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.

Peonies are one of my favorite flowers. Their lush, voluptuous blossoms are so gorgeous in the garden and in bouquets. My grandfather was famous for the peonies that he grew in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and some of his plants are in my garden. [Peony plants can live for 100+ years.] Members of the Family Paeoniaceae, they were first used in China as a flavoring for food. From there, they went to Japan, where the flowers were prized. By the 6th century BCE, peony roots were used in medicine. They were known in ancient Greece, where the story was told of the shy nymph Paeonia. Her beauty so angered Aphrodite, that the goddess turned her rival into a Peony flower. Not until the 1800s did the flowers arrive in England. There are tree peonies [with woody stems] and herbaceous peonies [the common plant] that bloom year after year with little care from us. The biggest helpers of the peony are ants. Some people freak out when they see their peony buds covered with ants, but the insects eat the sap that is exuded by the buds — if there were no ants, the flowers would not open. In flower lore, peonies represent everything from wealth to bad luck; from blushing shyness to passionate love. While Luoyang, China is known as Peony City, most florist blossoms are grown in Alaska. You can enjoy peonies in your temperate garden if you plant them is a sunny location with rich, well-drained soil. Plant them well, and they may out-live you.

Although peonies now are planted everywhere from Zones 4 to 8, they are native to two widely different regions. Our meals today are from the two original locations of the plant: the Mediterranean and China.

Mediterranean ScrOmelette: 148 calories… 8.4 g fat… 1 g fiber… 12 g protein… 7 g carbs… 108.4 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF How can this be SO easy and yet SO delicious? Don’t know, but we will continue to eat it!

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 ++++ 3 Tbsp Mediterranean Vegetables, drained + chopped +++++  ¼ oz mozzerella cheese, grated +++++  1½ oz strawberries OR 1 oz applesauce 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]

HINT: the night before, thaw or prepare the Mediterranean Vegetables.  Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the prepared vegetables and stir to heat . Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan, stirring to incorporate the vegetables. Cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Sprinkle the cheese on top while still warm or add to the eggs while still cooking. Dish up the fruit, plate the eggs, and pour your beverage of choice.

Pork & Green Bean Stirfry: 176 calories… 3 g fat… 5.4 g fiber… 20.5 g protein… 18 g carbs… 63 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given do not include the optional serving of rice** PB GF This stirfry has a lot of preparation but the result is rich in the wonderful flavors of East Asia. The recipe does not include rice, but if you read on, you’ll see amounts of rice to serve. HINT: This recipe makes enough to serve 2 [two] people. Food values above are for ONE serving. For Pork & Peppers, substitute colorful bell peppers for beans in recipe. 

Serves 2	First prepare a mise en place. Seriously — do it.
5 oz pork or turkey tenderloin +++++ 1½ tsp dark soy sauce +++++ ½ tsp honey +++++  ½ tsp minced garlic 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes	Slice meat into matchstick pieces. Put in a bowl with these ingredients and stir to combine.
4 tsp dark soy sauce +++++  ½ tsp honey ++++1 tsp peanut butter.	Combine in a micro-wave-safe cup and briefly warm in micro-wave to soften the honey and peanut butter.
6 oz green beans, cut in 1.5” pieces	Cook beans 3 mins in boiling, salted water.
½ c matchstick carrots	Add carrots and cook 1 min. Drain, saving water andvegetables.
1 tsp canola oil	Heat a wok or cast iron skillet over high, then add oil. Add pork mixture and stir-fry 1 minute.
	Remove cooked meat to a clean bowl and stir in the soy-honey-peanut mix.
2 Tbsp bean-carrot water ++++ 5 oz red bell pepper, cut in strips +++++more bean-carrot water, as needed	Put carrot-cooking water in the dish that had the soy-honey-peanut mixture. Swirl around to get those flavors into the water. Pour flavored water into the wok and add the bell peppers. Stir-fry 1 min – add more water to keep it sizzling.
Blanched carrots + beans +++++ ½ tsp garlic ++++  1.5 tsp minced fresh ginger	Add beans, carrots, ginger, + garlic to peppers in the wok and stir-fry 1 minute.
Cooked pork	Return pork to the wok and stir-fry until heated, ~1 minute.
sliced scallion +++  Sriracha ++++ optional rice**	Plate with optional rice, and top with scallion and extra Sriracha

**If using ¼ cup cooked medium-grain white rice as a garnish, then add these food values: 50 calories… 0 g fat… 0.3 g fiber… 1 g protein… 11 g carbs [simple]… 0 mg Calcium **If serving with ¼ cup cooked medium-grain brown rice, then add these food values: 54 calories… 0.4 g fat… 1 g fiber… 1 g protein… 11 g carbs… 5 mg Calcium

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

Finn Crisp crackers	red grapes + onion
smoked salmon	olive oil + chicken dinner sausage
whipped cream cheese	fennel seed + chives + parsley
red onion + raspberries	red wine vinegar + Parmesan cheese
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

canned garbanzo beans + tomato	lima beans + canned white beans
canned light tuna + garlic + Parmesan	snap beans
thyme + parsley + olive oil + lemon juice	corn + corne beef
salad greens/fresh spinach + white wine vinegar	polenta or cornmeal mush
Sparkling water	Sparkling water