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. 

When Dear Husband went to Paris for the first time, one stop he just had to make was the Rodin Museum: The Thinker. The Kiss. The Burghers of Calais. What feeling those statues evoke — it bowls you over! Auguste Rodin was born on November 12, 1840. His struggles at school made him turn increasingly to sketching — undiagnosed with myopia, he could see his sketches, but not the black-board. At age 13 he took art lessons and eventually became skilled as a ‘decorative artist.’ But making ‘pretty’ things was not his goal. He wanted to show emotion and realism. Twice Rodin entered ‘Man with a Broken Nose‘ in the Paris Salon. It was rejected — twice. At last his work, The Vanquished [aka: The Age of Bronze], won him the acclaim that began his career. Although famous, he was never rich. His studio was in an abandoned mansion which he and other artists took over as squatters. He lived there with his life-long partner Rose Beuret. Upon his death, he left his works to the French Nation with three conditions: that they make his studio into a museum; that the work of his muse/student/lover Camille Claudel be displayed; and that a fund be set up to help young artists financially.

Rodin, as a creator of art, was always working and re-working his ideas. In clay, in plaster, in metal, he would make small models of a larger plan until he got it right. Instead of a full-sized quiche, we’ll enjoy mini-quiches tomorrow, served with slices of the mini-pear, Forelle. As an impoverished artist, a nourishing stew of chickpeas would have been a real hit with him and Rose. And Camille.

Mini-Quiche Breakfast: 144 calories 7.4 g fat 1.4 g fiber 9.6 g protein 9 g carbs 189 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF A delightful way to breakfast. So simple, too.

3 mini-quiches** 1-1/2 oz pear   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  

To Make 4 mini-quiches: 1 two-oz egg herbs + salt + pepper 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ricotta 0.6 oz mozzarella 2/3 Jarlsberg 1 oz broccoli 1/3 oz onion Spritz 4 of the holes of a mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray. Whisk the eggs with the ricotta, herbs, salt, and pepper. Grate the hard cheeses and mix them gently but thoroughly in a bowl. Steam the broccoli and onion, then chop and stir together to combine. Divide the vegetables among the 4 muffin holes, ~ 1 Tbsp/hole Then distribute the hard cheeses on top of the vegetables. Pour the egg mixture over the cheeses, then stir each quiche with a wooden skewer or chopstick. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes – take out of the oven when they are puffed and golden. Let cool briefly before removing from muffin tin. 

Prepare the mini-quiches. While they are baking [or coming to room temperature if baked previously], cube the melon and mix with the blueberries in a pretty dish. Plate with the quiches and pour the beverage of choice. There’s a nice start to your day!

Chickpea Ragout with Meat: nb: entire batch has 484 calories, so divide into portions. The portion size you choose would be dictated by the type and quantity of meat. GF PB divided in 2:  242 calories 5 g fat 10 g fiber 11.7 g protein 40 g carbs 51 mg Calcium divided in 4:  121 calories 3 g fat 5 g fiber 6 g protein 20 g carbs 26 mg Calcium

This is from Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way. Although he doesn’t mean my kind of ‘Fast Food,’ Pepin has long been a proponent of healthy cooking. He presents this as a side dish, but for our purposes it is excellent prepared as a main course with seafood or or meat for more protein. Here, you have three meat options from which to choose.

½ tsp olive oil ½ cup diced onions ½ cup scallions, chopped 1 Tbsp garlic, chopped 2 cups diced tomatoes, fresh or canned and drained 1½ cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed if canned ½ cup chicken stock ½ tsp salt + ½ tsp pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the onion, scallion and garlic. Stir briefly over the heat then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat until liquids are mostly evaporated. If using now, separate out your portion and keep warm. Cool the remaining ragout and freeze it in serving portions.

3 oz chicken breast: if cooked, mix in with the ragout to warm the meat. If meat is raw, add to the pan along with the tomatoes and chickpeas 3 oz pork tenderloin: if cooked, mix in with the ragout to warm the meat If meat is raw, add to the pan along with the tomatoes and chickpeas 2 oz lean beef — not ground beef: if cooked, mix in with the ragout to warm the meat. If meat is raw, add to pan along with the tomatoes and chickpeas

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

1 two-oz egg + apple/applesauce	Next week, I will
crushed tomatoes + chicken breast	discuss soups.
plain yogurt + green chili pepper	Choose a new favorite
Monterey Jack + cornmeal	breakfast from Archives
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

ground bison + red onion	Choose a new dinner
diced tomatoes + garlic	favorite from the
green sweet pepper + ground cumin	Archives
canned red beans + chili powder
Sparkling water	Sparkling water