Shannan’s Journey

Your body is designed to operate best when it’s at an ideal weight, which varies slightly from person to person. However, carrying around extra pounds will inevitably increase your risk of developing just about every chronic degenerative disease, so the idea that you can be overweight, or even obese, and still be in optimal health, can easily lead you down the wrong path. 

That said, obesity itself is not the underlying cause of any health problem, it is merely a symptom. The underlying cause is usually an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, which leads to increased insulin and leptin levels. Add to that the strain of unaddressed emotional challenges and you may soon find yourself at an excessive, unhealthy weight, and health challenges can easily develop from there. 

These three factors are present in the majority of people’s lives, which explains why two-thirds of the American population is already overweight. If the trends of the past three decades continue, it’s possible that every American adult could be overweight by 2048!

Although surveys have found that Americans attitudes have shifted drastically toward greater acceptance of heavier body types, which is good, I believe it’s a serious mistake to embrace it as a “new healthy norm.” To do so will only add to this health crisis as excess weight goes hand in hand with so many chronic and debilitating diseases that could easily be avoided.

Is it Possible to Be Healthy and Overweight?

Yes, it’s certainly possible to be thin and unhealthy, but there are far more unhealthy overweight people than thin people.

The central issue is insulin and leptin resistance, which is far more common in overweight individuals than thin.

I think the health risks of obesity are fairly well-known by now — obese adults tend to have higher rates of high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, cancer and diabetes. And, making matters worse, the vast majority of people are treated with costly medications that don’t address the real problems but rather cause further deterioration of health.

The side effects alone from all of these medications can overwhelm your system, but even after adjusting for “traditional” risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, obese adults also face increased risks of:<strong />

• Silent vascular disease (blood vessel disease that causes no symptoms)
• Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• Thicker heart walls

Not All Excess Body Fat is Harmful to Your Health

Despite all the health risks associated with being overweight, not all types of body fat represent an inherent health problem.

Researchers have known for some time that fat that collects in your abdomen — known as visceral fat, which gathers around your internal organs — can raise your risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.

However, people with pear-shaped bodies (where the fat is mostly deposited in the hips buttocks and thighs) are less prone to these disorders.  It seems that their fat may be actively protecting them from metabolic disease.

Recent research has discovered that subcutaneous fat – found just under your skin, which causes dimpling and cellulite — is intrinsically different from visceral fat in several ways. It actually produces substances that act systemically to improve glucose metabolism, and is able to communicate with various organs to elicit beneficial effects.

Not only is the gene expression inherently different between the two types of fat, but the fats also vary their genetic expressions based on where in the body they’re placed. For example, when the researchers added more subcutaneous fat subcutaneously, there was no major difference in health outcome. But when they placed subcutaneous fat in with visceral fat, in the abdominal cavity, surprising health benefits were seen, such as weight loss and improved metabolic function.

These findings highlight the importance of looking at your body as a WHOLE and not just a collection of separate parts. In order to be optimally healthy, you can’t simply focus on one aspect, such as striving to fit into a size 6. You may be healthy at that size, you might not – depending on how you got there, and how you stay there; i.e. are you exercising, eating healthy, and managing your emotional and mental stress levels, or are you just starving yourself and running on caffiene, pure adrenaline or something else?

What’s Causing the Obesity Epidemic?

There are a number of theories for why so many people are overweight, but when you start to have entire populations tipping the scales toward obesity, it does suggest that something is fundamentally wrong.

Among the theories that are, in my opinion, most likely for causeing the problems are the following:

1. The modern-day diet: It encourages eating big portions of high-fructose corn syrup, refined grains and other carbohydrates, processed foods, and artificial sweeteners, a perfect recipe for weight gain.

2. Sedentary lifestyles: Generations ago people had no choice but to exercise; they did it for their very livelihoods or at least to get from one place to another. Today, many people sit behind a desk for most of the day, then get in their cars to drive home. Leisure time involves more sitting, either in front of the TV, computer or video game system.

3. Stress and negative emotions: It is very easy to get caught up in using food as a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, or a way to cope with stress — and once you get used to using food to feel better, it’s hard to break the routine.

