Today is our 41st wedding anniversary, so a celebration is appropriate. How do you Fast and celebrate at the same time? Creatively! Oysters are a good choice: we love them, they are high in protein, they are low in fat and carbs. So here is an anniversary dinner: 6 plump oysters per person and the Bleu Cheese and Beet Salad from March 18. If you felt so inclined, you could sneak in a small glass of sparkling wine or Champagne.
Author: me
Plant-based diet, anyone?
When the doctor suggested 1 week on a “plant-based diet” for my husband, I thought, “Oh, no! There goes the Fast Lifestyle out the window!” But as I researched it, I discovered that the principles of a Plant-Based Diet dovetailed nicely with a Fast Diet. So we could maintain our 5:2 Diet on Mondays and Thursdays and even use standard Fast recipes on Slow Days, too!
Perhaps the biggest change was using green smoothies instead of our usual fruit smoothie. But it turns out that the calories don’t change. Looks weird, but the flavor isn’t as bad as it looks. More about those later.
So what to eat on a Plant-Based Fasting Lifestyle? For breakfast: Oatmeal Pudding, March 29 Breakfast Casserole, April 12 Buttermilk Baked Egg, May 24 Flamenco Eggs, Jan 19
For dinner: Baked Bean Soup, Apr 22 Meze Meal, May 13 Vegetable Pizza, May 27 Fish Tacos, March 8
Not Just for kids any more.
As you reach for the new body-image you hope to have, you will feel better: more energy; fewer knee and hip pains; dare we say ‘younger’. In honor of the new you that is waiting for you a few pounds from now, let’s eat like children. Egg-toast is an old favorite nursery food from England. Here we have combined it with the French-inspired mushroom-toast for a really terrific breakfast. And Pizza for dinner… Need I say more?
Egg-Mushroom Toast 290 calories This is yummy. The eggs are creamy and the mushrooms lend a mysterious layer of flavor. I like this better than poached eggs. 
1 piece 35-cal bread OR 1/2 piece 70-cal bread one 2-oz egg 1 oz mushrooms, chopped 1 Tbsp chives, chopped 1 ½ oz of apple blackish coffee, blackish tea, or lemon in hot water 5-6 oz smoothie or natural apple cider Toast the bread. Spritz the non-stick saute pan with oil or spray and gently cook the mushrooms. Put the chives, salt, and pepper in with the egg and beat it up. Scramble lightly with the mushrooms, keeping the eggs moist. Turn out over the toast and plate the fruit. Sip your beverages and have a good day.
Pizza with Vegetable Topping: Another winner from the Fast Diet book. The pizza shells are either whole grain wraps or corn tortillas. BE CAREFUL about the calorie and fat content when shopping! I get Herdez 8″ whole wheat fajita style tortillas. Each has 170 cal and 5 gm protein. Each person gets ONE of these pizzas. OR you could get Ole brand 6″ corn tortillas. Each of those has 65 cal and each person gets THREE AND a HALF pizzas. 
1 whole wheat/grain tortilla at 170-cal [per person] 1-2 Tbsp tomato puree, not paste HINT: buy a can of puree and freeze in small portions 1 oz mozzerella, grated ½ oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced 1 ½ oz red pepper, cooked and chopped 1 oz spinach, steamed, squeezed and chopped 1 Tbsp red onion, chopped Set the oven at 400º. Place the tortilla on an ungreased baking sheet. Put dollops of tomato purée on each tortilla and spread it around. Toss together mozzarella, mushrooms, red pepper, spinach, and onion. HINT: Sometimes I cook and chop all the veg and put them in a bag in the freezer to save time on a FAST day. Divide the mixture among the tortillas and bake for 5-10 mins.
National Holiday
Memorial Day is always on a Monday! [didn’t used to be, grumble, grumble…] So you can put off your Fast Day until Tuesday, or get in the spirit with these quick meals.
Buttermilk Baked Eggs: 283 cal 6.2 g fat 11.7 g protein 18.8 g. carbs In a rush this morning to get to the parade or go open the cottage? This is one Fast breakfast. This recipe is from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. All I added were the sides. Great book full of good recipes.
