Healthy Tip of the Week...Eat Greek!

Eat Greek - Prevent Dementia

According to health magazine's, did you know you could slash your risk of Alzheimer's by 60 percent with just two healthy habits: Eat like a Greek, and go for a walk.

Why a Walk Helps
Wish you could remember yesterday like it was only . . . yesterday? Then take a 30-minute walk today. And every day. No excuses. I recently read that a recent study showed that a little less time than that -- a mere 20 minutes of physical activity -- helped counter faltering memories in people over age 50. But there are plenty of important reasons -- including your heart, your blood pressure, your stress level, your mood, and your joints -- to extend that to at least 30 minutes a day. Get your daily dose of excersie and then make yourself my recipe of a "grilled halibut greek salad w/shallot vinaigrette" for a great lunch or excitingly light dinner.

Mediterranean Magic
According to health magazine's, people with the lowest dementia risk ate the highest amounts of fruit, veggies, legumes, and fish, but less meat and dairy products. All very typical ratios in a Mediterranean-style diet that doctors and health experts alike recommend for all sorts of reasons. These nutrient-dense, healthy-fat-focused foods could help protect brains against disease and cognitive decline and help protect the body from lots of other bad things, too.

Mediterranean Greek Salad

2 lrg. Roma Tomatoes, medium chopped
1 lrg. Orange Bell, medium chopped
1 lrg. Yel. Bell, medium chopped
½ lrg. Spanish Onion, small chopped
1 lrg. Hothouse Cucumber, chopped

6 oz. Kalamata Olives

¼ c Italian parsley, chopped coarse
4 oz. Premium Feta Cheese, loosely crumbled
1/2 lb. Mache

1 bu. Romaine Lettuce, chopped

1 lb. Grilled Halibut (or whitefish)


Shallot Vinaigrette:
4 Tbl. Lemon juice
2 oz. anchovies, chopped +1 tsp. anchovy oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Garlic clove, crushed
½ c Grapseed oil
1 ½ Tbl. Oregano, dried
S&P (to taste)


Method:
Get a medium saute pan hot and steaming on the fire with a touch of EVO in the pan.
Salt and pepper the halibut and lay in the pan until seared and golden. Turn and cook through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl and drizzle the vinaigrette on top. Toss
together lightly. Place the mache and the chopped romaine on a serving platter and top with the dressed greek salad mixture. Add the crumbled feta and the grilled fish and place on top of the salad and salad mixture. Top with chopped parsley and drizzle with additional vinaigrette across the grilled fish.

To make the Mediterranean Greek Vinaigrette:

In a small mixing bowl add the dijon, lemon juice, anchovy,anchovy oil, garlic and oregano,

whisk in the EVO and season to taste.

(Recipe Courtesy of: Chef Kai Chase)