Here are some food pictures of some of my to go meals which are Keto friendly. Remember i'm NOT on the Keto diet! I'm just sharing for those who are interested in the Keto diet.

      The Ketogenic Diet, more commonly referred to as Keto, is quickly gaining popularity among the health and wellness community. The Keto Diet involves a dramatic reduction in the consumption of carbohydrates while simultaneously increasing the amount of dietary fat a person consumes. This combination shifts the body’s metabolism away from burning carbohydrates and sugar for it main source of energy and instead uses fat for fuel. Once this stage has been reached, a person is in “Ketosis,” due to the ketones produced by the liver, hence the “Keto” diet.  If you are thinking of trying the Keto diet for yourself, here are seven things you should know before tying Keto yourself.
     The Keto diet isn't for everyone I find myself eating less carbs and more fats unintentionally. I actually try to stay away from processed carbohydrates, but don't get me wrong I do eat veggie carbs like sweet potato and butternut squash.
                  Here are 7 steps to consider if Keto is for you
1. Quality fats matter
2. Eat fewer carbohydrates
3. Pair fat with greens
4. Eat moderate protein
5. Be conscious of calories (since some keto- friendly foods are easy to over eat and high inn calories)
6. Intermittent fasting
7. Consider other lifestyle factors
                            READ MORE ABOUT IT ON VIA DELICIOUS LIVING 

     My daughter was recently diagnosed with Autism. Although I'm new to this diagnosis, I figured it was a good topic to discuss since many families who have children with autism opt to follow a gluten free diet, as well as other special diets. Since it's Celiac Disease awareness month I thought it was perfect to share this content with you. I have also found that when I share with people that my daughter was diagnosed with autism their first reaction is: "But she doesn't look like she has autism. She is so smart. She speaks and seems normal!" What is normal? What are your first thoughts when you hear the word Autism? I never thought about those questions myself until after the diagnosis– and to be honest I didn't have any thoughts on the matter. I have many friends that have loved ones who have severe autism, and I love them just the way I love anyone one else. My sister is a Behavior Therapist and works with many kids and teens that have autism too. It never fazed me that they where non verbal or that they didn't like to be touched. I just saw it as the way they saw and felt the world. 
     Did you know the ribbon for Autism awareness is a pattern that reflects the complexity of the autism spectrum? The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of the people and families living with the condition. The puzzle piece symbol, associated with Autism Awareness, also reflects the complexity of the spectrum disorder. Meaning not all children and adults with autism are alike. So please be patient with all kids everywhere, some may not just be throwing a fit and being a brat– even if that is what it might seem to you. 

     If you know my 8 year old, you know she is so smart, loving and beautiful. She has a Muscular Dystrophy, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Celiac Disease, is allergic to 65% of foods, has severe anxiety, stress and was recently diagnosed with ADHD and Autism. Does this define my child? No...it doesn't. It doesn't change anything about her. She has always been a unique child, this only changes how we as her parents find the best ways to help her. There were many things that led to her diagnosis, which I won't go into detail, plus the way she was coping with school. During her school hours, she would not staying focused, broke down when something was wrong, and had to be reassured a number of times that she was doing a good job on everything she did. Remember, she is enrolled in a public school but taught at home, one-on-one with a teacher that comes Mon.-Fri. for 2 hours. Many thing didn't add up, which led me as her mother to figure it out. I was sent to a metal health office and all the testing begun. I went in thinking my child has ADD or ADHD not prepared for anything else; we were hit by surprise, but I took it as another outlet to advocate for my child and all others too. Just they way I advocate for everything else. So here I share 11 Myths we think of when we hear autism. 

