Saint Philibert

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Philibert was a builder. He was born in Gascony in 608 CE, and as was the custom in noble houses, he came of age in the court of the Frankish King Dagobert. There he met two future saints, and Philibert was granted permission to join the monastery at Rebais. In time, he became abbot. But there was dissent about the Rule the monks should follow [strict rules of behavior or not?], and Philibert left. He spent the next several years traveling from monastery to monastery, studying how the monks lived and worked. In 654, he was given land to found the Abby of Notre Dame de Jumièges in Normandy. The Rule for his monks was a mix of four schools of thought, though still mostly influenced by Benedict, and other churchmen visited often to see how it worked. About this time, Ebroin, the Mayor of the Palace, settled his dispute with St Leodegar by killing him, and Philibert objected. Philibert was imprisoned, then was exiled to the coast where he founded the monastery at Noirmoutier. Then he rebuilt Qincay Abbey, near Poitiers. When the bishop gave him more land, Philibert established  the abbey of Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu. With the Bishop of Poitiers as his patron, Philibert and his monks began work on what became the royal abbey of Saint-Michel-en-l’Herm. When he could return to Jumièges, Philibert built a nunnery at Pavilly and his last abbey at Montivilliers in 682. When he died in 684, he was buried at Noirmoutier, but two centuries later, when the Vikings came to call, the monks took Philibert’s remains inland to rebury at Tournus. That is why the saint is sometimes called Philibert of Jumièges and sometimes Philibert of Tournus.

The saint’s name is sometimes spelled ‘Filibert’, so we can see how a popular nut came to be called a ‘filbert’. The fruit of the Hazel Tree ripens in Europe around the Feast of Saint Philibert on August 19. Our menus today involve hazelnut ‘flour’ in the breakfast, and whole filberts in the dinner. On a Slow Day, you could put whole filberts and nut meal in Chocolate Chip Cookies — a delicious treat from a Parisian food shop.

Peachy Waffle Hearts: 148 calories… 3.4 g fat… 3.6 g fiber… 3.6 g protein… 29 g carbs… 59.4 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF– if using GF waffles Where is it written that hearts are reserved for Valentine’s Day? Make this breakfast to show someone that he/she/they are loved. Make it for yourself for affirmation.

++3 sections of waffle that are heart-shaped [our waffle-maker has 5 sections]++ 3 Tbsp Vanilla yogurt, low-fat++ 2 Tbsp hazelnut OR almond meal/flour ++ 3 oz peach, mashed ++ 2 oz pear ++ Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] ++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or  mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++ 

Combine the yogurt with the almond meal and let it sit to thicken a bit. TIP: Can be done overnight. Mash the peach through a sieve to make a mush. Warm the waffles to take off any chill and spread with the peach mush. Pipe or spoon the yogurt around the edges of the hearts and plate with the pear. A pretty treat.

Trout with Hazelnuts: 267 calories… 18 g fat… 3 g fiber… 21 g protein… 6 g carbs… 75 mg Calcium…  PB GF From Savoie, France comes this recipe, via Anne Willem’s French Regional Cooking. Hannibal is supposed to have dined on local trout as he crossed the Alps with his elephants. Very easy to prepare [the trout, not the elephants] and absolutely delicious. 

++ 3 oz trout, boned and trimmed +++ 1 tsp butter+++ ½ oz hazelnuts, halved or coarsely chopped +++ 2 oz French green beans [haricots]+++

Start cooking the beans. Heat a heavy saute pan and spray with non-stick spray. Put in the trout and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slowly cook the trout on one side. ~3 mins. Add the butter to the pan along with the nuts. Continue cooking everything slowly until the fish is done, roughly another 3 mins. Drain and season the beans, plate them with the trout, and top the fish with the nuts in butter. Enjoy your culinary visit to the French Alps.

At Verneuil

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

It was a brutally hot day on August 17, 1424. Jean VIII d’Harcourt, Count of Aumale, and around 9,000 of his countrymen were waiting on the fields of Verneuil, Normandy. The 28-year old was no stranger to battle. Jean had survived the disastrous routs of Crecy and Agincourt, and he had lead his army to defeat the English at the Battle of La Gravelle/ Battle of la Brossinière the year before. Now he was the Senior Commander of the French forces, fighting to drive the English out of France during the Hundred Years’ War. Jean was on home territory, defending lands that his family had been given 600 years before, and with him was his cousin, Gerard d’Harcourt, Baron de Bonnetable, a member of his army. That day, the 10,000-man English army was outnumbered [as they had been at Agincourt and Crecy], facing the French plus 6,000 Scottish allies and a band mercenaries from Milan. There had been debate in the French camp as to whether they should engage the English — having learned from previous battles that being outnumbered did not mean that the English would lose. But the decision was made, and the battle began. At first, it seemed that the English and their deadly long-bows were at a disadvantage, as their arrows bounced off the Milanese armor. But the mercenaries left the field to plunder the baggage train for loot, and when they finally returned to the battle, the English were winning. The English lost 2,000 men in the fight, the French and Scots lost 6.000. Both Jean VIII and Gerard were killed. Happily, Gerard and his wife had produced two sons, one of whom was my direct ancestor. It would be another 30 years before the English were driven out of France, and that bloody war of succession was over.

Normandy borders the sea, the source of an ingredient in our breakfast. The dinner is a fine meal to prepare on a hot August 17.

Mackerel-Leek ScrOmelette: 187 calories… 10.5 g fat… 1.7 g fiber… 14 g protein… 10 g carbs… 70 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF If you can’t find fresh mackerel, substitute another high-Omega-3 fish like salmon or arctic char.  

