Author: me

AMAZING but True!

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News Flash: I am at a point now that if I lose any more pounds, I will be dangerously under-weight!  Never thought I’d say that. Husband is also at unheard of low weight.  I owe this to the FAST Lifestyle and to the Green Smoothies every day.  We eat well and we eat enough to satisfy.

The Plant-Based Diet is ongoing, which my Husband follows daily. I eat right along with him, but will eat ham or turkey sandwiches daily for lunch to get an extra 200 calories into my diet.  Husband also eats lunch, which is plant-based.  Otherwise the menu consists of the following:

Sunday breakfast: cornmeal pancakes with maple syrup and meatless sausage; yeast bread made with white whole-wheat flour/unbleached flour; along with Green Smoothie and cafe au lait.      dinner: a low-meat meal such as Pizza with chicken garnish; beef kabobs with brown rice pilaf;  Eggplant casserole; a Greek recipe for squash and green vegetable pie.

Monday breakfast: Fast meals as advertised            dinner: Fast meals as posted

Tuesday breakfast: whole-grain muffins or toast with meatless bacon; along with Green Smoothie and cafe au lait.      dinner: Veggie Burgers on Sandwich-Thins; bruschetta on Naan bread; chili non carne; stuffed zucchini; chicken couscous; rumbledeethumps; all with lots of vegetables on the side. Complementary wines are served.

Wednesday breakfast: Whole grain cereal with banana or canned peaches — I have mine with cow’s milk, Husband has his with almond milk; along with Green Smoothie and cafe au lait.   dinner:  whole-grain pasta with tomato sauce and meatless sausage;  tortellini and mixed vegetable sauce; quiona elbows and non-dairy cheese [‘Mac & Cheese’] with tomato sauce;   whole-wheat spaghetti with meatless sausage & tomato sauce; spaghetti squash/whole-grain spaghetti with sauce; all served with green beans or other cooked vegetables. Complementary wines are served.

Thursday breakfast:  Fast diet as posted.                         dinner: Fast diet as posted

Friday breakfast:  whole-grain muffins or toast with meatless sausage; along with Green Smoothie and cafe au lait.    dinner: crab cakes; fish cakes; Indian vegetables with fish with Naan bread; 3 oz baked fish; all served with cooked vegetables and potatoes or brown rice pilaf. Complementary wines are served.

Saturday breakfast: Whole grain cereal with banana or canned peaches — I have mine with cow’s milk, husband has his with almond milk; along with Green Smoothie and cafe au lait.   dinner: pizza on home-made crust which is 1/2 white whole wheat flour and 1/2 unbleached flour.  toppings vary but the ‘cheese’ is non-milk for Husband, regular mozzarella for me. Complementary wines are served. NB: for some reason I always weigh less on Sunday than I did on Saturday.

Got questions?  Let me know.  I will continue to post menus and will label them as G-F [gluten free] or P-B [plant-based] when applicable.  Onward to healthy eating! Join me.

Simple & Yummy

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We follow the Fast Lifestyle because we want all the health benefits: lower weight, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, less risk of certain cancers, AND because we can do all that with food that is simple and yummy. Its like having your cake…. but no, we don’t eat cake on a Fast Day.  Yes, we are still on the Plant-Based diet and an egg once in a while is OK.

Tostada                                                                                                                               Gluten Free                                 TostadaRemember the Chili non Carne from Monday? Hope you have some left over for this breakfast!

one 6” corn tortilla    [I always keep Ole brand ready in the freezer.]                                                                                                                              one 2-oz egg 2 Tbsp chili non carne                                                                                                          2 tsp Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese, grated                                                                                  hot beverage of your choice – hold the cream and sugar                                                                    green smoothie or fruit smoothie

Heat the toaster oven to 350. Put the chili in a custard cup and put it into the oven to heat briefly. Warm a dry cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Warm the tortilla in the pan on both sides until it is warm and pliable and starting to brown. Remove the tortilla and keep warm in a dish towel. Spritz the skillet with non-stick spray and fry the egg until it is done as you like it. Remove the egg. Spread the chili on the tortilla and return the tortilla to the skillet. Put the egg on the chili and sprinkle with the cheese. Put the pan into the hot oven until the cheese melts. Brew your beverage, pour the smoothie and wake up your mouth.

Asparagus Soup         242 calories        10.7 fat                16.8 protein                        33 carb

asparagus soupThis fabulous soup is from Salute to Healthy Cooking and we made a batch last April 1.  Enjoy it today for a wonderful dinner.  Despite its rich taste, it is very low in calories and fat. HINT: the recipe makes enough for 6 servings. Freezes very well for easy meals later. I serve it here with Finn Crisp crackers covered with melted cheese. If you want to eliminate them, go ahead.

