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 victorialing who is now Following.

Teresa  Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada was born into a wealthy family in Avila in the kingdom of Castile in what is in modern Spain. Her father was strictly Catholic, ruling the family with an iron hand. On the sly, her mother read romance novels, which he had forbidden. Little Teresa was so taken by stories of the early Christian martyrs, that she convinced her older brother to run away with her to the regions controlled by the Moors. Their plan was to ask the Moors to convert, thus ensuring that the Muslim soldiers would decapitate the children and send them straight to Heaven. An uncle nipped their plan in the bud. As a teenager, pretty Teresa loved flirting and reading her mother’s hidden books. To tame his wayward, worldly daughter, Senior Sanchez put his daughter in the Carmelite convent for an education. At age 16, one could choose to return to secular life and marry or to become a nun. Teresa feared that her wayward thoughts would lead her to sin, so she took the veil — besides, the convent was less strict than her father’s house. But life in the convent was not one of penance: many of the sisters were not devout and the visitors’ room was more like a society salon. Feeling that she was sinking into sin, Teresa set out to reform herself. She read the writings of mystics and mortified her flesh to such an extent that she became gravely ill. Through all that, she came to find that prayer was not a set of words to recite out loud, but a meditation process, a mental prayer. Her prayers lead her to states of ecstasy and levitation, when her sisters had to hold her down. Whereas some people thought that she was possessed by the devil, Teresa was encouraged by spiritual advisors to write down her methods and ideas about her relationship with God in three books which were suppressed until after her death. Teresa wanted to reform the Carmelites. After years of being accused of heresy for her ideas, mostly from the existing Carmelite chapters, she received the support of the Pope and the King of Spain. Teresa went all over, establishing 17 convents of a more strict group which came to be known as the ‘barefoot Carmelites.’ Despite being sure all her life that she was going straight to hell, she was made a saint only 44 years after her death. She is recognized for having brought some order and orthodoxy to a Catholic church reeling from the Protestant Reformation. The most famous representation of her in art is the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, done 60 years after her death by Gian Bernini. The statue is based on one of her most famous religious visions.

Our meals are from Spain, just like Saint Teresa. The dinner has a connection to the Moors since Spain was under their influence. The breakfast might not be approved by the good saint, since it contains meat. But hey, it is delicious.

Pan Con Tomate y Jamon: 133 calories 4.5 g fat 4.7 g fiber 9 g protein 19 g carbs 40 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF — if using GF bread  PB The Tapas cuisine of Spain has many tasty treats. One of them is this open-faced sandwich which we will borrow for breakfast. It is also dandy for lunch on a Slow Day.

1 slice whole-grain bread [Dave’s Killer Thin-Sliced Bread is great]  2 cloves garlic, pressed  ½ cup diced tomato ¼ tsp olive oil salt + pepper, pinch sugar 1 slice/14 g dried ham, such as Serrano or Prosciutto   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]

Lightly toast the bread and spread the pressed garlic on it. Dice the tomato and stir into it the oil and seasonings. Distribute the tomato mixture over the bread, then top it with the dried ham.

Barley Paella: 260 calories 3 g fat 8 g fiber 21 g protein 43.5 g carbs 88.4 mg Calcium PB Spain is known for its paella, that succulent dish made with rice and shellfish. The rice and saffron were brought into Spain by the invading Moors and Berbers, and they also introduced barley. This recipe is not a classic Paella Valenciana,  rather a Paella di Marisco. It tastes good and is even good for you. Son #1 was instrumental in the development of this recipe.  HINT: This serves two [2].

2 Servings
½ slice smoked uncured bacon	Cut the bacon into strips cross-ways. Put into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
½ c bell pepper, chopped ½ c onion, chopped  1/3 c carrot, diced  1 tsp paprika	Add the bell pepper, onion, and carrot, and cook slowly until soft and transluscent.
2 cloves garlic, chopped  ¾ c tomato, diced	Add the garlic and after 60 seconds, add tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are softened.
¼ preserved lemon 2 pinches saffron  1 cup seafood stock  6 Tbsp quick barley, uncooked	Add preserved lemon, saffron, barley, and seafood stock. Partially cover and cook 15 minutes. Stir it sometimes.
3 oz mussels, shells or no shells  3 oz shrimp, no shells	Put mussels and shrimp on top, cover fully. Cook until barley is soft and the liquids are absorbed.
per person: 1.5 oz wide green beans [aka:Roma beans]	In the last few minutes, cook the green beans and serve.