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.

A general world history course often rushes from the Middle Ages to the Protestant Reformation as if not much happened in between. Then up pops Martin Luther, 95 Thesis in hand, as if he were the first to want to reform the Roman Church. There were reforms of the monastic orders by Benedict in the 6th century and by Bernard in the 11th. But after one and a half millennia, the original thread of the Christian Church had become a bit tangled. Jan Hus had worked his way up from being a poor farmer’s son in Bohemia to being Rector at the Prague University. After reading the [banned] works of John Wycliffe, Hus saw flaws in the church hierarchy and he proposed changes to get it back to the original ways. At that time, the Roman Church was striving to overcome schisms and disunity, so they did not want to hear any criticism from the ranks.

Jesus’ church reforms, 30 CE	The Roman church in 1400 CE	Hus’ reform ideas 1400 CE
Poverty for all preachers	Popes and bishops lived lavish lifestyles, like princes with perks	Poverty for all clergy
Said the church is not a place for buying and selling	Selling indulgences to raise funds for churches	No sales of indulgences
Preaching in local languages	Preaching in latin only	Preaching to Czechs in Czech
Gave followers bread and wine at the Last Supper	At communion, priests got wine + bread. People got only bread.	At communion, both bread and wine for all people.
He read scripture in his own language	All bibles were in latin and translation was forbidden	Bibles should be in local languaages for all to read.

His views against indulgences put him at odds with the King of Bohemia. His insistence on preaching in Czech angered the Church. Daily, he gained followers. Hus was called to the Council of Constance to discuss his views. They immediately condemned him [and the deceased Wycliffe] for heresy. Hus was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. His ashes were shoveled into the river so there would be no veneration of his remains. Everyday Czechs were infuriated by his death. Hus was seen as a reformer and a patriot. The Hussites took arms against the Church and the King, engaging in the 14-year war of religion in which they defended the ideas of Hus. One Hundred years later, the Reformation began in Germany and two-thirds of Czechs left the Catholic church and became followers of Luther.

What was then Bohemia, became the western part of Czechoslovakia, and is now Czechia. But they still like the same food traditions that have been handed down through the centuries. Our breakfast and dinner are typical of foods from the time of Jan Has.

Bohemian Breakfast:  174 calories 9 g fat 4 g fiber 8.6 g protein 17.6 g carbs 130 mg Calcium  PB A typical farmer’s breakfast from Medieval Bohemia makes for a fine modern-day Fast meal. Very easy preparation.

1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread 3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce 1 oz Camembert cheese.

Lightly toast the bread. If you wish, lightly warm the applesauce to take off the refrigerator chill. Spread the applesauce on the bread and plate with the cheese. Simple, satisfying, delicious.

Czech Garlic Soup Česneková polévka: 194 calories 5 g fat 4 g fiber 9 g protein 27 g carbs 84 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF 100% rye bread  What could be better on a cold winter’s night than a cozy bowl of soup? This is a classic from czechcookbook, but feel free to make it your own. The calorie count is so low that you could add other vegetables or low-fat meat.  HINT: This recipe makes 8 cups of soup. One serving = 1 cup

1 Tbsp unsalted butter OR bacon fat   7 cloves garlic	Chop garlic and saute in butter/fat in a stock pot.
7 cups water OR Chicken OR Beef Broth 1½ tsp salt 3 cups cubed potatoes  3 cups cubed parsnips	Peel potatoes and parsnips and cut in cubes. Add with salt and broth to the stock pot. Simmer 20 minutes, until vegetables are just under-done.Remove ½ cup soup stock and cool.
1 two-oz egg ½ cup of soup stock 1 tsp marjoram	Whisk egg, then whisk it into reserved soup stock. Return to the stockpot, stirring, and add marjoram. Taste for seasoning. Let sit in a cool place 8-24 hours.
Per person: ¼ oz rye/whole-grain bread Per person: ¼ oz Swiss cheese Per person: side salad	Cut bread into cubes and toast them. Grate cheese over them while hot. Use to garnish the reheated soup at serving time. Add a side salad for more nutrients.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs	1.5 two-oz eggs  + Mexican oregano
scrapple made with cornmeal + buckwheat	queso fresco + New Mexico green chilis
Scallion	roasted red pepper + adobo powder
strawberries	blueberries + melon
	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

roast turkey + ‘all the trimmings’	chicken breast meat + yellow corn tortillas
an analysis of a feast	cilantro + sweet peppers + zucchini
	red onion + adobo powder + broccoli
	chili powder + plain yogurt + lime
Sparkling water	Sparkling water