Hey! I still have to update our website about this but I want to let you now until further notice the MED BURGER has been discontinued.   Everything else is still as it was and stay tuned for the possible return of the MED BURGER!

It’s new! Your mouth has never tasted anything so good.

Have you tried it yet? If not, get on your shoes and go downtown right now…it’s good! Or you can call right now 722.2226 and eat it in the comfort of your own home.

FYI: The MED Burger has not yet been officially added to our menu. It is offered as a special and may not always be available.

Today, Monday June 2nd, 2008, we have new menus! Not only do they look different but there are a few new items and combinations. You can check them out on our website or better yet, make a Totally Greek! run for dinner tonight and see what’s new all for yourself!

Oh, and tell us what you think!

Vitamin Supplements have been a hot topic on the news lately.  Have you seen it?  I’ve been a long believer in wholefood supplements rather than a ‘one vitamin’ supplement such as taking Vitamin C’s or B12’s.  Researchers are actually finding that by eating a full orange rather than just the extracted Vitamin C you will feel far more health benefits.  I found this example at www.netdoctor.co.uk:

Apples and pills

Take apples: they are a rich source of vitamin C, which builds up the immune system. But when researchers at Cornell University in New York compared the effects of apples and vitamin C tablets, the results were quite startling.

The apples contained many other naturally occurring chemicals in addition to vitamin C, including antioxidants called flavanoids and polyphenols that are thought to protect against cancer.

This meant that eating a small apple (100g) gave an antioxidant effect equivalent to taking 1500mg of vitamin C – and you’d have to take a mega-dose supplement to achieve that.

One of the study’s authors, Professor Chong Yong Lee, said: ‘Some of the chemicals we found in apples are known to be anti-allergenic, some are anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. Now I have a reason to say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’

In contrast, a 2004 Cochrane review of studies found there was not enough evidence that 2000mg vitamin C supplements prevented colds in the general population. More recently, the US Women’s Health Study found a link between vitamin C supplements and an increased risk of hardening arteries in some people with diabetes.

YES!  They are actually saying that taking a vitamin that is separated from it’s natural environment can even harm you.  If you are one of those people that enjoys your junkfood on the pretense of taking vitamins to be healthy than you have to start changing your thought patterns.  You need to eat whole foods and whole food supplements.  And if you are somebody that eats healthy and takes vitamins to supplement your health you also need to start thinking differently.  We need to get as much nutrition as we can from the food we choose to eat and take whole food supplements to supplement what we can get naturally.

Here is a great article about whole foods and Nutritional Immunology.

Calorie counting is a very touchy subject.  Just say the word to any person and you’ll get a plethora of opinions. If we are going to talk about the topic first I believe we need to talk about it in the right context.  There are two: Weight Loss and Health.  Obviously these two go together or should go together.  If you believe you can’t have one without the other you and me are getting on the right track.

There are million ways to lose weight but there are just a few ways to do it right.  Counting calories should never be completely thrown out the window but if you want to eat healthily, lose weight and live with a little bit less stress then the first thing you can do is STOP counting your calorie intake.

The basic idea is that if you start eating REAL food you will stop over eating.  Your body will be satisfied with its intake because it will get proper nutrition and your appetite will come under control.  Once your cravings are gone (which only takes a few days) you won’t even think about food until you are really hungry.  Then you can eat what you want…as long as it’s real food.  Fat and calories won’t matter anymore.

Here are a few articles you can read about stopping the obsession over calorie counting.

Why Calorie Counting Doesn’t Work for Weight Loss Most people believe that calories are the “enemy”, since eating excess calories leads to excess fat, right? That�s why most people believe that the fastest way to lose weight is to cut way back on calories each day.

Stop Counting, Focus on Foods If you eat the right foods, your body — the size of your stomach and your natural appetite control mechanism — will do most of the counting for you.

Rule #4: Don’t Count Calories (Mens Health) A good diet is effortless. By frequently eating the right foods, you’ll eliminate hunger and control your calorie intake.

Stop Dieting Forget the scale, the calorie counting, and forbidden foods. They may be doing more harm than good

* Totally Greek! in now way endorses any of these websites or fully believes in everything that is written therein.

Totally Greek! Souvlaki is real meat!! There is no prepared or processed meat to be found on our Souvlaki skewers. What does this mean?

‘Prepared meat’ usually means high-fat and high salt. Unless you are eating Certified Organic Prepared Meats you are most likely also getting lots of additives (to preserve the meat) and nitrites and or nitrates. If you like flavored deli meats (ex. cajun chicken, honey ham) you are getting another dose of fake additives and spices. And lets not forget the msg. You must always still ask or read carefully to see if msg is added.

