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.

Paleo and Keto diets are all the rage, but it seems to me that the MIND Diet should be better-known. It was developed in 2015 at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago from two widely-regarded diets: the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet. The name is a real smash-up: Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. As that implies, the diet has genuine benefits for those who wish to forestall neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Furthermore, although it is not an eating plan aimed at weight-loss/body health, it could help to lower cholesterol and weight. Since Dr Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet for Slow Days, it is remarkably easy to merge this with a Fasting Diet. Dear Husband and I tried it out, designing a month-long plan of eating, and were glad to see how easy it was to follow. According to a study of 900+ seniors, those who followed the plan religiously reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s Disease by 53%. Those were less punctilious, still reduced their risk by 35%. Those are great numbers. I’m up for that. The chart below shows how nicely the MIND and FAST play together.

Is this food allowed on this diet…	MIND	On Fast Days
Fatty Animal protein: beef, lamb, pork	No	Yes
Lean Animal protein: chicken, turkey	8 oz/week	Yes, preferred
Eggs	Yes	Yes
Beer, wine, cocktails	5 oz red wine daily	Only on Slow Days
Grains: brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole cereal	Yes	Yes, in moderation
Nuts + seeds	3 oz/week	Yes, in moderation
Beans, legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas	4 oz/week	Yes
Seafood protein	8 oz/week or more	Yes
Tropical fruits	limited	Yes
Berries	Yes, often	Yes
Leafy green vegetables: spinach, chard, kale, lettuce	1 oz/day or more	Yes
Cheese	No	Some
Vegetable oils: olive, canola	Yes	Yes, in moderation
Animal fat: butter	No	Yes, on Slow Days
Root vegetables: beets, sweet potatoes, carrots	Yes	Yes
Other vegetables: onions, tomatoes, peppers	Yes	Yes
Higher fat	No	No
Colorful vegetables	Yes	Yes
Higher fiber	Yes	Yes
Daily Carb intake	unmetered	Keep it low
Complex carbohydrates: whole grains	3oz/day	Yes
Simple carbs: cookies, pastries, cake	No	Not on Fast Day
16:8 intermittant fasting recommended	Yes	Yes
Number of days per week to follow the regimin	7 of 7	2 of 7
Do calories matter?	No	Yes, 600 on Fast Days

Our meals today draw from ingredients that hew to the guidelines of the MIND Diet: whole-grain bread and a brightly-colored vegetable for breakfast, followed by beans with leafy greens for dinner. The soup also makes for a fine lunch, which is another time to eat your healthy ingredients.

Bruschetta Toast: 210 calories 12 g fat 4 g fiber 9.5 g protein 20 g carbs [12 g Complex] 56 mg Calcium  PB  This one was a serendipidous invention and it turned out to be yummy.

1 slice whole-grain seedy bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is great] one 2-oz egg 3 Tbsp Bruschetta sauce  – strain it if too liquidy 1 oz pear  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Toast the bread lightly and pan-fry or poach the egg. Spread 2 Tbsp of the bruschetta on the toast and top with the egg. Dollop the remaining bruschetta on the egg. Plate the fruit. Eat with knife and fork or with your hands. A taste sensation.

Bruschetta Sauce: makes 2 cups	1 cup= 285 calories 28.5 g fat 3 g fiber 2 g protein 10 g carbs 2 mg Ca
½ pound plum tomatoes 3-4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic + 1 scallion ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes + ½ tsp salt 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped 1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped 1 tsp fresh marjoram, chopped	Core and quarter the tomatoes. Peel and crush the garlic. Slice the scallion. Put all of these ingredients into a food processor and pulse off and on to make a chunky sauce.
½ pound plum tomatoes	Core and quarter the tomatoes. Add to the above and pulse a few more times.
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar	Pour the tomato-herb mixture into a bowl and stir in the vinegars.

Three-Bean Soup:  241 calories 3 g fat 29 g fiber 16 g protein 39 g carbs [32 g Complex] 134 mg Calcium  PB GF   A cold evening and a bowl of bean soup – so satisfying and delicious. HINT: This recipe produces 11 cups of soup. One serving = one cup A fine way to use up some of those beans that you hoarded when the Pandemic began.

1 cup dry navy beans** 1 cup dry kidney beans** 1 cup dry soldier beans** 2 Tbsp salt + water to cover beans 4 oz ham bone or ham hock, with some meat 1 cup onion, chopped 28 oz crushed tomatoes 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp dried basil 3 Tbsp lemon juice + salt + pepper to taste per serving: 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves cut as chiffonade **Any combination of beans will do. Add other types of beans or pulses, such as lentils, to create a 5-10 bean soup.

Rinse the beans in a collander under running water. Put them into a large bowl or cook pot and cover with 3-4” of water. The beans will double or triple in size as they absorb the water. Add salt and let the beans sit overnight. Next day, drain the water and discard. Put the beans in a large cook pot along with 1½ quarts water and the meaty bone. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cover. Let cook slowly for 2 hours. Add the onion, tomatoes, and flavorings. Fish out the ham bone and cut the meat from it. Dice the meat, add back to the pot, and simmer slowly for one hour. Serve with ½ cup fresh baby spinach leaves stirred into the hot soup in each serving bowl at the last minute.

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

1 two-oz egg + lots of fresh herbs	1 two-oz egg, hard-boiled
Crushed tomatoes + low-fat cottage cheese	1 slice whole-grain dark bread @ 70 calories
anchovy + cooked chicken meat	chicken dinner sausage
pear	2 prunes + onion
Optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

quail/pheasant + rabbit liver + peas	cabbage + onion + rutabaga/turnip
Dijon mustard + fresh cranberries + egg	carrot + parsnip + dry green lentils
rich broth + turkey + onion + wild boar	pork loin + frozen spinach + fresh spinach
mace + carrot + Arnold Sandwich Thin [100 calories]	mace + dry mustard + caraway seed
Sparkling water	Sparkling water