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.

On February 3, 1451, Mehmet II, called the Conquerer, was crowned Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. This is the start of a tale in my family, involving palace intrigue, star-crossed lovers, and wars of religion. Mehmet had two sons and each was given a governorship in his empire. Some advisors in the government had the understanding that the younger brother, Cem Sultan, was the favorite and heir to the throne. When Mehmet died, various courtiers schemed for Cem to rule while others worked for his half-brother Bayezid Sultan. Both had armies and backers, but Cem lost and fled to the protection of Christian knights in Greece. With the hope of trading the prince for concessions in Jerusalem or Istanbul, the knights held Cem hostage and shipped him to France for safe-keeping. He was treated well, according to his noble rank, circulated among society, and nicknamed Zizim. Lightning struck when he met the debutante 16-yr old daughter of a local lord. Philippine de Sassanage was a woman of such remarkable beauty that all the young men wooed her, including Cem. According to family lore, their relationship resulted in a pregnancy. Of course her parents would not permit her to marry a Muslim, so Phillippine was married to another man. [Zizim was moved to Italy.] She named her son Arnulf le Turque, later called le Turk or de Turk. Arnulf did well for himself and his family prospered. His son became mayor of Nimes, but his grandson’s family became Huguenots, followers of the Protestant Calvin, and they removed to the Rhineland. Eventually, following the invitation by Queen Anne to move to North America, the family moved to New York Colony, then to Pennsylvania Colony. There de Turks married a de Harcourt [my family] and also married with the Berthelots [my family]. Thus it is that I am descended from a Turkish Prince. What became of Zizim? In Italy he was a big hit, due to his good looks and exotic background. He was immortalized by artists and joined the retinue of Charles VIII of France in an offensive against Naples. He died in 1495 [pneumonia? stomach flu? poisoning?] and was buried in Turkey with full honors.

Our foods are Turkish, as befits our topic. The breakfast is remarkably good, but then so is the dinner! For both, you will need Gozleme Bread, the recipe for which you will find below. It works well to prepare the dough the night before, then wrap it to keep it fresh. For the breakfast, use 1.6 oz of the dough per serving, roll it out and cook it to go with the breakfast. Save the rest of the dough, uncooked and wrapped well to prevent drying out, to use later in the day to prepare the dinner. That will work very well.

Cilbir:  137 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 11.4 g protein 11.6 g carbs 194 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the meal only, not the optional beverages. This is a very popular breakfast in Turkey and once you taste it, you will see why. Usually I distain a runny egg, but I made an exception for this delicious breakfast. What flavor! [it is pronounced ‘chil-bir’]

1 two-oz eggs	Poach 3 minutes in simmering water and remove.
¼ cup plain yogurt ½ Tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried dill 1 clove garlic, pressed 1/8 tsp salt & pinch black pepper 1/8 tsp paprika	Combine yogurt and seasonings and spread it equally in a shallow bowl or soup plate. TIP: I did this the night before and left it covered on the counter to blend the flavors and so the yogurt wouldn’t be too cold. NB: I also prepared the gozlema bread the night before.
¼ tsp Pul biber OR ¼ tsp Aleppo pepper 1.6 oz gozleme** bread or pide bread	Serve the eggs on top of the yogurt and sprinkle the pepper over the egg. Add bread to the bowl.
Optional hot beverage	blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water
Optional cold beverage	Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

**Gozlema Bread makes six 1.6 oz flat-breads or use larger amounts of dough for filled Gozlemas  1 of 6 sv = 26 calories 0 g fat 1 g fiber 1.4 g protein 5 g carbs 20 mg Calcium

1¼ c white whole wheat flour ½ tsp salt	Mix in a 1-Qt-sized bowl.
¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurt	Combine yogurt/water and stir into the flour until well-combined. Add a bit more water if too dry.
	On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit for a few mins on the counter OR overnight in a cool place.
	Divide into sizes for your recipe. Roll on a floured surface into flat breads. Cook on an oil-sprayed skillet 3-4 mins per side until turning brown in spots.

Lamb Gozleme: 200 calories 9 g fat 3 g fiber 10.5 g protein 22 g carbs 101 mg Calcium  PB This Turkish dish is just the thing when you want something deliciously different. HINT: Serves 2 [two]. The other portion would be a fine lunch on a Slow Day. The recipe doubles easily. The directions are for two large triangles of gozleme. If you prefer, cut the dough into four portions and procede accordingly.

1¼ c flour + ½ tsp salt ¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurt	DOUGH: Mix flour + salt in large bowl. Combine yogurt/water and stir in until well-mixed. Add a bit more water if too dry. On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit.
½ tsp Olive Oil 1 cup onion 1 clove garlic ¼ pound/~ ¾ c. ground lamb	Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Mince the lamb. Saute onion in oil over medium heat 3-4 minsuntil onion is soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.Add lamb and cook while breaking up into chunks for ~5 minutes.= LAMB MIXTURE, beginning
1 tsp tom puree ½ tsp ground coriander ¼ tsp pepper + ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cumin 3 oz fresh spinach	Chop the spinach.Add tomato puree and spices to the pan.Add spinach. Cook and stir for a few minutes.Set aside to cool for a bit.Divide into 2 [or 4] bowls.= LAMB MIXTURE, completed
¼ c fresh mint leaves 1 scallion, sliced ¼ c fresh parsley ¼ c feta ½ c tomato	Chop the mint and parsley. Slice the scallion into ¼-inch pieces. Cube or crumble the feta. Dice the tomato. Divide these ingredients between 2 [or 4] bowls – not same as above. = FRESH INGREDIENTS
	Divide dough in 2 [or 4] parts. Roll dough into 9 or 10” squares [or 5” squares]. Spread ¼ c. [or 1/8 c.] of lamb mixture over each. Top with fresh ingredients. Fold over dough to form a triangle and crimp edges to seal.
olives Lemon wedges	Spray a large skillet/griddle with non-stick spray. Cook 3-4 mins/side until golden brown and crisp. Cut each large piece in half and serve with olives and lemons for squeezing.

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

1 two-oz egg	reduced-fat cottage cheese
reduced fat ricotta cheese	fat-free French Vanilla yogurt
peach + blackberries + mushrooms	clementine
watercress sauce	black currants or blueberries
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

9 raw East Coast oysters, if serving one	chicken breast meat, cooked + carrots
chèvre cheese + saltine crackers	rich chicken broth
lettuce + olive oil + fresh herbs	celery + parsnips
flavored vinegar	wide egg noodles + parsley
Sparkling wine, 5 oz per person	Sparkling water