Make salad dressing from scratch with this easy, healthy recipe in < 15 minutes- cucumber,dill, and yogurt dressing!

Do me a favor & stop buying salad dressing sold in bottles 😯

Do you ever wonder why they expire after 1 to 2 years?? It's because of all the chemicals & preservatives that are in them.

Bottled salad dressings can also can be high in fat and calories!! Making your own salad dressing is simple, easy and will save you tons of calories! It's also delicious & you can create your own flavors!

Here I've made a yogurt cucumber dill dressing in 15 mins or less! I made it with fat-free yogurt to cut even more fat and calories!

STEPS:

-Add 1& 1/2 cup fat-free greek yogurt to a bowl

-Add in 1/4 cup low fat milk

-Add in 1/2 cup thinly diced cucumber

-Add in 2 cloves minced garlic

-Add in 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of dill (fresh or dry)

-Add in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

-Stir

-Add in salt and pepper to taste 

Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think at DoctorDeenaMD@gmail.com and please share with friends who love salad!

As always... easy & delicious! 

Follow me on Instagram or Twitter @Doctor_Deena for more healthy & easy diet tips!

Super foods with fiber #1: Chickpeas. Here's a delicious, quick and easy recipe for chickpeas and spinach!

Remember to combine fiber with your carbs to cut calories and stay full!

Here's an example of a super food w fiber -- chickpeas! 1 cup is 35 grams of fiber. Its also a great source of iron for those of you who are iron deficient + is loaded w protein 👍

Here I've made chickpeas with spinach. I use this as a snack, a side dish or as a topping to a salad. I basically eat it anytime I feel hungry to keep me full & its made in <15 mins 😉

STEPS:
-Add 2 teaspoons olive oil into a pan
-Add 6 cloves minced garlic
-Add in 1 cup chopped spinach
-Add 1 can drained and washed chickpeas
-Add in 1 teaspoon cumin
-Add in 1 teaspoon paprika
-Add in 1 teaspoon onion powder
-Add salt and pepper to taste
-Heat & stir occasionally until chickpeas are slightly softened & spinach is wilted

As always... easy & delicious! 
Follow me on Instagram or Twitter @Doctor_Deena for more healthy & easy diet tips!

Easy, low calorie & nutritious recipe for herb roasted mushrooms!

This recipe for herb roasted mushrooms is so easy & delicious 😋
Mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium which is important for production of thyroid hormone and copper which helps to prevent anemia and protects our nerves.

Vegetables are low calorie & high in nutrition. 1 cup of mushrooms is 20 cals! 

When you are dieting, eat as many vegetables as you wish for breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a snack 🙌

STEPS:
-Preheat oven to 425
-In a large bowl add in 3 cups of mushrooms (any type)
-Drizzle with olive oil
-Add 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
-Add 1 teaspoon dried thyme
-Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano
-Add in 8 cloves garlic mashed and sliced thin
-Add in salt & pepper to taste
-Stir it up
-Put it on a baking tray
-Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (until brown or to desired consistency)

Tell me how you like this and please tag me in recipes you try ... it makes my day to know you are trying to be healthy too!! 💙

Follow me on Instagram or Twitter @Doctor_Deena for more healthy & easy diet tips!

Weightloss and diet tips to cut calories! Here's some easy tips for portion control!

I share weightloss tips with my patients every single day, and I want to share a few of them with all of you.

Cutting your portion size can really help with weightloss! The less food on your plate, the less calories you consume... it's that simple! 🍴

Try these tips to cut down your calorie intake:
-Always use a SMALL plate instead of a LARGE plate. 

Like this small plate (pictured with food) in comparison to the larger plate which is 2-3 times its size:

-Eat S-L-O-W-L-Y to give your brain time to process what you are eating

-Allow yourself to eat only 1/2 of a second helping if you are still hungry

-Drink plenty of water between bites so that you get full faster & your hunger signal goes away!

-Don't bring pots of food to the table. The table should just be for your plate and utensils. I always keep my pots on the kitchen stove. The farther it is from your reach, the less likely you will put more food in your plate.

Hope that helps some of you reach your weight loss goals!

Follow me on Instagram or Twitter @Doctor_Deena for more health & easy diet tips!

We will never forget September 11th but for some people the health-related effects from September 11th will never let their daily life be the same...even 15 years later.

Every New Yorker, like me, remembers exactly where they were on September 11, 2001 when the news of the terror attacks consumed us.

On the 15th anniversary of September 11th - a day that will be engraved in my mind and heart forever (writing this even gives me chills and makes me emotional) - I wanted to dedicate a post to this tragic day and how it is still affecting so many people every single day in ways that you might not realize.

What people may not know is that in addition to the lives lost on 9/11, there are many people who have developed illnesses as a result of their exposure to harmful chemicals in the air that day. Chemicals that we consider "carcinogenic" (aka cancer causing). 
These chemicals came from the dust, smoke and aerosols that were emitted into the air as a result of the structural destruction of the twin towers.  
According to JAMA - these chemicals include asbestos, silica, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and numerous metals.

