How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a total of 600 calories. On another day this week, eat meals that will be posted on Sunday. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.
The ‘Ides of March‘ are much a part of our vocabulary yet some are not sure what that means. To the Romans, every month [there were 10 months prior to Julius Caesar] had a day called the Ides, which marked the middle of the month. The psychic’s warning to Julius Caesar, that he should beware the Ides, presaged his assassination on March 15 in 44 BCE. He was murdered by members of the ruling class who feared that he would turn Rome from a Republic into a monarchy.
Our observance includes what the patricians would have had available on the table for breakfast [plebians ate porridge]. Pears were popular in Rome, where they had choice of 40 different varieties! Bread was important in that era [‘Bread & Circuses’ came later]. Poultry was the most common meat, so we will use it in both meals. And then there is Caesar Salad: NOT named for the first Caesar of Rome, nor his followers, but for Cesare Cardini, a restauranteur in Tijuana, Mexico who invented it in the 1920s.
Roman Breakfast: 270 calories 3.5 g fat 4.2 g fiber 14.2 g protein 41 g carbs [– g Complex Carbs] 187 mg Calcium PB Though a bit unusual, this is a very good plate of breakfast, based on foods available to Romans in the 1st century BCE. It is satisfying and flavorful. 
1 Pan Muffin [see ..Not by Bread.. Feb-7-’18] 1 oz pear 1 oz cooked chicken 1 oz radish 1 oz cucumber [optional: ½ medjool date, chopped = ¼ oz; adds 20 calories] blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water 5-6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpasturized apple cider
Dice all the fruits and vegetables. Add a good finishing salt and gently stir to combine. HINT: I did this the night before and refrigerated the mixture. Prepare the pan muffin [the night before] or take from freezer with time to thaw/heat. In the time it takes to brew the coffee, you can plate the muffin and the fruit-veg mixture. Romans did not drink smoothies or coffee, but we will. Hope you’ll enjoy your throw-back breakfast.
Cesare Salad: 240 calories 9 g fat 3.9 g fiber 32.7 g protein 5.4 g carbs 106 mg Calcium GF Straight out of the Fast Diet book, with quantities changed a teensy bit. Large portion, good flavor.
2.5 slices Jones brand Canadian bacon or what Canadians call ‘back bacon’ 3 oz chicken breast, left over from a roast 2.5 c chopped romaine or 2.5 c. mesclun 1 T grated Parmesan salad dressing: 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp lemon juice Mexican oregano [Cesare Salad, after all, is of Mexican origin, not from Roman rulers] 3 oz tomatoes
Heat the bacon on a hot, ungreased griddle until it begins to brown. Remove and slice into strips. Cut chicken meat into strips or chunks, as you wish. Roughly chop or tear the romaine, if using. Whisk the oil and lemon juice in a salad bowl. Add the lettuce and toss to coat with the dressing. Plate the greens and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and oregano. Arrange the meat on top of the greens. What a big meal!
Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion
| 1 two-oz egg | 10-Grain Cereal, Bob’s Red Mill |
| onion + feta cheese | pumpkin puree |
| canned whole tomatoes | maple syrup + cinnamon |
| orange or red bell pepper | raspberries + pecans |
| cayenne, paprika, cumin | ricotta cheese + nutmeg |
| Whatever you need for your smoothie | Whatever you need for your hot beverage |
| Whatever you need for your hot beverage | Whatever you need for your smoothie |
| sauerkraut | lima beans |
| canned kidney beans | corn kernels, canned or fresh |
| potato | green beans |
| garlic | canned white beans |
| smoked ham hock | corned beef |
| flour + oil | |
| Sparkling water | Sparkling water |
Eating well, with creative recipes, to follow the Fasting Lifestyle according to Michael Mosley's "Fast Diet." 