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.

Dear Husband and I love to read ‘whodunits.’ Crime literature in English harks back to Edgar Allen Poe’s Murders on Rue Morgue in 1841. As the genre took off, a sub-genre developed: culinary crime. These books are read as much for the procedural as for the vicarious thrills of the meals that are described along the way. There are many authors who tantalize our tastebuds while they challenge our little grey cells and today, I will feature foods from two widely different sources.

David Silva authors a crime series centered in the art world. In Portrait of an Unknown Woman, the master-art-swindler Magdalena Navarro prepares a meal for the police officers who are interrogating her about her crime syndicate. Her Spanish Tortilla is also called a Spanish Omelette. Of course, international spy-master/art restorer Gabriel Allon always solves the art theft mystery with intelligence and a keen appreciation of good food.

Spanish Tortilla: 150 calories… 9 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 10 g protein… 11.6 g carbs… 189 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. — PB GF —  In Spain, a ‘tortilla’ is a vegetable-potato-cheese and egg dish, usually cooked on the stove-top. This one is easier because it is baked.  HINT: Serves 2 [two]

½ clove garlic ++++ 1 oz/1 scallion ++++ ¼ cup/1 oz red bell pepper ++++ 1 oz potato [I used sweet potato for its higher nutrition], cut in a small dice ++++ one 2.5 oz egg = US extra large ++++ 25 ml/0.8 fl oz plain yogurt ++++ 2 tsp chives, chopped ++++ 1 oz grated Manchego or Cheddar cheese ++++ 2 oz watermelon ++++  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]

Put potatoes in a small saute pan with a little water and cook until not-quite soft. Add garlic, scallion, and bell pepper and continue to cook until bell pepper is soft, then drain. In a small bowl, combine egg, yogurt, chives, and cheese. Stir in the cooked vegetables and spread in a baking dish that has been spritzed with oil or non-stick spray. Bake at 350F, 15-18 minutes. Plate with fruit and you are ready for an energetic day.

In the Jack Reacher series, the retired Army officer of giant stature wanders around the country. Trouble usually finds him, and he solves a crime wherever he goes. Jack Reacher’s mother was French, so he speaks the languages fluently and enjoys French food. In large quantities. Sometimes his life takes him back to his mother’s nation. In Personal, Lee Childs’ hero tucks into a meal that includes a Croque Madame.

Croque Madame: 286 calories… 16.5 g fat… 4.4 g fiber… 17.5 g protein… 23 g carbs… 324 mg Calcium…  PB From Paris comes the ‘wife’ of one of the great sandwiches. The Croque Monsieur has been a mainstay of hungry college students on the Left Bank for generations. Add an egg and it becomes the more feminine [for some reason] and the more filling “Madame.” Our version is open-faced.

++1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread ++++ ½ oz sliced ham from the deli, 3% fat OR ½ oz sliced turkey ++++ ½ oz Gruyere cheese, grated ++++ 2 Tbsp Bechamel sauce, no cheese ++++ one 2-oz egg ++++ side salad ++

Spread 1 Tbsp of the sauce on the bread. Lay the ham/turkey on next and spread with béchamel. Top with the cheese. Fry the egg until it is just set. Transfer the egg from the pan to the top of the sandwich. Place the sandwich in the pan and cover with a lid. Cook the sandwich on medium to low heat as the cheese melts, the bread toasts, and the egg continues to cook. Prepare the side salad and plate it. Remove the sandwich from the pan and serve with the salad. Hum “La Vie en Rose” while you dine.

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

polenta + plain, fat free yogurt	1.5 two-oz eggs  + sauerkraut
feta cheese	corned beef + matzo crackers
uncured bacon	paprika + Worcestershire sauce
pear or apple	mayonnaise + catsup + hot sauce
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

1.5 oz two-oz eggs + mushrooms	4-oz bison burger
2%-fat cottage cheese	mushrooms
asparagus + wheat berries	catsup, without corn syrup
chives/scallions	vegetables of your choice from list
Sparkling water	Sparkling water