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 pyzoliver and merkabakid and gin1988 who are now Following.

” ‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.”

So begins the beloved poem “A Visit From Saint Nicholas,” first published, anonymously, on December 24, 1823. It had been written the year before as Clement Clark Moore was taxied through the snowy streets of New York City by a bearded Dutch-American in a horse-drawn sleigh. [In those days, that’s how you got around. Today, only tourists do that.] Moore, a learned professor of languages, said he recited it to his six children that night. Once it was published, the poem firmly established our American idea of “Santa Claus” who arrives with toys on Christmas Eve night in a flying sleigh drawn by reindeer. [Santa, as depicted then and since, is in need of the Fast Diet.] That concept of Santa is based on folklore from the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway. For years no one knew who the author was until Moore had it included in a compilation of his poems in 1844. HOWEVER, years later, Henry Livingston, jr’s descendants claimed that he was the author. A stylistic analysis seems to confirm that. Whoever wrote it, “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” is a Christmas treasure.

In the breakfast, the red tomatoes are for Santa’s suit; the green broccoli is for the Christmas tree; the black olives are because “his clothes were all covered with ashes and soot.” The dinner is a quick and easy left-over meal [I never scorn a good leftover!], which makes it just perfect for giving you extra time on a busy Christmas Eve.

Broccoli-Olive-Tomato ScrOmelette:  150 calories 8 g fat 2 g fiber 13 g protein 9 g carbs [7.4 g Complex] 91 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Sometimes things in the ‘fridge say, “Put us in eggs for breakfast.” Who am I to deny their wishes?

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. 1 oz broccoli 1 Tbsp cottage cheese 1 oz tomato ½ black olive ¾ tsp Parmesan cheese pinch of basil 2 oz strawberries  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]

Dice the tomato and drain in a strainer, overnight if possible. Drain the cottage cheese overnight if it is very liquid. Steam the broccoli and chop it finely. Chop the black olive. Into a hot saute pan spritzed with non-stick spray, add the tomato, broccoli, and olive. Stir until warmed. Whisk the eggs with the cottage cheese and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Scramble or fold as an omelette, hence ScrOmelette, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Prepare the beverages and plate the berries. Bliss.

Pot Roast Plate: 269 calories  6.6 g fat 3 g fiber 28 g protein 18.5 g carbs 24.6 mg Calcium  PB GF  You might have enjoyed a pot roast with the family for Sunday dinner, and since that was a Slow Day, you ate a lot and enjoyed it. Would you believe that you could have the left-overs for dinner on a Fast Day? Yes, you can! Low in fat, high in protein, delicious: this meal checks all the boxes. [At Denny’s, this meal clocks in at 400 calories with 20 g fat; at Culver’s, it is 700 calories with 27 g fat] HINT: After preparing the full recipe, I portioned the meal and froze individual servings for a quick future meal preparation.

4 oz braised beef bottom round 3 oz carrots, cooked with the beef 2 oz small red potatoes, cooked with the beef 2 oz small [boiling] onions, cooked with the beef 2 Tbsp beef gravy, from the braising liquid

Slice the meat. Mass out the vegetables to the stated serving size. Either heat the whole plate in the microwave or put into a pan with a tight lid and some water to warm on the stove-top. A steamer basket is another way to re-warm this meal. Serve with heated gravy and have a feast.

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

1 two-oz egg + strawberries	1 two-oz egg  + tomato
chicken liver pate + parsley	artichoke [jarred or frozen]
scallion + mushroom	1 buckwheat galette
garlic + 3% fat ham	curry powder + apple
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

cook fresh spinach leaves + green beans	eggplant or bell peppers + tomatoes
onion or shallot + 70-calorie bread	cooked brown rice or whole grain couscous
sole or ocean perch fillets	zucchini + chickpeas + garlic
Laughing Cow cheese [soft, low-fat cheese]	mozzarella + oregano
Sparkling water	Sparkling water