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 Jolly Princess who is now Following.

Troy!! The quasi-mythical, quasi-historical subject of Homer‘s famous Iliad and the Odyssey. The blind poet wrote his poems about the conclusion of the Trojan war and its aftermath around 750 BCE. Even then, the story was considered to be a poetic invention. Down through the centuries, people read, memorized, and debated the story told in the Iliad. Where was Troy? Had it ever existed? Had there been an epic battle there, made memorable by the deaths of heroes? The idea of a Trojan Horse has passed into common parlance, used as a metaphor for any unwanted evil sneaking into our lives. How many other everyday expressions are 10 centuries old?? In brief: Helen [the face that launched a thousand ships], the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, ran off with Paris, son of King Priam of Troy/Ilium. Her husband and his brother Agamemnon organized an enormous army of Greeks which was transported to North-Western Turkey by an enormous fleet. For 10 years they besieged the city, achieving nothing but the deaths of many on both sides. At last the idea was floated to build a huge wooden horse, large enough to hide a few men inside. The horse and contents would be left near the city gate while the entire Greek army made a big show of giving up, abandoning the siege, and sailing away. After some debate [Beware of Greeks bearing gifts], the Trojans rejoiced, brought the horse inside, and partied all night to celebrate. The warriors crept out, opened all the city gates, and the Greeks swarmed in. Everyone in Troy [except for Aeneas and his family] was killed or enslaved, and the city was burned. And that was the end of it, until the site of Troy was located by Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. Since then, the search for the real Troy and clues to the actual story remain active. The date for the Fall of Troy is given as 24 April, 1183 BCE. And that epic event inspired art and literature during the following 14 centuries. Amazing!

Our breakfast involves the flavors of the classic Greek meal moussaka: lamb, feta, eggplant. The dinner is another Greek-inspired meal of seafood.

Moussaka Bake: 136 calories 8.5 g fat 1 g fiber 9.5 g protein 6 g carbs 55 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  The lamb, the eggplant, the feta – what’s not to like about this delicious combination?

1 two-oz egg 1 Tbsp moussaka sauce HINT: Prepare days before and refrigerate until needed.  1/8 oz feta cheese, diced or crumbled 2 tsp parsley, chopped 2 oz melon   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

Spritz a ramekin [for 2 people, my husband prefers to use a 4×6” oval casserole] with oil or non-stick spray and set the toaster oven at 350 degrees. Stir the cheese, parsley, and sauce together then whisk in the egg. Pour into prepared baking dishes and bake for 12-15 minutes. Prepare the hot beverage and the smoothie. Plate the bake with the melon and savor the moment.

Greek-style Hake: 263 calories 11 g fat 8 g fiber 25.5 g protein 24 g carbs 173 mg Calcium   PB GF  The cookbook Ikaria by Diane Kochilas is related to the National Geographic study of locations world-wide where there is the greatest longevity. Could that be related to nutrition? Hmmm…makes you think about what you eat, doesn’t it?

4 oz hake ½ tsp olive oil 1/3 cup onions, halved then sliced ½ clove garlic, sliced pinch sugar 1½ cup canned whole tomatoes 1 Tbsp [½ oz] dry red wine 1½ Tbsp good Feta cheese, crumbled 2½ oz asparagus OR one Side Salad

Saute the onion slices and garlic in the oil, adding some water if the pan becomes too dry. Remove garlic and discard. Add tomatoes, sugar, and wine. Cook the vegetables down to reduce the liquid. Lay the fish on top of the vegetables, cover loosely, turn down the heat and cook until the fish flakes [about 10 minutes]. Meanwhile, prepare the asparagus or Side Salad. Top the fish with the crumbled Feta before serving.