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.

Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home. All is safely gathered in E’re the winter storms begin.

This 1844 hymn explains it all: ‘Harvest Home’ is the celebration that marks the end of the harvest. It tells the farm family that all is well for now, that there will be enough food stored to get the family through until the next harvest. Celebrating the harvest takes many forms, and it is documented in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Proverbs. The Romans had harvest festivals, as did the Celts and Germanic Tribes of Northern Europe. In England, the bringing in of the last wain of grain was celebrated with village revelry as well as in art. This would be followed by a feast provided by the employer of the harvesters, all with Gaelic/Celtic cultural overtones. In Reformation-era Germany, churches would have special services called Erntdankfest [harvest thanks fest], a tradition brought to Pennsylvania by Protestant refugees. American Thanksgiving is not a harvest home festival. For one thing, it is too late in the year and for another, the Pilgrims did not have religious holidays. No Christmas, no Easter. American Thanksgiving today is a celebration of general bounty and family, whereas the Pilgrims were just happy to have lived for a year in the new world. This year, Harvest Home in England will be celebrated on September 22. ‘Harvest’ some real food from your local grocery and honor it with good eating. Be mindful of the farmers, grocery clerks, and agricultural workers who brought it to you.

Our meals feature hearty whole grain bread from the harvest, of course, and roast beef which is what the farm workers in England would have expected their land-owner bosses to provide for the festive dinner following the storage of the last grains.

Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Toast: 206 calories 12.4 g fat 4 g fiber 8 g protein 20 g carbs 33.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the plated food only, not the optional beverage. PB Can’t miss with a satisfying, whole-grain breakfast to start your day with wonderful flavors.

1 slice whole-grain bread, 70 calories 2 Tbsp whipped cream cheese ½ oz smoked salmon 4 slices cucumber OR Swedish Cucumber Salad   2 oz strawberries OR 1 oz peach

Lightly toast the bread and spread it with the cream cheese. Top it with the samon and top that with the cucumber. Plate the fruit. Now try to top that for flavor!

Cold Beef Plate: 292 calories 4 g fat 5 g fiber 28 g protein 33 g carbs 17.6 mg Calcium Here’s a simple meal. Use either meat from a roast or from the deli. Rather French, with the cornichons and Dijon mustard.

3 oz cold, sliced beef roast ½ cup [about 3 oz] pickled beets 4 small [0.8 oz total] cornichons 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 oz sourdough rye bread

Plate to your own aesthetic taste. But do plate it – even though the ingredients come from your ‘deli drawer,’ avoid the temptation to stand in front of the open ‘fridge and just graze. Do it up right and sit down to enjoy it.

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

1 two-oz egg + melon	1 two-oz egg + pickle + ham
corn-cilantro salad: rice wine vinegar	pork + Swiss cheese
canola oil + sesame oil	mayonnaise + mustard
chives + corn + cilantro	melon
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

two 2-oz eggs + shrimp + sesame seed	andouille sausage + chicken + ham + onion + broccoli
sesame oil + mushrooms + spinach	green pepper + brown rice + celery + garlic + file
Bean sprouts + scallions + ginger powder + celery	crushed tomatoes + red pepper flakes + Tabasco
garlic powder + hoisin sauce + soy sauce + oyster sauce	Worcestershire + chicken broth + cajun seasoning
Sparkling water	Sparkling water