1 and 1/2 pound asparagus                                                                                                                           ½ c onion, roughly chopped                                                                                                                        1 cup potato in 1 “ dice                                                                                                                                    5 cups chicken stock                                                                                                                                        4 oz raw chicken breast cut into 4 pieces                                                                                                                     salt & pepper                                                                                                                                                        1 ½ tps Boursin cheese/serving                                                                                                                   4 pieces of Finn Crisp crackers/serving                                                                                                         1 ½ oz Swiss cheese [1 deli slice]/ serving

Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and cut spears roughly in half. Pour the chicken stock into a sauce pan. Add the onion and asparagus. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables so that it will steam/poach while the asparagus is cooking. Bring the liquid to a simmer and put on a lid. Remove the chicken when it is cooked and put it in the blender. When the vegetables are cooked, remove them and put in the blender. Cook the potato in the pot and cook until soft. Pour the stock and the potatoes into the blender with evrything else. Blend until smooth. Return to the pan and season to taste. Cool and divide into 3 portions [or 6 portions if you are serving one] for the freezer.

To serve, thaw the soup and warm it gently. Adjust seasonings. Cut the slice of cheese into 4 strips, 4” x 2”, and put a portion on each cracker. Warm in the oven until cheese melts. Delicious taste of Spring.

What is so rare as a day in June?

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This June has been beautiful so far: warm, sunny, not humid, light zephyrs playing in the trees.  Bliss.  We are still on the Plant-Based Fast Lifestyle.  This means lots of whole grains, lots of vegetables, plant-based protein, and very little animal-based protein.  But twice a week we eat eggs. Twice a week we eat  fish and sometimes chicken is permitted.  I always enjoy a recipe challenge!

Shirred EggShirred Egg            284 calories           8.4 g. fat                 12.25 g. protein       25.7 g. carb                  I learned to prepare this dish when working on my Girl Scout ‘Cooking’ badge. I still eat it because it tastes so good. Peter says, “this is my favorite FAST breakfast!”

One 2-oz egg,                                                                                                                                                     1 Tbsp half&half or almond milk                                                                                                                                         1/2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese  or cheese alternative                                                                            half a slice of 70-calorie whole grain  bread, toasted                                                                                2 oz apple slices                                                                                                                                     blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water

Heat the toaster oven to 325. Spritz a 1-cup ramekin with cooking oil or spray. Break the egg into the cup, and pour the half&half on top. Sprinkle with cheese, add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then let sit 2-3 mins. Plate with the toast, apples. Serve with your choice of black-ish coffee or tea, or lemon in hot water.

venison chili w: melonChili non Carne:    The recipe is my mother’s, except that she used beef. And she served it on a heap of mashed potatoes, but we won’t do that on a Fast Day.

15 oz canned red beans                                                                                                                                16 oz canned tomatoes – in chunks or whole                                                                                       ½ cup chopped onion                                                                                                                                  ½ green pepper, chopped                                                                                                                               2-3 tsp chili pepper, or more if you like it hot                                                                                         ½ – 1 tsp ground cumin                                                                                                                                  1 Tbsp cheddar cheese, grated, as a garnish

Saute the onion and green pepper in some of the tomato juices until tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook gently until the stew is thickened. Taste to see if it needs more seasoning. One serving = 1 cup chili topped with grated cheddar.  I always think that cold, sweet melon is an excellent foil to hot, spicy chili.

This is enough for 2 one-cup servings. Save the remaining chili for a lunch or watch for the next posting to see how we use it for breakfast!

Let’s talk about, um, er, elimination…

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Some people find that a change of diet causes a change in their digestive health. Whether you end up too loose or too tight in your bowels, the cause is how your intestines are reacting to the addition of new food [vegetables, fiber] as well as the subtraction of other food [fatty foods, processed foods].  It turns out that the standard American diet degenerates the health of the good bacteria which live in the gut and help to digest our food.  The solution?  Re-populate those good little guys!

“How?” you may ask?  The solution we found lies in those green smoothies which we ingested during the Plant-Based Diet, about which I wrote earlier.  For breakfast we share a Fruited Green Smoothie like this:                                                                             2 cups of greens – spinach or Swiss chard or kale or a combination       1/2 of an apple or pear, seeds and stem removed                                                                  1/2 banana                                                                                                                                   1/3 to 1/2 cup berries – straw- or rasp- or blue or a combination                                      1 and 1/2 cups orange juice

This is blended on high in the Vita-Mix and tastes better than it looks! The recipe makes enough for three 8-oz servings. Put the extra in a jar in the ‘fridge for tomorrow.  We drink this every day, Fast day or Slow day and find it to be very useful for good digestive health.

Celebration!

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oysters w: beet-walnut saladToday 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.

Plant-based diet, anyone?

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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.

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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. mushroom-egg toast w: apples & gr smoo1 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. Pizza 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

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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.buttermilk baked eggs:mixed berries 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!

Hot Dogs & Beans 290 cal GF

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

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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.PM scramble or Ham omelette? w: apple

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.tomato soup w: croq mons, grapes

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

~ me ~ Leave a comment

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.

Improper English¼ 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.

quiche w: tomatoone 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.