4. Exposure to environmental pollutants: Exposure to low levels of pesticides, dyes, flavorings, perfumes, plastics, resins, and solvents may make you put on weight.

5. The make-up of bacteria in your gut: This is related to your diet, but if you eat a lot of sugar and grains, it can negatively influence the bacteria in your gut and contribute to obesity.

6. Lack of sleep: This disrupts vital hormones and proteins in your body, which may also increase your risk of obesity.

I don’t believe that “bad” genes play a major role, but yes it’s true that some people do not have great genes that lean towards leanness. Science has busted this myth, showing that good nutrition during childhood can cancel out genetic predispositions to obesity, but I’m also a firm proponent of epigenetic medicine and believe our emotions and thoughts have enormous influence over the expression of our genetic code.

Exercise & Diet:  It’s THE Most Important Factor for Optimal Health and Longevity-

Don’t waste another day.

Shannan

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

–Theodore Roosevelt

I posted a little while back about an asparagus side dish (Asparagus, Fennel, and Feta) that I had found the recipe for in the Wall Street Journal. I had promised to let you know if it wound up being as good as it looked to be, so true to my word, it’s quite a tasty side dish.

So because I love asparagus and fennel, I’m always looking for new ways to prepare these veggies, although there’s nothing I like better than a big platter of big fat asparagus just given a rub with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt, roasted in a hot oven, and then tossed ever so lightly in a pat of creamy fresh butter left to melt on the hot roasting pan the minute you take it out of the oven; my favorite veggie !!!

Asparagus are at their peak the moment they’re cut, however, and begin to wilt and lose both flavor and freshness quickly. Left bound in their thick rubber bands as they come from the store or farmer’s market and dumped into the veggie bin in the refrigerator, they’ll soon begin to shrivel and fade.

I was reminded by the fabulous FOOD CHANNEL of a method to keep them fresh and firm longer in the cold box: treat them like the florist treats cut flowers by placing their cut ends into a ‘vase’ of water.  I use one of those tall, quart-sized, plastic disposable containers made for storing things such as soup that you can now purchase cheaply in the grocery store; they’re just the perfect size to hold a big bunch of asparagus.

I wash the asparagus by hand, then just as with cut flowers, I trim just a bit off the stem end and stand the stalks upright in water, but you don’t even have to trim them if you don’t want to.  In place of the lid, I put a zip closure bag over the tops of the stalks to keep the humidity in.

Stored this way, the asparagus keep beautifully for much longer and instead of ahving to use them within the next couple nights, you have a longer shelf life, ready at a moment’s notice to roast, grill, blanche, saute, or stir-fry.

On Saturdays at a park or a school field you will notice the very typical modern regimented kid Saturday going on for most people who have children. If you observe people you will notice many other manifestations of modern child-rearing behavior. Maybe a young family getting their kids gathered, who had just finished their swimming lessons are packing up and ready to leave.

The kids, mostly under then age of 10 are always being huddled after… As the parents were gathering all the towels, goggles, and other paraphernalia, the youngest kid was taking his cookie out of the little sack that it came in and dropped it. The cookie hit the indoor/outdoor carpet that covers the floor in the observation area and broke into four or five pieces. The kid hurriedly began to pick them up and get them back into the sack, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed mother.

“No,” she shrieked, “you know the rules. We don’t eat food that has been on the floor.” She gathered up all the pieces and threw them away as the kid stood there looking hangdog.

The mother acted appropriately, but for all the wrong reasons.

At this particular swimming school when the kids do a good job they are rewarded with a big sugar cookie.  In my opinion this is not the way to reward children. They come to associate the sugar-fat taste that is so addicting with good performance.  I think we should do all that is possible to disassociate sweets with any kind of reward. So, the mother acted in the best interests of her son, or at least in the best interest of her son’s pancreas by tossing the shattered cookie.

But she did a disservice to his immune system….

Why?

Because kids need to eat a little dirt.

In this case, I doubt that the cookie would have gotten all that dirty. The indoor/outdoor carpet had been trod by a thousand chlorine-y feet fresh from the pool, so I doubt that there was a germ within a hundred feet. But had the cookie fallen on the ground or on the floor of the kids house or at school, it would have been okay to eat, blood sugar considerations aside.

