How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and tomorrow is the Feast of Saint Perpetua.  In Carthage, at the close of the 2nd Century, there once lived a young Roman matron who was happy to admit to being a Christian. Her mother, several friends, and her enslaved servant Felicity were also converts.  She was arrested for her declaration of faith and faced with the usual alternative. Perpetua chose prison and death. Felicity, after a pep-talk to reinforce her beliefs, went along with her. In prison, Perpetua kept a diary.  Up until the day Perpetua and Felicity were taken out to be beheaded, she wrote about her faith.  So it is that instead of being a saint ‘who’s origins are vague’ [as many hagiographies tend to say], we know exactly who she was and when and why and from her own hand. Her infant child and her diary were handed over to friends on the outside, and her fame spread. The story of Perpetua, most fittingly, has been ‘lasting’ [the translation of her name from latin] and to some who do penance during Lent, that season can seem to “go on in perpetuity.”  

Since Perpetua and her Companions lived and died in northern Africa, we will enjoy a breakfast that was born in Morocco, and a dinner featuring lamb and fresh vegetables which surely Perpetua’s wealthy family might well have eaten too.  Whether you are Fasting for Lent or Fasting for improved health, think about Perpetua and the lengths she went to in following what she knew to be the right thing to do.

Moroccan Omelette:   135 calories…  8 g fat…  1.4 g fiber…  10 g protein…  7.7 g carbs…  49 mg Calcium…   NB: The food values given above are for the main dish and fruit only, not the optional beverages.    PB GF    Suggested by our First-born, this is the easiest omelette in the world to prepare. For the compete flavor profile, serve with mint tea.

++ 1½ 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, into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ++++ 1 tsp or more ground cumin  ++++ ½ tsp paprika ++++ salt + pepper ++++ 1.5 oz apple + 2 Golden Berries  OR  5 Bing cherries   ++++ optional: MINT TEA, blackish coffee [53 calories]or blackish tea ++++ optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] or unpasteurized apple cider

Combine the cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Whisk just the 1.5 eggs vigorously. Pour into a heated skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Turn down the heat.  Sprinkle the eggs with the seasonings and leave undisturbed until puffy and the top is set. Remove from skillet, and serve folded or flat. Pour the beverages and enjoy the fruit as a counter-point to the spices.

Lamb Kabobs: 227 calories…  6 g fat…  5 g fiber…  22 g protein…  31.4 g Carbs…   41 mg Calcium…   PB GF  This is so easy and so perfect for indoor or outdoor grilling.

++ 3 oz lamb leg in cubes  ++++ 1 Tbsp tomato juice OR water + granulated garlic + crumbled rosemary ++++ 1.5 oz red bell pepper, in 1-1/2” chunks ++++ 1.5 oz zucchini, sliced 3/4” thick, then cut in quarters ++++ 1 oz red onion, cut in chunks + ¾ cup Corn-Tomato Salsa ++

Salt the tomatoes and put into a sieve over a bowl to catch the juice.  Combine the tomato juice, garlic, and rosemary with the lamb. Stir to coat and set aside to marinate for 30-60 minutes. Prepare the vegetables and Corn Salsa while the meat sits. Impale the vegetables and lamb chunks on skewers, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan [indoors] or an outdoor grill and cook the kabobs on all sides. The meat will brown and the vegetables will begin to char a bit. Plate with the salsa for a very colorful meal.

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion for Monday:                     single portion for Thursday:

whipped cream cheese	1.5 two-oz eggs
Herring marinated in wine	cooked mackerel
Finn Crisp crackers	leek  +  Dijon mustard
cherries or strawberries	strawberries
Whatever you need for your smoothie	Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage	Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:                             single portion for Thursday:

hake  + onions +  Feta cheese	cooked roast beef slices  +  pickled beets
garlic  + pinch sugar	Dijon mustard  + shallot
whole tomatoes, canned	red wine vinegar
dry red wine	olive oil
Sparkling water	Sparkling water