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.

Thomas, who’s name means “a twin”, was one of The Twelve. That is, he was one of the men chosen by Jesus to be part of the inner circle of students/helpers/teachers. We do not know his family or his occupation or his age, but we do know that he was eager to follow Jesus, impetuous but perhaps slow on the uptake. Jesus always dropped hints that he would be killed, but then come back to life. Did Thomas take it as a metaphor, or did he just not get it? Thomas was not with the other Apostles when Jesus appeared to them, in the flesh, after his death and resurrection. When Thomas was told of the miracle, he said, “I don’t believe it. Not until I can stick my fingers in the holes left by the spear and the nails, will I believe it.” So, next time Jesus saw Thomas, he said, “Put your fingers in this wound, so you will believe.” Thomas believed, although forever after he was known as ‘doubting Thomas.’ When the Apostles set out to evangelize, Thomas was assigned the lands East of Israel: the Parthian Empire, along with the Medes, and the Persians. Legend has it that Thomas went all the way to India where he established churches. It is also said the he visited Saudi Arabia and China. Thomas met his death in Chennai in 72 CE, after 20 years of evangelizing. Was he killed on December 21st or on July 3rd? Doesn’t matter. He joined six of his fellow Apostles in martyrdom.

Due to Thomas’ reported travels to India and points East, our foods today are from India and China. Would Thomas, who was raised as a Jew, have eaten pork dumplings? Maybe.

Kashmiri ScrOmelette: 157 calories 8.5 g fat 1 g fiber 14.5 g protein 5 g carbs 58 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The sauce ‘Rogan Josh’ was available in jars on the supermarket shelf, so I incorporated it into these very tasty eggs.

1½ 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.  1/3 oz cooked chicken, diced 1 Tbsp [15 ml] Rogan Josh sauce [Taste of India brand] 1 oz strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Whisk together the eggs, sauce and chicken. Pour into a hot non-stick or well-seasoned saute pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray or oil. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the berries, pour the optional beverages, and set your aspirations for the day as high as the Himalayas.

Pork Dumpling Stir-fry:  270 calories 7 g fat 6.4 g fiber 13 g protein 32 g carbs 81 mg Calcium   PB A quick and easy meal, using purchased dumplings [31 calories/dumpling] and lots of good veggies.

5 pork dumplings [frozen, from an Asian market]	Boil dumplings 7 minutes and drain, saving some of the water.
4 oz green bell pepper, sliced  2 oz carrot, cut as batons  3 oz cabbage, thinly-sliced	Cut the vegetables as directed and put them in one bowl.
1 Tbsp soy sauce  1 tsp hoisin sauce  ½ tsp fresh ginger, chopped pinch garlic powder	Stir together these seasonings with 1-2 Tbsp reserved water.
½ tsp sesame oil  prepared vegetables dumpling-cooking water	Heat a wok to high, then add oil. Add vegetables and stir-fry 3 minutes, adding water as needed to keep it all sizzling.
Seasoning liquids	Make a ‘well’ in the middle of vegetables and add dumplings along with seasonings. Cook without stirring 1 minute longer.

That was fast!

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

one 1.8 egg = US medium	1 two-oz egg
70-calorie whole-grain bread	sweet potato + Cheddar cheese
Canadian bacon = back bacon	parsley or watercress
blueberries or banana	garlic powder + cherries or clementine
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

eggplant  + canned tomatoes + basil	chicken breast + sherry wine
zucchini or fresh spinach + garlic powder	carrot + broccoli
2%-fat cottage cheese + part-skim ricotta	Bechamel sauce w/ cheese
Parmesan cheese + egg + whole-grain pasta	angel-hair pasta + Parmesan cheese
Sparkling water	Sparkling water