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.

At noon on April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began with the firing of a gun. That was the signal for the thousands of people — on horse-back, in wagons, whole families, or single people — to charge across the prairie in what is now Oklahoma to find a plot of land and claim it. The land was part of the enormous Louisianna Purchase of 1803, but had remained “undeveloped” and was considered “unassigned” and “unpopulated.” [No one asked the Plains Indians about that. Neighboring lands were already the home of Indigenous Peoples who had been deported there from Eastern States]. Ever since the end of the Civil War in 1864, people had clambered to be able to settle the Oklahoma land. Their noisy lobbying earned them the name ‘boomers.’ The Unassigned Lands had been divided into 160 acre parcels. Towns and rail lines had been sited and partially developed. The people who did that work, who were already inside the territory, along with cheaters who sneaked in early, were called ‘sooners.’ When the signal went off, the 50,000 people who had waited on the Kansas border streamed in. Among them were 23 young women from Illinois, mentioned in the article above. By the end of the day, 11,000 homesteads had been claimed. Towns sprang up overnight, since some boomers wanted house lots and shop locations. Land Rush or Land Grab? African-Americans were put at the back of the line for the Rush. Law suits went on for years as sooners were sued and removed from their property. In August of 2020, the US Supreme Court settled a suit that determined where the “Indians” had jurisdiction in certain locations, an outshoot of the Oklahoma Land Rush. The nickname of Oklahoma is The Sooner State — no longer a slur, the word now embodies the spirit of the state. The abbreviation is ‘OK’ and the state was settled by boomers, so I guess they all were OK Boomers, weren’t they?  

A breakfast of sausage and eggs might have been just the thing to eat on that exciting day, so we will enjoy it too. I’m sure that none of the participants of the land rush would ever have imagined that someday there would be great modern cities on the prairie — cities famous for bar-be-que! But that’s how it is, and dinner focuses on that flavor in an up-dated meal.

Sausage Bake: 302 calories 10 g fat 1.4 g fiber 21.5 g protein 27 g carbs 289 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF Quick and yummy, can’t beat that.

1 two-oz egg 2 cooked chicken breakfast sausage @ 33 calories/link [I used Applegate sausages] 1 Tbsp cottage cheese + pinch marjoram + salt + pepper 1 oz unsweetened applesauce  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]

With the back of a spoon, mash the cottage cheese through a sieve to break up the lumps and make it smooth. Whisk the cheese with the egg and seasonings. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray. Dice the sausage and put it into the ramekin. Pour the egg mixture on top and bake in the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Brew your optional beverage, shake and pour the optional smoothie, dish that lovely applesauce. Nice start to your day.

Chicken BBQ Sliders: 281 calories 4 g fat 5 g fiber 27 g protein 35 g carbs [25 g Complex] 166 mg Calcium Such a simple meal to prepare. Such a fun meal to eat.  HINT: This recipe makes 2 [two] servings. Invite a friend or save the rest for lunch another day.

3 whole wheat slider buns @ 90 calories each [we prefer Martin’s brand]  5 oz cooked chicken breast, sliced and shredded  2 Tbsp Corky’s BBQ Sauce  per serving: 1/2 cup coleslaw OR 2 oz cherry tomatoes + ¾ oz carrot sticks

Warm the chicken and the sauce together over low heat. Open the slider buns and toast them lightly on an ungreased heavy skillet. Spoon the filling into the slider buns and cut each one in half. One serving = 3 halves. Plate with the vegetables for an absurdly easy dinner.

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

1 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
mushrooms	gizzard from chicken or turkey
galette/crepe	garlic + sage
Mediterranean Vegetables	unsweetened applesauce
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

mussels, removed from shells	canola oil + watercress + celery
mussel broth + 2 oysters	onion + garlic + good stock
Gruyere cheese	potato + sweet potato
curry powder + flour + green beans	chèvre cheese optional: mozzarella + tomato
Sparkling water	Sparkling water