dieting

Bobby Peel & His Men

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

A Group of Peelers, circa 1870. (Photo by Past Pix/SSPL/Getty Images)

What accomplishments make for a good life’s work? Consider this CV: chief secretary of Ireland; Home Secretary; twice Prime Minister of England; the passage of the Factory Act and the Mines Act, regulating work hours — especially for women and children. Such was the political life of Robert Peel, born February 5, 1788, in Lancashire. His father had become rich by owning a cotton mill, and young Robert was sent to the best schools. Peel was elected to Parliament in 1809. While Home Secretary, he oversaw reform of prisons and criminal law. In 1829, Peel made his most noticeable contribution to life in England: he created the Metropolitan Police. This replaced the old system of neighborhood watchmen, called “Hew and Cry”, which did not co-ordinate their work and frequently were corruptible. Peel’s 1000 constables were soon seen all around town in their distinctive uniforms, and people were unsure what to expect. Londoners fondly called them ‘Bobbies’, after their boss, Sir Robert, and when they didn’t like them, called them ‘Peelers’. Peel set out rules of conduct and a chain of command, which won over the populace. Soon, other cities mandated the formation of police forces. Peel understood that for the force to be effective, the people had to trust it, and agree to be governed by it. An observation attributed to Peel states: “The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity to use physical force.” Law enforcement around the world would do well to follow that advice. It is as appropriate today as it was almost 200 years ago. How could we have ever had “Prime Suspect“, “Midsomer Murders“, or “Inspector Morse” without Robert Peel and his Men?

Our menus are typical of the North of England, the sort of food that Sir Robert might have eaten while he was growing up.

Lancashire Spread: 253 calories… 14 g fat… 4 g fiber… 9.6 g protein… 22.4 g carbs… 233.7 mg Calcium… PB GF — if using GF bread Since Elizabethian times, people in England have been spreading various mixtures on bread. Sometimes meat, later cooked eggs and anchovies. Cheese toasts were favored in Lancashire. This recipe from England’s North is from Elisabeth Aynton’s English Provincial Cooking.

++ 3 Tbsp cheddar cheese, grated or purchased as a spread ++++ 2 Tbsp minced onion ++++ 1 slice bacon ++++ 1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread ++ 1 oz pear ++

Cook bacon until crispy, remove from pan to drain, then cut/crumble into bits. Off heat, add onion to bacon drippings and stir until fragrant. Drain through a sieve to remove drippings. Cream the cheese, onion, bacon bits together.  TIP: This can be done the night before and left on the counter at room temperature. Toast bread very lightly. Turn on broiler. Spread bread with cheese mixture. Put under broiler about 3 minutes — watch it carefully, lest it burn. Plate with pear. Awfully good!

“Pickled” Salmon: 279 calories… 9 g fat… 2.5 g fiber… 25.5 g protein… 18 g carbs… 34.3 mg Calcium… PB GF In this old recipe, ‘pickled’ means ‘flavored by putting in a marinade’. This is an easy meal to make ahead, as well as being delicious. This recipe from England’s North is from Elisabeth Aynton’s English Provincial Cooking. HINT: This recipe serves three [3].

++ 12 ounces wild salmon +++ ¼ c dry white wine ++++ 3 cloves ++++ 6 peppercorns ++++ ½ tsp salt ++++ ½ Tbsp black currants ++++ ½ tsp mace ++++ ½ tsp ginger powder ++++ per serving: ¼ c cooked pearled barley ++++ 1 oz carrots, diced + 1 oz English peas ++

Put fish in a saucepan or saute pan with the salt and enough cold water to cover it barely. Bring slowly to a boil, then cover and simmer 20 minutes. Carefully lift out fish, and put into a 2”-deep container with a tight cover. Let cool. Add wine, currants, and all the spices to hot water in which the fish was cooked. Stir to mix, let cool. Pour marinade over fish, put lid on container, put container in the ‘fridge for 12-24 hours. Thirty minutes before serving, remove fish from marinade. Strain marinade, plucking out the currants, and cook it down to less than half. Return fish to reduced sauce, slowly heat, simmering, until heated through. Serve topped with a bit of sauce and the currents, along with the barley and vegetables.

