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 buildingtheloveshack who is now Following.

Louis XIV, Louis the Great, The Sun King [Roi Soleil] was the longest-reigning monarch in French or European history: 72 years. How did he achieve that? By being crowned king on May 14, 1643, when he was 4 years old.  If you watch the TV series Versailles, you get the sense of a monomaniac on the throne — being hailed as supreme ruler while a toddler might do that to you! Louis was the driving force of French culture of his era, gathering artists [Le Brun], architects [Mansart], landscapers [LeNôtre], musicians [Lully], and playwrites [Molière] to his court to create works which still dazzle us today. And Louis did not simply pay them to get on with it, he collaborated, suggested, and astonished his contemporaries with his range of knowledge and skill. He was a wonderful <touche à tout> but not the best of kings. The Château de Versailles is his masterpiece of French Baroque style.  In honor of Louis, our eggs are full of rich dainties and named after the church where French kings were traditionally crowned. The dinner features oysters, which Louis loved [wagon-loads of bivalves were moved from the coast to Versailles weekly] and sparkling wine. [A purist would say that Champagne as we know it had not been developed in the time of Le Roi Soleil, but Limoux from southern France had been around since 1531.]

Saint Denis ScrOmelette:  295 calories  9 g fat   3.1 g fiber  18 g protein  35 g carbs   215.4 mg Calcium   GF   James Beard’s comprehensive volume American Cooking gives us the recipe for this breakfast. Delicious, and rich, and wonderful.  Worth getting up for.

1 ½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume, crack three 2-oz eggs into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.                                                1 Tbsp leek or scallion, minced                                                                                                                              ½ clove garlic, minced                          ¼ oz mushrooms                              ¼ oz ham [3% fat], minced                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     1 tsp chicken liver OR chicken liver pate          parsley for garnish      4 Bing cherries                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                 5-6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the leek, garlic, and mushrooms and stir to cook. Whisk the eggs with the ham and pate and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Cook as thoroughly as you like. The hot beverage is brewed, the smoothie is shaken, and the fruit is plated.  Breakfast fit for a king.

Oyster Feast with Bubbly:   272 calories   10 g fat   2 g fiber   12.5 g protein   16 g carbs 83 mg Calcium   PB   Got something BIG to celebrate: how about a plate of raw and baked oysters with a salad AND a glass of bubbly? This serves TWO, since a celebration deserves company.

 18 medium Eastern oysters, raw                                                                                                                           9 tsp chevre cheese                                                                                                                                                4 saltine crackers as medium-fine crumbs                                                                                                          3 cups lettuce                                                                                                                                                                   2 Tbsp raw herbs, [such as thyme, rosemary, chives], chopped                                                                 1 oz grated carrots                                                                                                                                               3  oz tomatoes, cherry or standard                                                                                                               1-1/2 tsp olive oil  + 1-1/2 tsp good vinegar  + pinch flavored salt                                                                            per person:  4 oz Sparkling Wine [such as Champagne]

Turn on the broiler. Shuck the oysters, discarding the upper shell, but keep the oyster in the bottom shell. Carefully put half oysters on an oven-proof pan. Sprinkle each of those oysters with a pinch of the cracker crumbs. Then put 1 tsp of the chevre on each oyster. Top with the rest of the crumbs. Slide under the broiler until the cheese begins to soften and brown just a bit. In a wide bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and herbs. Toss lettuce and carrots with the dressing, add a pinch of salt and top with tomatoes. Plate the raw and baked oysters with the salad, pour your bubbly. Salut!