1. Myth: People with autism don’t want friends.
2. Myth: People with autism can’t feel or express any emotion—happy or sad.
3. Myth: People with autism can’t understand the emotions of others.
4. Myth: People with autism are intellectually disabled.
5. Myth: People with autism are just like Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man.
6. Myth: People who display qualities that may be typical of a person with autism are just odd and will grow out of it.
7. Myth: People with autism will have autism forever and there's nothing that can be done for them.
8. Myth: Autism is just a brain disorder.
9. Myth: Autism is caused by bad parenting. 
10. Myth: The prevalence of autism has been steadily increasing for the last 40 years. 
11. Myth: Therapies for people with autism are covered by insurance.

Find out the truth about autism at Autism Speaks HERE.

     Research shows that diet and supplements can improve brain chemistry in children. So here are some tips to ease your child's autism symptoms from nutrition experts. Content is brought to you by Delicious Living. It talks about diet, detox and supplements that can help their symptoms. We found that we were already doing many things on this list minus some vitamins that we will be looking into. 

     As an end to Earth week I wanted to share one last thing with you regarding plastic wrap. 

• Harmful Chemicals- Plastic food storage containers are filled with more than just food, they’re full of harmful chemicals. Plastics are made out of refined crude oil and contain chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol-A) that function mainly as plasticizers, making plastic more durable and flexible. While this makes plastic very practical for everyday use, it also adds a significant health risk, especially whenever it comes in contact with food. When plastic is used to store or heat a dish, chemicals from the container can leach into the food.
• Plastic Health Risks for Women- The chemicals in BPA in particular act similarly to estrogen and, in the long run, can possibly interfere with women’s hormonal balance.
• Plastic Health Risk for Children- The World Health Organization has shown that exposure to high concentrations of Phthalates and BPA during pregnancy can lead to the child experiencing lung problems or being more likely to develop asthma later in life. In children the high exposure to these chemicals has been linked to increased insulin resistance and elevated blood pressure. 
• ​Plastic Health Risk for Men- Although negative effects have been shown to primarily affect women and children, men are not immune to them. According to the same study, men’s risk of prostate cancer can increase significantly if they are often in contact with these chemicals. And similarly as in women, their reproductive abilities can be compromised.

     Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to remove all contact from plastic and its harmful chemicals but there are some simple things you can do to limit the contact plastic has with your food and what you consume.
     Here are some ways to reduce the risk of being exposed to chemicals like BPA.

• Never heat or microwave your food in a plastic container.
• Use natural products for food storage.
• Use non-toxic and eco-friendly products.

• Try switching out any plastic food containers with glass containers or a natural alternative to plastic wrap, like SuperBee beeswax wraps.
• Glass or ceramic containers are always safe and can be cleaned easily.

     Our family has been doing the plastic switch since I started reading the book Green Enough by Leah Segedie. If you haven't started your transition into alternative living with all toxic things that surround us I suggest you buy this book.
     In my home I have thrown out all plastic containers including cute plastic water bottles (I replaced them with Hydro Flask) Plastic baggies with bees wraps, I use Bees Wrap and Abeego they both are made from beeswax, organic cotton, jojoba oil and tree resin. 

     Guy's i'm excited to say that I have been invited to the Celiac Disease Foundation National Education Conference and Gluten Free Expo in Pasadena, California as a blogger. It is fast approaching May. 5 and 6th. If you would like to attend here is the Links to conference main site. The Celiac Disease Foundation is a non-profit, public benefit corporation dedicated to accelerating diagnosis, treatments, and a cure for celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity through research, education, and advocacy. You can find a full schedule for both Saturday and Sunday on Celiac.com

• May 5th: National Education Conference that will go from 11am-3pm and the Gluten-Free Expo 10am-4pm
• Sunday May 6th: Gluten-Free Expo is from 10am-3pm

                        

     Celiac disease can be difficult to diagnose because it affects people differently. There are also more than 200 known celiac disease symptoms which may occur in the digestive system or other parts of the body. Here is a list taken from Celiac.org to help you identify some symptoms so you and your doctor can speak about the next steps that need to be taken in diagnosing you.

