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.

When Jean-Baptiste Poquelin died on 17 February 1673, the theater lost one of most brilliant authors. Better known as Molière, his father was the Court Upholsterer who sent him to train in the law. But young Jean-Baptiste, an admirer of the Commedia Dell’Arte, was smitten by the theater world and by a young actress. He formed a theater company in Paris and took a stage name to shield his family from the racy world of performing. When the troupe failed, Molière joined a touring company which performed in southern France for 13 years. There he honed his craft as a writer, actor, manager, and director. As Charles Dickens did with his novels, Molière did with his plays — calling attention to toxic human failings by making them risible. It could be religious hypocrisy [Tartuffe] or medical quacks [Malade Imaginaire] or social climbing [Bourgeois Gentilhomme]. Usually the foolish/deluded/obsessive man seeks to marry off his daughter to the wrong man for his own reasons — and mayhem ensues, enlivened by saucy servants, moderated by wise wives. Molière raised the plot format known as ‘farce‘ to a new level and is credited with creating a delightful form of dialogue in which two characters are discussing two entirely different topics unknown to the other. After 1658, Molière and his troupe were favorites of Louis XIV. Most plays end with a character testifying to how wise and good the king is. Clever move on the author’s part, since his plays were often banned or censured, then rescued by the king’s intervention. Molière died a few hours after a performance of ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ [Malade Imaginaire], in the final throes of tuberculosis while in the title role. Happily, his work lives on and is very popular today — obsessive behavior by foolish people still exists 350 years later.

For Moliere’s years of touring the southern provinces, a delightful breakfast full of the flavors of the Basque region. For dinner, the food one associates with Paris: crepes with ham and cheese, the sort of food that a young actor might eat after an evening performance.

Basquaise ScrOmelette: JP 147 calories  7.5 g fat 2 g fiber 10.4 g protein 9 g carbs [8 g Complex] 80.5 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  This recipe, full of the flavors of the Basque region of SW France, comes to us from Salute to Healthy Cooking, published by the French Culinary Institute. Wonderful book from which we cook all year long. Note that this is a baked omelette, so the method is a little different. Faites bien attention.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. 1 Tbsp tomato sauce 1 Tbsp bell pepper, chopped ½ clove garlic or pinch granulated garlic 2 tsp parsley, chopped ¾ tsp Parmesan cheese, grated pinch or two piment d’esplette 1½ oz apple   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  

Heat the oven broiler. In an oven-safe skillet, put the tomato sauce, peppers, garlic, parsley, and 2 Tbsp water. Cook gently until the veg are soft and the water is evaporated. Remove from pan. Add a spritz of non-stick spray and heat the pan. Whisk the eggs with 2/3 of the tomato mixture and pour into the pan. As the eggs cook, gently lift the edge of the eggs and let uncooked egg flow underneath. Do not flip or fold the eggs. Top the eggs with the cheese and put the skillet under the broiler to finish cooking. Prepare the fruit and beverages. Slide the omelette onto the plate [or serve it from the skillet] and top it with the remaining tomato/pepper mixture.

Ham & Cheese Crepes, home version: 283 calories 13 g fat 3 g fiber 15 g protein 27 g carbs [21 g Complex] 125 mg Calcium   PB  Not the street-food version of the crepe, this filling is more like a Croque Monsieur. A real treat for a quick meal.

2 buckwheat galettes/crepes  1 oz ham, diced or ground ½ oz Jarlsberg cheese, grated 3 Tbsp Bechamel sauce, no cheese  2 oz asparagus

If the crepes are in the freezer, thaw and drape with a tea towel. If the crepe batter is frozen, thaw it, then cook the crepes, keeping them warm in a tea towel. Dice or grind the ham and grate the cheese. Combine ham, cheese, and Bechamel sauce. Divide it between the crepes and warm in a slow oven until warmed through and the cheese is melty. Plate with the cooked asparagus. Simple and good to eat.

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

Sandwich Thin, whole wheat, 100 calories	uncured American streaky bacon + tomato slices
uncured American-style bacon	fresh spinach + strawberries or blueberries
applesauce, unsweetened	Fish Cake mixture: scallion, mashed potatoes, milk,
ketchup	1 two-oz egg, dry mustard, 6 oz cooked fish
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

thin filets of whitefish	4 slices bacon + 1 Qt. whole milk + 1# shrimp
lime juice + ginger root	onion + butter + 1.5 # lobster, live
green grapes	baking potatoes + parsley
red potatoes or Camargue red rice	2# steamer clans + 1# scallops
Sparkling water	Sparkling water