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.

Shakespeare coined the term ‘salad days‘ in the play Antony and Cleopatra in 1606. He used it to mean the time when we were callow, carefree, and young. Nowadays, it is used in the headlines of summer food articles, all touting beat-the-heat dinners.  Doesn’t Summer seem to be the very essence of the term ‘salad days’?  Indeed, we take advantage of the summer’s bounty and eat from the garden a lot these days, and salads seem cooler and lighter to eat when the weather is hot.  But beware! A nice healthy bowl of lettuces can be transformed into a danger zone by contaminated leaves [carrying Salmonella and other pathogens], not enough nutrition, and great lashings of fatty, sugary dressing.                                                                                                                                                Today we will eat a salad’s-worth of spinach at breakfast in baked eggs, since baking is a good way to kill bacteria. And for dinner a real salad with lots of nutrient-dense and delicious add-ins.

Spinach Fritatta:  276 calories  7.2 g fat  3.8 g fiber  16.4 g protein  35.6 g carbs [31.5 g Complex] 289 mg Calcium   PB GF  Whether it is breakfast or dinner, Spinach Fritatta checks off all the boxes.

1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                               1/6 cup [3 Tbsp] cooked spinach, squeezed and chopped    [equivalent of 2 cups raw spinach]                                                                                  1 Tbsp cottage cheese                                                                                                                                               1/8 oz [2 Tbsp] chopped scallions, white or green parts                                                                               ¼ oz Manchego OR Cheddar cheese, grated                                                                                             dash of grated nutmeg + dash of granulated garlic                                                                                             2 oz strawberries OR kiwi slice  + strawberry slice, as shown                                                           blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                  5-6 oz fruit smoothie, green smoothie or natural apple cider

Cook the spinach, drain it, and squeeze it in your hands to remove excess water. [TIP: save the drained water for baking or for cooking vegetables/pasta] Chop the spinach and mix with scallions, both cheeses, nutmeg, and garlic. Lightly spray a baking dish with oil or non-stick spray. Pour the vegetable-cheese mixture into the dish and arrange so it is evenly distributed. Whisk the egg and pour over the mixture. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Plate with the berries and pour the beverages.

Santa Barbara Salad: 280 calories   13.3 g fat   5.7 g fiber   16.2 g protein   21.3 g carbs   105.8 mg Calcium PB GF From a Washington Post food column, this salad sings of California. HINT: This amount serves 2 [two]. Invite a friend or save for lunch later in the week.

½ head Boston or buttercrunch lettuce                                                                                                                  1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes                                                                                                                                        ½ medium apple, cored and diced                                                                                                                         ½ cup diced chicken breast                                                                                                                                       ¼ cup chickpeas                                                                                                                                                          1 oz soft goat cheese                                                                                                                                                  1.5 tsp pinenuts                                                                                                                                                                   1 Medjool date                                                                                                                                                                                1 hard-boiled egg, sliced                                                                                                                                          per serving: 1.5 tsp cinnamon dressing see SPICY from 23 May, 2018

First prepare the dressing and refrigerate. Next, toast the pinenuts until they just begin to brown. Take off heat and set aside. Shred the lettuce and put in a bowl along with all the other ingredients. Toss with 1.5 tsp dressing per serving. Play a Beach Boys song and wear your sunglasses.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

Dinner, single portion: