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.

Al Capp was a cartoonist who created the comic strip Li’l Abner [1935 to 1978]. I remember reading it daily as a child, unaware of the dreadful stereotypes being promoted by it. The action took place in the destitute hamlet of ‘Dogpatch’ in the Appalachian Mountains that was inhabited by disreputable, shiftless ‘hill-billies.’ The men were either hunky, lazy, and stupid or ugly, lazy, and stupid. The women, in their Daisy Dukes, were voluptuous and desirable or ugly. But the strip struck a chord when it introduced “Sadie Hawkins Day” on November 15, 1937. Sadie Hawkins was the ugly old-maid daughter of the richest man in town. Seeking to get her hitched, her father proposed a race. All the eligible men were to start running a course at the same time. Soon after, Sadie would start running after them. If she caught a man, he would have to marry her. Every year after that, Capp would show us a race in which every woman tries to snag her mate and the men try their darnedest to stay single. Soon, schools all around the country began to organize dances for Sadie Hawkins Day, the twist being that the girls would invite the boys to the event. Shocking! Improper! This was a success because it was so radical an idea — like a hen crowing! Parents tut-tutted, but it was all in fun…and it was only once a year… The popularity of such social events petered out in the 1960s, and I sure hope that no one under 50 ever heard of poor Sadie Hawkins. Not an event to be revived. In 2022, Sadie Hawkins Day will be November 3. Be kind. Be considerate. Be inclusive. Be accepting.

Our meals are misfits: a pizza-flavored breakfast is mis-matched with spring rolls that surely no one ever ate in Dogpatch.

Pizza ScrOmelette: 145 calories 8.5 g fat 0.7 g fiber 11 g protein 5.5 g carbs 77 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Your favorite flavors at breakfast – cheesey and delicious. Sure beats a cold slice from a box….

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  1 Tbsp crushed tomatoes one thin 2” slice pepperoni 1/8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated ¼ oz bell pepper 1 oz applesauce or fresh apple   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]

Chop or dice the bell pepper and cook it in a pan spritzed with non-stick pan. Chop the pepperoni and stir it in with the cheese, tomatoes, and peppers.  Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. When the bottom of the eggs have set, add the cheese mixture and scramble to your heart’s content or fold like an omelette. Portion the fruit, and plate. Truly a treat.

Beef Spring Rolls:  277 calories 8.6 g fat 5 g fiber 19 g protein 29.5 g carbs 86.5 mg Calcium PB  HINT: This makes 4 spring rolls, of which you will need 2/serving. Make the entire batch and invite a friend or save for lunch tomorrow. This recipe is for ‘fresh’ rather than fried or cooked rolls.

1 tsp olive oil 4 oz cabbage, sliced 4 oz carrot, sliced 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 oz scallion, green and white parts sliced 3½ oz roast beef, sliced into ½” strips ¼ tsp ginger 4 seven-inch Spring Roll wrappers  per person: 3 oz asparagus Sriracha

Heat a wok or cast iron pan, then add the oil and 2 Tbsp water. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Put more water in the wok if it starts to dry out or if you can’t hear the vegetables cooking. Add the beef, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and ginger. Stir fry another minute, then take off heat. Run it all through the food processor to chop it coarsely. Put some water in the wok and cook the asparagus while you wrap the rolls.

Fill a pie plate with water and place a Spring Roll wrapper in the water until it just begins to become pliable. The wrapper shouldn’t be so limp that it begins to tear when you handle it. Take out immediately and lay it on a tea towel on the counter. Spoon 1/6^th of the filling onto the wrapper and roll it up following directions on the package. Put that one aside and continue with the others. Plate with the asparagus and use hot sauce ad lib.

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

1 two-oz hard-boiled egg + cilantro	1.5 two-oz eggs
bell peppers + tomato	chicken breakfast sausage @ 50 calories
cucumber + cured black olives	applesauce
anchovy fillets + olive oil
red wine vinegar + onion	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

Mediterranean Vegetables	garlic + plum tomatoes + green beans
mixed seafood	sausage @ 65 calories/ounce
mushrooms + mozzarella	whole wheat penne pasta
quinoa	Parmesan + cayenne + green chiles
Sparkling water	Sparkling water