Why? Because kids need the germs to fine tune their developing immune systems.

We as a species evolved in the presence of a zillion bacteria, parasites and fungi. As our immune systems developed, they did so in with all this fauna on board. Now we lived in a squeaky clean world. No one in developed countries ever has parasites except for the occasional case of pin worms or head lice brought home from school. Most kids are vaccinated for all of the common childhood diseases and taken to the doctor for antibiotics at the least sign of a sniffle.

Endotoxins are components of the cell walls of various bacteria and are found in dirt and dust everywhere, but especially in the dirt of farms and barnyards. Exposure to endotoxins during infancy and youth is associated with much less trouble with allergies later in life. Kids who grow up in spotless homes tend to have more allergies than those who grow up on farms. Kids who have pets don’t develop asthma or as many allergies as kids who grow up without pets. First born kids today have more allergies than those later in the birth order. Mothers are able to keep the house clean and are ever vigilant for dirt with the first kid; by the time the others come along, she is a little overwhelmed and the house isn’t quite as neat. The kids after the first born are the beneficiaries of mom’s fatigue.

Why does exposure to endotoxins help the immune system develop properly? No one knows for sure, but it is theorized that if the developing immune system doesn’t have enough to stimulate it, it turns on pollen, house dust mite and other common allergens as well as , the latter of which can cause auto-immune disorders. I like to think of the immune system of kids in neat-as-a-pin homes as being like the Highland Park police.

Highland Park is an upscale area of Dallas that has no crime to speak of. The notorius Highland Park police, since they have no crime to fight, turn on the normal citizens and ticket them for the most nothing infractions. If you come to a rolling stop at a stop sign in Highland Park they call out the swat team.

It’s much the same with the developing immune system. If there is plenty of endotoxin around, the immune system is kept busy dealing with it. If there isn’t, the immune system starts going after stuff it shouldn’t.

So, whenever you see kids drop some food on the floor, just pick it up, knock off the visible dirt, and let them eat it. Visit a farm and let your kids play in the dirt. Don’t admonish them to wash their hands every five seconds. Let ‘em be the nasty little kids nature has intended for them to be. Their immune systems will thank you.

Shannan 

Low Carb Creme Brulee

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
2 cups half and half
10 packets Splenda
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
trace of salt (shake or two)
4 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees; generously butter 4 to 6 shallow ovenproof ramekins and set them in a shallow baking pan.
2. Put all ingredients except egg yolks into a saucepan over medium-low heat, and warm the cream, stirring often. Do not let the cream boil.
3. In a separate bowl (or 4 cup glass measuring cup) beat the eggs yolks until smooth and pale.
4. When the cream is hot and sending up a little steam, temper the eggs with it by dribbling a tablespoon or two of it into the yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the egg yolks from cooking. Repeat the tempering a time or two and then pour in the remainder of the hot cream, whisking constantly.
5. Divide the cream mixture evenly among the buttered ramekins and place into oven. Fill the baking pan with hot water to reach approximately half way up the ramekins.
6. Bake the custard about 30 minutes; it should be pale and shake like jelly when you tap the ramekin.
7. Remove from oven, when cool, cover ramekins, and refrigerate.
8. When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator 10 or 15 minutes ahead and top each custard with 1 teaspoon of brown or granulated sugar. Caramelize the sugar either under the broiler for 1 1?2 to 2 minutes or with a kitchen torch to form the crisp brulee crust.

 Good stuff when you can have it

Shannan

Energy drinks have been popping up all over supermarket and convenience store shelves in recent years, and have overtaken bottled water as the fastest-growing category in the beverage business.

No less than 3.5 billion cans of Red Bull were sold last year in 143 countries.

Yet questions regarding the safety of Red Bull, as well as other energy drinks, keep cropping up at regular intervals when yet another overzealous energy-addict keels over.

Do Energy Drinks Really Really Live Up to Their Name?

When you break down the contents of one of those eight-ounce cans, the primary ingredients are caffeine and sugar (in the form of glucuronolactone, sucrose and glucose). So the answer is yes, energy drinks will provide you with a quick burst of energy.

