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.

Vikings seem to be popular these days. On Netflix you can choose from several viking titles. Same with Amazon Prime. There are books about vikings. Let’s not forget movies about vikings. Maybe Marvel’s Thor had something to do with it. How accurate are these presentations? Not exactly true to characters and timelines, but then we don’t watch Bridgerton to learn facts about Regency England, do we? The word “viking” refers to a ‘person who is a raider.’ I can’t help seeing a relationship to the Danish/Norse word ‘vik’ which means a bay/river/stream. One advantage that the ‘vikings’ had was that their knarrs [ships] could row or sail far up rivers in shallow water. To “go a-viking” meant to leave Scandinavia on a raiding trip. Why did they do that? Most of the land was already in someone’s possession: many men were Land-Lords, with an estate to feed the family and vassals to pay allegiance to them. This drove others to become Sea-Lords, who lived in coastal manors and derived their income solely from raiding. While the Swedes raided to the East, becoming the Rus, the Norse and Danes raided West, first hitting Lindesfarne, England in 793. After that, the coastal areas of Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, and France were fair game for raids. Not knowing better, the English called the raiders “Danes.” My ancestor, Bernard ‘le Danois,’ was born and raised in More, Norway — yet history calls him a Dane. The Viking Era ended in 1066, when descendants of the Norse, now living in Normandie, sailed across the English Channel in their knarrs and invaded England.

The “Danes” tended to eat only two meals a day, typical of many Europeans of the era. Porridge, vegetable stew, and meat stew were common meals. But we like a more varied diet: eggs for breakfast with a “Danish” slant. Since the Vikings sailed the Mediterranean, we will serve a popular food of that region: felafel for dinner.

Danish ScrOmelette: 140 calories 10.4 g fat 0.5 g fiber 12 g protein 5.6 g carbs [3 g Complex] 242 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  This breakfast is in honor of the “Danes,” as all Vikings were called by the rest of Europe. The taste of the sea, the Danish cheese, the mariner’s star in the apple: all evoke the Northmen.

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  ½ oz Danish bleu cheese ½ oz herring marinated in wine 1 oz apple, sliced so you can see the star inside  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Mince the herring. Crumble the bleu cheese and whisk with the eggs. Hold the apple on its side and slice it so that the star of seeds and core in the middle is revealed. Cut a slice parallel to your cut to end up with a slice that weighs 1 oz. Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and put the minced herring in the pan. Quickly pour the egg-cheese mixture in the pan. As the egg begins to set around the edges, lift the egg with a fork or spatula and tip the pan so that uncooked egg flows underneath. Continue like that until the bottom is fully cooked and the top is set. [Flip the omelette if you dare, or put it under the broiler if you like your eggs well browned.] Slide the eggs on to the plate next to the apple, pour the beverages, and meditate on the wonders of astronomy.

Felafel with Feta Salad:  285 calories 14 g fat 7 g fiber 12.5 g protein 29 g carbs [25 Complex] 180 mg Calcium  PB GF  What a healthy plate of food! When you have felafel in the freezer, this meal becomes almost instant.

6 felafel patties  1 cups lettuce [I like to slice large leaves cross-wise into ½” strips]  2 oz tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or cut in ½” cubes 1 oz carrots, grated 1 oz beets cut in large dice ¾ oz Feta cheese in cubes or large crumbles ¾ tsp flavored olive oil ¾ tsp white wine vinegar salt + pepper to taste

Thaw the felafel patties and warm them. If unbaked, heat them in a 400 F. oven for 10-15 minutes. Prepare the vegetables for the salad. Whisk the vinegar and oil, then toss the salad vegetables in the dressing. Top with the felafel and feta crumbles.