Cookbooks: Mrs Beeton

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Dear Husband and I have a thing about cookbooks — such variety! such cuisines! We don’t own thousands of them, but through our life together we have amassed several shelves-worth. We especially like the ones with a narrative along with the recipes. During the Pandemic, we read aloud from cookbooks to each other, since dining out was not an option. I am drawn to old books, so I am always on the look-out for older volumes of cookery. Today we will look at one of the English classics: Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Isabella Beeton first published her book in 24 monthly installments, from 1859-1861. The individual chapters were gathered into one volume in 1861. Thinking that “there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a house-wife’s badly-cooked dinners and untidy ways”, Beeton provides seven chapters on running a household and bringing up children, as well as managing the servants, medical problems, and legal matters. The remaining 17 chapters are broken into food categories and recipes for them. Although she was only 25 years old when the book came out, Beeton wrote with an assurance that gave confidence to homemakers, young and old. The book was a runaway success, selling 60,000 copies in the first year. When reading David Copperfield, published 1849, one thinks that David’s wife, Dora, would benefit from copy of the book! Anyone reading Mrs Beeton’s work would know everything one needed to know about being the mistress of a household. Today, some topics are a quaint insight into life 140 years ago, but some of her ideas still ring true. For quick reference, all her topics are numbered, from #1, likening the housewife to the commander of an army, to #2751, about witnesses signing for a testator. In between we find #2149-2150: Bill of Fare for a Picnic of 40 Persons, and #118, a recipe for Cabbage Soup with a sidebar about the introduction of vegetables to England under the reign of Henry VIII.

Recipe #1338 is for Rhubarb Pudding. Mrs Beeton makes it with a lard crust and boils it. This one is easier, and suitable for breakfast. #1456 is a recipe for a plain omelette. We will improve upon that by adding morel mushrooms.

Rhubarb Pudding: 161 calories… 4 g fat… 2 g fiber… 14.5 g protein… 20.6 g carbs… 155 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF – if using GF flour Hayden Pearson has a wonderful dessert call “Blanche’s Super Rhubarb Pudding” in his iconic Country Flavor Cook Book. This is a scaled-down version that is fit for breakfast: slightly tangy, lightly sweet.

++6 Tbsp cooked, mashed rhubarb ++++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 1 egg white ++++ 1½ Tbsp sugar ++++ 2 Tbsp flour OR 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour ++++ 2 Tbsp milk++++½ tsp baking powder ++++ per person: 1 slice Canadian Bacon [= ½ oz back bacon] ++++ 1 oz strawberries, sliced ++++ 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]++

Cut up 1 cup rhubarb and stew it in a little water. Drain thoroughly and mash. Measure the 6 Tbsp you need and save the remainder for another use. [Add to a smoothie; serve with yogurt] Whisk the egg and white, then add all the other ingredients [but not the bacon!] Spoon into a baking dish which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. HINT: I did all this the night before. A real time-saver. Bake at 350 F until the batter is firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. While the pudding bakes, cook the bacon and prepare the optional beverages. Plate topped with strawberries. Delicious.

Morel Mushroom Omelette: 269 calories… 18 g fat… 2.5 g fiber… 18 g protein… 10 g carbs… 180 mg Calcium  PB GF  A mushroom omelette with bacon is a delicious treat. Morel mushrooms kick it up a few notches. You can use fresh morels or dried mushrooms that have been soaked in warm water until soft, then blotted dry.  HINT: This recipe serves two [2], but you could cut it if you wish, or double it to serve four [4]. 

4 two-oz eggs —-½ oz/3 Tbsp Parmesan-Reggiano cheese Whisk eggs, just to blend in the yolks. Grate cheese and stir it in.
1 c/2.3 oz morelsSlice morels lenthwise.
2 slices uncured bacon [30 cal/slice], cut into ½” pieces Cook in a non-stick pan until ‘lightly golden’, 2-3 minutes. Drain off all but ½-1 Tbsp fat.
1 scallion [1 oz], thinly sliced———-sliced morelsSaute scallions and morels in fat until softened and warm. Distribute evenly within the pan.
Egg-cheese mixture—————cooked baconPour in eggs without disturbing the other ingredients. Sprinkle with chopped bacon.
Cook until top is done to your liking. Fold and plate. 
2 oz zucchini OR Side salad with 2 Tbsp blueberriesToss the salad and plate with the omelette.

Earthquakes

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Ever since there have been humans, we have been fearful of and confused by earthquakes. The Chinese thought that the world was balanced on the back of a turtle. When the turtle moved, the earth shook. The Romans called the ground they walked on ‘terra firma‘ or ‘solid ground’, and they thought that earthquakes were caused by the anger of the gods. But the ground is anything but solid. The earth’s crust, which is from two to 20 miles thick in places, is broken into many pieces called Tectonic Plates. The largest pieces are either Oceanic or Continental Plates, their names explaining where they are found. Despite their thickness, the plates are floating on molten rock below them in the Asthenosphere. As that molten rock flows, it pulls the plates, moving them toward each other, away from each other, or sliding past each other — as seen in the illustration above. When the plates move, earthquakes happen: small ones when plates diverge, much stronger ones when plates converge or slide past. The strength of an earthquake can be measured on the Richter Scale or on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale [MMI]. It seems odd when some similar events occur on similar dates in history. One such coincidence had to do with plate motion. On January 26, 1531, Lisboa, Portugal was rocked by a massive earthquake, a number IX on the MMI. Hundreds died, many more were injured, up to 1500 buildings were destroyed, and ships in the harbor were damaged by a tsunami. The cause given for the disaster? The wrath of God. In 1700, on the same day, people in the First Nations villages along Vancouver Island, British Columbia were just going to sleep when the largest earthquake in North America struck. The quake most likely had an MMI of X, based on the destruction of entire villages due to the shaking, the landslides, and the 50-foot tsunami. The tsunami traveled across the Pacific to Japan, where there was more structure damage and loss of life. Earthquakes are fascinating geological events. Where they happened once, they can reoccur. Given modern population densities, strong earthquakes in those same areas today would cause enormous damage.

