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.

Maria Sklodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867. Her parents were teachers, but their income was insufficient to educate their youngest daughter beyond high school. Marie took a job as a governess to support herself, meanwhile studying science in her spare time. Her married sister offered Marie lodging with her in Paris, so that Marie could study there. Sklodowska jumped at the chance, enrolling in the Sorbonne University to study physics and mathematics. Three years later, she met a fellow scientist, Pierre Curie, and they soon married. The pair started work as researchers at the School of Physics and Chemistry where they investigated the new field of radioactive elements pioneered by Henri Becqueral. Together, the Curies discovered the new element which they called Polonium after Marie’s natal nation. In 1903, they received the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Becquerel. She also earned her PhD in Physics. After Pierre died in a traffic accident, Marie took over his job as Physics professor, the first woman to achieve that position. She continued to study radioactivity, earning an unheard of second Nobel Prize in 1911. Marie saw the value of using X-rays from radiation for medical purposes, and developed X-ray machines. As World War I loomed, she produced portable machines that could be used at the front lines. Curie and her 17-year old daughter Irene took the “Petit Curie” machines into the war to examine soldiers for broken bones and shrapnel. From the end of the war to her death in 1934, Marie was heaped with honors from around the world. As a path-finder and a dedicated scientist, she deserved them. Her death was no doubt the result of long-term exposure to radioactivity.

To celebrate Marie’s birthday on November 7, our breakfast has flavors of the Baltic Region where Marie was born. The dinner is a low-cost French meal that represents the lean years for the Curies in Paris.

Cucumber-Smoked Salmon Sandwich: ..143 calories… 3 g fat… 3.5 g fiber… 10 g protein… 18 g carbs… 75.5 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values are for the meal and fruit only and do not include the optional coffee. PB GF – if using GF bread Such a simple and delicious way to start your day!

++ 1 slice 70-calorie whole grain bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is perfect] ++++ 1 Tbsp cottage cheese +++ 1½ teaspoons chives, chopped ++++ 1 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced ++++ ¼ cup [4 slices?] Swedish Cucumber Salad** ++++ 1 oz strawberries ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Lightly toast the bread. Cream the cottage cheese and chives together with some grindings of fresh black pepper. Spread the cheese mixture on the bread. Place the salmon on top, then the cucumbers on top of that. Serve with the sweet, fresh berries. Wonderful.

**SWEDISH CUCUMBER SALAD:  1 cup = 2 servings   each serving = 23 calories.. 0 g fat.. 0.3 g fiber.. 0.4 g protein.. 5.2 g carbs.. 14 mg Calcium..  1 cup sliced cucumber ++ 1.5 tsp sugar ++ 1 oz white wine vinegar ++ ½ tsp cold water ++ salt and freshly ground pepper ++ ½ tsp dill Combine the sugar, vinegar, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Slice the cucumbers, spread them out on towels and pat dry. Stir the cukes into the liquid, wetting all the slices. Chill for at least one hour.

Chickpea Ragout with fish: ..121 calories… PLUS calories from the fish you choose… 3 g fat… 5.3 g fiber… 6 g protein… 20 g carbs… 26 mg Calcium…  GF PB Prepare the simple ragout, add the fish of your choice. This is from Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way. Although he doesn’t mean my kind of ‘Fast Food,’ Pepin has long been a proponent of healthy cooking. He presents this as a side dish, but for our purposes it is best prepared as a main course with seafood for more protein. 

½ cup Chickpea Ragout** ++++ 1/4 cup fresh spinach leaves ++++ plus your choice of fish:  – 4 oz swordfish, 139 calories –OR–  4 oz cod, 92 calories –OR– 4 oz salmon, 160 calories –OR–  4 oz halibut, 124 calories –OR–  4 oz smelts, 110 calories –OR– 2 oz shad, 140 calories –OR–  2 oz haddock, 90 calories —

Put the Chickpea Ragout in a small pan with a few tablespoons of water. Place the fish on top. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until fish is cooked. Off heat, toss in spinach, cover and let it wilt a bit. All done. All delicious.

**CHICKPEA RAGOUT:  entire batch, ~4 cups, has 484 calories, so divide into parts PB GF   ++ ½ tsp olive oil ++++ ½ cup diced onions ++++ ½ cup scallions, chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp garlic ++++ 2 cups diced tomatoes, fresh or canned and drained ++++ 1½ cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed if canned ++++ ½ cup chicken stock ++++ ½ tsp salt ++++ ½ tsp pepper ++

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the onion, scallion and garlic. Stir briefly over the heat then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat until liquids are mostly evaporated. If using now, separate out your portion and keep warm. Cool the remaining ragout and freeze it in serving portions.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large	2 oz slice of ham
reduced fat ricotta + mushrooms	70-calorie whole-grain bread
peach + blackberries	3 oz melon
watercress sauce: cress, onion, olive oil, stock
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

canola oil + watercress + celery	4 oz roast beef
onion + good stock + potato	tomatoes
sweet potato + chèvre cheese	green peas
optional: mozzarella, tomato, Finn Crisp crackers	sweet potato
Sparkling water	Sparkling water