However, this is not a lasting effect, and drinking several in a row will not turn you into a flying superhero, no matter how hard their  sinister marketing geniuses try to convince you otherwise.

According to the official website, Red Bull’s benefits include:

• Improved performance
• Increased concentration and reaction speed
• Increased endurance
• Increased metabolism

However, the effects of this energy drink will be similar to that of drinking a cup of coffee or a can of soda, in that when the effect wears off you’ll start feeling lethargic and will likely crave another can (or cup) to boost your energy once again.

As many of you likely know, it can become a vicious cycle.

According to the article above, the Austria-based company that created Red Bull warns consumers not to drink more than two a day of their wings-in-a-can, but I couldn’t find any references to that fact on Red Bull’s website. Only a statement that said you should compare your consumption to that of coffee, with one can of Red Bull equaling one cup of brewed java.

The problem with that recommendation is the fact that no one really knows the net effect of chugging Red Bull like you would coffee. Coffee has caffeine, yes, but it doesn’t contain all those other artificial and energy-boosting ingredients, including no less than TWO artificial sweeteners (in addition to all the other sugar).

Aspartame alone has been shown to have multiple neurotoxic, metabolic, allergenic, fetal, and carcinogenic effects. I don’t believe it is safe for anyone to drink and I wrote an entire book about it called Sweet Deception.

Do Energy Drinks Have Health Benefits?

Nutritionally speaking, energy drinks are comparable to carbonated beverages like soda in that they offer little of value to your body. Yes, there are traces of B vitamins in Red Bull, and it contains the amino acid taurine, but this cannot make up for the detrimental effects of caffeine and sugar.

Although caffeine can certainly increase short term reaction speed, one major problem is that no one really knows how the combination of ingredients in Red Bull will affect your body. This is especially concerning since energy drinks are marketed toward people under the age of 30, and are especially popular among students and night clubbers who oftentimes drink several cans at a time.

Who Should Definitely Avoid Energy Drinks?

It is fairly self-evident that children should never consume these kinds of drinks, but due to the detrimental health impact of their contents, it would definitely be wise to avoid energy drinks if you:

• Are pregnant or lactating
• Are sensitive to caffeine
• Suffer from anxiety
• Suffer from high stress
• Suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome
• Have high blood pressure
• Are predisposed to cardiovascular disease
• Have any kind of blood clotting disorder

As lead researcher Scott Willoughby stated, Red Bull can be deadly when combined with stress or high blood pressure, as it can impair proper blood vessel function and raise your risk of blood clots.

Mix With Alcohol for a Potentially Deadly High

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol, which is combining a stimulant with a depressant, has become an increasingly popular occurrence at bars. When mixed with alcohol, drinks like Red Bull are instantly morphed into popular club drinks like “Vodka Bulls” and “Yager Bombs.”

The combined effect of these substances is unknown, but researchers say overloading your body with heavy stimulants and heavy depressants could lead to heart failure, and according to previous news stories about fatal outcomes from this deadly mixture, that’s not just a theory.

Countries like France and Denmark banned sales of Red Bull following several reported deaths of people who mixed it with alcohol.

The Red Bull brand has even made it into the scientific literature. The journal Medicine, Science, and Law published an article in 2001 on the effects of alcohol and Red Bull combined with yet another stimulant: ephedra.

The result? Acute psychosis.

And in this month’s issue of the Journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society, an Italian case study reviewed an incident of “postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) associated with a vasovagal reaction,” recorded in a young volleyball player after an excess intake of Red Bull.  

They concluded:  

“Considering the widespread use of Red Bull among young people who are often unaware of the drink’s drug content, this case report suggests Red Bull be considered a possible cause of orthostatic intolerance.” 

Orthostatic intolerance is a condition in which a change from the supine position (laying down) to an upright position causes an abnormally large increase in heart rate (more than a 30 beats per minute increase, or a heart rate greater than 120 beats per minute within 10 minutes of sitting or standing up).

POTS has also been proposed as a mechanism for symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, so if you’re suffering from chronic fatigue, drinking energy drinks is likely NOT in your best interest. 

As for alcohol, no one recommends drinking at all. It is well established that alcohol is a neurotoxin, which means it can poison your brain. You also need to be aware that consuming large amounts of alcohol — even wine — will increase your insulin levels, thereby accelerating your risk of diabetes, gaining fat weight, and other chronic diseases.