1 slice 70-cal whole-grain bread [Nature’s Own] one 2-oz egg 2 Tbsp buttermilk 1 oz [¼ c.] mixed berries blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon juice & hot water 5-6 oz of fruit smoothie or natural apple cider Cut out a hole from the middle of the bread, but this time use a 2” star-shaped cookie cutter. HINT: put the ‘hole’ in a sandwich bag in the freezer. Save for Dutch Breakfast later on. Toast the bread lightly. HINT: this step could be done the night before. Or cut and toast the bread weeks in advance and freeze. Lightly spray an oven-proof pan with cooking spray and put the toasted bread in in. Break the egg over the bread so that the yolk lands in the hole. Carefully spoon the buttermilk over the egg and bread. Season to taste. HINT: you could prep this far and refrigerate over night. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile put the fruit in a small dish, brew your beverage, pour your fruit smoothie and you have a terrific breakfast!
Usually, we eat hot dogs on Memorial Day, so we won’t stop now. Baked beans are high in protein, low in fat, so they fit right in with a Fast Diet.
1 dog per person {Hebrew National has a reduced fat hot dog at 100 cal each. And they taste good, too. } 1/3 c baked beans [I use canned, low-fat beans if I can find them] HINT: You do not use all the beans in the can, so freeze the remainder for another meal. If you want them for this meal again, freeze in batches of 1/3 c, rather than the remains of the entire can together. mustard and/or pickle relish zucchini, sliced diagonally one 2-oz egg, hard-boiled 11/2 tsp low-fat mayonnaise 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard celery sticks & carrot sticks
Cook the dogs in a little frying pan with a bit of water. [Of course you could grill the dogs.] Remove the dogs, add a tad more water and cook the zucchini in the same pan. [You could grill the zucchini, too.] That way they have a little sausage taste to them. Heat the baked beans [nuke ’em], cut up the celery & carrots. Peel the egg and cut it in half. Remove the yolk and mash it with the mayonnaise and mustard. Stuff the egg halves. NOTE: someone else will have to eat that other egg or save it as part of your lunch tomorrow. Fasting on a holiday just got easier. Have non-Fasters over for the picnic? Ask them to bring the side dishes [potato salad, green salad, but not chips & dip] and let your guests eat the side dishes.
Treat Yourself
People go on diets because they want to change something about themselves: their weight, their clothing size, their body shape. All of which makes it sound as if they don’t like themselves. So they eat as if they want to punish that uncooperative body of their’s. Let’s change that mindset. You need to like yourself enough to want to have a healthy body. And that is why the menus I suggest for Fast Days are not only low in calorie but full of flavor. By making the food nutritious, and pretty, and good to eat, you can treat yourself and still achieve your goals of a slimmer, healthier you.
PowderMill Scramble 247 calories 9.3 g fat// 17.6 g protein 34.3 g carb
This recipe is straight out of Jerry Willis’ Powder Mill Pond Restaurant where it was a favorite. Alas, brunch is not served at Jerry’s Marzano’s Tratoria but you can enjoy this at home.
1 ½ 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, crack 3 2-oz eggs into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ½ oz smoked salmon 1 Tbsp chopped chives or scallion greens 1 ½ oz apple 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or pure apple cider blackish coffee, blackish tea, lemon in hot water
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. Brew your beverage and take the previously-made smoothie from ‘fridge. Plate with fruit.
Tomato Soup w/ Sandwich 278 calories 8.3 g. fat 16.7 g. protein Comfort food can 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 2 servings, so it is worth the time to make enough to freeze for later.
Cook Soup: 2 tsp virgin olive oil 3 onions, chopped [2 ½ cups] 1 carrot, thinly sliced 1 tsp fresh thyme or ¼ tsp dried thyme 3 cloves garlic, chopped pepper 28 0z can tomatoes, coarsly chopped with juices 1 ¼ cup unsalted chicken or vegetable stock ¼ tsp salt Heat the oil 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. Add the tomatoes and juice, stock, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. [more directions later]
Prep Sandwich: 1 slice 70-calorie bread [Nature’s Own] 1 slice Swiss cheese from the deli 1 oz ham, 97% fat free Cut the bread in half. Cut the cheese slice in pieces the size of the bread halves. Construct a sandwich of bread, ham, cheese, bread. Save out one bread-sized piece of cheese. Wrap in foil and put in the toaster oven at 350 until cheese is beginning to melt on the inside. Unwrap the sandwich and put the remaining cheese on top. Toast the sandwich so that the cheese becomes melted and might start to brown.