++ 1½ eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume, into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week ++++ 2 oz cooked mackerel++++ 2 oz leeks ++++m1 tsp Dijon mustard ++++ 2 oz strawberries ++++ Optional:  blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Spritz a hot saute pan with non-stick spray and stir in the leeks and mackerel, to soften the leeks and warm the fish. Whisk the eggs with the seasonings and mustard. Pour into the pan and scramble to your taste or prepare as an omelette. Pour the beverages and plate the berries. Oh my!

Mid-Summer Saute: 256 calories… 2 g fat… 4 g fiber… 18 g protein… 30.4 g carbs… 47.5 mg Calcium…  PB  GF – if pasta is GF The fresh ingredients of this lovely meal are all coming together in the markets in mid-summer. Enjoy these flavors! Enjoy beautiful summer days!

Serves 2
Cooking spray—–3 oz chicken breast meat, 1” cubesHeat a saute pan over medium, and spray with oil. Saute chicken 2 mins.
2 oz whole wheat pastaCook in boiling, salted water to al dente
1 clove garlic, minced—–1 Tbsp shallot, minced—-3 oz cep/porcini, sliced—1 cup/4 oz zucchini, in half-moonsRemove chicken, respray pan, add these, cook 3 mins, stir at whiles.If too dry, add a few tablespoons of water.
1 Tbsp cognacOff heat, add cognac and flame.
½ cup/8 fl oz meat stock—–¼ cup/4 fl oz white winePut pan back on heat, add liquids. Simmer until reduced by half.
Cooked, drained pastaStir in pasta, serve when all is warm
Chopped parsleyPlate, topped with parsley

Saint Radegund

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Radegund was still a pre-adolescent, living in the house of her father, the king of Thuringia [now in Bavaria, Germany], when the Franks attacked in 531. They overran the region, killing Radegund’s family, capturing her and her brother. The brothers who lead the Franks held a lottery for the girl, and Clothair won. He already had four wives, and recognizing her youth, he sent her to live in eastern France, where she furthered her education. After a few years, she married Clothair, King of the Franks. Radegund soon had a reputation for giving alms to the poor and for her humility. She was said to act more like a nun than a queen. When Clothair had her brother killed, Radegund ran away to a near-by church, asking to become a nun. The priest feared what the Franks would do to him, so he refused. Radegund threatened him with the wrath of God if he did not protect her, so the priest made her a deaconess. Eventually, Clothair came around to the fact that his wife would rather be a nun than to be married to him. [Perhaps he was influenced by his mother, Saint Chlotild, a very pious woman.] More than that, he donated a huge sum of money to establish the first Frankish “female monastery” as convents were called than. This was Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, built around 560 CE. Radegund had a reputation as a healer, caring for the sick herself, washing their bodies with her own hands. She also was noted for her asceticism: wearing a hair shirt under her queenly robes and fasting so much that people feared for her health. Venantius Fortunatus, a contemporary, wrote her biography, detailing the many good works she performed and recounting Radegund’s numerous miracles.

Saint Radegund was an ardent faster, plus she would eat no meat. Her idea of a meal was a bowl of lentils or beans, along with green vegetables. Both of our meals are plant-based and meatless. Fast in her honor on her Feast Day, August 13.

Oyster Mushroom ScrOmelette: 178 calories… 9.4 g fat… 2.6 g fiber… 11.5 g protein… 11.5 g carbs… 79.5 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF We are fond of oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus, so naturallly we are fond of this breakfast. You can forage for them or buy them at the market.

++ 1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ++++ 2 oz oyster mushrooms ++++ 2 oz red bell pepper ++++ 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced ++++ 1 Tbsp oyster sauce ++++ 1 Tbsp Parmesan, grated ++++ 3 oz pear  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Chop the mushrooms and pepper. Warm a non-stick saute pan, and spritz it with non-stick spray. Put the vegetables in the pan to cook and to warm while you whisk the eggs with oyster sauce, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Pour eggs over vegetables in pan, either scramble them or cook as an omelette. Plate with the pear for a dandy meal.

Felafel with Cucumber Raita: 223 calories… 7.5 g fat… 6 g fiber… 11 g protein… 22.4 g carbs… 130 mg Calcium…  PB GF  The felafel recipe is from Molly Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook. Having some felafel patties in the freezer makes meal prep rapid.

++ 6 felafel patties ++++ 1 cup raw spinach ++++ ½ tsp olive oil ++++ large pinch ground nutmeg ++++ 4 oz plain, non-fat yogurt ++++ 1 scant cup cucumbers, cubed ++++ 1 tsp white wine vinegar ++++ 1½ tsp fresh mint, chopped or dried dill weed ++ 

Thaw out 5 of those felafel patties that you have in the freezer. Heat in toaster oven or in a non-stick pan on the stove. Do not cook them in oil. Cut the spinach into a chiffonade [make a pile of leaves and cut thinly across their width]and put into a bowl. Stir together the yogurt, vinegar, and dill or mint. Add the cucumber cubes and stir gently to combine. Toss the spinach with the olive oil and nutmeg. Plate spinach with raita on top. Eat it, and love it.

Felafel Patties 25-30 pattieseach patty= 30 cal–1 g fat — 1 g fiber –1.6 g protein –4 g carbs– 8.5 mg Calcium-
2 c canned chick peas [if you use dried chickpeas, you will get a grainer product. Factor in the time to reconstitute and cook them]— 1½ cloves garlic, crushed– ¼ cup celery, minced– ¼ c. scallions, sliced–one 2-oz egg–1½ tsp tahini–½ t. cumin –½ t. tumeric– ¼ t. cayenne–¼ tsp black pepper — 1½ tsp salt–Combine in food processer until ingredients form a uniform paste. 
Scoop into a bowl and chill 1 hour.
Form into balls on a silicon mat or parchment on a cookie sheet. I used a 1½ Tbsp scoop and then flattened the patties.
TIP: You don’t have to bake them now. You could freeze the patties on a cookie sheet, then put them frozen into bags to cook later.
Bake at 400 F, 10-15 mins. Patties should be heated through and have an outside ‘crust’ which is firm to the touch. 
Use now or cool/freeze for later use.

