How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the 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.

“I have laid aside business, and gone a-fishing.”  Sounds like a familiar sign tacked on the door of a poorly-run country store.  Those words were penned by Isaac Walton who was born on August 9, 1593. He was a successful London clothier who’s claim to fame was his love of fishing. He was active in his church who’s vicar, John Donne, was Walton’s fishing buddy.  In 1653, he published The Compleat Angler, in which the fictional character Piscator [Walton’s alter ego] instructs a companion about fish, fishing, and the need to preserve the environment to keep the fish healthy.  A man ahead of his time. Today the name of his book is widely known by anglers all over the world and places sacred to trout fishers are named after him.  In the USA, the Izaak Walton League brings together avid fishermen who also speak to environmental protection. May the same be said of all of us.                                                                                                                                    Today’s menus feature trout, the fish which most people associate with Walton. Smoked trout with crisp apples for breakfast and trout sautéed with nuts for dinner.  If you can catch them yourself, Izaak would be smiling. If they were caught in a pristine country stream, so much the better.

Trout with Apples:   267 calories  3.9 g fat  2.4 g fiber  15.6 g protein  43 g carbs   199 mg Calcium PB GF At the Inn at Saint Peters, we enjoyed their Smoked Trout with Apples appetizer. It occurred to me that this could be a fine breakfast for those who enjoy a savory/seafood taste in the a.m. I substituted mackerel gravlax for the smoked trout, just because that was on hand, but it was a grey-brown instead of the lighter hue of the trout or the pink of a salmon.

1 oz smoked trout [DuckTrap brand is very good]  OR  1 oz mackerel gravlax                                                  2 oz Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced; each slice cut into 1/2-moons                                                      ¼ c blueberries + 2 raspberries for color                                                                                                       blackish coffee, blackish tea, or lemon in hot water                                                                                                   5-6 oz smoothie or natural apple cider

Slice the fish with the grain to create thin slices. Arrange the fish and apples in overlapping slices around the plate. HINT: I did this the night before, covered it with clingwrap and put it in the ‘fridge. So quick the next morning!! Brew your hot beverage, blend or shake your smoothie, dish out those healthy blueberries, and breakfast elegantly.

Trout with Hazelnuts:  267 calories  18 g fat  3.3 g fiber  21 g protein  6.3 g carbs  75 mg Calcium   PB GF   From Savoie, France comes this recipe, via Anne Willem’s French Regional Cooking.  Hannibal is supposed to have dined on local trout as he crossed the Alps with his elephants. Very easy to prepare [the trout, not the elephants] and absolutely delicious.

3 oz trout, skinned, boned and trimmed                                                                                                                                                           1 tsp butter                                                                                                                                                                        ½ oz hazelnuts, coarsly chopped                                                                                                                               2 oz French green beans [haricots]

Start cooking the beans. Heat a heavy saute pan and spray with non-stick spray. Put in the trout and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slowly [slow cooking will keep the fish tender] cook the trout on one side for about 3-4 minutes. Add the butter to the pan along with the nuts. Continue cooking everything slowly until the fish is done, roughly another 3 minutes. Drain and season the beans, plate them with the trout, and top the fish with the nuts in butter. Enjoy your culinary visit to the French Alps.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

Dinner, single portion: