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.

Moishe Shagal was born on July 6, 1887, in Liozne, Russia, a town that is now in the country of Belarus. His father worked in a herring warehouse, and his mother ran a little grocery in their Jewish shtetel. In public school, Moishe learned drawing, then he studied with a local artist. At age 20, Shagal went to Saint Petersburg where he mostly learned about stage design. The generosity of a patron sent him to Paris where Moishe became Marc, and his last name was spelled ‘Chagall’. A group of young creatives expanded his artistic vision and brightened his previously dark color palette. During this time, Chagall established his style: colorful scenes of village life, partly realistic, partly whimsical, partly fantastical. Might we borrow the literary term ‘magical realism‘? I and the Village [1911] and The Fiddler [1913] show typical Chagall images and themes. Just before World War I began, the artist returned to his home town where he married Bella Rosenfeld. The couple stayed in their homeland until the Russian Revolution. Initially, Chagall favored the Bolsheviks, and he moved to Moscow where he designed sets and costumes for plays by Sholem Aleichem. Then he moved to Berlin, where he had staged his first gallery show. While there, he learned engraving. But Paris was calling him, so the artist returned there in 1923 with his wife and daughter. Chagall was employed as a book illustrator, using his engraving skills. Fontaine’s Fables; Gogol’s Dead Souls; scenes from the BibleSaint-Paul-de-Vence — these kept him busy until the start of World War II. Chagall saw the anti-Jewish writing on the wall and departed for New York. Although New York had a lively arts scene and many other Jewish ex-pats, once the war was over, Chagall returned to France in 1948. He settled in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, but not to retire. He had expanded his artistic skills to include stained glass windows, tapestries, mosaics, ceramics, and murals, and he remained creative until his death in 1985. His whimsy and magic live on.

For Chagall’s many years in France, a breakfast from the South. For Pappa Shagal’s occupation, herring for dinner.

Brandade Bake: 154 calories… 8.5 g fat… 1.4 g fiber… 11 g protein… 5.3 g carbs… 45 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages. PB GF The culinary marvel of Southern France, brandade is worth trying. Here it is at breakfast, all creamy and garlicy.

++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 1 Tbsp cottage cheese ++++ 2 Tbsp brandade ++++ big shake granulated garlic ++++ 2 oz strawberries ++++ 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] ++

Cream together the cottage cheese, brandade, and garlic. Whisk in the egg. Bake in a lightly-spritzed ramekin at 350 F. until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. With the fruit and beverages, you have a fine start to the day.

Herring Salad: 278 calories… 6 g fat… 7 g fiber… 16 g protein… 24 g carbs… 103 mg Calcium…  PB GF Luchöw’s Restaurant will live in memory as long as a certain generation yet breathes. And there was a lot to remember about it: the decor, the old-world service, the menu. Not a hokey tourist trap – it was a genuine German restaurant in Manhattan. This is one of their fine Old World recipes.  NB: if you take a MOIA anti-depressent, be aware that herring has high amounts of tyramine.

++ 1½ oz herring marinated in wine, drained ++++ ¼ cup beets, cooked, cooled and diced ++++ 1½ oz apple, peeled and diced ++++ ¼ cup white beans, drained and rinsed ++++ ½ hard-boiled egg, sliced ++++ 2 Tbsp onion, minced ++++ ½ oz dill pickle, chopped ++++ pinch sugar ++++ 2 tsp vinegar, or more ++++ 1 cup lettuce, shredded ++

Put the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and whisk until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently until everything is well-incorporated. Taste to see if it needs more sugar or more vinegar. A herring-lover’s delight.