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.

“Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?” My mother used to sing that as a lullaby, and I sang it to my sons. In my adulthood, I found that it was a poem by Eugene Field, a newspaper writer in the 1800s. He was born in 1850 in St Louis, Missouri. Roswell Field, his father, was a prominent lawyer best remembered for defending the Scott family in the doomed but influential Dred Scott Case. Eugene’s mother died when he was six years old, and he was sent to live with his father’s sister in Massachusetts. The lad loved humor and playing jokes on people, but he seemed not to enjoy getting an education. He was popular at all the schools he attended [Williams College, Knox College, University of Missouri], was especially remembered for the pranks he pulled — one got him expelled! — and was never graduated from any of them. A job writing for the St. Louis Journal came his way, and his humorous column was a real hit. He married his friend’s 16-year-old sister Julia Comstock with whom he had eight children. Then Field took an offer to be the managing editor and to write for the Denver Tribune. While there, he began to write poems for children and published two volumes of poetry. His gossipy brand of humor and constant mocking of Western life was less appreciated in Colorado, so in three years he moved his family to Chicago. Field wrote for the Chicago Morning News, and his column “Sharps and Flats” became syndicated. Although Chicago liked Field, he did not return the affection. He called it “Porkopolis” and disliked the dirty city that was always under construction. In all, Field wrote A Little Book of Western Verse (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903); The Tribune Primer (Henry A. Dickerman & Son, 1900); and Love-Songs of Childhood (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1894), and came to be known as the Children’s Poet. Oddly, when their mothers were not looking, Field would make horrid faces at babies and children. He thought he was a great father. He died on November 4, 1895. Are you familiar with his work? Some of his poems are very well known [Wynken, Blynken and Nod] but some of them always struck me a soppy and “Little Boy Blue” is NOT a poem for children to read! You many draw your own conclusions. 

Our breakfast contains corn from the Heartland origins of Field. And for dinner, a meal to evoke your childhood.

Corn-Cilantro Salad Bake: ..128 calories… 7 g fat… 1 g fiber… 7 g protein… 7 g carbs… 39 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF Having some of this delicous salad left over from a week-end meal, I decided to add it to eggs. Heavenly!

++ one 2-oz egg ++++ ½ oz corn-cilantro salad** ++++ 2 oz melon ++++ Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++ Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

**Corn-Cilantro Salad  makes 2 cups 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar ++ 1 Tbsp canola oil ++ ¾ tsp sesame oil ++ 1 cup fresh corn kernels ++ ½ c snipped chives ++ 1¼ oz chopped cilantro ++ Whisk the vinegar and oils together. Stir in the corn and herbs. Let sit for 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

Chicken Noodle Soup: ..212 calories… 3 g fat… 5 g fiber… 23 g protein… 23 g carbs… 105.5 mg Calcium…  PB If you have some in the freezer already, then this is really easy meal! HINT: This makes enough for two servings. Invite a friend or freeze for another easy meal.

++ 3 cups chicken or turkey broth ++++ 2 oz chicken white meat, diced or shredded ++++ 1 oz broken spaghetti or linguine ++++ ¼ c. white beans, drained and rinsed if canned ++++ 1.5 oz carrot, diced ++++ 1.5 oz green beans, cut into 1” pieces ++++ 1 oz Canadian or back bacon, slivered ++++ seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried sage ++++  Per bowl: 1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese + generous sprinkling of parsley ++++ Per person: [optional] 2 Finn Crisp crackers which adds 40 calories.. 0.5 g fat.. 2 g fiber.. 2 g protein.. 10 g carbs.. 0 mg Calcium.. 

Bring the broth to a simmer and cook the noodles until almost tender. If the chicken is raw, throw it in the pot to cook. Add the beans, carrot, green beans, Canadian bacon and seasonings. When heated through, ladle into bowls and top with the cheese and parsley. Yum. Yum.