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.

Isabel Flores de Olivia was born on August 20, 1586, to a family of Spanish colonists in Peru.  To her parents’ dismay, she died with the name Rosa of Lima. Little did they suspect that she would become the first Catholic saint born in the ‘New World.’  The beautiful girl was slated for marriage, but defied her parents by wishing to become a nun.  They grudgingly agreed, permitting her to live a secluded life in a hut in their garden. There Rosa fasted, lived an ascetic life, and helped the sick and poor. Her elevation to sainthood was a boost to the faith of the inhabitants of Peru and all of South America.                                                                                                                                                Many foods we commonly eat today are from Peru, and in honor of Rosa, we will sample several. The breakfast contains tomatoes and anchovies, both typical ingredients which Rosa would have known.  The dinner contains Lima beans, of course, in a traditional meal of Western Hemisphere First Peoples.

Peruvian ScrOmelette:  289 calories  8.3 g fat   3 g fiber  17.4 g protein   37 g carbs [31 g Complex]  231.6 mg Calcium   PB GF  Traditional foods of Peru from land and sea combine with the new taste of coffee, now grown in the mountains.

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                                                2 oz diced tomato, drained                                                                                                                                   ¼ oz [2 tsp] anchovies canned in olive oil, drained but not rinsed                                                           2 oz melon OR mango                                                                                                                               blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                              5-6 oz green smoothie, fruit smoothie or pure apple cider

Night before:After you dice the tomato, put it in a strainer over a bowl to reduce the moisture. In the morning:Chop the anchovies and add to the eggs. Spritz a non-stick pan with non-stick spray and add the tomatoes. This will cook them a bit and warm them. Whisk the egg/anchovy and pour into the warm pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the fruit, pour the beverages, and dream of the Andes.

‘Original’ Succotash:  270 calories  2.6 g fat   9.3 g fiber  18 g protein  50 g carbs [allComplex] 71 mg Calcium  PB GF  The Mystic Seaport Cookbook  contains many quaint and curious old recipes. What follows is my combination of two of them. It is ‘original’ because it gets us back to what succotash once was [a maindish, not a side] and because it is my own version. HINT: This recipe makes 3 cups of succotash, which could be 3 servings.

½ cup lima beans [Green Giant frozen Fordhook]                                                                                        ½ cup green/snap beans                                                                                                                                          ½ cup corn kernels                                                                                                                                                 ¼ cup canned navy beans                                                                                                                                       2 oz corned beef [New England style is grey because it contains no nitrates]                                        1 slice cornmeal mush aka: polenta [see SIDEKICKS II Oct 4, ’17]                                                  sage + pepper + salt to taste [mind that the corned beef might be salty]

Cook the vegetables until they are tender. Drain the cooking water and reserve ½ cup. Mash the navy beans and whisk into ¼ cup vegetable water. Put all vegetables and the meat into a pan along with the mashed beans. Add sage and pepper to taste and more vegetable broth if you wish, and heat.  If it needs more salt, add it too. In a non-stick pan, saute the corn mush on each side until it is warm. Start with one cup of succotash, as it is very filling.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

Dinner, single portion: