The five videos below detail my process of making kombucha at home. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions!

Our organic garden-fresh ingredients for our own ketogenic pizza came from our own backyard. We used organic tomatoes and basil and stewed them over low heat for about 20 minutes to bring out the flavors.  We sauteed organic garlic cloves and basil in olive oil.  Smells delicious! We steamed cauliflower with garlic in water with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Jovan loved the ketogenic organic meat and greens with homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing. So tasty! 

Science is proving that heating your family's food with a microwave can be harmful to human health. According to this article, the difference between heating your food on the stove or steaming it vs. using a microwave's radiation to heat it is that microwaves deform and distort the molecules in food while conventional heating methods don't. This matters because once the food molecules have been altered, the nutritional value of the food drops drastically. 

Microwaves work by causing water molecules to resonate at very high frequencies, converting them into steam and thereby heating your food.  ​While this might be a convenient way to prepare your food, using microwave radiation in this way actually changes the chemical structure of that food. ​Multiple studies have shown the serious damage in nutritional  content caused by microwaving items such as

broccoli, garlic and breast milk. ​Studies showed that microwave heating actually destroyed the active healing properties of foods. 

The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture examined what microwaves do to broccoli, finding that broccoli, after being microwaved, lost up to 97% of its beneficial antioxidants. By comparison, when researchers steamed broccoli, they discovered that it only lost 11% or fewer of its antioxidants. 

A study using the super food garlic found that just 60 seconds in a microwave can render its principle active ingredient (alliinase) as useless. 

Microwaves have also been found to destroy immune-boosting agents that are found in breast milk. These are disease-fighting nutrients which are essential to the health and development of the child. For example, one study found that microwaving breast milk caused a decrease in lysozyme activity and antibodies, and aided the growth of more pathogenic bacteria. The interesting thing about this study is that the researchers found that more damage was done to the milk from microwaving compared to any other method of heating. 

Dr. Mercola states on his website: I don't recommend storing your food in plastic or cooking it in a microwave, but if you're going to use either, at least don't use them together.  Microwaving food in a plastic container virtually guarantees that your food will be contaminated with plastic chemicals that have leached into your food during the heating process. 

The sad state of our soils is yet another reason to ditch your microwave and respect our food's natural nutritional content. Over the past century, the quality of fresh food has declined due to soil depletion, unsustainable industrial farming practices, overproduction of crops and the use of artificial fertilizers and toxic pesticides and herbicides such as glyphosate, which acts as a mineral chelator. You can no longer assume you're getting all of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients you need by eating a multitude of fresh produce, even if you're eating organic foods. Not surprisingly, the amount of nutrition in a calorie of food has been reduced over the past 50 years.

Three recent studies of historical food composition have shown 5 to 40 percent declines in some of the minerals in fresh produce, and another study found a similar decline in our protein sources.

So, now more than ever, you must be careful to maximize the "bang for your buck" when it comes to the foods you eat. Research shows your microwave oven will not help you in these efforts. Instead, it will in fact threaten your health by violently ripping the molecules in your food apart, rendering some nutrients inert at best, and carcinogenic at its worst.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare your food after you've ditched your microwave:

• Plan ahead. Take your dinner out of the freezer that morning or the night before so you don't end up having to scramble to defrost a 5-pound chunk of beef two hours before dinnertime. 
• Make soups and stews in bulk, and then freeze them in gallon-sized freezer bags or other containers. An hour before meal time, just take one out and defrost it in a sink of water until it's thawed enough to slip into a pot, then reheat it on the stove. Preparing batches of meals in advance will also ensure you always have a good meal available on days when you're too busy or too tired to cook. 
• Consider eating more organic raw foods.  This is the best way to improve your health. 
• A toaster oven makes a great faux-microwave for heating leftovers.  Keep it at a low temperature (200-250 degrees Fahrenheit) and gently warm a plate of food over the course of 20-30 minutes.  

The growing knowledge about the negative effects microwaves have on our food and on our health points to one solution - stop using microwaves to heat your food.  The mantra, "You are what you eat" is really true.  We need to consider not only what we buy, but also how we cook it.  When it comes to microwave ovens, I don't want my family to suffer the price for convenience by compromising our health. 

Here are a few of our favorite organic greens that make healthy, nutrient-dense green juices.  These have greatly helped Jovan on his healing path: 

• Kale - Anti-inflamatory and helps to protect the body against harmful bacteria and viruses.
• Spinach - Powerful antioxidant packed with B vitamins, vitamins A, C, E, and K, trace minerals like copper and magnesium.   
• Watercress - High in calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin K, phytonutrients, and antioxidants.
• Parsley -  Known for its ability to draw out toxic heavy metals and expel them from the body. 
• Broccoli - High in folate, phosphorus, choline, potassium and copper.  
• Collard Greens - High in protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. 
• Celery - Rich fiber content, reduces inflammation and very beneficial to the gut.
• Rainbow Chard - Nutritional powerhouse and an excellent source of vitamins K, A and C. Good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and fiber. 
• Cucumber - Contain multiple B vitamins, including B1, B5 and B7. High water and fiber content to aid in digestion.