Our menus today honor the regions struck by those major quakes on January 26th. In the 1700s, the Russians dominated the Pacific North-West of North America, as they exploited fur-bearing animals along the coast. For them, blini at breakfast. The Lisbon earthquake had its epicenter in the estuary of the Targus River, thus a Portuguese fish recipe seems appropriate.

Buckwheat Blini Breakfast: 213 calories… 5 g fat… 3 g fiber… 9 g protein… 31 g carbs… 67.6 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values shown are for the plated items only, not for the optional beverages. Blini are associated with Russia and caviar. Here they appear in more common company at breakfast. Sour Cherry Syrup is just the thing to top them, though cherry jelly thinned with water would be good too.

++2 buckwheat blini** ++++ 1 oz ham ++++ 1 Tbsp/ ½ fl oz Sour Cherry Syrup ++++ Optional:  blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++ 

If previously-made, warm the blini and roll them. Warm and roll the ham, too. Plate them all and lash with the syrup. A simple and tasty meal.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI: one batch yields 16 six-inch pancakes, ~1 oz each each = 72 calories —- 2 g fat —- 1.6 g fiber —- 2 g protein —- 10 g carbs —- 30 mg Calcium — ++1¼ c skim milk ++++ ½ c all-purpose flour ++++ ½ c white whole wheat flour ++++ ½ c buckwheat flour ++++ ¾ tsp dry yeast ++++ 1 tsp salt ++++ 2 two-oz eggs ++++ 2 Tbsp butter ++++ 3-4 Tbsp water ++

Heat milk until warm to the touch. Whisk together flours, yeast, and salt. Melt butter and let cool a bit. Mix with the warm milk, then whisk in the eggs. Combine wet and dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Let rest 90 minutes on the counter or 12 hrs in a cool place. After the resting, stir the batter and heat a well-seasoned or non-stick skillet. Spritz with non-stick spray, then wipe with a bit of paper towel. To make 6” diameter blini, I used a 3 Tbsp scoop. The batter is thicker than crepe-batter, but thinner than most pancake-batter. It begins to cook as soon as it hits the pan, so tip/rotate the pan with one hand as you add batter with the other. Then use a scraper to nudge the batter over to the edges. Cook on one side, as holes form on the top. Then turn and cook on the other side. TIP: they freeze well

Portugese Fish & Chips: 260 calories… 6 g fat… 5 g fiber… 24 g protein… 28 g carbs… 60 mg Calcium…  PB GF – if using GF flour From our favorite dinner place in Souris, PEI, 21 Breakwater, comes this house specialty from the chef’s native cuisine. The batter is so light that it lets the lime-infused fish shine through. The recipe takes little time to accomplish. I have described it in detail so you can be successful.

++ 3 oz tilapia or hake ++++ 1 fl. oz lime juice or lemon juice ++++ 1 egg white + 1 egg yolk ++++ 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour ++++  3 oz sweet potato, peeled ++++ ½ tsp canola oil ++++ ½ tsp granulated garlic++++ ¼ tsp paprika ++++ black pepper ++++ 2 oz asparagus ++

Marinate the fish in the lime juice with a pinch of salt and pepper for up to 30 minutes. Set the oven to 425 F. Peel the sweet potato and cut lengthwise into ¼” slices. Cut each slice into ¼” sticks. Put the oil in the non-stick pan that you will use to cook the fish. Add the potato sticks to the pan and toss about to coat with oil. Combine the granulated garlic, paprika, and pepper, and sprinkle on the potato sticks. Toss to distribute the seasonings. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil with the dull side up. Spray liberally with non-stick spray. HINT: You could do this 1-2 hours in advance. Distribute the potatoes on the pan so they do not touch. Put in oven for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, put the asparagus on to cook. Take the fish from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge lightly with flour. Whip the egg white into soft peaks. Fold in the egg yolk and remaining flour from dredging the fish. Heat the non-stick pan and spray with non-stick spray. Remove the fries from the oven and turn them over. Return to oven for 10 minutes more. Dip the fish in the egg batter so that it is coated on all sides. Cook the fish on one side over medium heat for 6 minutes, then on the other side for 6 minutes or until fork tender. When fries are done, turn off oven, open the door, and leave the fries in there for up to 5 more minutes. Plate all that good food and live it up, Portuguese style.

