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 stuffyourface58 and Amanja who are now Following.

Should you hear the word ‘veronica,’ what would come to mind? If you were a gardener, the perennial plant called “Speedwell” would be in your mind’s eye. It grows from Zone 3-9 and is either a low ground-cover or spiky back-of-garden plant of handsome color. If you were a bull-fighting aficionado, you would see a matador lead a bull in a semi-circle with only his cape moving, but not his feet. Hemingway describes this in The Sun Also Rises. If you were a latin scholar, you would recognize that the word means “true image.” If you were a Roman Catholic, you would know Saint Veronica from the Stations of the Cross: she offers her veil to wipe Jesus’ face while on his way to crucifixion and finds that the veil now bears the likeness of Christ. Lastly, if you dug deeper into that story, you would become quite confused. Veronica is not mentioned in any of the four Gospels. There is a legend of a woman named Bernice who had a cloth with a face on it. The cloth had miraculous curative powers and has been kept at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome since the 700s. In 1913, the Catholic Encyclopedia said that the image on the cloth was called the ‘true image of Jesus,’ which in latin is ‘vera icon.’ They go on to say that people confused the “cloth of the true image” to mean “cloth of the woman named Veronica.” Thus ‘Veronica’ is not a proper name, it is a transliteration. Apologies to my old friend Ronnie R.

Since ‘veronica’ means many things in many places, our menu today is a bit of this and a bit of that. But all is good and wholesome. Perhaps you will do a kindness for someone today.

Smoked Salmon Bake: 279 calories 8 g fat 2 g fiber 15 g protein 34.4 g carbs 225 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Gosh this is good. You must try it!

1 two-ounce egg ¼ oz smoked salmon, crumbled into pieces 2 Tbsp scallions, green & white parts, diced or sliced 2-3 tsp chopped parsley 1 Tbsp chevre [goat cheese] ¼ cup blueberries  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]

Put the scallions and parsley into a heat-proof ramekin. Microwave for 30 seconds. Add the salmon.  HINT: I did this the night before. Beat the goat cheese and egg together until the cheese breaks up into tiny lumps. Pour into ramekin and stir all together to mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Prepare your optional beverage and dish the fruit.

Vegetable Quiche:  268 calories 14 g fat 3 g fiber 24 g protein 12.5 g carbs [8.5 g Complex] 293 mg Calcium  PB GF  I made this recipe with the idea of a crustless quiche [some might call it a fritatta or a tortilla] that didn’t break the bank on calories. Although the recipe should serve two, my portion was too large to finish. Use your judgement.

4 two-oz eggs 2/3 cup zucchini, grated [2 oz] ¼ cup red onion, chopped 1 cup broccoli, diced 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper [1.75 oz] 4 Tbsp cottage cheese, reduced fat 2 Tbsp plain yogurt 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese lots of chopped fresh herbs 3 oz tomato, diced [½ cup] 1 oz mozzarella cheese, grated salt + pepper ½ cup lettuce, shredded + ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare the vegetables [except the tomatoes] and steam them over simmering water for 3-4 minutes. Drain over an empty bowl to capture any remaining liquid. Put the vegetables into an oven-proof dish [I used a 9×7” oval] which has been spritzed with non-stick spray, and spread around evenly. Salt and pepper at will. Stir the cottage cheese, yogurt, Parmesan, and herbs until well-combined. Whisk the eggs well, then whisk in the cheese mixture. Pour over the vegetables. Chop the tomatoes and distribute them on top, then sprinkle with the grated mozzerella. Bake at 400 F. for 30 minutes – should be puffed and a little golden on top and set in the middle. Let the quiche sit while you shred the lettuce and toss it with the vinegar.