How to Increase Your Energy Without Energy Drinks

If you’re drinking energy drinks for the reason most people do — to get more energy – know that there are far superior options than artificial energy drinks. Humans are not naturally sluggish or constantly tired. This lethargic state is something that many of us have brought on ourselves.

Your lack of energy is likely due to a combination of factors including:

• Poor food choices
• Low-quality food
• Stressful lifestyle
• Negative emotions
• Lack of sleep
• Lack of exercise

Increasing your energy levels, then, is as easy as remedying these factors by:

• Eating right for your nutritional type
• Increasing your intake of omega-3 fats
• Eliminating grains and sugars from your diet
• Releasing emotional stress and negativity
• Sleeping when you’re tired
• Exercising

What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, which has traditionally been known for its use with calcium, helping to increasing absorption of calcium into the body. More recent studies have indicated a potential benefit from Vitamin D relative to cancer prevention and as an anti-inflammatory.Our bodies are able to manufacture Vitamin D with exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, but many people do not get much sun-to-skin contact, especially during winter months, and the use of sunscreen blocks the UV rays and therefore prevents the production of Vitamin D leaving us more unhealthy.

Findings from a new study reveal that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of death from all causes by as much as 26%. In recent years vitamin D has become a topic of great interest in the medical community.Vitamin D, sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin,” can be synthesized in the body after exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun. However, with increases in skin cancer over the past two decades, the use of sunscreen has dramatically increased. While reducing the risk of skin cancer by blocking ultraviolet light, sunscreen also reduces the body’s ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Further, northern and overcast regions of the world lack the sun intensity to supply sufficient natural vitamin D production in the body. Some experts estimate that 60% of the population living in these regions may be vitamin D deficient.
Recent research linking low vitamin D with increased risk of certain cancers and possible increased risk of cardiovascular disease has led to a debate about the use of vitamin D supplements. While many experts believe that direct exposure to sunlight without sunscreen for short intervals is the best way to increase vitamin D levels, others feel taking supplements of up to 2000IU per day may be the safest route.In this new study, researchers from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, reviewed data collected on 13,331 men and women from the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. Data from the participants in the study were collected from 1988 to 1994 and followed through 2000. Previous research has found that low vitamin D levels are “associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cancers.” However, there is no previous research on the relationship between low vitamin D blood levels and all-cause mortality, making this study a first-of-its-kind.

The researchers analyzed the data to determine if there was an association between low levels of vitamins D and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. In the follow-up years, there were 1806 deaths, including 777 from CVD. The researchers adjusted for other risk factors and found that there was a higher risk of CVD and cancer mortality associated with low levels of vitamin D, but the increase was not statistically significant. However, when the researchers looked at all-cause mortality, they found that those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D had a 26% greater risk of death than those with the highest blood vitamin D levels. The researchers noted that their study is observational in nature and does not establish the link between low vitamin D and death as a causal relationship.

Interestingly, recent studies have found that cardiovascular events are more likely to occur in the winter when exposure to the sun is less and vitamin D levels are lower. Likewise, cancer survival is greater when the cancer is diagnosed in the summer and vitamin D levels are higher.

Get your daily SUN as often as you can… Just 10-15 minutes is all you need here and there to keep up that production of vitamin D.

Shannan

What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, which has traditionally been known for its use with calcium, helping to increasing absorption of calcium into the body. More recent studies have indicated a potential benefit from Vitamin D relative to cancer prevention and as an anti-inflammatory.

Our bodies are able to manufacture Vitamin D with exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, but many people do not get much sun-to-skin contact, especially during winter months, and the use of sunscreen blocks the UV rays and therefore prevents the production of Vitamin D leaving us more unhealthy.