Scoville & His Units

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Do you like it hot? We are talking about spicy foods today. I’m one of those people who will have a sneezing/coughing fit if there is too much black pepper in my food. Other people want food so spicy that they break out in a sweat. The spiciness of food is measured in Scoville Units, and today we will celebrate their deviser. Wilbur Lincoln Scoville was born on January 22, 1865. At age 14, he worked in a pharmacy, then went on to earn a Graduate of Pharmacy (PhG) degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. Three years later, Wilbur was on the faculty of his alma mater, where he wrote a seminal reference book, The Art of Compounding. After 15 years of teaching, Scoville was hired by Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals. At that time, capsaicin — the toxin in chili peppers that causes them to taste ‘hot’ — was used in a cream to alleviate arthritis and muscle pain. Scoville wanted to standardize the heat of the cream, so he set out to calibrate the hotness of peppers. Using green bell peppers as the baseline, volunteers were subjected to various dilutions of the spicy oils in a solution of sugar water — the Scoville Organoleptic Test. Based on how many drops of sugar water it took to neutralize a pepper’s heat, the Scoville Scale was created in 1912. You might not have heard of the man, but his legacy lives on as thrill-seekers want to try ever hotter chilis. As far as I am concerned, a little goes a long way. Scoville died in 1942 — not from eating peppers.


 Both of our meals today are flavored with spice blends — one from Arabia, one from India. When you prepare each blend, feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your taste for spicy heat.

Arabian Eggs: 153 calories… 7.5 g fat… 2 g fiber … 10 g protein… 12.5 g carbs… 58 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the eggs and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  Hawayij spice is widely-used in the cuisine of Saudi Arabia. And it clearly shows trade links to countries further East. Coffee [Coffea arabica is a native plant] and dates round out the flavors of the country. The sweet dates are a wonderful counter-point to the spicy eggs.

++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 to store in the ‘fridge for next week. ++ 1-1½ tsp Hawayij spice ++++ 2 deglet noor dates  ++++ 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 with the spice mixture and pour into a heated skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Turn down the heat. Leave the eggs undisturbed until puffy and the top is set. Remove from skillet, and serve folded or flat. Pour the beverages and enjoy the fruit/spice combination.

Curried Scallops: 244 calories… 8.4 g fat… 5 g fiber… 21.4 g protein… 12 g carbs… 109 mg Calcium…  PB GF Our son used make his own Indian curry powder, which is fabulous-tasting. He has moved on to Thai curries, but we still cook with his original powder. These scallops are delicious and filling. It is Dear Husband’s method.

++ ¼ pound sea scallops ++++ 2 Tbsp Indian curry powder** ++++ ½ Tbsp butter ++++ 1 Tbsp white wine ++++ 3-4 oz broccoli ++

Trim the scallops of the white tissue which may be on the side. Slice the scallops around the equator, so that each disk is half its thickness. Pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle a plate with the curry powder and dredge the scallops in the powder, coating on both sides. Choose a heavy saute pan which is just large enough to hold the scallops in one layer. Heat the pan over medium heat. Add the butter and spray well with non-stick spray. Put scallops in the melted butter and cook on one side. Turn over and cook further, adding some more non-stick spray if pan seems too dry. When the scallops are done [this takes very little time], remove to your plate. Turn down heat and add the white wine to the pan to deglaze it, scraping up brown bits. Pour over scallops and plate the broccoli. A very easy and special meal.

**CGE Indian Curry Powder: Add to eggs or use to flavor seafood before sauteing. 2½ Tbsp corriander seed —- 2 tsp garlic powder —-1 Tbsp cumin seed—-2 tsp turmeric powder —-1 tsp ground ginger —-1 tsp green chili powder—- ½ tsp ground allspice—- 1 tsp salt —-1½ tsp dry mustard Grind everything together in a mortar + pestle or electric spice grinder.

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

buckwheat flour + skim milk + plain flour 1 two-oz egg + 1 egg white 
white whole wheat flour + dry yeast + buttersugar + white whole wheat flour
2 two-oz eggs + 3%-fat hamrhubarb + baking powder
sour Cherry syrup milk + Canadian bacon/back bacon
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

tilapia or other firm-fleshed white fish + egg4 two-oz eggs [serves 2] + Parmesan-Reggiono
white whole wheat flour + asparagus + paprikamorel mushrooms, fresh or dried
sweet potato + canola oilAmerican streaky bacon + scallion
garlic powder + lime juiceSide salad with 2 Tbsp blueberries
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Passing: Charley Parkhurst

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Parkhurst ferries a slightly apprehensive passenger.

