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 laborsettadelladonne who is now Following.

Leonardo da Vinci was a man of many talents. His paintings are legendary, but we can also call him an architect. It is rare for a painter to practice architecture — brushes and tints do not seem compatible with bricks and mortar. In the Renaissance, people were more free to experiment, and Leonardo proclaimed that architecture was art. What buildings did he design and build, you ask? Well, he designed a lot of them — in his sketchbooks. He was fascinated with symmetry, which appealed to his mathematical brain, and with domes and spiral staircases. [He liked spiral stairways for their aesthetic appeal, for the engineering challenge, and because of the lack of corners. In the cities he knew, men would use any available corner as a urinal.] One of his most ambitious imaginings is his ‘ideal city,’ which he drew towards the end of the 1400s. It was his reaction to the crowded warrens of medieval cities where houses were dark and airless and street filth bred disease. He saw a double-decker city: the top half, for the wealthy, had public spaces and pedestrian-only streets. The lower layer, supported by colonnades and equipped with lots of light from above, was for the working class [OK. Do we now label him class-ist? Yeah, guess so.] There was housing for people and work animals; even wider streets; and flowing canals to facilitate the delivery of goods to workshops and for sanitation. Da Vinci was not the inventor of ‘urban planning,’ but he took it to new heights. In the 500 years since he designed it, his city has informed efforts at improving the design of cities. While living in France as the art and engineering guru for King Francois I, Da Vinci was in the process of designing the ‘ideal’ palace complex for the king in Romorantin when the artist died on May 2, 1519.

The ideal city was light and airy with contrasting shadows to lead the eye into the distance. Our foods today are light in tone, with some color accents. Like the redesigned city, today’s foods will promote good health. Da Vinci did not eat meat, so we won’t either.

Bleu Cheese Bake: 136 calories 7 g fat 1.4 g fiber 9.5 g protein 8.5 g carbs [8 g Complex] 77.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF  You’ll go ga-ga over these flavors!

1 two-oz egg ¼ oz bleu cheese, crumbly rather than creamy 1 Tbsp fat-free cottage cheese, drained 2 oz applesauce, unsweetened, with 2-3 raspberries mixed into it  Optional: 5 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 

Mash the cheeses together with a fork and whisk in the egg. Bake in a lightly-spritzed ramekin at 350 degrees until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. Dish up the applesauce and add the raspberries. Pour the smoothie, pour your hot beverage, and have a delightful day.

White Fish Baked with cheese: 145 calories 6 g fat 0 g fiber 33 g protein 0.2 g carb 129 mg Calcium NB: These food values are for the fish and cheese only.  PB GF  Another winner from the Fast Diet book. There are those who say that one never serves fish with cheese….and this recipe proves them to be wrong.

6 oz firm white fish fillets such as haddock or cod ½ oz cheddar cheese, grated   Your choice of vegetables to add up to 125 calories: ½ cup pickled beets [74 calories] 3 oz green beans [26 calories] ½ cup peas [62 calories] ½ cup carrot coins [12 calories] 3 oz broccoli florets [30 calories] 2 oz parsnip, sliced as coins [42 calories] 1 cups salad greens + ½ tsp lemon juice + 1 tsp olive oil [48 calories] 3 oz tomatoes [15 calories]

Heat the oven to 400 F. Put the fish in an oven-proof dish which has been lightly smeared with olive oil. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables of your choice. How easy it is to be healthy!