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.                                                                    Welcome to W.G.A. who is now Following.

If you don’t recognize the name Jonas Salk, then you were born well after the polio scares of the 1940-1950s. I remember swimming pools being shut down in the heat of summer for fear of transmitting the virus. Then came Jonas Salk with his ground-breaking vaccine.  Americans lined up in school gyms to be inoculated by the 1000s.  I remember that too.  Salk initially was destined for the law so we will have avocado in the breakfast, [the word <<avocat>> in French means both ‘lawyer’ and the fruit]. His mother urged him to go into medicine and Salk became interested in virology. Through work with the March of Dimes Foundation, the search for a polio vaccine was successful. The testing process for any new drug is arduous and lengthy. Salk was eager to prove the safety of vaccine quickly.  He took some of it home. After boiling the syringes in a pot of water on the stove [“like soup”], Salk injected himself, his wife, and their children with his dead-cell polio vaccine. None of them developed the dread disease. Eventually in March of 1953, the vaccine was deemed safe. The rest is history.  In lieu of boiling syringes, we will boil up a pot of Jewish Chicken Soup — which everyone knows to be healthy. Dr. Salk would approve of the soup, but would tell you to get your shots, as well.

Avocado-Ricotta Bake:  286 calories  7.2 g fat  4 g fiber  16.6 g protein   39 g carbs   230 mg Calcium  PB GF  When I thought that avocado and ricotta would make a nice bake, my Dear Husband had one suggestion: add lobster! Why, of course! 

1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                              ¼ oz avocado                                                                                                                                                          ¾ Tbsp ricotta                                                                                                                                                      3/4 oz lobster meat OR crab                                                                                                                                     2 oz pear                                                                                                                                                                  blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                                  5-6 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Set the toaster oven to 350° F. Spritz a ramekin or other oven-proof dish with cooking spray and put the lobster meat on the bottom. Mash the avocado with the ricotta, then whisk in the egg. Pour over the lobster, season as you wish. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Slice the fruit and prepare the beverages. Sumptuous.

Therapeutic Chicken Soup:  278 calories   3.4 g fat   5 g fiber  18.5 g protein  36 g carbs [26 g Complex Carbs]  78 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF noodles  The recipe is from It’s All American Food by David Rosengarten. Simple, filling, and Granma says it is good for you. TIP: One serving = 2 cups of soup! Almost too much to eat.

1-1/2 cups excellent chicken broth, homemade or purchased                                                                                                 2 oz [½ cup] parsnips, diced                                                                                                                                  1 oz [¼ cup] carrots, in coins                                                                                                                               ¼ cup celery                                                                                                                                                              2 oz cooked chicken breast, cut in 1/2” cubes                                                                                                   1 oz Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles [you could use less if your wanted to]                                                   3 Tbsp parsley  + Kosher salt + pepper to taste

Prepare the vegetables. Cook the noodles in water until just underdone. Heat the stock to a simmer and add 3-4 Tbsp water, which will boil away as you cook. I added the parsnips first and cooked for about 5 minutes, then added the carrots. After another 5 minutes, I put the celery in the soup. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, then adjust the seasoning of the broth. You will want extra flavor now since the pasta will need it.  Add the pasta and chicken. Add the parsley and cook about 5 minutes longer, until it is all hot.