 “Passing” means living your life as someone you are not, and getting away with it. The term can be used for people living as a member of another race or of a different sex. Charley Parkhurst was a rip-snortin’, rough-ridin’, rootin’-tootin’, six-gun-shootin’ stagecoach driver of the Old West. Being a stage coach driver, or ‘Whip’, was the job for only the strongest, bravest, most daring of men. They were highly respected, and little boys wanted to be just like them. Parkhurst was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1812. Orphaned as a child, there were some hard years spent in an orphanage. Charley escaped and went to Rhode Island, getting employment at a livery stable. The boss took a shine to Parkhurst, teaching the youth about horses and coach-driving. When gold was discovered in California, Charley headed there and on the way, acquaintance was made with a man who owned a carting business. He hired the 37-year-old to drive delivery carts. Shortly after arriving in the Gold Fields, Parkhurst was kicked in the face by a horse, losing the use of one eye and earning the sobriquet “Cockeyed Charley”. Parkhurst reconnected with his old boss from Rhode Island, who ran a stagecoach line. Thus, Charley became a Whip. The other drivers soon recognized that, despite short stature and small hands, Charley was one of the best. Roads were muddy and rocky, steep and twisty through the mountains. Other dangers included bandits who wanted the bank strong-boxes that the coaches carried, plus bears, and mountain lions. Despite bad weather, floods, and washed-out bridges, Charley’s coaches were always on time, cargo and passengers intact. In 1868, Parkhurst registered to vote and participated in the election. Eventually, railroads took over the transport of people and goods, so Charley retired to a small property, farming in the summer and logging in the winter. When arthritis made motion less easy, Charley down-sized to the cabin where death finally overcame the famous coachman on December 28, 18–. Friends and neighbors had encouraged Parkhurst to see a doctor for his tongue cancer symptoms, but he refused. They found out why when they found him dead and began to prepare Charley for burial — Charley Parkhurst, who had been born “Charlotte”, was in fact a woman. Many of his friends refused to believe it. Parkhurst was so well-known, and the revelation so amazing, that newspapers across the country carried the obituary. Would Charley be considered a trans man today, or was Charley astonishingly adept at concealing his sex? [Before you try to correct me, ‘sex’ is determined by your chromosomes, while ‘gender’ is how you present yourself. Charlotte Parkhurst had the sex of a woman, but presented herself in the gender of a man.] Whatever. Does it matter? Charley showed that a woman can indeed do a “man’s job”, and that they can vote, too.

What did Charlie Parkhurst eat? Most likely simple, hearty foods found at a post stop while the horses were being changed, or meals prepared at home.

Ham ScrOmelette:  150 calories… 7.6 g fat… 1 g fiber… 12.4 g protein… 7 g carb… 45 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB  GF Here’s another classic of the breakfast table.

++ 1½ eggs per person  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. ++++ ½ oz ground or chopped 3%-fat ham ++++ 2 oz melon or apple ++++ herbs to taste ++++ 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] ++

Chop the ham, slice the fruit, prep your beverage. Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. When the bottom begins to set, distribute the ham over half of the eggs. {OR warm the ham briefly in the hot pan, pour in the whisked eggs and scramble together until cooked.] Fold the omelette and cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Pour your beverages, and you are off to a good start to your day.

Chicken/Turkey Dinner: 284 calories… 4.5 g fat… 9 g fiber… 31.6 g protein… 34 g carbs… 58 mg Calcium…  PB Perfect use for left-over roasted or lemon-marinated grilled chicken breast. Instead of potatoes, enjoy the crunch of high-fiber crackers. So low in calories that you may even have some lovely fruit for dessert!

++4 ounces roasted breast meat, without skin ++++ ½ cup/3 o z green beans ++++ 2 oz carrots, sliced as coins ++++ 2 pieces Finn Crisp crackers ++++ ½ cup sliced strawberries ++

Warm the cooked meat or not, according to your taste. Cook the vegetables and plate with the meat and crackers. Enjoy those strawberries as a sweet conclusion to the meal.

The Grange

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Have you heard of The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry? Probably not, but you might recognize its common name: The Grange. The name is from the French word for “barn”, a necessary outbuilding on every farm. The Grange was formed following a tour of the American South by a commissioner tasked by President Andrew Johnson to look into agricultural practices on small farms. Oliver Kelley visited farms in the former Confederate States and also in the territories and new states of the Midwest. He was horrified by farmers’ lack of knowledge about ‘progressive agriculture’. Kelley thought that if there were a national organization of farmers, that they could trade information and best practices to improve farm output and profits. Through the work of likeminded people, Grange #1 was established in Fredonia, New York on December 4, 1867. The group went national in 1873, setting up an office in the nation’s capital. From its start, the Grange was egalitarian, recognizing the work of women and teenagers on the farm. Every Grange was required to have at least four women among its elected officials, and teenaged boys ‘old enough to push a plow’ were permitted to join. Grange members not only promoted modern farming, they were a major part of the social fabric of the town. They sponsored patriotic celebrations, summer lawn parties, community suppers, and theatrical performances. Eventually, as forms of entertainment became more available and family farms became fewer, the Grange was no longer the sole way to meet people or to spend leisure time and membership dwindled. Today there are still around 2100 Granges in 37 states. We will always need farmers.

Our meals are from the garden and the hen house, just the right food for a Grange member.