Night Sky: The Summer Triangle

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

I hope you live where there is a minimum of ‘light pollution’. That describes the all-too modern phenomenon of there being so many lights on outside that one cannot see the stars in the night sky. What a shame to miss seeing the constellations! A ‘constellation’ is a group of stars that appear to form a picture. Modern astronomers world-wide recognize 88 constellations, each occupying a designated area in the sky. The constellations seen from the northern hemisphere are the ones that inhabit mythologies from Europe and North America. Most constellations are seen seasonally, like Orion in the Winter, while some, like the Great Bear/Ursa Major, are seen all year ’round. In some cases, stars within one constellation form an ‘asterism‘, meaning that they make a separate recognizable shape. One example of this is the Summer Triangle. It is not a constellation. It appears as three bright stats that mark the points of a huge triangle. Each of the stars is in a different constellation: Vega is in Lyra, the Lyre; Altair is in Aquilla the Eagle; Deneb is in Cygnus, the Swan. The latter two are involved in the Japanese/Chinese legend of the Princess and the Herdsman. You have to look hard to see the other stars in those constellations, but the Summer Triangle stands out bright and clear. As the name implies, one views the asterism during the Summer in the Northern Hemisphere. All season long, it glides across the sky from East to West. As the Earth moves around the sun, we get to look upon different parts of the universe, which is why the stars change season to season and appear to move from night to night. Sometimes, you can see the Milky Way running right through the Summer Triangle, which is spectacular to see.

For our foods in honor of the Summer triangle, a breakfast with only three ingredients, and a dinner cut into triangles.

Mongol Morning: 158 calories… 1 g fat… 2.5 g fiber… 10 g protein… 34.5 g carbs… 229 mg Calcium…  PB The Mongols were nomadic herders and ate dairy products at all meals. This breakfast is based on dairy, ‘foraged’ plants, and a traditional bread. It is very good.

++1 Mongol flatbread** ++++ ½ c plain yogurt ++++ ¼ c blueberries/strawberries++++ ¼ c microgreens ++++   Optional: 3 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [44 calories] ++++  Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Prepare the flatbread or take from ‘fridge. Plate with yogurt, berries, and greens for an excellent breakfast.

Mongol Flatbread: makes 9 breads  1 of 9 = 86 calories– 1 g fat– 1.3 g fiber– 4 g protein– 21 g carbs– 26.4 mg Calcium–  PB The recipe is from ucook.com. The result is delicious. Just great as a flatbread accompaniment with a shish kabab, but I would be willing to eat them like pancakes for breakfast.

1 c white whole wheat flour—½ c white flour—1 tsp honey–1½ tsp yeast–1 tsp saltCombine these together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. 
½ c + 2 Tbsp milk— ½ c + 2 T water .Warm milk and water slightly Add to flour mixture and whisk vigorously, 5 mins, to make a smooth batter. 
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place 2 hours, while dough doubles and bubbles.
Whisk batter 1 minute and it’s ready to go
¼ tsp vegetable oil Put oil in a nonstick frying pan over med-low heat, then wipe out with a paper towel. Fry ¼ cup of batter at a time a few minutes on each side, until well browned. Wipe pan at whiles with the oiled paper towel.

Pizza with Vegetable Topping: 300 calories… 13 g fat… 4 g fiber… 14 g protein… 19 g carbs… 269 mg Calcium…  PB Another winner from the Fast Diet book. The pizza shells are either whole grain wraps or corn tortillas. BE CAREFUL about the calorie and fat content when shopping! I get 8″ whole wheat “fajita-style” tortillas. Each has 170 cal and 5 gm protein. Each person gets ONE of these pizzas. OR you could get 6″ yellow corn tortillas. Each of those has 65 cal and each person gets TWO and ONE HALF pizzas.

++1 whole wheat/grain tortilla at 170-cal [per person] ++++ 1-2 Tbsp tomato puree HINT: buy a can of puree and freeze in small portions ++++ 1 oz mozzerella, grated++++½ oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced ++++ 1 ½ oz red pepper, cooked and chopped++++1 oz spinach, steamed, squeezed and chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp red onion, chopped ++

Set the oven at 400F. Put tortilla on an ungreased baking sheet. Put 1 dollop of tomato purée on each tortilla and spread it around. Toss together mozzarella, mushrooms, red pepper, spinach, and onion. HINT: Sometimes I cook and chop all the veg and put them in a bag in the freezer to save time on a FAST day. Divide the mixture among the tortillas and bake 5-10 mins at 400F.

Arrival Day

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

August 6 was always a day for celebration for members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, It marked the day in 1774, that Mother Ann Lee and her small band of followers landed in New York harbor. They lived there for a few years, then moved north to Watervliet, New York, where they established the first Shaker Community in the United States — or anywhere else. As the sect grew to enormous numbers by the early 1800s, the members were always sure to celebrate the Glorious Sixth, aka: Arrival Day or Landing Day. At all 20 communities, a special meeting was held, the congregation would sing, and a Mother Ann cake was served. Today, many of the original communities are gone, except for an historical plaque, but there are eight sites where the original villages are more or less intact and visitors are welcomed. There is only one Shaker Community that exists with live Shakers, found at Sabbathday Lake, Maine. The three members there continue their religious life. According to Wikipedia, the daily schedule of a Shaker in Sabbathday Lake Village is as follows: **The day begins at 7:30 am; the Great Bell on Dwelling House rings, calling everyone to breakfast. **At 8:00 am morning prayers start. Two Psalms are read, then passages are read from elsewhere in the Bible. Following this is communal prayer and silent prayer, concluded with the singing of a Shaker hymn. **Work for the Shakers begins at 8:30. **Work stops at 11:30 for midday prayers. **Lunch begins at 12:00. This is the main meal for the Shakers. **Work continues at 1:00 pm. **At 6:00 it is supper time, the last meal of the day.

