Katerina's Kitchen: Greek Egg Salad
This delicious and healthy meal option is one of our family favorites, and it’s become a popular dish with our friends, too! With good protein and healthy fats, this meal is easy to make and inexpensive.
You will need:
2-3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced
Olive Oil
Fresh squeezed lemon juice (About 1/2 lemon)
Feta Cheese (pre-crumbled or a fresh block)
Oregano
Thyme
Salt + Pepper
Instructions:
In a bowl, combine about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice from about 1/2 lemon — this creates the “dressing” for your eggs. Mix well and taste to make sure the balance is to your liking. Too tart from the lemon? Add a bit more oil. Too bland? Add a squeeze more of juice. A light coating for the eggs is more than enough!
Next, add your sliced hard boiled eggs. You can also add in the seasonings to your liking — we prefer oregano, thyme and a dash of salt and pepper. You don’t need to use too much salt, since we’re using feta cheese. Sprinkle in the cheese to your liking, as well, using either pre-crumbled feta or breaking pieces off of a fresh block.
Give the salad a light toss to coat with the dressing.
This is a great option for those following a ketogenic diet!
To add in some carbohydrates, this dish is delicious with a piece of whole wheat bread (my favorite way is to toast it!)
Easy, simple, delicious and healthy!
Kali orexi!
Healthy + Homemade: Whole Wheat Bread
Ah, bread… we hear a lot of contradicting views on bread for our diets. Is it healthy? Is it not healthy? What kind of bread is better? What about the sugar content? All of these questions are valid!
My wonderful wife, Katerina, has a very simple and healthy whole wheat bread recipe that you can make at home. It’s MY favorite bread, and I had to share the recipe with you!
Why opt for a recipe like this rather than buy a loaf at the store?
When we make something from scratch, we feel connected to it. We’re excited about it. We control the process and the ingredients. Let’s look at the sugar content for bread: depending on the brand and the type, a slice of bread could be upwards of 8g per slice. Not just that, they are extremely processed and leave very little nutritional benefits.
This whole wheat bread recipe has everything you need, has about 1 gram of sugar per slice, keeps you full (fiber content), and tastes absolutely delicious!
The ingredients are not hard to find, and they are not expensive — give it a try!
Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
1.5 cups of warm water
1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
1.5 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of honey
3.5 cups of whole wheat flour
Directions:
Fill a bowl with 1.5 cups of warm water. Add in 1 Tbsp of Active Dry Yeast, 1.5 tsp of salt and 1 Tbsp of honey. Whisk together until it’s dissolved. Cover with a towel to keep warm and set aside for about 10-15 minutes.
In another bowl, sift 3.5 cups of whole wheat flour.
After your yeast mixture has had time to rest, pour it into a mixing bowl (preferably your stand mixer with a hook attachment). Add the flour 1 cup at a time, allowing the mixture to incorporate before adding more.
Once the mixture has formed a dough (you’ll know that it’s ready when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl), take it out and place it on a whole wheat flour-dusted surface — like a clean countertop.
Knead the dough a few times and shape it how you’d like. Place it on a piece of wax paper (dust with whole wheat flour) on a pan, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Remove the towel and with a sharp knife, carefully cut slices across the top (I do three or four!). Dust with a little more whole wheat flour.
Place the pan into a 400-degree preheated oven and let it bake for 28-30 minutes.
Enjoy!
To your health,
Dr. Anthony (and Katerina!)
Do you know what your blood pressure is?
High blood pressure (BP) damages arteries, hearts, brains and kidneys and does so while causing zero symptoms before the final blow. This is why high BP has earned the reputation of a silent killer. So how would you know if your BP is high if you don’t monitor it? The answer is simply that you wouldn’t.
High BP (defined as a BP higher than 130/80) affects two out of five US adults; it is even more common among African-Americans or those with a first degree relative with high BP. As high BP is so common and usually causes no symptoms in the early stages, it’s important to monitor it on a frequent basis so that we can detect a BP problem as early as possible. It is worthwhile spending the 50 or so USD on a reliable automatic digital BP machine and learn to take it ourselves. We can ask our primary care physician or her/his nurse to help us and guide us so that we do it right (it is so easy to overestimate your BP if you do not follow the proper instructions).
We are never too young to start monitor our BP. Even children can have a high BP (BP is considered high in children at even lower levels than the 130/80 threshold for adults). In our 20s we should monitor our BP every 3-6 months. Once we hit our 30s, especially if we are overweight (or have a positive family history for high BP), it is a good idea to monitor it monthly. For those who already have a high BP diagnosis, BP must be monitored once a week or even more frequently if the doctor suggests so. Not being aware of high BP can cost us dearly: even a few months spent with undiagnosed high BP can contribute to kidney failure, stroke or heart attack later in life. Self-monitoring our BP is one of the most palpable ways to show that we care about our health and accept responsibility for what happens to it. Know that as we get older, eat too much sodium or not enough potassium (meaning that we don’t eat those five portions of fruits and vegetables a day) our BP goes up: only one in five individuals at the age of 80 has a “normal” BP.