Leek & Tomato ScrOmelette: 153 calories… 7.4 g fat… 3 g fiber… 10.4 g protein… 12 g carbs… 73 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Eggs taste great — leeks and tomatoes always make them even better.

++1½ 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.++++ 1 oz tomato++++ 0.35 oz leeks, sliced and cooked++++ pinch garlic powder++++ 2 pinches basil++++ 1 clementine OR 2 oz apple++++ 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]++

Dice the tomatoes and put them in a pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Add salt and the basil, and cook until warm. Add the cooked leeks along with the garlic powder. Whisk the eggs and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Cook to your liking: as a scramble or as an omelette. Plate with the fruit, serve the beverages of your choice, and enjoy a fine day.

Gazpacho: 171 calories… 6.5 g fat… 2.4 g fiber… 14 g protein… 14.6 g carbs… 57.6 mg Calcium…  PB GF– if using GF croutons This is from Craig Claibourne’s Gourmet Diet cookbook from 1980. We used to make this, then it fell out of the repetoire. Time to re-embrace this classic Summer soup.  HINT: Serves 3 [three]. Makes a fine follow-up lunch. 


++1 pound red ripe tomatoes ++++ 1 tsp minced garlic ++++ ½ cup diced onion++++½ cup green or red pepper in ½” dice ++++ ½ cup cucumber, diced ++++ 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ++++ 1 Tbsp olive oil ++++ ¼ cup tomato juice ++++ generous grinds of black pepper + pinch piment d’Esplette OR Aleppo pepper OR cayenne pepper ++++  garnish per serving: 2 oz shrimp, peeled, cooked, cut in ½“ pieces ++++ ¼ oz whole-grain croutons ++


Core and dice the tomatoes. Put them into a blender. Add the next seven ingredients in order. Put the spices on top and turn the blender on to medium speed. When you are finished, all the ingredients should be mixed throughout but there should still be chunks of vegetables. Measure 1 cup of the soup into each bowl and top with the garnishes and a pinch of finishing salt. Just what we need in the Summer.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs  + Parmesan cheese
applesauce + chives/scallionstomato sauce + bell pepper
3%-fat ham + sagegarlic + parsley
part-skim ricotta + Dijon mustardpiment d’Esplette + apple or pear
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

3 oz rabbit meat + portobello mushroomsBay scallops + sun-dried tomatoes — not in oil
ham + onions + carrotparsley or basil + butter
chicken stock + herb savory + thymeolive oil + garlic
Arnold Sandwich Thin  or slice 70-calorie breadred lentil pasta + lemon juice
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Hoaxes, Regency Style

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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: 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 smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional 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
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Anne de Bretagne

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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.

Brittany/Bretagne has long been a land apart. In the Neolithic, people constructed menhirs and the remarkable field of Standing Stones at Carnac. Once, it was called Armorica — a name that shows up in the North-Central coast being called “Cotes d’Armor.” Despite the 56 BCE Roman invasion, the native people still clung to their local language. Next came Celtic people from England, displaced by the incoming Angles and Saxons from Germany. This solidified the affinity between the Bretons and their neighbors across the English Channel in Cornwall — some place-names and the languages are similar. The Frankish Empire rolled over the land, creating the early nation of France, but as the centuries turned, Bretons had their own government, language, coinage, and were exempted from the onerous Salt Tax because they harvested that precious commodity near Guerande. Perhaps this is why the Bretons prefer their butter to be salted. Brittany was a [mostly] independent Duchy from the 900s, governed by an hereditary nobility. Until 1514. The only heir to Duke Francois II was his daughter Anne de Bretagne. She had been engaged many times, but now the duchy was in the hands of a 14-year-old girl, making her a pawn in the game of thrones. The prior King of France had declared during negotiations with her father that the French king should have a say in whom Anne married. So King Charles VIII married her himself in 1491, when she was 15 and he was 20. They were happy together, but had no surviving children at the time of his death in 1498. Anne, age 22, returned to Brittany as Duchess, but of course she had to marry again. The next king of France was her cousin-in-law, Louis XII, which made Anne Queen of France for the second time. Their’s was also a happy union, producing two daughters. Anne was an accomplished administrator, patroness of the arts, and an avid reader. She scribed and read official documents to her unlettered husbands. Had she lived past the complication of her last childbirth in 1514, who knows what mark she would have made in history. Upon her death, her daughter Claude married the future king, Francois I, forever joining Brittany to the nation of France.

Every Breton will tell you that the ‘crepe’ began in Brittany — a fact hotly disputed in Normandy. In Brittany itself, there is discord about the name: in the North and West of the region, they are called ‘galettes,’ while everywhere else they are ‘crepes.’ I use galette to designate the savory ones made of buckwheat, whereas I call the sweet dessert ones ‘crepes.’ Both our breakfast and our dinner today involve galettes. Not at all difficult to prepare at home.