Finish Soup: 2 tsp ricotta or small-curd cottage cheese & 2 tsp plain non-fat yogurt Puree the soup in food processor or blender. Pour half of it into a freezer container to cool before storing. Put the soup in the serving bowl. Stir the cheese and yogurt together and put a large dollop 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.
Iconoclastic
An ‘iconoclast’ smashes the icons. Which is to say, defies the conventions of society. Today we will be iconoclastic by leaving some cherished foodstuffs out of a Proper English Breakfast and preparing quiche without a crust.
Improper English 265 cal. 4.3 g. fat 17.2 g. protein 47.5 g. carb
A “proper English” is the full Victorian breakfast, serving every conceivable food you can imagine. This version leaves out the eggs and kippers [how improper!], but keeps the protein-rich baked beans along with the rest of the usual stand-bys.
¼ cup baked beans canned one 50-60 calorie sausage ½ piece of 70-cal toast half of a 2.5” diameter tomato 1 oz mushrooms a few grapes 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or unpasturized apple cider blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water
Cut the tomato around its equator and put one half away for later. Salt the tomato and put under the broiler until it softens. Cook the sausage and mushrooms in the same pan to heat through. Heat the beans – perhaps in e microwave. Toast the bread and brew the hot beverage. Pour the smoothie and plate everything. Cheerio!
Quiche: 291 cal 17.7 g. fat 24.7 g. protein 11.8 g. carb GLUTEN FREE
I suggest serving this meal on a day when you have eaten one egg or none for breakfast. Eggs are good for us, but you don’t want to over-d0 it with any ingredient.
one and a half 2-0z eggs HINT: Here is a way to use the eggs left over from last Thursday’s omelette. 2 oz skimmed milk 2 oz swiss cheese, grated [1/4 cup] 1.5 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 3/4 oz asparagus cut in 1/2” pieces 1 oz brocoli, coarsely chopped 1/2 Tbsp onion, chopped 3 oz tomato, sliced into 3 slices herbs [thyme, basil, rosemary, whatever], salt, pepper
Steam the vegetables to cook until tender. Set the oven at 400. Lightly oil 3 wells of a standard muffin pan. Put water [1/2”] in the empty wells. Or use a mini-muffin pan and plan to use about 6 of the wells. HINT: do not think to use fewer wells to create larger quiches — they puff up a bit while cooking. Grate the cheese and toss lightly to combine. Beat the eggs and milk together and add the seasonings. Feel free to use lots of basil and thyme! Spoon equal portions of the vegetables into the prepared pans. Then top with cheese mixture. Pour the egg mixture over the veg and cheese. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a thin knife stuck in the center comes out clean and dry. Let the quiches cool briefly while you slice the tomatoes. Serve each quiche on a tomato slice or next to them.
“It was Greek to me.”
Did you know that Shakespeare was the first to pen “It was Greek to me.”? Yup. You can look it up in Julius Caesar. For today’s meals we dream of feasting with the gods of classical Greece. And after you enjoy the omelette and the Meze meal, I hope you will say, “It was delicious to me.”
Creamy Greek Omelette 292 cal. 10.3 g. fat 18.9 g. protein 30.9 g. carb PB Oh boy is this yummy! The feta lends a tang to the eggs, while the cottage cheese gives a wonderful melting texture. A real treat.
1 ½ 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. +++++ 3/8 oz feta cheese +++++ 1 ½ Tbsp non-fat cottage cheese +++++ Greek oregano +++++ salt +++++ pepper ++++ ½ slice 70-calorie bread [I like Nature’s Own multigrain] ++++++ 1 1/2 oz of apple ++++ optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or natural apple cider ++++++ optional: blackish coffee or tea
Mince the feta and combine with cottage cheese and oregano. Spritz a non-stick skillet with oil or non-stick spray and heat the pan over medium-low heat. Beat the eggs well with 1 spoonful of the cheese mixture using a rotary mixer. Pour the eggs into the pan and let cook undisturbed until the edges set. Lift the edges gently to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath. Before the top surface sets, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put dollops of the cheese mixture on half the omelette and make an attempt to spread it out. Fold the omelette in half and continue to heat in the pan. Filling will heat and may ooze out a bit. Brew and pour your beverages. Plate the apple and the omelette. Oh yum.