Shakers, like many agrarian people of their time, ate what they grew and grew what they ate. During the early 1800s, when the Shakers were flourishing, people were beginning to leave the land in droves to find jobs in the new factories of the cities. The Shaker way of food production and consumption was becoming a thing of the past. Our meals, taken from their repertoire, show how good simple foods can be.

Shaker Tomato Pudding: 246 calories… 14 g fat… 4 g fiber… 9.7 g protein… 23.5 g carbs… 70 mg Calcium…  PB  GF – if using GF bread Shakers grew everything that they ate. Here the tomatoes and herbs of summer are baked with an egg to bind them. The Best of Shaker Cooking, Amy Bess Miller + Persis Fuller has many recipes – from soups to desserts. This recipe is in the “Vegetable” section of the book, but I have adapted it for breakfast. The Shakers would have served it with herbal tea. Here is a happy way to begin a Summer day.

Sv 16” pie plate, sprayed with cooking spray
1 cup/5 oz tomatoes, dicedCut tomatoes and put into a sieve over a bowl overnight to expell extra liquid.
2 Tbsp onion, grated or finely minced—2 tsp brown sugar—
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped—2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped		Stir tomatoes into these.
½ oz/ 1/3 cup 70-calorie whole-grain bread—2 tsp butter, meltedCut bread in small cubes. Stir together to combine thoroughly. Fold into tomato mixture.
One 2-oz egg salt + pepperWhisk these together until frothy, stir into tomato mixture. Scrape into the small pie plate.
Bake at 350F 18-20 minutes, until set.

Asparagus Soup:  278 calories…  1.5 g fat… 5.5 g fiber… 22 g protein… 27 g carb… 277 mg Calcium…  PB  GF — if using GF crackers  This fabulous soup is from Salute to Healthy Cooking and we have been loving it for years.  Despite its rich taste, it is very low in calories and fat. I ramped up the protein to make it suitable for a main course.  HINT: the recipe makes enough for 6 one-cup servings. Freezes very well for easy meals later. I serve it here with Finn Crisp crackers covered with melted cheese. If you want to eliminate them, go ahead. With global food availability, this soup is delicious taste any time of year.

Yield: 6 cups soup
1½ pounds asparagusSnap off woody ends of asparagus and cut spears roughly in half. 
5 cups chicken stock—½ cup onion, roughly choppedPour stock into a sauce pan. Add the onion and asparagus.
4 oz raw chicken breast cut into 4 piecesPut chicken atop vegetables so it will steam/poach.
¼ cup canned white beans, rinsed and drainedAdd beans. Bring liquid to a simmer and put on a lid.
Take out cooked chicken, put it in a blender, but do not process yet.
Cooked asparagus/onions/beansWhen cooked, scoop out to put in blender, but do not process.
1 cup potato in 1“ dicePut potato in pot, cook until soft.
Add stock and potatoes to blender. Process until smooth. 
salt & pepper to tasteReturn to pan and season to taste. Cool and divide into 6 portions: one for your meal today and five for the freezer.
Optional: 1 oz slice Swiss cheese —-Optional 2 Finn Crisp crackers To serve, warm soup gently. Adjust seasonings. Cut cheese slice into 4×2” strips, put a portion on each cracker. Warm in oven until cheese melts.
Optional 1 Tbsp Boursin Light cheese Plop a dollop of Boursin in center of soup in the bowl, and stir with a fork to melt cheese and marble the soup.

W.E.B. DuBois

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle!

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in 1868. For a man who had such a life of pursuing social justice and racial equality, you might guess from his birthdate that he grew up during the challenges of post-Civil War Reconstruction in the American South. But no. His parents were Free Black people, and ‘Will’ was born and raised in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He attended the local schools, and excelled academically, mentored by his White teachers and the principal. After that, money from a local church enabled William to attend Fisk University, a college for Blacks in Tennessee. To provide more funds, he taught school in the summer, and that opened the eyes of the young Northerner to racism in the South. DuBois was accepted at Harvard University, hoping to do graduate studies. But they did not accept his Bachelor’s Degree from Fisk, so he repeated his undergraduate work. Then he earned a Master’s and a Doctorate degree, becoming the first Black to do so at Harvard. DuBois was influenced by philosophers at Harvard, who urged him to study ‘Negroes’ and their history in America. After that, two years of study in Berlin, where he completed a thesis about agriculture in the American South. Back in the States, DuBois taught at Wilberforce University in Ohio, where he met and married his first wife. In 1896, Harvard published his work “The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638–1870”. The University of Pennsylvania, recognizing his work as a sociologist, employed DuBois to study the lives of Blacks, resulting in The Philadelphia Negro (1899), written after interviews with 2,500 households in that city. Then it was off to Atlanta University in Georgia. His evolving views of Black empowerment and full rights put him at odds with another famous Georgian, Booker T. Washington. Washington wanted Blacks to learn trades, so they could show that freed slaves could become productive members of the working class, parallel to Whites but not yet equal. DuBois wanted Blacks to study for higher degrees, to enter all levels of society, and by so doing, lift up the whole race. He demanded equal rights THEN, not at some later point when Whites might feel comfortable. In 1909, DuBois co-founded the NAACP, then as now, promoting the rights and equality of Blacks. World War I saw him urging Blacks to enlist, then documenting how they had been unequally treated as soldiers. After the war, DuBois could see that the standard Capitalist ideal was not working to enrich Black people, that they were not participating fully in the American Dream. So he began to explore Marxism. DuBois traveled to Liberia [founded as a homeland for formerly enslaved Americans] and Russia [to see how Communism was working for them]. In 1948, he represented the NAACP at the conference to form the United Nations. During the Red Scare during the Cold War, Dubois was looked at suspiciously in the US for his trips to Russia and China. He continued to view American Blacks as part of a larger context of African Diaspora, so he organized many Pan-African Conferences in the 1950s, advocating for the end of colonialism in Africa. In 1961, DuBois accepted the invitation of the new nation of Ghana to continue his research and writing there. Fearful that the US government would take away his passport, he moved there with his second wife, becoming a citizen in 1963. He died there that same year, curiously, the day before the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. August 3rd, is the Feast Day of W.E.B. Dubois in the Episcopal Church.