Egg-Mushroom Galette/Crepe: 153 calories 6 g fat 2 g fiber 9 g protein 17 g carbs [11.3 g Complex] 39 mg Calcium NB: The food values given above are for the egg crepe and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB  This is yummy and very filling. The eggs are creamy, the mushrooms are earthy, and the crepe is nutty. 

1 galette/savory crepe   one 2-oz egg  1 oz mushrooms, chopped  1 Tbsp chives, chopped 1 tsp thyme generous dash of granulated garlic 1 oz raspberry OR strawberry  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Warm the crepe. Spritz the non-stick saute pan with oil or spray and gently cook the mushrooms. Put the chives, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper in with the egg and beat it up. Scramble lightly with the mushrooms, keeping the eggs moist. Turn eggs out on the crepe and fold the galette over the egg. Plate the fruit. Sip your beverages and have a very fine day.

Leek & Bacon Galettes: 260 calories 5.5 g fat 4.6 g fiber 10 g protein 37 g carbs 114 mg Calcium   PB  Joanne Harris writes in her French Market cookbook about buying these at a market stall in France. Now you can make them at home.  NB: It is easier/quicker if you prepare the galettes/crepes in advance.

This is really yummy!

2 buckwheat galettes/crepes   ½ cup Leek & Bacon Filling ** 2 oz fresh tomato, diced and seasoned with basil or thyme + salt

**Leek & Bacon Filling:  Makes 1½ cups  Excellent in galettes and mixed with eggs. 2 oz American streaky bacon, uncured 3 cups leeks, cleaned and sliced cross-ways 1 clove garlic, chopped ¼ c Gruyere 2 tsp mayonnaise Saute the bacon until it is almost crisp. Remove from the pan, blot, and slice cross-ways. Saute the leek and garlic in the pan with the bacon fat until the leeks are limp. Take off heat and immediately stir in the cheese and mayonnaise. Ready to use

Gently warm the galettes and place them on a baking sheet. Warm the Leek&Bacon filling and divide it between the crepes, spreading it on one half of each. Fold the crepes in half, then in half again, placing them on the baking sheet so that the filled part is upper-most [this prevents unfolding in the oven]. Cut and season the tomato. Warm the galettes/crepes thoroughly in the oven. Delicious!

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
pear OR appleBasquaise Sauce
Yorkshire Pudding batterblueberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

5 oz cod filletchicken breast meat + zucchini + eggplant
fresh beetsbroccoli + bell peppers + carrots
carrotplain yogurt + brown rice
garbanzo beans tandoori sauce, purchased: 1/2 cup = 140 calories
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The Canaries

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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. Welcome to Breaking habits support who is now Following.

The Canary Islands lie off the NW shoulder of Africa, 71 miles out to sea. They were first settled in pre-history by unknown people, perhaps fisherman blown off course. The Romans, venturing beyond the Pillars of Hercules, arrived in the 1st century CE and found ruins built by previous settlers. They also found lots of ‘dogs of great size.’ Pliny said that the islands were thus named “Island of Dogs,” or “Canariae Insulae.” Berbers from Morocco called on the islands in 999 CE, but departed. When the Spaniards came in the 1400s, they found a native population living a stone-age life. Eventually the eight islands became the last port of call for Spanish ships headed across the Atlantic or down the coast of Africa. Columbus stopped there on September 6 before sailing West to ‘the Indies.’ Spanish sailors took as pets the little yellow birds that lived on the islands, calling them “canaries.” Back in Europe, the Canary Birds were bred for color and singing ability, and they became the status pet of the rich and famous. In the 1800s, the birds were a fad pet for the masses. Around 1913, John Scott Haldane proposed that small mammals or birds could detect deadly Carbon Monoxide gasses in the air of coal mines. The small animals would sicken or die when the air quality was degraded by undetectable toxic gasses, hence the ‘canary in the coal mine’ as an early-warning system. Today the islands are an autonomous region of Spain. Although the indigenous Guanche language is extinct, Silbo Gomero, a whistled communication method of the Island La Gomera, is being taught in some schools.

The Romans would have recognized the ingredients of our breakfast, and the dinner reflects the tastes of Morocco.

Roman Breakfast: 149 calories 3 g fat 3 g fiber 9 g protein 28 g carbs [21 g Complex Carbs] 35 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB  Though my Roman Breakfast is not the morning meal, this is a very good plate of breakfast food. It is based on ingredients available to Romans in the 1st century BCE. The meal is satisfying and flavorful. Try it.

1 Pan Muffin** OR 0.75 oz whole wheat bread 1 oz pear 1 oz cooked chicken 1 oz radish 1 oz cucumber [optional: ½ medjool date = ¼ oz]   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]

Dice all the fruits and vegetables. Add a good finishing salt and gently stir to combine.  HINT: I did this the night before and refrigerated the mixture. Prepare the pan muffin or take from freezer with time to thaw/heat. In the time it takes to brew the coffee, you can plate the muffin and the fruit-veg mixture. Romans did not drink smoothies or coffee, but we will. Hope you’ll enjoy your throw-back breakfast.

