Healthy, Crispy Chicken Fingers

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

From FitnessMagazine.com

Makes four servings

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 cups cornflakes, finely crushed
Dash of black pepper

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut chicken into 3-by-3/4-inch strips. In a shallow dish, combine egg, honey, and mustard. In another dish, stir together cornflake crumbs and pepper.
2. Dip chicken strips into the egg mixture; roll in crumb mixture to coat. Arrange chicken strips on an ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake about 12 minutes, or until outsides are golden and chicken is no longer pink.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 212 calories; 3 g fat (1 g sat.); 23 g carbohydrates; 23 g protein; 0 g fiber.

Healthy, low-cal dipping sauces:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard + 1 teaspoon honey = homemade honey mustard
1/4 cup ketchup + pinch chili powder = kicked-up ketchup
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream + fresh lime + fresh cilantro = zesty sour cream
1/2 cup low-fat mayo + 1 teaspoon dried dill + 1 teaspoon garlic powder = spiced mayo

Green Tea Citrus Smoothie

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

From Food.com

INGREDIENTS

• green tea bags
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup lemon sorbet, frozen
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 cup club soda, well chilled

PREPARATION

1. Place tea bags in heatproof mug, then add boiling water & steep for 5 minutes.
2. Remove & discard tea bags, & refrigerate brewed tea until cold.
3. Place chilled tea, sugar, lemon juice, lemon sorbet & 4 ice cubes in blender, blending on high until mixture is frothy & ice cubes finely ground, up to 1 minute.
4. Pour into pitcher, then add club soda & stir carefully to mix.
5. Pour into 2 tall glasses & enjoy!

• Make ahead tip: Make the tea over the weekend or in the morning so it’s a great after work or workout snack.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 78.1 calories; 0 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 20.4 g carbohydrates; 19.4 g added sugar; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 45.5 mg sodium.

Memory and Aging

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

Does it seem like you’re always looking for your keys when you walk out the door now? Are you repeating yourself during conversations or can’t remember small details? Are you concerned that your memory is getting worse?

A certain amount of memory decline is to be expected as our brains age but when should you be worried about significant “cognitive impairment” that may need medical intervention? At Personalcare Physicians, we are utilizing a diagnostic screening tool that can identify this subtle memory loss and distinguish normal aging from abnormal memory loss.  By detecting any signs of mild cognitive impairment of the brain early, we can help you to find and treat the cause.

The MCI Screen is designed to accurately measure an individual’s memory function. This short, accurate memory test can be performed in the comfort of our office. Answers are analyzed by a computerized scoring method with results provided to your physician to review with you. This diagnostic tool enables a physician to distinguish normal aging from subtle memory changes due to other medical causes. It is about 97% accurate.

Conditions such as anxiety, sleep deprivation, ADHD, depression, thyroid gland disease, diabetes, metabolic encephalopathy, Vitamin deficiency, infections and medications can cause significant memory loss. The effects can often be reversed after finding the cause and with the appropriate treatment.

Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and dementia are the first culprits patients associate with memory loss, and usually the worst case scenario. Through early diagnosis and treatment, doctors can work towards a reduced rate of memory decline and often allow patients to continue living a good quality of life for a long time.

A complete list of what may cause memory loss is available here, but in the meantime, take the following short test for yourself. Check off any of the following if you have found you are having increasing difficulty with the tasks.

Symptoms of Medical Conditions:

• Forgetting important details of things you have done in the past few weeks.
• Forgetting to do things you said you would do.
• Forgetting recent events or conversations.
• Retelling a story or joke to the same person because you forgot that I had already told them.
• Completing complex tasks at work or home (i.e. balancing checkbook, planning projects).

Symptoms of Normal Aging:

• Forgetting the name of someone you know well.
• Forgetting what you were going to say in a conversation.
• Forgetting what you were going to do when going into another room.
• Finding things you have just put down.
• Recalling a specific word you want to use.

If you’re worried about memory loss, give your personal physician a call to speak about options and possibly taking the short MCI Screen.

Flu vaccines are in!

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

Our yearly supplies of flu vaccines are coming in!  Please give us a call at (949) 706-3300 or contact us via this website to schedule an appointment.

Who Should Consider the Flu Vaccine This Year?

Infants and children 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year for  the 2011-2012 influenza season. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for “universal” flu vaccination  last year in the U.S. to expand protection against the flu to more people.

Potential High-Risk Groups:  While everyone should get a flu vaccine each flu season, it’s especially important that the following groups get vaccinated either because they are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with or care for people at high risk for developing flu-related complications:

• Pregnant women
• Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:   Health care workers, household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu, household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)

Vaccines We Have Available:

• Flu shot — an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, sometimes a micro needle, in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people 6 months of age and older, including healthy people, people with chronic medical conditions, and pregnant women.
• Nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “live attenuated influenza vaccine” or FluMist®). LAIV is approved for use in healthy* people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant.
• High dose Fluzone –  sometimes indicated for 65 years of age and older

* “Healthy” indicates persons who do not have an underlying medical condition that predisposes them to influenza complications.

