In Old England, Dec 26 was one of the four Rent Days of the year. You had to report in person to your liege lord and pay in cash or in kind.  Well, the holidays are over and now it is time for us to pay the piper.  Did the bathroom scale tell you that it is finally time to get healthy? If so, today is the day to begin the Fasting Lifestyle.

Holiday-After Breakfast   282 calories   6.3 g fat    2.3 g fiber    16 g. protein 37.7 g carb   216.7 mg Calcium          This is a simple breakfast for the day after a holiday, using a few left-overs from the dinner table or freezer. We usually enjoy Yorkshire Pudding at Christmas, so it is easy to make an extra batch: some for the freezer and some for the next day.  Boil your egg the night before or poach it in the morning.  If your Christmas included ham or turkey or beef, those become part of breakfast too.  Or serve one Applegate sausage per person.                                                  

The Yorkshire Pudd recipe is from the King Arthur Flour 200^th Anniversary Cookbook. HINT: make the batter the night before to save time in the morning.                                                 Yorkshire. Pudding batter:                 one 2-oz egg                      1 cup flour            ½ tsp salt                       ½ cup water                          ½ cup fat-free milk                                                                                           Mix all the ingredients together and let the batter stand at room temp for 30-60 minutes or in ‘fridge overnight. You will need 1/3 cup of the batter per person. HINT: The remainder can be frozen in 1 cup or 1/3 cup batches for future meals. When it is time to use the batter, beat it with a rotary beater until it is frothy.                                                                                    For the breakfast:  1 two-oz egg, hardboiled                                                                                                   ¾ oz ham OR beef OR turkey OR sausage                                                                                                       ¼ cup Yorkshire Pudding batter with added herbs. HINT: This batter is left over from before and you put some in the freezer. Add a pinch of thyme and a pinch of basil.                  2 oz pineapple OR ¼ cup mixed berries                                                                                                       pinch of chopped mint leaves                                                                                                                           5-6 oz fruit smoothie or natural apple cider                                                                                                                                                                  blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water

Whip batter with a rotary beater. Pour batter into a mini-muffin pan, bake at 400 for 13 minutes. Warm the meat or not. Mix the fruit with the mint. Plate the meat, Yorkshire Pudding,  egg, and fruit. Brew your hot beverage, prepare your smoothie. Sit down and relax with your easy breakfast of left overs.

Soup       Take any of the soups or chilis which you prepared in the past few weeks or months, and thaw it for dinner. Asparagus: see ABCs of Soup Nov. 16.  Baked Bean: see ABCs of Soup Nov. 16.  Chicken Noodle: see ABCs of Soup Nov. 16.  Chili Non Carne: see Chilly Weather Dec. 16.   Venison Chili: see Chilly Weather Dec. 16.. Minestrone: see Mmmmmm Feb. 17.  Thai Butternut Squash Soup: see After Easter Mar.27.  Now is a great time to put your feet up and have an easy, satisfying meal.  Got family visiting?  Put out a soup smorgasbord and everybody will be fed well.       And while we’re talking about it,  read  “Soup Could Be the Secret To Slimming Down (No Cleanse Required)” and see why I’m sold on soup.   https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/soup-could-secret-slimming-down-220523163.html