If DuBois’ work about the African Diaspora had included recipes, our breakfast might be included because it shows how Hatians combined French and African influences on their food choices. The dinner is from Ghana where DuBois is buried.

Haitian Chicken Bake: 181 calories… 5 g fat… 1 g fiber… 13 g protein… 8 g carbs… 43 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF The Haitians love to eat their ‘pates’ [pronounced ‘patty’], spicy fillings in puff paste dough. Here is the filling alone is used to jazz up some eggs at breakfast.

++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 2 Tbsp chicken pate filling** ++++ 1.5 oz pineapple ++++ Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++ Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

NB: Prepare the chicken pate filling in advance and freeze or refrigerate it. Whisk the egg with salt and pepper, then whisk again with the meat filling. Pour into an oven-safe dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Portion the fruit and brew that Haitian coffee. Zut alors! A taste of Hispaniola!

**chicken pate filling = 2 cup ‘pate’
1 Tbsp = 50 calories 		Prepare a mise en place. You will be adding ingredients at rapid intervals, so do the prep now.
1 habanero pepperCut pepper lengthwise and scrape the seeds out of one half. Chop both halves. 
Chopped pepper—-¼ cup chopped onion —–2 tsp garlic, minced Spritz a non-stick skillet with non-stick spray. Saute these  3 mins until tender.
½ pound raw ground chicken Add chicken and cook 5 mins, stirring often.
¼ cup shredded carrotAdd carrot and cook 2 minutes.
2 tsp no-salt tomato pasteAdd tomato paste and stir constantly 1 min
2 tsp lime juice—1 tsp cider vinegarPour in these and stir. 
1 Tbsp chopped scallion— 1 Tbsp chopped parsley—1 tsp fresh thyme leaves—½ tsp pepper— ¼ tsp salt— 1/8 tsp ground clove— 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg— Add these, stir, take off heat, and cool to room temperature. Run it all through the food processor.

Kontomire with Eggs : 284 calories… 13.6 g fat… 3.5 g fiber… 23.5 g protein… 19 g carbs… 164.6 mg Calcium…  PB GF Sometimes this popular meal in Ghana is prepared with eggs, often not. This recipe, very flexible with its ingredients, was adapted from one in africanfoodmap.com. Wow. Delicious! TIP: cut this in half to serve as breakfast!

Serves 1
1 oz smoked herring [kippered herring] = 61 calories-OR- 0.8 oz smoked mackerel NB: I used the mackerel.Kippers: Soak overnight in warm water until softer. Mackerel: do not soak. Chop fish into ½” bits.
¼ cup/1 oz onion, choppedCook onions in PAM until they start to brown
1 clove garlic, minced—-1.5 Tbsp roasted green chilis—1 cup tomatoes, dicedAdd these, stir together. Cook ~ 10 mins as liquids with evaporate/thicken.
Soaked, drained kippered herring -OR- smoked mackerelAdd fish bits plus ½ cup water, cook ~5 mins
¾ cup/3 oz frozen spinach, thawed Add spinach, stir gently, cook on low ~10 mins.
2 two-oz eggs Whisk eggs, scramble into hot vegetables until cooked. 

Marie Tharp

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Perseverance and insight were the keys to success for Marie Tharp, explaining how she went from being a simple cartographer to over-turning the entire field of Earth Science in the 1970s. Marie was born on July 30, 1920, in Michigan, but she did not stay there long. Her father was a soil surveyor with the US Department of Agriculture. He moved his family frequently so that he could do field work on the nature and extent of soil bodies. Little Marie would go out into the field with him often, although at the time she was not interested in science. At the University of Ohio, she first studied art, then German [her mother had been a German teacher], and at last she discovered geology. This was not a field open to women at that time, so her professor suggested that she take the course in drafting [drawing geologic maps] to maximize her job opportunities. By then, WWII was on, and the University of Michigan advertised for women to study petroleum geology. Marie applied and received a Master’s Degree. Her first job was in Oklahoma to work for Stanolind Oil. As a woman, Tharp was given desk work and she dealt with boredom by earning a degree in math from University of Tulsa. In 1948, she accepted a job with Lamont Geological Laboratory (now the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University) — hired not as a research scientist, but as research assistant to help undergraduate boys with their work. Again, she was bored, so she quit. Quickly rehired, Tharp was assigned to work with Bruce Heezen who was working on a project to lay under-sea cables. To do that, they had to know what the sea floor looked like — and no one knew. Alfred Wegener had put out his theory that the sea floors were flat and that the continents slid around over them, sometimes bumping into each other. These ideas were considered absurd. Using the new technology of radar/sonar soundings, Heezen set out to study the floor of the North Atlantic. He and his crew sailed across the ocean, taking soundings all the way. It would have made sense for his cartographer, Marie, to be on board to work with these data, but women were not allowed as crew on research vessels. When she finally received the data, Tharp used them to draw a profile of the sea floor. It wasn’t flat! In the middle of the ocean was a high mountain range, with a deep valley in the center. Heezen did five more trans-ocean voyages, and Marie’s cross-sections showed the same thing each time. Then Heezen compared the location of this central valley with earthquake data, and found that there was a correlation. What was the connection? When Tharp suggested that the valley was a ‘rift’ in the Earth’s crust, where the crust was moving, Heezen dismissed the idea as ‘girl talk’, worried that such an idea would bring scorn and ridicule. Marie persevered, making a map — based on Heezen’s data and her insights — of the Atlantic Ocean sea floor that showed a 10,000 mile long ridge with a rift valley in the center. When it was presented in 1956 at a conference, it was greeted with surprise and disbelief. Twenty more years of research and cartography ensued, and when in 1977, the most complete map of the sea floor was produced, the long-held ideas were overturned, and the field of “Plate Tectonics” was born. Without Marie Tharp’s maps we would not have a fuller understanding of how the crust’s plates move, or how such motion causes mountain ranges. Also, I would not have had such interesting topics to teach to my Earth Science students! There have been several major earthquakes lately, and volcanic activity, all located on plate boundaries such as rift valleys or convergences. Rather than thinking that they were random events, we know their cause — even if we cannot predict them or stop them from happening.

