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. Welcome to SimplyMySwank who is now Following.

Poor Martha! All she wanted was a hand in the kitchen… That new Rabbi was passing through town, so she invited him over for dinner. The fact that he was traveling with about 40 other people wouldn’t be much of a problem — her sister Mary would help her while their brother Lazarus entertained the guests. Martha heads to the kitchen to cook. But where is Mary? She’s in the living room listening to the Rabbi talk — that’s not helping! Martha takes the Rabbi aside to get him to make Mary retreat to the kitchen. Instead, he gives Martha a gentle rebuke: “Martha, you are worried about many things. But only one thing matters and Mary has chosen it. Do not take that from her.” This is how Luke tells the story in Chapter 10 of his Gospel. Martha became the patron saint of cooks for obvious reasons. I remember seeing a statue of a female saint high on the wall of the kitchen in the 15th century charity hospital at Beaune, France. It was Saint Martha, of course, ready to give her spiritual help to all the workers in the kitchen who were cooking for others.

Today’s meals are easily prepared for guests and they are similar to foods that Martha and Mary might have served. OK, they didn’t have tomatoes or quinoa, but these meals have Eastern Mediterranean origins.

Shakshuka: 158 calories 8 g fat 5 g fiber 12 g protein 17 g carbs [17 g Complex] 144 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake only, not the optional beverages. PB GF This breakfast from the Eastern Mediterranean is a real treat. If you prepare part of it the night before, then morning meal prep is very easy. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] people. Easily doubled or tripled. This prepares and bakes in one pan.

2 two-oz eggs 1/3 cup sliced onion 1/3 cup sliced red pepper 1 clove garlic, sliced 10 oz whole tomatoes ¾ oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled 2 large pinches each of ground cumin + paprika + cayenne

Slowly saute onion and pepper, using non-stick spray, until very soft – about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more until it is tender. Add spices and cook one minute. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes until mixture is thickerand someof the tomato liquid has cooked off. Add feta cheese. [TIP: you could do this the night before and stop here] Set the oven to 375 degrees F.  If serving two, the mixture could be divided into two separate dishes for baking/serving or kept in one larger dish. Using the back of a spoon, press an indentation in the vegetables. Carefully break one egg per person into each depression. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake 7-10 minutes. If you want the yolk to cook, put a lid on the pan for the last 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro or flat-leaf parsley.

Fish with Mediterranean Vegetables: 278 calories 6 g fat 6 g fiber 28 g protein 25 g carbs [24 g Complex] 290 mg Calcium PB GF Mediterranean Food, anyone? Here it is, full of protein of seafood and Calcium!

1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables without chickpeas Sidekicks II, 4 Oct. ’17 3 oz fish/mussels/shrimp, raw or cooked 1 oz mushrooms, sliced 1 oz mozzerella, grated 1/3 cup cooked quinoa

Start cooking the quinoa. Prepare or thaw the Mediterranean Vegetables. Stir in the mushrooms and sea food and heat until warmed through. Place the quinoa on the side of the plate and spoon the warm mixture on top. Top with the grated cheese and pause before serving to let the cheese melt a little.