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.

In 1594, Spain ruled the Netherlands and England didn’t like it. This was tied up in the Wars of Religion which resulted from the Protestant Reformation. France was trying not to get involved and Portugal was allied with Spain. Spain was angry with England because England had re-established Protestantism and executed Mary Queen of Scots, a Catholic. England was angry with Spain because Spain was suppressing the Protestants in the Netherlands. Furthermore, each nation wanted to be the dominant world power, on the land and the sea. Years of saber-rattling, clandestine aid to partisans, piracy and privateering came to a head in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, at the Azores. Three English ships met up with one of the largest ships of the Portuguese fleet, the 2000 tonne, 32-gun ‘carrack‘ called Cinco Chagas. Bad weather, low food supplies, and disease had weakened the ability of the of the Portuguese crew to fight, but they out-gunned and out-numbered the English ships. In the waters off the Island of Faial, the four ships met. First, cannon volleys. Then three attempts to board the Cinco Chagas — all repulsed. At last, the English succeeded at boarding the ship, to be faced with fierce hand-to-hand combat. Somehow, the rigging of the carrack caught fire, soon out of control as British snipers prevented fire-fighting. Many Portuguese took to life boats, to be killed like sitting ducks by the English. When the fire reached the powder stores, she blew up, killing 100s of Portuguese and many English. The English salvaged everything they could, amounting to $15-20 billion of silver and gems, and returned home. 600 Portuguese were killed, 60 English were killed or wounded. In the scheme of things, was it worth it? Today, the Azores rise from the sea in isolated splendor: beautiful, peaceful, and fertile.

Azores flavors abound in our menu: from the cheese and hot sauce at breakfast, to the fish and limpets at dinner. Azorean cuisine has evolved over the years, as trade agreements were signed and battles were won and lost. The bounty of the sea and land combined on your plate.

Azorean Queso Egg:  158 calories 8.5 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 10.4 g carbs [9 g Complex] 71 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages. PB GF  Two of the favorite flavors of the Azores combine for this egg dish, and the passionfruit completes the triad.

1 two-oz egg 1.5 tsp Queso Fresco  1 tsp Chorizo Pate  1½ tsp Pimenta do Quejio sauce  2 oz pineapple -OR- ¼ cup blueberries -OR- 1.5 oz banana  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Cream the cheese, chorizo pate, and Pimenta sauce until smooth. Whisk in the egg, then bake in an oven-proof dish or cook in a saute pan. Slice the fruit and sip some Brazilian coffee for a delicious meal. Pass the Pimenta Sauce!

Grouper Grilled with Limpets: 271 calories 5.6 g. fat 3.3 g fiber 40 g protein 18 g carbs 26.4 mg Calcium  PB GF  Grouper is a popular sportfish in the Atlantic Ocean, from the warm Caribbean to the cooler waters of the Azores. Paired with garlic-grilled limpets and a vegetable medley, this is a meal you might find in many Azorean restaurants.

4 oz grouper or cod filet 4 limpets 1 tsp butter 1 large clove garlic 1 oz sweet potato slices 1.5 oz broccoli florets 1.5 oz carrots salt & pepper

Cut the garlic clove in half. Rub the fish on both sides with garlic, to flavor it. Press the garlic and divide into four equal portions. Cut the butter into 4 equal pieces. Put one portion of butter and one portion of garlic in each limpet. Spritz the fish on both sides with cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil. Put the vegetables on to cook in simmering water. On a grill, put the grouper and cook on one side for 4 minutes. Turn the fish and arrange the limpets on the grill, putting the shells right on the grid. Cook fish and limpets 4-5 minutes longer, until the garlic butter is sizzling and the fish is done. Plate with salted, cooked veggies for a colorful plate. 

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

1 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
tomato puree or crushed tomatoes	applesauce or pear
1.5 falafel patty [make in advance]	1.5 Tbsp haggis [make in advance]
blueberries or melon
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

2 buckwheat crepes/galettes	sourdough rye bread + fresh spinach
Mediterranean Vegetables  + mozzarella	whipped cream cheese + smoked salmon
chèvre cheese + chicken breast	tomato + hard-boiled egg
Herbes de Provence or fresh herbs	strawberries
Sparkling water	Sparkling water