New addition to the Personalcare Physician’s team

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

Leanne Flesch is assuming responsibility for all medical insurance billing and management functions. Leanne has extensive industry experience and is working with the team to ensure your medical insurance needs are handled quickly and easily. She is taking over this function from Susan Le, who after 3 years of providing outstanding service to our patients, is leaving to embark on an exciting new management opportunity. We are thrilled for Susan and wish her the very best.

Feel free to call Leanne anytime you have questions regarding your medical insurance or if you would just like to connect. She can be reached at 949.706.3300 and looks forward to meeting you!

Sports and Energy Drinks for Kids – Healthy?

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

Recently, the Academy of American Pediatrics published a clinical study on the risks of sports and energy drinks for children and adolescents.  Marketing for these types of products largely targets our youth and emphasizes inappropriate uses for both. As both of these products can actually be very bad for our kids, we wanted to share with you some of the important information from this report.

First, it is important to understand that sports and energy drinks are two different types of beverages.  Sports drinks such as Gatorade, All Sport, and Powerade, are flavored beverages that often contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes, and sometimes vitamins or other nutrients.  Energy drinks such as Monster, Rockstar, and Full Throttle, typically contain stimulants such as caffeine and guarana with varying amounts of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, sodium and other minerals.

Young athletes can benefit from using sports drinks to replace water and electrolytes that are lost through sweating during exercise.  They are best used for any competitive endurance or repeated bout type of sport (such as a tournament) and should not be consumed as part of a daily diet.  Excessive, regular consumption of carbohydrate containing beverages increases overall daily caloric intake without significant additional nutritional value.  Frequent consumption adversely affects the appropriate balance of carbohydrate, fat, and protein intakes needed for optimal growth, development, body composition, and health.  Routine ingestion of sports drinks should be avoided or restricted as they can lead to excessive calorie consumption, increased risk of being overweight, as well as dental erosion.

Drinking energy drinks or any beverage with substantial caffeine can also be very detrimental to physical development of youth and adolescents, including potential development issues for neurologic and cardiovascular systems, in addition to the risk of physical dependence and addiction.  Because of the stimulant content for most of these drinks we find that they are never appropriate for youth and should be replaced with water as often as possible.

Ensure as part of each yearly checkup that your pediatrician or family doctor routinely talks to you and your kids about the use of sports and energy drinks.  We often find that parents may be unaware of their use.

Thermos Ready Smoothie

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

from EatingWell.com

INGREDIENTS

1 cup frozen mixed berries

1/2 banana

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup silken tofu

PREPARATION

Combine berries, banana, apple juice and tofu in a blender; blend until smooth.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 288 calories; 3 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 62 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 6 g protein; 7 g fiber; 33 mg sodium; 539 mg potassium.

Shrimp & Plum Kebabs

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

from EatingWell.com

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons canola oil, or toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 raw shrimp, (8-12 per pound), peeled and deveined
• 3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered lengthwise
• 2 plums, pitted and cut into sixths

PREPARATION

1. Whisk oil, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice and salt in a large bowl. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the mixture in a small bowl to use as dressing. Add shrimp, jalapeños and plums to the remaining marinade; toss to coat.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high.
3. Make 4 kebabs, alternating shrimp, jalapeños and plums evenly among four 10-inch skewers. (Discard the marinade.) Grill the kebabs, turning once, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 8 minutes total. Drizzle with the reserved dressing.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: Four 10-inch skewers

NUTRITION

Per serving: 194 calories; 8 g fat ( 1 g sat , 4 g mono ); 221 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 24 g protein; 1 g fiber; 446 mg sodium; 292 mg potassium.

Raspberry-Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

from EatingWell.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup silken tof

PREPARATION

1. 1. Place raspberries, yogurt, sugar and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth.
   2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker (or see “No Ice Cream Maker?” below). Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions, or until desired consistency. Add chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve. No Ice Cream Maker? Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch pan and place in the freezer. Stir every few hours, until the mixture is firm along the edges and semi-firm in the center, 2 to 6 hours (using frozen berries will shorten the freezing time). Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container, stir in chocolate chips, cover and freeze until ready to serve.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week. Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 147 calories; 4 g fat ( 2 g sat , 1 g mono ); 4 mg cholesterol; 25 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 4 g fiber; 45 mg sodium; 253 mg potassium.

Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

   From EatingWell.com

Ingredients

• 2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 6 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put asparagus in a steamer basket, cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, tarragon, lemon juice, water, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the sauce over the asparagus. Serve warm or cold.

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the sauce for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Per serving: 114 calories; 7 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ); 8 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 350 mg sodium; 336 mg potassium.