Findings from a new study reveal that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of death from all causes by as much as 26%. In recent years vitamin D has become a topic of great interest in the medical community.Vitamin D, sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin,” can be synthesized in the body after exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun. However, with increases in skin cancer over the past two decades, the use of sunscreen has dramatically increased. While reducing the risk of skin cancer by blocking ultraviolet light, sunscreen also reduces the body’s ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Further, northern and overcast regions of the world lack the sun intensity to supply sufficient natural vitamin D production in the body. Some experts estimate that 60% of the population living in these regions may be vitamin D deficient.
Recent research linking low vitamin D with increased risk of certain cancers and possible increased risk of cardiovascular disease has led to a debate about the use of vitamin D supplements. While many experts believe that direct exposure to sunlight without sunscreen for short intervals is the best way to increase vitamin D levels, others feel taking supplements of up to 2000IU per day may be the safest route.

In this new study, researchers from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, reviewed data collected on 13,331 men and women from the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. Data from the participants in the study were collected from 1988 to 1994 and followed through 2000. Previous research has found that low vitamin D levels are “associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cancers.” However, there is no previous research on the relationship between low vitamin D blood levels and all-cause mortality, making this study a first-of-its-kind.

The researchers analyzed the data to determine if there was an association between low levels of vitamins D and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. In the follow-up years, there were 1806 deaths, including 777 from CVD. The researchers adjusted for other risk factors and found that there was a higher risk of CVD and cancer mortality associated with low levels of vitamin D, but the increase was not statistically significant. However, when the researchers looked at all-cause mortality, they found that those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D had a 26% greater risk of death than those with the highest blood vitamin D levels. The researchers noted that their study is observational in nature and does not establish the link between low vitamin D and death as a causal relationship.

Interestingly, recent studies have found that cardiovascular events are more likely to occur in the winter when exposure to the sun is less and vitamin D levels are lower. Likewise, cancer survival is greater when the cancer is diagnosed in the summer and vitamin D levels are higher.

Get your daily SUN as often as you can… Just 10-15 minutes is all you need here are there to keep up that production of vitamin D.

Shannan

For anyone who needs good… no great running shoes check out the NIKE Air Zoom Vomero+ 3… there is also a men’s version.  They are the best shoes by far of any I have ever used, and I have tried them all I promise   They come in a couple good colors that everyone will like but more than that it’s the fit, the cushion and the ride… it like running on clouds   Just dreamy !!

Also for anyone who needs or is looking for a cross trainer type shoe… The UNDER ARMOR PROTO EVADE is one you just can’t beat.  Also the New Balance 1062 is a fabulous shoe.  They are both great shoes for supporting the arches of the foot especially for those of us who do activities with a lot of lateral movements.

Let me know what you all think of these or any shoe you may have tried and loved.

Shannan 

Lemon, Parsley Orange Roughy

Ingredients
-1 lb orange roughy fillet
-1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
-1 lemon, juice and zest of
-fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
-Place fish in a large glass dish.
-Sprinkle with lemon zest and parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over top; refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
-Preheat broiler; spray broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.
-Place fish in broiler pan. Place in broiler for 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Any day Kabobs

Ingredients:
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds beef top sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
16 small red potatoes
12 sweet onions
16 mushrooms, stemmed
4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced
4 scallions, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup steak sauce (optional)
1/4 cup spicy mustard

Preparation
-Pre-heat a grill to medium-high or the broiler to high. Pour 1/2 cup Olive Oil into a bowl. Thread the beef cubes onto 4 skewers and brush with the Oil in the bowl; season with salt and pepper.

-In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until just tender, 11-12 minutes; drain and let cool. Thread onto 2 skewers, brush with Olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

-While the potatoes are cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, then rub off the skins with a towel. Thread the onions onto 2 skewers, brush with Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper. Thread the mushrooms onto 2 skewers and brush with oil; season with salt and pepper.

-Grill or broil the mushrooms until tender, 12-15 minutes. Grill or broil the beef, potatoes and onions, turning every couple of minutes.

-In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers and scallions. Toss with the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix the steak sauce and mustard.

Greek Salad

1 large head Romaine Lettuce
1/2 half red onion, sliced
1 English Cucumber, sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives
1 cup Greek Feta, crumbled

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place lettuce in a large bowl.
2. Mix dressing ingredients in a bottle and give it a good shake.
3. Toss lettuce with about 1/2 the dressing.
4. Place remaining salad ingredients on top of lettuce, and drizzle with some more dressing.

 Have a happy day !!!!