Consider that both BP numbers (the high or “systolic” and the low or “diastolic”) are important for good health. An optimal BP for a 20 year old would be around 100-115/70-75. Later in life a BP of 120/80 is acceptable but even a mildly elevated BP (for example a BP of 130/85) can cause problems in the long run. If your BP is above 130/80 in spite of avoiding salt in your food, eating lots of fruit and vegetables and exercising, you must let your doctor or other health care provider know.
So, don’t become a victim of this silent killer. Learn how to monitor your BP yourself and how to keep it low.
To your health!
Dr. Anthony
Prediabetes in Depth
While not as serious as frank diabetes, prediabetes is, nevertheless, dangerous and common: 1 in 3 adults in the US has prediabetes and most of these people are not aware of it (unless their blood sugar or A1c has been checked by their doctor). They also have no symptoms. The risk for developing frank type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke is significantly increased in people with prediabetes, so we need to take prediabetes very seriously. Go and get tested for prediabetes if you fall into any one of the following categories:
· have belly fat
· are over 45 years old
· have a family history (parent or sibling) of type 2 diabetes
· have high blood pressure (higher than 130/80 mm Hg)
· are a woman with previously diagnosed gestational diabetes, polycystic ovaries or have given birth to a child weighing over 9 pounds
Make an appointment to see your primary care provider and make a point to exclusively focus on prevention of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Your provider may order blood tests beyond merely your blood sugar and A1c (cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides and your TSH to evaluate thyroid function).
Be a true partner to your provider: know your weight, waist circumference (ideally no more than 37 inches in men and 32 in women; for Asians the numbers are about 5 inches lower). Know your family history and what your average blood pressure (home measurements) is. Mention any prior history of heart or artery disease or procedures (stress tests, echos, ultrasounds of your carotid arteries, angiograms). If you have an old ECG, bring it to your appointment.
A blood pressure log with at least 10-15 measurements is especially helpful. You need to have a good blood pressure monitor and follow your provider’s instructions on how to accurately measure your blood pressure at home.
If you smoke, you need to give up smoking. The combination of smoking and either diabetes or prediabetes is too dangerous for your arteries. It can lead to heart attacks and stroke even if your doctor prescribes adequate medications to control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
You have to increase the level of your physical activities, achieving at least 15,000 steps a day, grabbing any opportunity you have (at home, work or school) to move, lift light or medium weights on a daily or every other day basis and perform balance and stretching exercises like tai chi or yoga.
You also need to understand what a healthy diet is: what a portion of fruits and vegetables is and what are the healthful fats. You have to severely restrict added sugars (sugary beverages, cookies, desserts, candies, cakes, donuts), refined grains (white bread, white past, white rice, white potatoes) and fried foods. Depending on other factors, you may be more liberal with good sources of protein like fish, nuts, eggs, dairy (avoid full fat) and lean meat.
Investing in a personal trainer and/or a dietician/nutritionist is a great idea.
Getting your metabolism back on course requires motivation, willingness to invest about two hours of your personal time, and working closely with your primary care provider. Insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are all serious conditions. Treat them as such.
Can your Mental Health affect your Physical Health?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “ a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. So, does the way you feel emotionally have an affect on your physical health? It certainly does!
When you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to take good care of your physical self, but you are not happy with your physical being, possibly due to excessive stress, anxiety or depression (feeling blue mentally), not only does your body machinery malfunction but also your behavior changes for the worse.
The mind/body connection is strong and if one is out of balance it adversely affects the other. Stress, anxiety and anger can all lead to physical ailments. The reverse is also true: physical problems such as heart disease, diabetes and chronic pain can make you depressed. There are many stresses in life - the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job or moving to a new place, can all take a toll on our physical health. It is important to try to keep things in check or ask for help, so that the initial stressful condition doesn’t escalate into a serious physical illness.
The effects of mental illness on physical health can be serious. The journal of World Psychiatry reported in its February 2011 issue that the lifespan of people with severe mental illness is shorter by 13-30 years, compared to the general population. This excess mortality is mainly due to physical illness. Mental health illness can lead to substance abuse, risky sexual behavior and neglect of your essential body needs, eventually hurting you physically as well as mentally.
On the brighter side, a positive perception of our physical health positively can be a mood booster. When we are happy with life it is easier to hit the gym, make good choices about our health and stay “the course”. FamilyDoctor.org reports “…people who have good emotional health are aware of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They have learned healthy ways to cope with the stress and problems that are a normal part of life. They feel good about themselves.” Also, increased levels of physical activity are positively associated with general well being, lower levels of anxiety and depression, and a positive mood.
Looking good and feeling well go hand in hand. With all life’s stressors we need to work on a daily basis to keep ourselves both mentally/emotionally sane and physically healthy. And while we all have bad days and may get down in the dumps from time to time, we need to be reminded that, poor mental health can lead to a serious physical condition. In case we feel down for longer than a few weeks, it may be worth talking to your health care provider.
So as the song says “don’t worry, be happy”-well, as much as you possibly can! If not, ask for help.
To your health!
Dr. Anthony