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. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

George Pullman thought he had it made. His business of building Pullman Cars and then leasing them to railroad companies had been booming. He was concerned that the workers who built the train cars might be tempted to unionize or strike, so he decided to ‘sequester’ them. In 1880s, Pullman built a company town south of Chicago, Illinois. In a towering lack of originality or an excess of pride, he named it “Pullman”. The community was designed as a model town: its brick row houses had modern amenities such as electricity and indoor plumbing. There were libraries and schools and stores. To work for Pullman, you had to live in his town. To live in his town, you had to agree to abide by a strict moral code. Things went well until the financial panic of 1893. Pullman’s business suffered, so he laid off workers and cut the remaining salaries. But he refused to lower rents, or prices at the company stores. A delegation of workers met with Pullman to present a case for rent abatement, but he dismissed their plea and fired several of them. On May 11, 1894, workers in Pullman went on strike. Their list of grievances was soon overshadowed by labor issues on a national scale. Unhappy workers in Chicago went on strike and held violent rallies. The American Railroad Union declared a sympathetic strike that stopped rail travel from Chicago to the west coast. Annoyed by the stoppage of the US mail, which traveled by train, and alarmed by the uprising of the workers against big businesses, President Grover Cleveland sent soldiers to Chicago and other hot spots to quell the strikes. In all, forty people were killed and $80 million dollars of damage was done before the strikes ended in July. Pullman was widely criticized for his treatment of his employees. After he died in 1897, the town of Pullman was sold off piecemeal, many residents eventually buying their houses. The strike was a seminal moment in labor history in the US, showing labor unions their power and showing that the federal government to could intervene in nation-wide strikes. Today, the town of Pullman is a neighborhood in Chicagoland, and the Pullman Palace Car Company is no longer in business.

Our menu offerings are simple, hearty American foods that could have been served in a Pullman Car or on the kitchen tables of the workers in Pullman, Illinois.

Ham & Cheese Bake: 136 calories… 7 g fat… 4 g fiber… 10 g protein… 9 g carbs… 61 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  GF PB This is the baked version of a ham&cheese omelette. Just as good, only one egg per person.

++ One 2-oz egg ++++ 3 scant Tbsp Jarlsberg cheese, grated ++++ 1/3 oz 3% fat ham [from deli], diced ++++ dried sage, salt, and pepper to taste ++++1 oz applesauce OR 2 oz strawberries, whole or sliced, fresh or frozen ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++  Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Set toaster oven at 350 F. Grate the cheese and chop the ham. Whisk together the cheese, egg, and seasonings. Spritz some cooking spray into an oven-safe dish or ramekin or custard cup, and pour the egg mixture into it. Bake for 12-18 minutes, depending on how well set you like your eggs. It will puff up and start to brown a bit. Heat your beverage, shake the smoothie, and portion the fruit. Enjoy a good start to the day.

Tomato Soup w/ Sandwich 289 calories… 5 g fat… 5.6 g fiber… 16 g protein… 30 g carbs… 210 mg Calcium…  PB GF Comfort food can also be low in calories. The soup recipe is from Fresh Ways with Soups and Stews, published by Time-Life Books. HINT: the soup is enough for 3 servings, so it is worth the time to make enough to freeze for later, rather than making a single serving.

Prepare Soup: 1 tsp olive oil ++++ 2½ cups onions, chopped ++++ 1 cup carrot, thinly sliced ++++ 1 tsp fresh thyme or ¼ tsp dried thyme ++++ 3 cloves garlic, chopped ++++ black pepper ++++ 28-oz can whole tomatoes with juices, coarsly chopped ++++ 1¼ cup unsalted chicken or vegetable stock ++++ ¼ tsp salt ++++

Heat the oil and 2 Tbsp water in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot, thyme, garlic, and pepper for 7-10 minutes or until onions are translucent, adding more water if needed. Add tomatoes their juice, stock, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Cool. Puree soup in food processor or blender. TIP: Pour 2 cups [2/3 of the amount] into freezer containers to cool before freezing.

Prep Sandwich: 1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread [Nature’s Own Or Daves Killer Bread] ++++ ½-oz slice Swiss cheese ++++ ½ oz sliced ham, 97% fat free

Cut the bread in half. Cut the cheese in pieces the size of the bread pieces. Construct a sandwich of bread, ham, cheese, bread. Save out one bread-sized piece of cheese. Wrap the sandwich in foil and put in the toaster oven at 350F until cheese is beginning to melt on the inside. Unwrap the sandwich and put the cheese on top. Toast the sandwich so that the cheese becomes melted and might start to brown.

Finish Soup: 1 tsp ricotta or small-curd cottage cheese ++++ 1 tsp plain non-fat yogurt Put the soup in the serving bowl. Stir the cheese and yogurt together and dollop it in the middle of the hot soup. Use the tip of a knife to pull the mixture out from the middle in several radiating arms. A few grapes add a dash of color.