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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Zocido who is now Following.

Mark [or is it John Mark??] was a very young man when he met and began to follow Jesus. He was not in the inner circle of Apostles, but he was one of the group of people who followed the Rabbi [teacher] from place to place to hear him speak and to see what miracles might be performed. Perhaps he is the young man described as running away when Jesus was captured, Mark 14:51-52. Mark was one of the ’70 disciples’ who were sent out to preach after Pentecost. While he traveled with Peter, he heard Peter’s account of being one of the Apostles from the start. Mark eventually wrote these down in what became the Gospel According to Mark, the 2nd book of the New Testament. Throughout the book, hints are given as to who Jesus really is — but most of the Apostles don’t get it, except for Peter, sometimes. Mark leaves us hanging until the end of the book, where he details the death and resurrection of Jesus. Now the common reader can understand the full story, and that was Mark’s goal. Mark went to Alexandria, Egypt, where he became the bishop. The Coptic Christians trace their origin to him. Centuries after his death, merchants from Venice went to ‘liberate’ his remains. Fearful that the Muslim rulers of the region would not permit the export of the saint’s skeleton, the merchants hid the bones in baskets and covered them with a top layer of pork.

They knew that the Muslims would not touch the ‘unclean’ meat — and it worked! The relics went to Venice and Saint Mark’s Cathedral is their resting place. A mosaic on the front of the church depicts the daring ruse.

The Mediterranean region was ruled by Romans, so breakfast will have ingredients from modern Italy. For dinner, typical foods and flavors of the area and of the time.

Pizza Bake:  130 calories 6.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 9.4 g protein 8.4 g carbs 93.7 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Forget the cold slice, congealed on a greasy box…. pizza for breakfast just got healthier and more delicious. 

One 2-oz egg salt + pepper to taste 2 Tbsp crushed tomatoes 1 thin slice pepperoni, minced ¼ oz mozzarella cheese, grated ½ oz bell pepper, chopped large pinch Italian herbs 1.5 oz pear OR ¼ cup blueberries Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [70 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Set the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. Prepare your beverages. Poach the bell pepper in a little water in the microwave for 30 seconds. Put the cheese, pepperoni, and bell pepper in a lightly-spritzed ramekin. Whisk the egg with the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and herbs, then pour into the ramekin. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Pour the beverages, portion the fruit, and enjoy a healthy taste of pizza for breakfast.

Meze Meal: 297 calories 6 g fat 6 g fiber 21.5 g protein 22 g carb 174 mg Calcium  PB GF ‘Meze’ is the Greek equivalent of Spanish Tapas. Small servings chosen from multiple small plates make it easy to eat on a hot Mediterranean night. Well, we don’t live on a vast inland sea, but we’ll take good low calorie, low fat, delicious food where ever we can find it. There are lots of good recipes in the book Meze by Rosemary Barron.

¼ cup white beans ½ Tbsp capers ½ oz marinated mushrooms 2½ oz tomato, cubed generous pinch Greek oregano 2 oz cooked shrimp OR 1-1/4 oz cooked chicken 1 oz mozzerella cheese -OR- 1 oz feta 1½ oz lemon-marinated carrots   marinade: 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp lemon juice + pinch of granulated garlic + pinch oregano

Combine the white beans with the capers in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the tomatoes and the oregano with salt. Slice the carrots into small logs or coins and cook until tender. Drain and combine with the marinade in a small jar with a lid. Shake well, remove the lid and let the carrots cool in the marinade. Attend to the protein — seafood or chicken — and arrange on serving plate. Drain the marinade from the jar and pour it over the shrimp/chicken, and mix some with the white beans. Slice or cube the cheese. Plate the ingredients to please the eye. Look at photos of the Aegean Sea….