• abdominal bloating and pain
• chronic diarrhea
• vomiting
• constipation
• pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool
• weight loss
• fatigue
• irritability and behavioral issues
• dental enamel defects of the permanent teeth
• delayed growth and puberty
• short stature
• failure to thrive
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
• fatigue
• bone or joint pain
• arthritis
• osteoporosis or osteopenia (bone loss)
• liver and biliary tract disorders (transaminitis, fatty liver, primary sclerosing cholangitis, etc.)
• depression or anxiety
• peripheral neuropathy ( tingling, numbness or pain in the hands and feet)
• seizures or migraines
• missed menstrual periods
• infertility or recurrent miscarriage
• canker sores inside the mouth
• dermatitis herpetiformis (itchy skin rash)

*I am in no way representing the Celiac Disease Foundation and i'm not a medical advisor, please contact your doctor for any questions regarding your health.

    Happy Earth Day friends, let's celebrate mother nature by doing our part. Instead of celebrating just one day, let's expand our festivities into an entire week of environmentally friendly practices that will up your eco-awareness for the whole year. Here are 7 things my family does to do our part in helping our beautiful earth. Read HERE for other great ideas!

     Make cleaner cleaners. 

• Exchange synthetic, chemical-based all-purpose cleaners for a homemade one.

*Using a small funnel, pour ½ cup white vinegar, ½ cup water and 15 drops of lemon essential oil into a spray bottle. Simply give it a shake, and then spray down dingy surfaces such as porcelain sinks, mirrors and linoleum. (Not recommended for granite or marble countertops.) Wipe clean.
TRY: NOW Essential Oils 100% Pure Lemon

• Make homemade laundry soap (this one is for babies) or the whole family, especially those with sensitive skin!

*Recipe: 1/2 cup of Dr. Bronner Baby Unscented Pure-castile liquid soap + 1/2 cup of baking soda.
Directions: add soap to machine + baking soda. Add 1 cup vinegar as a fabric softener to the rinse cycle. For HE machines use half these amounts.
  **Click picture to direct you to where you can purchase the book..**

     Let's talk about Air conditioners during the summer months and heating system during the winter months. Did you know that they use a great deal of electricity? Here are some tips on how to help our mother earth.

• Use natural ventilation. Our family opens all the windows in our home when the sun goes down and stay open all through the night. first thing in the morning the windows get shut and so do the blinds to keep the sun out. Keeping our home naturally cooled during the day.
• When summer days are to much to handle we use a fan. We have a rotating tower fan and a ceiling fan in each room too. 
• If you do use an air conditioner, set it to a slightly lower temperature than outside. For example if it's 98 degrees set your thermostat to 80 degrees. Remember that setting the temperature lower uses more electricity, and it won't cool things off any faster.
• Close your vents. If you have a larger home and you are not using certain rooms in your house, close the vents in those rooms, and close the doors. Doing this consistently will reduce the amount of energy being used by heating or cooling seldom occupied spaces. 
• During winter month bundle yourself up. If you need to heat up a room during the night buy a room heater with a temperate and tip over sensor.

     Change your light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs last 10 times longer than a standard bulb and use at least two-thirds less energy. Every time we move this is the first thing I do. Replace all the bulbs in the house.

     Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

• Cut down on what you throw away, meaning if you buy yogurt in a glass jar, keep it and use it to take a soup to a friend that isn't feeling good.
• In our home we have completely stopped using plastic containers and have switched to glass containers. I even bought a glass cutter to cut jars that are beautiful and limited edition.
• Use reusable bags. I have many expo reusable bags that I use when I do groceries.
• I have switched from using saran wrap to Bee's wrap.
• #StopSucking Put a stop to plastic straws. My girls and I love Straws for all our drinks, but I recently gave up plastic straws for stainless steel and glass straws.
• Give up plastic baggies. Who doesn't love the convenience of using a plastic baggie and then trowing it out?! I do for sure, but i'm slowly doing my part in transitioning to silicone baggies.

 *You can buy bees wax, alternative straws& silicone baggies HERE*

     Go paperless...

