Like a lot of women my age, I have become interested in genealogy. My grandmother was a professional in the field, so the apple is dropping close to the tree. One thing I found which I didn’t expect is that the “French” branch of the family goes back to Scandinavia. In honor of my Finnish-Norwegian ancestors, I offer these menus.

Nordic Breakfast 297 cal    11.7 g. fat      15.5 g. protein      34.8 g carbs   PB     This is based on a recipe from the Fast Diet book, but I always thought it looked like a puny anount of food.  Not so — this will fill you up!3 slices of Finn Crisp crackers                                                                                                                             2 oz smoked salmon                                                                                                                                               2 Tbsp whipped cream cheese                                                                                                                              2 rings red onion, thinly sliced                                                                                                                           ½ cup raspberries                                                                                                                                                        1 oz apple                                                                                                                                                        blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon with hot water                                                                 NOTE: no smoothie

Carefully spread the cream cheese on the crackers. Divide the salmon among them. Arrange the onion rings atop the salmon. Slice the apple and pour your hot beverage. Skip the aquavit.

Baltic Bake:     302 cal        12.1 g fat      11 g protein        27.3 g carbs               GF     Believe it or not, this is from the book Two Fat Ladies Obsessions. The meal has wonderful Eastern European flavors and is so simple to prepare that I assembled it in 16 minutes!!

2 low-fat, low calorie hot dogs [I like Hebrew National reduced-fat]                                                       ½ cup sauerkraut, homemade, canned, or from a bag                                                                                    ¼ c pickled beets                                                                                                                                                                ¼ c sliced onions                                                                                                                                               ½ tsp horseradish                                                                                                                                                1/2 tsp caraway seeds                                                                                                                                             2 Tbsp white beans, drained and rinsed

Put the hot dogs [frozen or thawed] and onions in a saucepan with a little water or some juice from the sauerkraut. Heat until the dogs are cooked and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove the dogs and add remaining ingredients to the pan to heat. Cut the hot dogs into 5-6 pieces and put them back in the pan until all ingredients are heated through.