Here is an excerpt from an article at www.prevention.com:

Are deli meats labeled nitrite free better for you? It’s possible, say scientists at Columbia University Medical Center. Adults who ate cured meat 14 or more times per month had twice the chance of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, compared with those who ate none.

Most fast food joints (with a few exceptions of course) like to sell you processed chicken.  It is shaped to resemble a real boneless skinless chicken breast but if you look closely or eat it without sauce you will see and taste something a whole lot different.  Here is a description I found on a forum:

The carcase is separated into various joints. The breast fillets sell for the highest prices. Lots of people enjoy the legs. When all the worthwhile meat has been removed from the carcase then machines are used to separate what’s left from the bones. This is processed to become what you call processed chicken.

I don’t mean to turn your stomach.  It’s surprising how many people don’t know this stuff.  Now you can make an informed decision on where you want to eat.  I assure you that at Totally Greek! you are getting real meat on your skewers.  It’s the same as you would serve to your family at home!   Not only are you NOT eating additives, nitrites and artificial flavors you ARE eating real meat and all the nutrients that come with it.

Have you ever cut a fruit or a vegetable and walked away for a few minutes or a few days? When you returned to eat it what did it look like?  If your fruit and veggies are the same as the ones I eat you would have noticed the edges may have discolored, withered or went soft.   If you compare the cut edges to old fruit or vegetables they would have similarities in look, touch smell and taste.

I would cut the withered edges off before eating. Why?  Because this part was dying, the vitamins and nutrients have already left the fruit or veggie and there would be no point in eating it, especially since the taste has left too.  According to the US FDA, cut or peeled vegetables will lose about half of their vitamin content in one to two weeks.

Just think for a minute about bagged and precut produce.  It all starts in the field.  They are grown.  As soon as they are harvested the produce begins to lose important nutrients.  It is transported to a factory where it is cleaned, cut and bagged.  Then it is put on a truck and transported most likely to a warehouse from which it is distributed to the stores.  By the time the bagged produce hits the shelves it may be several weeks from it’s harvest already.  Then it sits on the shelves till you buy it, then it sits in your fridge until you eat it.  Another huge danger in precut, bagged produce is preservatives.  Ask yourself, “If I grew a carrot in my yard, put it in my fridge for two weeks before I decided to eat it what would it look like?”  Precut, bagged produce seems to look fresh for a long time, this is because of preservatives.

At Totally Greek! we don’t buy precut veggies.  It is all done in store upon preparation of your meal. We not only want your food to taste its best but we want you to benefit from the most nutrients possible when you eat our food.

Totally Greek! is finally in the Yellow Pages. You can see our ad under the pizza section and our full menu in the Restaurants-Menu Guide. I didn’t even know the menu guide existed until we started looking at the Yellow Pages ad packages. It’s a very cool section. We’re pretty excited about this advertising addition.

Next time you are wondering what to eat for dinner and you’re not near the internet to check out our totally delicious, Totally Greek online menu, you can look us up in the Yellow Pages! It’s the best greek food west of Greece you know!!

I’ve been searching around the internet to see what people are saying about Greek Food. Here are a few interesting links in case you’d like to know who else loves the Mediterrenean Diet. Disclaimer: the information given on the following blogs is in now way the beliefs of or indorsed by Totally Greek! Please just read them for fun and let us know if you find anything particularly interesting.

> Who Knew Greek Food Could Be So Low Carb

> The Med Diet

> There is More to Food than Flavor

> Prevention is Better than a Cure

> Low Fat - More Harm than Good

> Women and Greek Food

> Lose Weight by eating Greek Food

> I Love Greek Salad

> Souvlaki - The Greatest Invention Since the Wheel

> Baklava Surprise

As our Easter celebrations approached back in March I introduced the traditions of Greek Easter on the blog. That was almost a month ago. You might be thinking of getting out and celebrating the great spring weather. But all the Greeks in town are getting ready for the culmination of a possible month long celebration of their own easter. This weekend there will be lambs rotating on spits(caution: graphic content of lamb), piles of red eggs and greeks gathered in backyards and even the middle of the streets! It’s Greek Easter!

I’ve never been to Greece during Easter but I have celebrated a few in backyards filled with Greeks! It’s a lot of fun.  Since I am about to finish the new menu designs (yes I’ve been working on them forever now) and then I’m heading out of town, I won’t be writing all about the traditions here. But follow the links above and learn lots of interesting things. OR call us, 722.2226, and get some delicious TOTALLY GREEK! food delivered to you for your weekend outtings!