• Everything is online these days. Think about how much paper you can save just by getting bank statements and bills sent electronically and paid the same way.
• Unsubscribe from junk mail. It's time to save some trees and get your name off that mailing list once and for all. 

     Thank you for reading my blog post on ways we can help doing our part to protect our mother earth. Let me know at least one thing you will change to do your part! Also if your out and about and see trash on the street please pick it up and put it in the trash. I know many hikers that pick up trash along their hikes every single time. Let's do our part. If your a ​germaphobe like me then don't toss trash anywhere either then the trash.

     Despite the occasional alarmist headline, special diets aren’t dangerous; they simply require more meal planning and savvy use of dietary supplements to make up for potentially missing nutrients. HERE are six scenarios of people following personalized diets to show how to make up any nutritional shortfalls. Find your match to target your needs.

     Eating a healthy and balanced meal never looked and tasted so amazing. This is a peanut, tree nut, dairy, soy, egg and wheat/ gluten free 3 pound seeded bread. Created with love for all to love!

      Im a 30 year old female that doesn't eat meat, has a peanut, tree nut, dairy allergy and was diagnosed with Celiac disease 6 years ago. Eating a balanced meal didn't always come easy, but learning along the years has helped me accomplished getting all my daily nutrients in, even if it means taking supplements. I take a multi-vitamin, Omega 3,6 &9, B12, B-complex, magnesium, vitamin D3, take daily greens, eat healthy fats like MCT oil, avocados and different types of seeds like Pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, flax, chia seeds and I also take a collagen all on a daily bases. Find out what's missing in your diet HERE and try incorporating healthy alternatives in slowly or one at a time. I can't handle taking vitamins in the morning or for that matter any time during the day while I am awake, so I usually will take them at 5am and go back to bed. These are some examples of my foods and supplements.

     First thing in the morning I have a mushroom coffee by Four Sigmatic (Discount code: UNIQUEHEARTBEAT) paired with my favorite Coconut collagen by Primal Kitchen (Discount code:  UNIQUEHEARTBEAT)
                             Other Collagen brands I use are
*Great Lakes Gelatin
*Further Foods (Discount code: CLUBCURVASOC)
*Zint
 Other ways I incorporate collagen into my day is adding it to veggie soups, cookies, breads, yogurt and cereal for my daughter.

Another way I add lacking nutrients to my make homemade coconut yogurt that I add chia seeds to, dates and Sunbutter. I also make a daily smoothie with either Nuzets Clean lean Protein (Discount code: CLUBCURVASOC) or MRM egg white protein. 

     Healthy fats like obviously avocado in every meal, and who doesn't love a perfect avocado right? Here are some different meals I add avocado to.

     What do you see here? Mary Jane right, but its much more than just a controlled substance. Everyone knows about THC, and everyone is getting to know CBD. These are cannabinoids—phytochemicals within the Cannabis sativa plant with bioactive benefits. Specifically, cannabinoids are 21-carbon molecules that influence the body’s endocannabinoid receptors. Everything from brain function to the immune system to mental health is influenced by the endocannabinoid system. 
     On CBD itself, here’s what we DO know. There are at least a dozen different health conditions under research with cannabidiol. Of note is that dietary supplements play under a different set of rules than do drugs, so they cannot claim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. That means that some of the health conditions below—epilepsy, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, autism, glioblastoma—cannot be talked about in a health food store setting because these are diseases, which are out of bounds for dietary supplements. Keep reading about it HERE. 

     These are some of the many health conditions that have been studied under the use of CBD oil  including but not limited to Epilepsy conditions, Cancer, Sleep, Stress, Parkinson’s, dependency, Pain and performance and Schizoaffective disorder. I was given the opportunity by SANA HEMP JUICE  to sample some of their CBD products. Here is my review regarding their products. I had a female subject that wants to remain anonymous that helped me complete my review. 
     This is what was given back to me in her own words from a daily journal that was kept for the duration of the time of 1 month and a half.      You can read more about Sana Hemp HERE