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. 

People like to play tricks on each other, and for many different reasons. For amusement [as one does on April Fool’s Day]; for fame [like the Piltdown Man hoax]; to make a point [like the Cardiff Giant hoax]. During the Regency Period of the United Kingdom, there was a very curious sort of hoax that was perpetrated again and again by different people. On November 26, 1810, deliveries began to arrive at the house at 54 Berners Street, the home of Mrs. Tottenham/Tottingham. England at the time was the most powerful nation on earth, and London was its mercantile hub. Any sort of good or service was available to the consumer in Greater London, and this was evident when many hundreds of purveyors converged on Berners Street. Barbers and bakers. Fish mongers and felters. Costermongers and colliers. Each had received a letter, purportedly from the wealthy widow Tottenham, requesting a delivery to her house. The street was blocked for hours and the vendors were vexed when they were turned away at the door. The police were called to restore order, but no one knew who had perpetrated the hoax. Years later it was revealed/hinted that a young man named Theodore Hook — a bon vivant and prankster — had pulled it off. Oddly, the situation was not unique. Similar events took place in 1809, in London; in 1810, in Edinburg and London; in 1812, in London. Today’s equivalent is ordering dozens of pizzas to be delivered to someone you don’t like. This is why fast food places now get phone verification before filling the order. Fun for some, but not for all. I do not recommend this sort of prank!

Our meals today have an elegance that is fitting for the Regency Period.

Powder Mill Scramble: 155 calories… 9 g fat… 1 g fiber… 12.6 g protein… 6.7 g carb… 52.4 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF This recipe is straight out of Jerry Willis’ “Powder Mill Pond Restaurant” where it was a favorite. Alas, that restaurant is not more, but you can enjoy this at home.

++1½ two-oz 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 ++ 1oz smoked salmon++ ½ oz/ 2 Tbsp sliced scallion greens ++ 2 oz melon OR 2 oz strawberries++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]++

Whisk the eggs [salt and pepper may not be needed depending on the seasoning of your salmon]. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. Before the eggs set, add the salmon and scallions. Scramble to taste. Prepare your optional beverage. Plate with fruit of choice.

Langostino with Garlic:  264 calories… 3.4 g fat… 9 g fiber… 26 g protein… 35 g carb… 120 mg Calcium…  PB GF I wish I knew the source of this recipe, because I really like it. ‘Langoustine’ is either a large shrimp or the tail of a Norway lobster, according to LaRousse. Sometimes you find them frozen and when I see them, I buy them. HINT: the amounts shown serve TWO people. This is a good meal to share and more difficult to cut down for one serving. If you are into leftovers, make the whole thing and enjoy it for lunch or even dinner on a Slow Day.

++1 tsp olive oil+++ 2 clove garlic, chopped ++ pinch of hot pepper flakes+++ 5 oz langostino chunks or 4½ oz cleaned shrimp++++ 5 oz broccoli florets or asparagus, cut into 2” pieces ++++ 1 cup cabbage, sliced [3 oz]+++ 2 Tbsp dry white wine+++ salt & pepper ++++ 15 oz tomatoes, coarsely chopped or canned diced tomatoes ++++ ¾ c white beans, rinsed and drained++++ ½ cup fish stock++

Pour the tomatoes through a sieve, saving the juice that drains out. Heat the oil in a saute pan or wok. Add the garlic and hot peppers to the pan and stir for 10 seconds or less – you don’t want to burn the garlic. Add the broccoli [or asparagus] and cabbage. Saute for 3-4 minutes. If the pan gets too dry [ie: no sound of cooking], add some reserved tomato juices and/or some of the fish stock. Pour in the wine, then sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Cook to reduce the wine to almost gone. Add the beans, tomatoes, and fish stock. Cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 6 minutes. Add the langostine/shrimp/prawns and cook to thicken the broth. The prep is fussy, the cooking is quick, the result is delicious. If you wish, serve with a side salad of 1 cup baby greens, sprinkled with a quality vinegar and herbs. Or stir the greens into the saute pan at the last minute to wilt a bit.

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

Next week, I will be mentioning recipes for Advent.	1.5 two-oz eggs
Choose a new favorite breakfast from Archives.	leek + tomato
	garlic powder
	basil + clementine or apple
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

Next week, I will be mentioning recipes for Advent.	tomatoes + garlic + onion + croutons
Choose a new favorite dinner from Archives.	bell pepper + cucumber + red wine vinegar
	olive oil + tomato juice + shrimp
Sparkling water	Sparkling water