**PAN MUFFIN each: 71 calories 2.5 g fat 1 g fiber 2 g protein 11 g carbs 8.5 mg Calcium 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain hot cereal mix  1 and 1/4 cup buttermilk [combine cereal + milk and let sit while preparing other ingredients. 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup unbleached flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Cream the butter and sugar; mix in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and the cereal/milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Use 2 Tbsp batter for each griddlecake/pan muffin.  [use 4 Tbsp batter to bake in a muffin tin for Slow Days]

Moroccan Tuna: 278 calories 1.4 g fat 7 g fiber 34 g protein 20.4 g carbs  129 mg Calcium  PB GF  Moroccan spice blend can really add zest to a simple meal. 

4 oz tuna steak [frozen tuna steaks at the supermarket are good]  Moroccan spice blend  or ground cumin or mint 1/3 cup white beans, rinsed and drained   1 slice preserved lemon OR 1 slice fresh lemon per person: 1/3 cup peas with mint OR ½ cup broccoli florets sprinkled with cumin OR 1/3 cup green beans sprinkled with cilantro AND  ½ of a clementine

Rub tuna generously on both sides with Moroccan spices. Chop the lemon and stir into the beans. Bake the tuna on a cast iron skillet for 4-5 minutes per side in a 400F oven. When the vegetable is cooked, drain and stir in the seasoning. Section the clementine and plate it all as pleases your eye.

Tomatoes

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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.

80,000 years ago, there was a wild plant in Ecuador, Solanum pimpinellifolium, which produced red fruits the size of a cherry. Seeds spread by animals/people traveled south and north, to Peru and Mesoamerica. By 7,000 years BP [Before Present as geologists say], there was a larger tomato being cultivated in Mexico, where they entered the local cuisine. Post Conquest, the Spanish took tomatoes and other local food plants back to Spain. Not so fast! European botanists recognized them to be members of the Nightshade Family, which they equated with poison. Not only were people leery of tomatoes, there was even the legend that tomatoes were the ‘Forbidden Fruit’ of the Garden of Eden, and you sure don’t want to eat that! By the mid 1500s, tomatoes were being grown as a curiosity in Italy and in 1694, the tomato had arrived as a recipe in a cookbook. In September of 1820, a local promoter of good agriculture, Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson, let it be known that he would eat tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, from his garden in Salem County, New Jersey, USA. A throng of locals showed up to watch him sicken and keel over in agony. He didn’t die, of course, and people accepted the tomato as a new addition to their cooking. Is there a cuisine between Latitude 45N and 45S that does not use tomatoes? I think not. Although some people associate nightshades with arthritis, the tomato is GOOD for you — high in Vitamin C, Potassium, and the antioxidant lycopene. The United States is the largest producer of tomatoes in the world and ‘Better Boy’ is one of the most popular in home gardens, while other gardeners opt for heirloom varieties.

It was not difficult to choose today’s meals. These tomato dishes are so good to eat that I do hope you will try them. Whenever tomatoes are ripe in your area, eat some fresh.

Tomato-Curry ScrOmelette: 148 calories 8 g fat 3 g fiber 11 g protein 9.5 g carbs [8 g Complex] 78 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  This delicious recipe was loosely inspired by Fifty Breakfasts, a book by Col. A. R. Kenney-Herbert, detailing “dishes men like” and containing many flavors redolent of his years serving the Queen in India.

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. ½ Tbsp curry powder 2 oz fresh tomatoes, diced and drained 1½ oz strawberries dollop of plain, fat-free yogurt  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Drain the tomatoes so that they are not too juicy. Combine with the curry powder and whisk with the eggs. Spritz a fry pan with olive oil or non-stick spray and pour in the egg mixture. Cook to your liking. Top with a dollop of yogurt for the full effect. Prepare the beverages and plate the fruit. A rousing good start to your 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.

Cook 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, coarsly chopped with juices 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 the tomatoes their juice, stock, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. [more directions later]

Prep Sandwich: 1 slice 70-calorie bread [such as Nature’s Own] ½-oz slice Swiss cheese from the deli ½ oz ham, 97% fat free

Cut the bread in half. Cut the cheese 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 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 top cheese becomes melted and might start to brown.

Finish Soup: 1 tsp ricotta or small-curd cottage cheese 1 tsp plain non-fat yogurt Puree the cooked soup in food processor or blender. TIP: Pour 2 cups [2/3 of the amount] into freezer containers to cool before storing. Put the remaining 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.

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

1 two-oz egg1 two-oz egg + mushrooms 
chives + thyme
1 buckwheat galette [savory crepe]
strawberry OR apple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 oz tuna steak + Moroccan spice blend2 buckwheat galettes/savory crepes
white beans, canned leeks + bacon + garlic
preserved lemon OR fresh lemonGruyere cheese + mayonnaise
peas OR broccoli OR green beanscarrot + broccoli + cauliflower OR tomatoes
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