How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier

Here we are again, New Year and a slew of resolutions.  This year, the most important one is to be more healthy.  But that has several sub-sets: more exercise, losing weight, eating more healthy food.  I can’t help you with the exercise, but here is where I urge you once again not to use this blog as a Food Porn site, but to start eating the food.

Why should we Fast?  Read what Dr. Michael Mosley says: “We all know how you are supposed to lose weight: eat low-fat foods, exercise more… and never, ever skip meals. This has been standard dietary advice for decades and though it may work for some people, levels of obesity continue to soar. So is there an alternative? We think there is. Intermittent fasting. Based on the work of leading scientists from around the world, this is an exciting new alternative to standard dieting.

“Intermittent Fasting does not mean stopping eating entirely. It means reducing the amount you eat, but only for quite short periods of time.

“In The Fast Diet  book I outline my experiences of trying different forms of intermittent fasting, before settling on what I called a 5:2 regime. With 5:2 intermittent fasting you eat normally five days a week and diet two days a week, cutting your calorie intake for those two days to a ¼ of their normal level. This means that on, say, a Monday and a Thursday you will eat 500 calories if you are a woman, 600 if you are a man.

“If you stick to this plan then you should lose around 1 lb (0.46kg) a week if you are a woman, slightly more for a man. Success also depends on not over-eating on your normal days.

“You should not only lose weight but also enjoy a wide range of health benefits. Studies of intermittent fasting show that not only do people see improvements in blood pressure and their cholesterol levels, but also in their insulin sensitivity.

“As one of the medical experts I interviewed put it: ‘There is nothing else you can do to your body that is as powerful as fasting.’ “    Want more info? go to  http://the fast diet.co.uk

So why not start today?  A traditional dinner for New Year’s  in Germany and the Alsace-Lorraine region of France is sauerkraut with sausages.  The sausages represent abundance.  In the American South, collard greens are eaten on New Year’s for good luck.  Put them together, and you’ll have an abundance of good food and a head-start on the rest of your life.

Sauerkraut and Sausage:  255 calories   5.7 g fat  12.6 g fiber   21.3 g protein   33.5 g carbs   196.4 mg Calcium                  GF  PB

 1.5 cups sauerkraut, canned or bagged or fresh                                                                                              2 tbsp caraway seed                                                                                                                                              2 oz applesauce, unsweetened                                                                                                                            1/2 cup onions, chopped coarsely                                                                                                                          1 Dakin Farm cob-smoked chicken sausage with apple [OR any other flavorful sausage with 110 calories]    leave whole or cut into 1/2″ chunks                                                                                                                                                1.5 cups raw collard greens, chopped or cut cross-ways in 1/4″ slices [chiffonade]                             salt and pepper to taste.

Thaw the sausage if it is frozen.  Combine the sauerkraut, caraway seed, applesauce, and onions in a saucepan large enough to hold the sausage, if left whole.  Cook slowly, uncovered until half of the liquid is gone.  Add the sausage, cover, and continue to cook until everything is hot and the onions are tender.  Meanwhile, add 1/2 cup water to the greens in a skillet along with salt, pepper, and a dash of garlic powder.  Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.