Meze Meal 297 calories 10 g. fat 36 g protein 21.8 g carb ‘Mezedakia’ is a bit like the Greek equivalent of Spanish Tapas. Small servings chosen from multiple small plates which make it easy to eat on a hot Mediterranean night. Well, we don’t live on a vast inland sea, but we’ll take good low calorie, low fat, delicious food where ever we can find it. There are lots of good recipes in the book Meze by Rosemary Barron.
1/4 cup white beans I like Goya brand ++++++ ½ Tbsp capers 1 oz marinated mushrooms ++++++ 3 oz tomato, cubed generous pinch Greek oregano ++++ 3 oz cooked shrimp [or 2 oz cooked chicken breast] ++++ 1 oz mozzerella cheese [or use feta, same amount] +++++ 1 ½ oz lemon-marinated carrots +++ marinade: 1 tsp olive oil +++ 1 tsp lemon juice +++ pinch of granulated garlic +++ pinch oregano
Combine the white beans with the capers in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the tomatoes and the oregano. Slice the carrots into 2″ logs or coins and cook until tender. Drain and combine with the marinade in a small jar with a lid. Shake well, remove the lid and let the carrots cool in the marinade. Attend to the shrimp by cooking it and removing the shells, if necessary. Drain the marinade from the jar and pour it over the shrimp. Plate the ingredients to please the eye. Look at photos of the Agean Sea….
Living the Good Life.
This is the good life! The weather is warm enough for nature to wake up and stretch Herself and put tiny leaves on the trees. I feel fit enough to get out and weed and trim and plant herbs. While we are at it, let’s eat some food that is healthy and delicious. If it takes the pounds off, too, then so much the better.
Coddled Eggs 280 calories 6.3 g. fat 10 g. protein 16.6 g. carb You will feel coddled and cossetted when you treat yourself to this breakfast.
one 2-oz egg 1 ½ tsp grated Parmesan cheese seasonings to taste ½ slice 70-cal bread I like Nature’s Own 100% whole grain bread ¼ cup berries mixed with 2 tsp plain nonfat yogurt blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon and hot water 5-6 oz fruit smoothie
Bring a small pan of water to a simmer. Use enough water to cover the egg coddler by 1” or to come ½ way up the custard cup. Spritz some cooking spray into an egg coddler or ramekin or custard cup. Break the egg into the coddler, and add the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with hers, salt, pepper. Screw on the lid of the coddler and lower it into the water. OR carefully place the custard cup into the water and put the lid on the pan. Simmer 5 minutes then turn off the heat and leave the eggs in the water for about 3 minutes more. Toast the bread, brew the hot beverage, shake or blend the smoothie. Off to another day of living the good life.
Langoustine with Garlic and Tomatoes 281 calories 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. You could substitute shrimp or lobster meat.
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 in to leftovers, make the whole thing and enjoy it for lunch on a Slow Day.
1 tsp olive oil 1 clove garlic, chopped pinch of hot pepper flakes 5 oz langustino chunks or 4.5 oz cleaned shrimp 5 oz asparagus , cut into 2” pieces 2 Tbsp dry white wine salt & pepper 15 oz tomatoes, coarsley chopped [You could use fresh tomatoes or canned] ¾ c white beans ½ cup fish stock 1 cup cabbage, sliced [3 oz] 1 oz spinach
Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic and hot peppers and stir for 15 seconds. Add the asparagus and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, then sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Cook to reduce the wine to almost gone. Add the beans, tomatoes, cabbage, and fish stock. Cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 6 minutes. Add the langostine and cook further to thicken the broth. In another pan, blanch the spinach. OR add the spinach with the langostine, in which case the spinach will cook and mix with the broth. The prep is fussy, the cooking is quick, the result is delicious.
Another Jolly Day
Since we are alive and healthy and looking forward to living, it must be a jolly day. Attitude really matters, so keep a cheerful outlook and you will succeed with your lifestyle goals.
