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.

One of the interesting things about tracing one’s ancestry is finding out who shares your name. They might not be an ancestor, but there is a common link. In several of my family trees, there are mistresses and illegitimate children. There are nobles and there are those who rebel against the establishment. Such is any family. Marcellin de Berthelot and I share a family name on my mother’s side. Ancestors of the Berthelot family were from Brittany. Marcellin was born in 1827, on October 25 in Paris. In school he excelled in latin and philosophy but decided to study science. With a doctorate in chemistry and a degree in pharmacy, he plunged into research into compounds containing Carbon and Hydrogen. Since Carbon is in living things, chemists of his time thought that Carbon compounds could be made only in the presence of a ‘life force.’ Berthelot proved that wrong, separating the field into Organic and In-Organic chemistry. His interests were wide-ranging: history of science, industrial chemistry, explosives, archeology, endothermic and exothermic reactions [words he coined], alchemy and its contributions to modern science. He had 1600 articles and 25 books to his name On top of that, he served in the government in elected and appointed positions, and was a teaching professor. Berthelot never patented his chemical processes, saying that they should belong to humanity. His devotion to his wife was so strong that he nursed her night and day as she died, and he followed her in death one hour later. In honor of their bond, the Senate, when they voted to have Marcellin interred in the Pantheon along with other luminaries, allowed his wife to be buried with him. This is a family member of whom I can be very proud.

Our breakfast contains apples, popular in the foods of Brittany. The dinner might have been a course at a banquet attended by the elegant citizens of Paris in who’s company Berthelot would have dined.

Flamusse aux Pommes: 223 calories 15 g fat 4 g fiber 17 g protein 68 g carbs 171.5 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF flour  Once again, a fruit dessert can become a breakfast – without breaking the bank. A flamusse is simply fruit baked in an eggy batter. Very easy to prepare, looks fancy. When there is some left over from a dinner party dessert, I tap it for an easy breakfast the following week. Paired with a chicken sausage, the amount of protein amps up. What’s not to love?  HINT: This recipe is enough for 4 [four] servings for breakfast. NB: as a dessert, it can serve 6-8.

  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Sv 4-6	Preheat oven to 350 F/180 degrees C.
2¼ c apples, sliced 4 tsp butter	Peel, core and slice the apples. Cook slowly in a 10″ cast iron skillet with butter until they become golden-yellow.
2 eggs 3 Tbsp sugar 40 g Whole-Wheat flour pinch salt	Meanwhile, beat eggs with sugar. Add flour and salt, and beat again.
200 ml milk	Pour milk in slowly, mixing well. Let rest 10 mins.
	Pour batter over cooked apples in skillet. Bake in oven uncovered 20 mins.
1 oz egg white ¼ tsp sugar	Beat egg white with sugar until forming peaks. Remove pan from oven and pipe or dollop the meringue in a wreath on top of the batter. Return to oven 20 minutes or until golden.
1 chicken breakfast sausage, 36 calories	Remove from oven and cool. Serve Flamusse slightly warm or cold with a side of sausage.

Fish Timbale:  276 calories 17 g fat 1.6 g fiber 23.5 g protein 8 g carbs 95 mg Calcium  PB GF  Sounds high-falutin’ but really very easy. Lots of good protein, low in carbs.

1.5 oz mackerel or salmon or halibut 1 1/3 oz haddock or cod ¾ oz egg [either pullet egg or an egg white] 1/3 oz white beans 2 Tbsp cream + 2 Tbsp spinach + ½ Tbsp shallot 1 oz Swiss chard 1/8 tsp olive oil nutmeg + granulated garlic

Wash the spinach and leave water on the leaves. Put in a lidded pan along with the chopped shallot. Put on the lid and let cook until the spinach is limp. Remove, chop, and squeeze the water out of the spinach. Thoroughly mash the white beans and add the cream. Stir the spinach-shallot into the bean/cream. If fish is raw: Put in a pan with a little water. Cover and steam until fish is cooked. Flake the fish and combine with the other ingredients, except the chard. Turn into a spritzed ramekin and bake at 400 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsley chop the chard and cook it in a little water until done. Drain and season with nutmeg and granulated garlic. Run a knife around the sides of the timbale and invert the plate over it. Turn the plate right-side-up and remove the ramekin. Plate the chard around the fish timbale.