to file a return at the time of settlement to accurately reflect the tax treatment of the amounts  that will be paid by the offending party.

"A penalty is supposed to deter others because it causes pain to a company's bottom line.  If a company is paying thousands, millions, or even billions in fines, it shouldn't save money for those same misdeeds, it should be held accountable.  The law needs to change to ensure the punishment fits the crime.  Congress needs to close this settlement loophole," said Reed.

"A penalty should be meaningful or it won't have the deterrent effect it's supposed to have," Grassley said.  "This issue comes up regularly, and this bill would make deductibility clear going forward."

Summary: The Government Settlement Transparency & Reform Act (S. 1654)

Closes tax loophole that allows tax write-offs for corporate violations.

The bill would amend the tax code to deny tax deductions for certain fines, penalties, and other amounts related to a violation or investigation or inquiry into the potential violation of any law.

It amends subsection (f) of Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code.  Amounts paid by corporations, which constitute restitution for damage caused by the violation of any law are exempted and remain deductible.  This section requires that nongovernmental entities which exercise self-regulatory powers be treated as government entities for purposes of disallowing deductions under this section. The bill requires the government to stipulate the tax treatment of the settlement agreement.