How this Fast Diet  Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Briocus or Brieuc, as he is known in Brittany.  Coincidentally, today we are in Brittany, staying just a few miles outside of the city of St Brieuc in the Cote d’Armor region.  My ancestors were born here in the centuries prior to the 1400s, but the Good Saint was born in Ceredigion, Wales in the year 410.  Converted to Christianity and seized with missionary zeal, he left his home and family and set off across the English Channel to found a monastery.  In addition, he helped plague victims, had a power struggle with a relative, and subdued a pack of wolves with the Sign of the Cross. The monastery built a wooden church in the 6th century, then a stone version.  That structure was torn down to build a grand stone church, l’Elise de Saint Étienne, in 1220. [The site was marshy, but they built anyway.] It stands there today, despite the vicissitudes of war. In the 14the century, it was burned. Ditto in the 15th and 16th centuries. Each time it was rebuilt and the additions didn’t stop until the 1800s.  In the Cathedral of St Étienne in the city of St-Brieuc is his where some of the Good Saint’s bones lie.  Parts of St Guillaume are there, too.  How surprised Briocus would have been at his legacy!                                                                                                                                     Brittany is known for its seafood — mussels, oysters, lobster, scallops.  And also for its apples, artichokes, and onions.   The flavors of Brittany are present in the breakfast with the artichokes, spices, and apple.  Dinner features  two of Brittany’s most famous mollusks: mussels and oysters, cultivated in the bays and inlets of the north shore.

Breton Bake: 149 calories   6.5 g fat   3.4 g fiber  9.4 g protein  13.7 g carbs  103 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given are for the egg dish and the fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.   PB GF  Delicious. Filling. Different.

1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                      2 Tbsp crushed tomatoes                                                                                                                                 2 Tbsp chopped artichoke hearts, fresh or canned or frozen                                                                           ½ tsp curry powder                                                                                                                           1 Tbsp fat-free ricotta                                                                                                                                 2 oz applesauce, unsweetened                                                                                                    blackish coffee [53 calories] or black tea, lemon in hot water                                                     5-6 oz  fruit or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] or natural cider

Chop the artichoke hearts. Stir together the artichokes, tomatoes, curry, and ricotta. Whisk in the egg and pour into an oven-safe dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350° F. for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, brew your hot beverage; shake that smoothie; and portion the applesauce. Enjoy your breakfast on the Cote d’Armor.

Mollusk Gratin: 283 calories   14.6 g fat   2.3 g fiber    31.6 g protein    17.5 g carbs   216 mg Calcium   PB   GF–if using GF flour   When we steam mussels for a feast, there are often some left over. Removed from their shells, the meat can easily be frozen in the cooled cooking broth. A wonderful item for a quick future meal. And a few shucked oysters are no trouble.

3 oz cooked mussels, removed from shells                                                                                              2 shucked oysters                                                                                                                                          4 Tbsp mussel broth [from cooking the mussels]                                                                              2 tsp flour [I use King Arthur unbleached or White Whole Wheat]                                                                                        ½ oz Gruyère cheese, grated                                                                                                              ½ tsp curry powder                                                                                                                            3 oz green beans

Warm the mussel broth and whisk in the flour. Heat over low until thickened. Add curry powder and cheese. Whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is well combined. Add the mussels and oysters. Spritz a ramekin with non-stick spray and scrape the mussels and sauce into the ramekin. Bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes while you cook the beans.

Ingredients for next week:

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

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