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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Athletic & Fit who is now Following.

Did you ever hear of Saint Wilgefort? Perhaps by her nickname: Saint Uncumber? No? Well, don’t feel bad, because this saint never existed. She was the creation of active minds seeking the answer to a question and she is the result of an hilarious mix-up of cultures. The Christian Church of the West shows Christ on the cross mostly unclothed, to reveal the gruesome details of his death. The Eastern Church prefers to depict the crucified Christ fully clothed, in the garb of a church leader [as seen in the Holy Face of Lucca]. When images of the Eastern crucifix spread into Northern Europe with missionaries, the non-Christian population, seeing the priestly robes as women’s garb, began to wonder: Why has a woman been killed like that? Why does she have a beard??? Imaginations ran rampant, a plausible explanation emerged, and here is the story: “This was the image of Saint Wilgefort [from the latin for Virgin who is Strong]. She had been the pretty, pliant daughter of a pagan family, but she secretly became a Christian. Her father told her to marry the man of his choosing, which she did not want to do. Wilgefort was going to be forced to marry, so she prayed to heaven to make her look repulsive and thus the wedding would be canceled. Behold! When she awoke on her wedding day, she had grown a full beard! Her prospective groom called off the ceremony and her father demanded an explanation. Hoping to show how strong her faith was, she told him everything. Her father, furious, said if she liked Christians so much, she could die like one and had her crucified.” This idea spread through Europe, popular with young women who wanted to marry for love, and with married women who wanted to get rid of a brute of a spouse. These women wished to ‘uncumber’ themselves of their unwanted men, and now they had a patron saint for that. Believe it or not, there are statues to her in churches and her image was widely distributed in the 1400s, before her following was stamped out by authorities.

July 20 is the feast day of Saint Wilgefort. Since the name ‘Saint Uncumber’ makes me think of cucumbers, both of our meals today will feature that vegetable. You will enjoy these whether you have a beard or not.

Cucumber-Smoked Salmon Sandwich:  143 calories 3.3 g fat 3.7g fiber 10 g protein 18 g carbs 75.7 mg Calcium  NB: The food values are for the meal and fruit only and do not include the optional coffee.  PB GF – if using GF bread  Such a simple and delicious way to start your day!

1 slice 70-calorie whole grain bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is perfect] 1 Tbsp cottage cheese + 1-½ teaspoons chives, chopped 1 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced ¼ cup [4 slices?] Swedish Cucumber Salad** 1 oz strawberries

Lightly toast the bread. Cream the cottage cheese and chives together with some grindings of fresh black pepper. Spread the cheese mixture on the bread. Place the salmon on top, then the cucumber slices on top of that. Serve with the sweet, fresh berries. Wonderful.

Tuna Cucumber Boat: 226 calories 9.4 g fat 5.6 g fiber 17.4 g protein 21 g carbs 69 mg Calcium  PB GF  So easy for the summer or anytime.

2 oz cooked or canned tuna one 8 oz cucumber, of which you will use half to serve one person  ¼ cup scallions  + 2 Tbsp celery, minced ¾ oz avocado  +  1-½ tsp mayonnaise     ½ cup 4-bean salad [see Sidekicks I, posted 17 Sept, 2017]  

Slice the scallion finely and put it in a medium-sized bowl. Break up the tuna and combine with the scallion.  Mash the avocado with the mayonnaise. Mince the celery. Stir them all into the tuna. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a melon-baller. Mound the tuna mixture [heaping half-cup] into the cucumber boat and plate with the 4-bean salad.