Our breakfast is from the Asores, volcanic islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Tharp’s map showed that they were located where three plates came together, causing a volcanic hot spot where lava built up the islands. Our dinner features seafood — what better way to honor the maker of the most famous map of the sea floor?

Azorean Queso Egg:  158 calories… 8.5 g fat… 1 g fiber… 10 g protein… 10.4 g carbs… 71 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values shown are for the plated foods, not for the optional beverages. PB GF Two of the favorite flavors of the Azores combine for this egg dish, and the pineapple completes the triad.

++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 1.5 tsp Queso Fresco ++++ 1 tsp Chorizo Paste ++++ 1½ tsp  Pimenta do Quejio sauce ++++ 2 oz pineapple -OR- ¼ cup blueberries -OR- 1.5 oz banana ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait[65 calories] ++

Cream the cheese, chorizo paste, and Pimenta sauce until smooth. Whisk in the egg, then bake in an oven-proof dish or cook in a saute pan. Slice the fruit and sip some Brazilian coffee for a delicious meal. Pass the Pimenta Sauce!

Haddock w/ Farro & Chickpeas: 252 calories… 3.6 g fat… 7 g fiber… 19 g protein… 38.4 g carbs… 37.5 mg Calcium…  PB GF The whole grains and chickpeas help to make a small amount of fish taste like a lot more. Then you add a vegetable of your choice. Good stuff.

++ ¾ cup chickpea ragout ++++ ½ c cooked farro ++++ 2.5 oz raw haddock ++++ PLUS: 2 oz broccoli OR 2½ oz carrots OR 2½ oz green beans OR 2 oz beets  each adds about 20 calories and an average of 2 g fiber to the meal

Cook the farro in one pan and the vegetable in another. Combine the cooked farro with the chickpea ragout and season to taste.  If the fish is raw, place on top of farro-ragout in a pan, cover and cook until everything is warm and fish is cooked.  If fish is cooked, add to cooked vegetables and heat gently. Plate alongside vegetables.

Star-Crossed Lovers: Cyrano & Roxanne

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

My mother told me that there are seven basic plots in literature, and one of them is the story of the “Star-Crossed Lovers.” This plot centers around two people who are in love yet fate intervenes, in one way or another, to keep them apart. Shakespeare coined the term, implying that one’s astrology [one’s stars] controlled one’s destiny. In literature there are star-crossed lovers, and one such famous pair is found in the story of Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne. Edmond Rostand‘s plot, set in Paris, France in the 1600s, [loosely based on an actual man]. Cyrano, our hero, is a well-known nobleman, famous for his wit, his swordsmanship, and his huge disfiguring nose. He is secretly in love with his cousin Roxanne, his life-long friend. Cyrano is afraid to declare his love because he fears that she will think him too ugly to marry. Also in love with Roxanne is the good-looking young soldier, Christian. He is afraid to declare his love because he fears that he will be too tongue-tied and foolish to say the right words for wooing. Roxanne confides in Cyrano that she thinks Christian is cute and she wants a relationship with him. The crest-fallen Cyrano is convinced by Christian to write love notes to Roxanne as if they came from Christian. The ruse works so well that Roxanne falls in love with Christian’s supposed way with words, especially an unsigned letter that Cyrano had written to her expressing his own feelings. When a monk arrives with a missive stating that Christian’s commanding officer wants Roxanne for his mistress, Roxanne has the monk marry her to Christian on the spot. Their union is unconsummated because Christian goes to war within the hour. Christian is killed in battle so Roxanne goes into a convent, consoled only by the beautiful words of ‘his’ letter. Fifteen years later, Cyrano and Roxanne have a visit. Cyrano is mortally wounded and dying, but Roxanne does not know it. She tells him of her continued love for Christian, and asks Cyrano to read the letter to her. In the dark of her nun’s cell, Cyrano recites the letter from memory. Only then does Roxanne realize that she had been in love with Cyrano all this time, his soul being more beautiful than his face. She tells him, and he dies content. This story, originally a play, has been made into 12 movies and 4 operas. In this example of the genre, the lovers are kept apart due to fear of ridicule on his part, and her shallowness — not seeing that beauty is only skin deep.

Our meals today are French, of course, and might have been enjoyed in the Bergerac Region of that country, where ingredients come from the forests, the Atlantic seacoast, and the Mediterranean. The breakfast is a classic, and the dinner was suggested by an offering seen at Daguerre Marée on Rue Daguerre, Paris. The establishment has two parts: a sit-down restaurant and a seafood market selling ingredients and prepared meals — of which this was one.

Cepe Omelette: 173 calories… 9.5 g fat… 1.5 g fiber … 15 g protein… 8.4 g carbs… 109.5 mg Calcium…  PB GF Cepes [aka: ceps, porcini] are a divine mushroom. Like many good foods, they exist in a brief moment and must be savored in real time. True, they can be dried for later… But today we will be Zen-like and enjoy them now.