We often add lemon and green apples to our juices.   The best thing about these juices is that the ingredients can come from your own organic garden! 

Let's be honest, daily blended vegetable shakes are tasty, but our kiddos might not agree.  Jovan found a way to make his daily raw veggie shake fun!  ​

I have been giving myself clay baths for years now. And I first started Jovano nt hem a couple of years ago. I find that they really help sooth jovan, and help him sleep well at night. When I started researching the benefits of magnetic clay and how it can naturally detoxify you I thought it was amazing. This has been around for thousand of years now.

When I was researching autism and deficiecies, one of the most important items that popped up was magnesium.  Most people have very low levels of magnesium, especially those who suffer from an illness.

A magnesium deficiency can cause the body to lose potassium which our bodies cannot afford. Within the cell wall is a sodium pump to provide a high internal potassium and a low internal sodium. Magnesium and potassium inside the cell assist oxidation, and sodium and calcium outside the cell wall help transmit the energy produced. The healthy cell wall favors intake of nutrients and elimination of waste products.

Magnesium protects cells from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel, which explains why re-mineralization is so essential for heavy metal detoxification and chelation. Magnesium protects the cell against oxyradical damage and assists in the absorption and metabolism of B vitamins, vitamin C and E, which are anti-oxidants important in cell protection. Recent evidence suggests that vitamin E enhances glutathione levels and may play a protective role in magnesium deficiency-induced cardiac lesions.

Magnesium in general is essential for the survival of our cells but takes on further importance in the age of toxicity where our bodies are being bombarded on a daily basis with heavy metals. Magnesium protects the brain from toxic effects of chemicals. It is highly likely that low total body magnesium contributes to heavy metal toxicity in children and is a strong participant in the etiology of learning disorders.

Without sufficient magnesium, the body accumulates toxins and acid residues, degenerates rapidly, and ages prematurely. Recent research has pointed to low glutathione levels being responsible for children’s vulnerability to mercury poisoning from vaccines. It seems more than reasonable to assume that low levels of magnesium would also render a child vulnerable.

We are supposed to get our magnesium from our daily food intake, but unfortunately most people have diets lacking in nutrients. This is list of veggies rich in magnesium:
​

1. Spinach — 1 cup: 157 milligrams (40% DV)
2. Chard — 1 cup: 154 milligrams (38% DV)
3. Pumpkin seeds — 1/8 cup: 92 milligrams (23% DV)
4. Yogurt or Kefir — 1 cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
5. Almonds — 1 ounce: 80 milligrams (20% DV)
6. Black Beans — ½ cup: 60 milligrams (15% DV)
7. Avocado — 1 medium: 58 milligrams  (15% DV)
8. Figs — ½ cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
9. Dark Chocolate — 1 square: 95 milligrams (24% DV)
10. Banana — 1 medium: 32 milligrams (8% DV)

    
Consuming most of this raw is best for optimal nutrition intake. I added some of this to our family's diet and have seen great benefits from it. Magnesium oils can also be purchased and added as lotion or even in a warm bath with a little lavender.

I found the website It Starts With Juice on Instagram. I was reading about how raw vegetables could heal and detox everyone. I was on the path to heal Jovan and I found raw juicing interesting. I considering juicing with Jovan so I could find out how I would feel.

When Jovan's autism was newly diagnosed I was giving him organic store-bought juices that contained fruits and vegetables. I was shocked when I read the juice bottle's list of ingredients. The sugar and sodium levels were high and unnecessary! I was overloading Jovan on sugar. It wasn't until he was seven when I realized that I needed to begin making his juices from raw veggies on our own at home. When our family started the ketogenic diet I was in awe as I learned about the greens and fruits that had excess sugar. Sadly, I learned I was actually hurting my son by giving him fruits. The juices were converted into sugar. The worst thing I could have done for Jovan was give him sugar because sugar feeds the gut's bad bacteria. I researched which juice items would give Jovan the highest health content and the lowest amount of sugar and found the answer was pure greens. Berries were the only type of fruit we could give him due to their high antioxidant content and low glycemic (sugar) levels.

​Jovan's Daily Juiced Veggies:
- One whole celery stalk
- One whole lettuce
- One bunch of kale
- Two to three inches of tumeric and ginger
- One lemon
- One bunch of celery
- One bunch of parsely

Another Juice Recipe:
- One bunch of collards
- One bunch of chards
- One bunch of spinach
- One bunch of cilantro
- One whole cucumber
- A few leaves of fresh basil

Another Veggie Juice Blend:
- Two bunches spinach
- One whole celery stalk
- One bunch of asparagus
- One grapefruit

(I also add fermented garlic and tumeric)