The NYC Department of Health created a WTC Health Registry to study the long-term effects of the attack on area workers, residents, students and first-responders. Currently there are over 71,000 registrants. 

Here's some of the most common WTC-Related health conditions that have been diagnosed in many registrants directly linked to 9/11:

1. Mental Health Conditions
As expected many registrants have developed mental illness either from direct exposure to the 9/11 catastrophe (i.e. working on site, trying to escape, etc.) or indirectly (i.e. through the loss of a family member, colleague, etc.). 
These illnesses include:
-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
-Depression
-General Anxiety Disorder
-Alcohol & Substance Abuse 

2. Lung Conditions
As a result of breathing in dust and chemicals in the air, many people developed reactive airway disease. 
-Asthma
Its reported that within 6 years, 1 in 10 registrants developed asthma! 
-Decline in lung function
Most common in firefighters and EMS workers who were directly on site breathing in all these chemicals and debris

3. Cancer
It's difficult to prove cause and effect when it comes to development of cancer (since cancer may be a slow process to develop, is difficult to screen for, has many other associated risk factors, etc.); however, a recent study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine found that for all types of cancer combined from 2007-2011, there were 11 percent more cancer cases than expected among rescue/recovery workers, and 8 percent more among civilian survivors compared with the New York State general population.
These cancers include:
-Prostate cancer (most common)
-Thyroid cancer (2nd most common)
-Multiple Myeloma
-Melanoma
-Breast cancer
-Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Only time will tell what other medical conditions these innocent civilians and self-less first responders will develop. 

Luckily, there is government help for those who might have developed a condition due to 9/11. Visit the World Trade Center Health Program to learn more: http://www.cdc.gov/wtc/index.html

Its so sad to think of how one event has changed our lives forever and CONTINUES to affect us.
I have some first-responder patients who are part of this WTC registry and when I had the courage to ask them if they have any regrets - most of their answers are "no". It just proves how remarkable these people are.

To all those first-responders on 9/11:
Thank you for your heroism and all that you did to help so many people that day. You are genuine heroes. 
You put the lives of strangers first, something that people are too selfish to ever do. 
Thank you for your kindness and making us believe in the good of humanity despite the most evil day that I have ever witnessed in my entire life.
For those of you unlucky enough to have developed a health condition due to 9/11 -- I pray for recovery and hopeful remission. 
May God bless all of you.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Deena

Spanish tapas made healthy with gambas al ajillo aka shrimp with garlic. So easy, yummy, healthy AND good for your thyroid!

My absolute favorite Spanish tapa is Gambas Al Ajillo or shrimp with (lots of) garlic. Here I've created a really easy version thats so tasty and made in 20 mins or less.

Shrimp is an excellent source of protein + selenium.

I often prescribe selenium to my patients who struggle with eye disease due to a form of thyroid disease called "Graves Disease." Selenium is a mineral that is important to make thyroid hormone and it also has an anti-inflammatory effect.

I recommend all my thyroid patients, to increase their intake of selenium in their diet. I will blog more on selenium later :)

STEPS:

-Add 1/4 cup of olive oil into a hot pan

-Add in 12 cloves of minced garlic (more if you love gah-lic!)

-Sautee garlic until light brown

-Add in 1 pound of fresh or frozen shrimp (peeled and deveined)

-Add in 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

-Sprinkle 1.5 teaspoon of paprika

-Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of red pepper (or more if you want it spicey)

-Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of saffron

-Lower the heat

-Mix and allow shrimp to cook for about 3 minutes (or until cooked through)

-Top off with 1 teaspoon of dry parsley

-Add salt and pepper to taste

Follow me on Instagram at Doctor_Deena for more healthy recipes to come & please share with friends and family :)

Spicy Broccoli Recipe - an easy, healthy, QUICK recipe! Loaded with nutrition, especially Vitamins C and K!

The easiest go-to Spicy Broccoli recipe that you need to try! 

Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables for all the following reasons:

-its the vegetable w the highest amount of vitamin K

-it is loaded with vitamin C to help prevent infections

-its easy to cook (this recipe was made in 15 minutes or less 😉)

-its low calorie with 1 cup broccoli = 30 calories

-It's the perfect snack alternative when you are craving something bad!

Steps:

-Cut up a fresh broccoli bunch

-Place in pan on low heat with 1 teaspoon olive oil

-Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of garlic powder over broccoli

- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of onion powder over broccoli

-Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of cumin over broccoli

-Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over broccoli

-Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of paprika over broccoli (omit for less spice)

-Mix it up

-Cover and cook for 5 minutes (or until broccoli is bright green)

-If spices are stuck to the bottom of the pan deglaze by adding in a little water & scraping off the spice

-Add in salt and pepper for taste

Follow me on Instagram at Doctor_Deena for more healthy recipes to come & please share with friends and family :)