++ 1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ++++ 2oz sliced, raw cepes… 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, freshly grated… 3 Tbsp 2%-fat cottage cheese… 1 tsp sage, chopped… salt & pepper… 2 oz melon OR 2 oz peach OR 4 cherries… Optional:  blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]…  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]…

Spritz a non-stick pan well with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with parsley, salt, pepper, Parmesan, and cottage cheese. Cook mushrooms in the pan until tender [1 minute?] and pour in the egg mixture. Let the bottom of the eggs get firm, lifting the edges to let the raw egg run underneath. Either flip the eggs to cook on the other side, or leave the upperside soft when you fold and plate it with the fruit. With or without the optional beverages, this is a rare Summer treat

Mussels & Mediterranean Vegetable with Polenta: 294 calories… 7 g fat… 7.5 g fiber… 20.5 g protein… 39 g carbs… 120 mg Calcium…  PB GF   When I saw a tray of mussels mixed with Mediterranean Vegetables at a Parisian food stall, I realized how easy it would be to prepare it at home in New Hampshire. Adding polenta or pasta rounds out the menu. At home, I was not disapointed by this generous meal.

++ 2 squares polenta** ++++ ¾ cup Mediterranean Vegetables ++++ 113 g cooked mussels, removed from shells ++++ side salad with cucumbers and blueberries ++++ 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese, grated ++

Put polenta in a lightly-oiled pan to heat thoroughly over medium-low. Put Med Veg in a small saucepan with the mussels and heat through over medium low. Prepare the salad and toss. Plate the poleta, top with vegetable-mussel mixture as you will. Sprinkle with cheese. Ahhh.

**POLENTA: recipe from Bob’s Red Mill each slice [2.25x3x0.25”] = 43 calories..0.2 g fat..1 g fiber..1 g protein ..9 g carbs..0 Calcium  PB GF Use with pasta sauce, instead of pasta; as a side starch; for Pocahantus’ Breakfast.

12 pieces, Sv 6-12 2-qt saucepan + 9×13” pan + non-stick skillet
3 c water or vegetable stock—– 1 tsp salt—1 cup dry polenta Bring salted liquid to a boil in saucepan. Add polenta, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition.
Optional: dried herbs—–crushed red papper flakesOnce all polenta is in, turn down heat to its lowest [I used smallest burner on its lowest setting], cook 30 mins. Stir often: to avoid lumps, to scrape down sides, to prevent sticking. Unlike risotto, it does not need constant stirring.
After 30 mins, polenta will be very thick – spoon will stand up by itself. Cook 2-3 mins more.
Olive oilBrush a very thin layer of oil on a 9×13” baking pan, and turn the polenta into it. Nudge batter into corners, smooth out top. Let it cool and solidify.
Cut into 12 squares. Heat a non-stick skillet, spray with cooking spray. Cook polenta squares until they begin to take on a little color and are heated through.
Individually wrap pieces and freeze cooked or uncooked, until needed.

Emmy Noether

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

How far will determination and perseverance get you? All the way to the pinnacle of achievement in your field — even if you are a woman. Amalie Emmy Noether was born in 1882 in Erlangen, Franconia, then in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Her father was a mathematics professor at the university there, and perhaps he sparked his daughter’s love of the field. But there was a catch — women couldn’t attend universities [it was thought that co-education would “overthrow all academic order”] and no women were mathematicians. After training to teach French and English to children, Emmy, as she styled herself, audited math courses at Erlangen University. Auditing permitted her to listen to lectures but not act like a part of the class. Also, to attend a class, she had to get the permission of the professor, and he could deny her the privilege. When her studies were concluded, she sat for the exam that would grant her a diploma — a she passed. In July 1903, Noether became the second woman to receive a Doctorate in Mathematics from any German university. Now Emmy wanted to be a professor. Not so fast! By now, women were admitted as students, but no women were permitted to teach university — unless the course were listed under the name of a male professor, with his permission, of course. For seven years, Dr Noether taught at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen, gaining experience but not a single paycheck. In 1910, she began to publish and her work was well-regarded. In 1915, she was invited to teach at Mathematical Institute at Göttingen University where she collaborated with prominent professors on mathematic proofs for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. On July 23,1918, Emmy proved herself to be worthy of respect by writing a paper ‘proving’ what is now known as Noether’s Theorem. At last, in 1922, Emmy was named as an adjunct at Göttingen, the first woman to be a professor. She had a cadre of devoted doctoral students, known as Noether’s Boys, who went on to make names for themselves in the field. In 1933, the Nazis began putting pressure on Jewish professors to resign, so Emmy took a position at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, USA. She taught abstract algebra, working in group theory, ring theory, group representations, and number theory — an all-women’s college!! with female professors!! — until her death in 1935. Emmy Noether was seen as stern and focused, but those who knew her enjoyed her down-to-earth nature, sense of fun, and love of dancing. That stern focus? How else could she overcome all the obstacles that life put in front of her?

Our menus today are from Emmy’s home country. Perhaps she ate our Franconian breakfast. She would not have eaten the dinner due to Kosher food restrictions, but we can.

Franconian Breakfast:  ..163 calories… 4.4 g fat… 4 g. fiber… 13 g protein… 22.5 g carbs… 117 mg Calcium…  NB: These values are for the plated items alone and do not include the optional beverages.  – PB GF – Here some favorite flavors of the German State of Franconia come together for breakfast. My stars!! This is delicious!

++ 1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread = 1 oz ++++ 1 oz smoked trout ++++ 2 Tbsp 2%-fat small-curd cottage cheese ++++ 1 Tbsp snipped chives ++++ 2 oz plum ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Lightly toast the bread. Stir together the cottage cheese and chives, and spread on the toast. Plate along with the trout and plum. Some might prefer to place the trout on the bread and eat it thus, which is a great way to do it. 

