Here’s how this diet works: Tomorrow, eat this menu and nothing else except unsweetened drinks.  On Thursday, eat the foods which will be posted on Wednesday.  The remainder of the week, sensibly eat whatever you want to.

In the US, the last Monday of May is Memorial Day, when graves of fallen soldiers as well as those of family members are decked with flowers.  Parades are popular in towns large and small, and in our tiny town, the air is loud with military rifle salutes and the haunting sound of “Taps“.  Then it is time for the cook-outs! Ah…. the first patriotic over-eating of the summer.  Not so fast — Monday is a Fast Day. For breakfast, that springtime staple, asparagus.  And for dinner, the standard hot dog meal.  While waiting for the parade to start, consider this: Weight-Loss Tips: 10 Ways You Can Cut 500 Calories Each Day     http://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/weight-loss-tips-cut-500-calories-day.html/?a=viewall   Of course, on a Fast Day we’re eating only 500-600 calories!

Asparagus-Proscuitto Bake:  274 calories   6.2 g fat  3 g fiber   13 g protein   40 g carbs   226.7 mg Calcium  PB GF   This is such a great flavor combination as an appetizer, that it must be wonderful with eggs…. and it is!  Yum!

1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                                2 Tbsp [1/3 oz] thinly sliced, cooked asparagus                                                                                             ½ Tbsp [1/8 oz] proscuitto, thinly sliced or diced                                                                                                        1.5 tsp Parmesan cheese, grated                                                                                                                                 1 oz pear or apple                                                                                                                                           blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                                 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Spritz a ramekin with cooking spray. Set the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. Whisk together the asparagus, meat, cheese, and egg and pour into the ramekin. Add salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind that the meat is salty. Bake 12-15 minutes. Slice the pear, prepare the beverages. Nice way to start the day.

Memorial Day Hot Dogs & Beans    272 calories   GF   In the olden days, before Fasting, we ate hot dogs on Memorial Day, so we won’t stop now. Baked beans are high in protein, low in fat, so they fit right in with a Fast Diet.

1 dog per person {Hebrew National has a reduced fat hot dog at 100 calories each}                                                                                                                                                                      1/3 c baked beans [I use canned, low-fat beans if I can find them] HINT:  Freeze the remainder for another meal. If you want them again for a Fast meal, freeze in batches of 1/3 c, rather than the remains of the entire can.                                                                                   mustard and/or pickle relish                                                                                                                                SIDE DISHES, to total 85 to 105 calories, your choice:                                                                                                                                    >>2 oz zucchini, sliced diagonally and grilled                                    10 calories                                                                                                                                   >>one 2-oz egg, hard-boiled: cut in half, remove yolk, mash with 1/2 tsp yellow mustard  + salsa verde; spoon the mashed yolks back into the whites    2 halves = 75 calories        1/2 =  38                                                                                                                                                                  >>1/2 cup sliced/shredded cabbage + 1/4 cup grated carrot + 2 tsp made-with-olive-oil mayonnaise + 1 and 1/2 tsp cider vinegar                               3/4 cup = 50 calories        1/3 cup = 25           >>2 oz tomatoes, whole cherry tomatoes or slices                            10 calories                                          >>1 oz carrot sticks                                                                                       12 calories

Cook the dogs in a little frying pan with a bit of water. [Of course you could grill the dogs.] Remove the dogs, add a tad more water and cook the zucchini in the same pan. [You could grill the zucchini, too.] That way the zucchini have a little sausage taste to them. Heat the baked beans [nuke ’em], and prepare the other side dishes.                                                                                Fasting on a holiday just got easier. Having non-Fasters over for the cookout? Ask them to bring the side dishes [potato salad, green salad, but not chips & dip] and let your guests eat them.