Cheese Omelette 290 K 11.3 fat 32.2 pro 46.8 Carb
1 ½ eggs [2-oz eggs] HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a glass measuring cup. Beat up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. salt, pepper, thyme ¼ oz cheese such as Cheddar or Gruyere 1/2 slice of 70-calorie bread — I like Nature’s Own multigrain blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water 5-6 oz. fruit smoothie or unpasteurized apple cider
Whisk the eggs with seasonings to taste. Grate the cheese. Put the eggs into a hot pan spritzed with cooking spray. Once the bottom of the eggs are set, sprinkle with cheese, fold and plate. Slice fruit, brew beverage, blend the smoothie or take it from the ‘fridge and shake it before serving.
Chicken Breasts Provinçal 269 calories 7.6 g. fat 24.4 g. protein 19.4 g. carb Unfortunately, all I can tell you about this recipe’s origin is that it was clipped from a magazine and it refers to a cooking course at the Culinary Institute of America. I can also tell you that it is delicious.
3 oz chicken breast, uncooked and sliced or butterflied to 1/2″ thick 1 Tbsp flour 1 tsp olive oil 1/2 tsp garlic 1 anchovy fillet 1 Tbsp dry white wine 1 cup cubed tomato 2 Tbsp chicken stock 2 cured ripe olives 1 oz broccoli florets & 2 oz cauliflower florets
Dust the chicken with the flour and cook in the oil 1 minute on each side. Then put on a plate, cover with foil or a pan lid, and keep at room temperature. Start steaming the vegetables. Put the garlic and anchovy in the not-too-hot pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine. Cook and stir up the brown bits until the wine is almost gone. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and olives. Cook the sauce until it is a little thicker. Put the chicken back into the pan until it is warm. Plate with the vegetables. This cooks quickly so you won’t have to wait long to eat it — but savor it slowly and enjoy all the rich flavors.
Celebrating Floralia
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.
My mother loved to celebrate holidays with special foods. Whether the holiday was religious, patriotic, or ethnic, she would find a recipe to go with it. The tradition continues with me. May 1-4 is the festival of Floralia, the Roman Goddess of Springtime and Flowers. The English celebrate it with baskets of flowers and maypoles. The French celebrate it by decorating their towns with floral displays and wearing green.
The recipes for today were chosen because they look like or contain flowers. Celebrate the season, eat well, lose weight.
Strawberry Cottage Cheese & Pears: 164 calories 3.5 g fat 5 g fiber 10 g protein 26 g carbs 61 mg Calcium NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF This is from the Fast Diet book. You will see some other good recipes there, too. I added the pecans to this for deeper flavor and more protein.
4 oz ripe pear of which Comice is the best, but at this time of year use Anjou or Bosc 1/3 cup fat-free cottage cheese 2 ripe strawberries, chopped ¼ tsp pecans, finely chopped 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] or lemon in hot water
Section the pear into slices and remove the cores. Do not peel the pears. Fan the segments on a plate in a circle. Mix the cottage cheese with the strawberries and spoon into the center. Sprinkle with the nuts. Pour your beverage of choice. Good stuff!
Tuna-Egg-Tomato Salad 283 cal 16.5 g. fat 27.5 g. protein 29.5 g. carbs Here we have a Spanish-inspired meal from a cookbook called Everyday Tapas. I took out the potatoes and substituted garbanzo beans. I added the salad greens, too. Feel free to add more greens and tomatoes, there are calories to spare. The recipe is very simple and delicious as well – perfect to dress up with pansy blossoms [they are edible] to honor a day in spring or summer. HINT: This makes enough for two meals. Invite a friend or enjoy the left-overs as a lovely lunch the next day. Today’s lettuce will wilt by tomorrow, so plan around that.
5 oz canned white-meat tuna in water 2 egg, hardboiled and cut into 1/2” dice 4 oz tomato, cut into 1/2” dice ½ cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup baby salad greens [mesclun] 1 ½ tsp olive oil 1 tsp white wine vinegar fresh parsley, salt, pepper pansy or violet flowers for garnish per person: 1/2 slice 70-calorie bread such as Nature’s Own 100% whole grain
Drain the tuna and flake the meat into 1” pieces. Whisk the oil and vinegar together and toss with the lettuce. Add everything else, except the flowers, and gently toss to combine with the salad dressing. Garnish with as many flowers as you wish. Serve at room temperature.
Eating well, with creative recipes, to follow the Fasting Lifestyle according to Michael Mosley's "Fast Diet." 