Zweibel, the Bamberg Onion: 282 calories… 8 g fat… 6.5 g fiber… 24 g protein… 37 g carbs… 91 mg Calcium…  PB GF – if using GF bread Onion and pork are a fine combination, and very popular across Germany. This unusual recipe is from Bamberg, Franconia, adapted from one offered by the Schlenkerla Brewery.  HINT: Serves two [2] people.

2 lg onions, 6 oz each after trimming + peelingPeel papery skin off onions, cut off both ends. Parboil onions until almost tender. Scoop out insides of the onions until the sides are two layers thick.
112 g/4 oz pork —– 44 g/1½ oz smoked pork/ham Put pork and smoked pork/ham with insides of the onion through meat grinder/processor.
Salt & pepper—-½ tsp each mace & marjoram
3 oz eggs = 1½ eggs
1 slice 70-cal wh-wh bread
chopped parsley		Mix meat-onion with the eggs, bread, spices and parsley to form a stuffing/filling. Fill onions with stuffing. NB: I had stuffing left over.**Roast in a skillet with a little water, uncovered, ~25 mins at 200°C/400F until onion is very soft.
1 sl smoked baconFry bacon in another skillet until partially cooked — not crisp. Remove from frypan and cut in half. Put a ½-slice on each onion and return to oven. Bake 20 mins.
**left-over stuffingForm remaining meat filling into 2 equal patties, cook gently in bacon fat until done. Put in center of serving plate.
4 Tbsp brown meat stock—-2-4 tsp wh-wh flour—pinch mace + pinch clovesRemove onions from skillet and place on top of the meat patties. Add stock, flour, spices to the skillet. Heat on stovetop, stirring, to form a thick gravy.
2 oz carrot coins per personServe surrounded with carrots and topped with gravy

Marina of Antioch

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Do you know of Saint Marina? If you were among the faithful of the Eastern Orthodox Church you would know her name and her fame. But the Western world knows her as Margaret. Her life was short but full of struggle to keep her faith. Marina was born in Pisidia ad Antioch in Asia Minor [Turkyie] in the 3rd Century. Her family were Roman citizens, her father was a priest, honoring the Roman pantheon of gods. Around her 12th year, Marina first heard of Jesus and his life and works. She became a convert, deciding then and there to devote her life to her Christian faith, to the exclusion of marriage and children. The imperial governor, Olymbrios, was taken by the girl’s beauty and decided to marry her — from here the story gets pretty interesting. When the governor proposed marriage to her, Marina spurned him saying that her love was given to Jesus. Her angry suitor had her tortured, then put in prison to die. That night, Marina was healed. In her cell, she was visited by the Devil, who tempted her with the pleasures of sinning. Marina spurned him too. Next day, she rejected the governor’s advances, and again he had her tortured — did he think that would cause her to want to marry him????? That night the Devil came to her in the shape of a dragon/serpent, and it swallowed her. When she made the sign of the cross from inside his belly, the dragon spat her out again. On the third day of torture, the large crowd that was watching saw her endure great pain. When she was comforted by a white dove, the crowd as one professed belief in Marina’s god. The furious governor commanded that Marina and all 15,000 people present be beheaded. Even Catholic Online/Saints & Angels says that all we really know of Marina is that she lived and that she was martyred in 304 CE — “all else is probably fictitious embroidery” Believe what you will. The feast of Saint Marina is July 20.

Our foods hale, like Marina/Margaret, from the Eastern Mediterranean, classic examples of the Mediterranean Diet.

Felafel Bake: 171 calories… 9.6 g fat… 2 g fiber… 8.5 g protein… 13 g carbs… 52 mg Calcium… 182 mg Sodium…  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF Here we use uncooked felafel patties which we prepared and froze earlier. Great time-saver! Good felafel is amazing in eggs!

++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 2 uncooked felafel patties [¼ oz each], thawed ++++ 2 Tbsp tomato puree or crushed tomatoes ++++ 2 Tbsp chopped black olives ++++ 1.5 oz pear or ¼ c blueberries or 2 oz melon ++++ Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++  Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Spritz a ramekin or 5” glass pie plate with non-stick spray and set the toaster oven to 350 F. Whisk together the felafel and tomato puree until well blended. Whisk the egg into the felafel and turn into the baking dish. Bake about 15 mins while you portion the fruit and prepare the beverages. What a simple, delicious breakfast.

Meze Meal with meat: 240 calories… 10.5 g fat… 4.5 g fiber… 19 g protein… 17.5 g carb… 181 mg Calcium…  PB GF ‘Meze’ is the Greek equivalent of Spanish Tapas. Small servings chosen from multiple small plates which make it easy to eat on a hot Mediterranean night. Well, we don’t live on a vast inland sea, but we’ll take good low calorie, low fat, delicious food where ever we can find it. There are lots of good recipes in the book Meze by Rosemary Barron. NB: The photo shows a meze meal for two [2] diners.

++¼ cup white beans + ½ Tbsp capers ++++ ½ oz marinated mushrooms ++++ 2½ oz tomato, cubed or sliced and sprinkled with sea salt + a generous pinch Greek oregano ++++ 1¼ oz cooked chicken breast -OR- 1¼ oz sliced, roasted pork loin -OR- 1½ oz Loukanico [Greek lamb sausage] ++++ 1 oz feta or Mozzarella cheese ++++ 1½ oz lemon-marinated carrots ++++  marinade: 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp lemon juice + pinch of granulated garlic + pinch oregano ++

Combine the white beans with the capers in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the tomatoes and the oregano. Slice the carrots into small logs or coins and cook until tender. Drain and combine with the marinade in a small jar with a lid. Shake well, remove the lid and let the carrots cool in the marinade. Attend to the meat, cutting into bite-sized pieces. Plate the ingredients to please the eye.