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.

In Europe, the Plague [the Black Death pandemic] came back in recurrent waves: 1348-53; 1360–63; 1374; 1400; 1438–39; 1456–57; 1464–66; 1481–85; 1500–03; 1518–31; 1544–48; 1563–66; 1573–88; 1596–99; 1602–11; 1623–40; 1644–54; and 1664–67. The prevalence of the pestilence spawned many works of art and letters. Boccaccio’s Decameron has as its frame a group of wealthy friends trying to escape the disease by decamping for the countryside. In painting, there are depictions of a woman striding across an apocalyptic landscape carrying either a broom or a rake. The broom represented an outbreak with most people dying [a ‘clean sweep’] while the rake indicated that fewer victims would die. [I wish I could show you this painting, but I cannot find it. If you know it, please send me a link to it.]

The Woman with the Rake is walking the world these days — though in some places, sadly, she is using her broom. Keeping busy at home is the rule of the day: read, play games with family members, establish a routine, learn a new skill, be creative in the kitchen. Egg dishes are always easy and delicious. Cooking up some food and putting it inside a crepe/galette is a great idea.

Corned Beef & Cabbage ScrOmelette:  154 calories 7.6 g fat 1 g fiber 14 g protein 6.5 g carbs [5.4 g Complex] 65 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Got some corned beef left over from St Patrick’s Day or Passover? Add to cabbage — a reliable pantry staple — for a good breakfast.

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 into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.   ½ oz uncooked corned beef 1/3 cup cabbage, very thinly sliced ½ Tbsp cottage cheese pinch caraway seed + pinch thyme 1 oz apple   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]

Mince the beef and put in into a pan with ¼ cup water. Simmer until beef is cooked, then remove it to a small bowl. Put the cabbage in the water in the pan and simmer that until the cabbage is cooked – add more water as needed. Put the cabbage in the bowl with the cottage cheese and seasonings. Add some pepper, but you probably will NOT need to add salt, due to the corned beef. Mix the ingredients together. Heat a non-stick pan with some cooking spray and whisk the eggs. Put the beef/cabbage in the pan and distribute it over the surface. Quickly pour the eggs in and tip the pan to cover all the cabbage. Cook on one side, then flip and cook it some more. Fold and plate with the apple.

Chicken Ratatouille Galette :  267 calories 7.6 g fat 5 g fiber 24 g protein 38 g carbs 321 mg Calcium   PB  Galettes/Crepes are wonderful to have on hand for use with a variety of fillings. If you had the galettes/crepes and the filling previously-made, then the meal goes together in no time.

2 buckwheat crepes [galettes]  [see Sidekicks I, Sept 17, 2017]   1.5 oz chicken breast ½ cup Mediterranean Vegetables [see SIDEKICKS II Oct 4, 2017] 1 Tbsp goat cheese 1 oz mozzerella cheese herbes de Province OR tarragon 

If making crepes/galettes from scratch now: prepare the batter and let stand 30+ minutes. If using frozen crepes, put them in a plastic bag on the counter and let them thaw.  Turn on the oven to 250 F. Cut or shred the chicken into small pieces. Put into pan with the Med.Veg. and heat to warm the vegetables, to reduce the liquids, and to cook the chicken. Take off heat. Prepare the crepes/galettes: either cook them now from batter or finish the thawing process by putting them, wrapped in foil, in a warm oven. Add cheeses to mixture in the pan, and stir to combine. Toss in lots of herbes de Province or fresh herbs and taste for seasoning. Arrange the crepes/galettes on a cookie sheet and divide the filling among them. Fold over, pressing down gently. Heat in the warm oven.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ……… single portion for Thursday:

On Monday, I will discuss Smoothies.	1 two-oz egg
banana + orange juice	asparagus spears
plain, fat-are yogurt	whipped cream cheese
blueberries	tarragon
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

tofu	beef sirloin + asparagus + garlic
banana	red bell pepper + oyster sauce
cocoa powder	soy sauce + cornstarch + onion
skimmed milk	chicken stock + fresh ginger + Japanese buckwheat noodles
	Sparkling water