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.

Do you like to laugh? Think about it: how often do you laugh out loud? Laughing is good for you, you know. The name Hilary, whether for a man or a woman, is based on the name of a Roman goddess “Hilaritas,” meaning ‘cheerfulness’. [Bet you can see where the word “hilarious” came from.] Tomorrow is the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers, France, and it seems to me that it should be a good day for finding reasons to laugh. Look up a good joke on the internet and share it with friends, family, colleagues. Be open to finding the humor in a situation. Wear clothes that make you smile. Be with people who make you glad. Have fun.

Foods for St Hilary will have as an ingredient the cheese called “Vache Qui Rit” [the Laughing Cow]: in the eggs at breakfast and in a sauce at dinner. Even the picture of the cow logo should coax a smile.

Laughing Herb Bake:  129 calories 6.5 g fat 0.9 g fiber 8.8 g protein 6.2 g carbs [5 g Complex] 94 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  So rich! So creamy! So low in calories!

One 2-oz egg ½ wedge Laughing Cow low-fat cheese 2 Tbsp fresh herbs OR 1 Tbsp dried ½ Tbsp low-fat ricotta cheese 3 oz melon Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Spritz a ramekin with non-stick spray. Set the toaster oven at 350 F. Cream the cheeses together with the herbs. Whisk in the egg and salt/pepper to taste. Pour into the ramekin and bake at 350 F. 12-15 minutes. Plate the fruit, prepare the beverages, and find something that makes you laugh.

Seafood Galettes:  269 calories  7 g fat 3 g fiber  18 g protein 19 g carbs [9.5 g Complex]  142 mg Calcium   PB This is very easy to prepare [IF you have prepared the galettes in advance. I had previously prepared the Bechamel as well.] and very easy to eat. Advance preparation is a key ingredient.  HINT: This recipe makes enough to serve 2 [two] people. 

7 oz Ahi tuna fillet OR mixed seafood, cooked and cut in 1/2” bits 2 galettes 1 wedge Laughing Cow [Vache Qui Rit] cheese 6 Tbsp Bechamel sauce without cheese 2-3 Tbsp fish stock 1.5 oz cauliflower florets 1 oz carrot ‘coins’ 2 oz zucchini slices

If your tuna isn’t cooked, poach it gently in fish stock – enough to come half-way up the fillet. Reserve the stock as you will use some of it later. Cut the fish into small chunks. Gently heat and whisk the bechamel with 2 Tbsp fish stock and the cheese until the cheese melts. Add the fish/seafood to the sauce, adding more stock if you wish. Prepare the vegetables and begin to cook them. Warm the galettes, wrapped in a tea towel, in the microwave. When the fish and sauce are warm and the vegetables are cooked, plate the vegetables and place the galette on the plate too. Divide the fish and sauce between the two galettes and serve. Delicious!