How to eat if you want to lose weight

Mix Up

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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.

“Mixed up” refers to someone who is a little crazy, as in “You can’t blame him, he’s really mixed up.” That sad lad’s past might cause him to become involved with bad company [c. 1900]. “He went to jail after being mixed up with some gang members.” The term “crazy mixed up kid” is from the 1940s-50s, could be a condemnation of teenagers by adults OR a bit of a compliment, meaning someone who was ‘hep’ and not a conformist. To “mix it up” says that a quarrel or fight is going on. A baseball announcer might say, “Uh-oh — they seem to be mixing it up at third base…” as the umpires and coaches rushed over. Further, “mix ups” can be the result of confusion [c. 1800]. Waitress: ‘I’m sorry — you didn’t order the venison? I must have mixed up the order.” In food preparation, we mix up the ingredients to incorporate them. All in all, the words ‘mixed up’ can leave a non-English speaker a little mixed up in a conversation. English is said to be the most difficult language to learn.

Our menus today have no particular theme — taken together, they are as mixed up as can be. We start with a sweet, loving breakfast and move on to a spicy, angry dinner [‘arrabbiata’ means ‘angry’ in Italian]. Guess that makes me a little mixed up.

Peachy Waffle Hearts: 148 calories 3.4 g fat 3.6 g fiber 3.6 g protein 29 g carbs [13.7 g Complex] 59.4 mg Calcium  PB GF– if using GF waffles Where is it written that hearts are reserved for Valentine’s Day? Make this breakfast to show someone that he/she/they are loved. Make it for yourself for affirmation.

3 sections of waffle that are heart-shaped [our waffle-maker has 5 sections] 3 Tbsp French Vanilla yogurt, low-fat 2 Tbsp almond meal/almond flour 3 oz peach 2 oz pear   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 3 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [44 calories]

Combine the yogurt with the almond meal and let it sit to thicken a bit. Can be done overnight. Mash the peach through a sieve to make a mush. Warm the waffles to take off any chill and spread with the peach mush. Pipe or spoon the yogurt around the edges of the hearts and plate with the pear. A pretty treat.

Shrimp Arrabbiata:  287 calories 8.5 g fat 6.4 g fiber 16 g protein 30 g carbs [22 g Complex] 240 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF pasta The box of pasta says that this recipe is from Sarah Leah Chase’s book Cold-Weather Cooking. I added the shrimp and it is great.  HINT: This recipe serves three [3] people. Invite friends or enjoy on two following days.

1-½ oz pancetta or serrano ham, sliced in ribbons 3 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tsp red pepper flakes or more to taste 6 plum tomatoes, diced 3 oz whole-grain ‘penne’ pasta 6 oz shrimp 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan/Romano cheese    per person: 3 oz asparagus + 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Remove the shells from the shrimp and set aside. Spray a saute pan with non-stick spray. Add the pancetta and garlic and cook until garlic is golden-colored. Add the crushed red peppers and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer. Meanwhile, put the pasta in boiling salted water and cook for 3 minutes, then remove pan from heat but do not drain. Scoop out the pasta and add to the tomatoes, along with several tablespoons of the pasta-cooking water. Add the shrimp, some salt, and 1 Tbsp grated cheese to the tomatoes and cook until the shrimp are done. The pasta will continue to cook in the liquid from the tomatoes – if getting too dry, add some more water. Cut the asparagus into 1” pieces and cook in boiling water until soft to your taste. Test the pasta to find out when it is done. Portion and plate with grated cheese on top. Restaurant quality, at home.

Franklin and His Stove

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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.

Benjamin Franklin was a Renaissance Man and a true participant in the Age of Enlightenment. By trade, a printer and humor-writer; by philosophy, a humanist; by necessity, a diplomat and political strategist; by avocation, a scientist and inventor. In his time, buildings were heated by fireplaces — smokey, inefficient affairs that really did not work too well. On or about June 11, 1742, Franklin invented his ‘Pennsylvania Fireplace’ which came to be known as the Franklin Stove. He did not patent it and thus an English ironmonger was able to take out his own patent, disenfranchising Franklin and his own stove manufacturer. Might that have fueled Franklin’s ire at high-handed Englishmen which resulted, 30 years later, in the American Revolution? Not for me to say. The Franklin stove caught on, despite the improvements of Count Rumford in fireplace design later in the century. Today, many homes have a wood stove based on Franklin’s idea. They really take the chill off Winter.

Although born and raised in Massachusetts, Ben Franklin is forever linked to Philadelphia. Today’s breakfast utilizes the classic Philadelphia Scrapple for its flavor. The dinner features a more modern Philly meal, but the garnish evokes the Liberty Bell, a sacred shrine of the Revolution in Pennsylvania.

Scrapple Scramble: 168 calories… 14 g fat… 2 g fiber… 11.4 g protein… 9.4 g carbs… 64.6 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF – scrapple is supposed to be made with cornmeal and buckwheat flour, not wheat flour  This is a great way to use any left-over scrapple, in case you cooked too much earlier in the week.

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.   ½ oz scrapple, cooked, diced 2 Tbsp scallion or chives, sliced thinly 1.5 oz pear    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]

Dice the scrapple and slice the scallion. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray and cook the scrapple and scallion until they are warm. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the ingredients in the pan. Scramble to your liking. Plate with the fruit and enjoy your beverage of choice. This is a real taste of South-Eastern Pennsylvania!

Philly Cheesesteak en Casserole: 264 calories 11 g fat 1 g fiber 33.5 g protein 11.5 g carbs [9 g Complex] 263 mg Calcium    The iconic street food of Philadelphia has been made over for Fast Day. By the way, provolone is the original cheese for this dish – NOT Cheeze-Whiz.

2-1/2 oz rare roast beef, shaved into very thin slices 0.8 oz Provolene cheese [2 thin slices] 1 oz onions, sliced 1-1/2 oz broccoli florets 1 slice 70-80-calorie whole-grain bread [Martins’ is the best choice]

In a small skillet sprayed with non-stick spray, cook the onions in a little water until they are limp but not browned and set them aside. Take a slice of Martin’s potato bread and cut out a bell shape [for the Liberty Bell, of course] using a 3-4” cookie cutter. Lightly toast the bread. Add the beef to the pan and cook the meat while chopping at it with a metal turner. Add the onions when the beef is grey-colored and soft. Boil/steam the broccoli while the meat cooks. Lay the cheese over the meat and take off the heat. The cheese will melt onto the beef. Make room in the pan for the broccoli and top with the bell-shaped bread. Enjoy your taste of Philadelphia while you hum the theme to Rocky.

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

heart-shaped waffle sections1.5 two-oz eggs 
almond mealchicken breakfast sausage [@33 cal]
low-fat French Vanilla yogurtapple
peach and pearsage
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

pancetta + shrimpcanned white beans + leek
red pepper flakes + plum tomatoestomatoes + carrot + potato
whole wheat pasta zucchini + onion + chunky pasta
Parmesan cheese + garlicgreen beans + peas + pesto
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Roquefort

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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.

On June 4, 1411, Charles VI of France, granted to the town of Roquefort a charter naming it the sole producer the now-famous bleu cheese. Ever since, the Lacaune sheep have been grazing the meadows and the cheese from their milk has been ripening in the limestone caves below. Roquefort cheese is named after the town Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, in South-Western France. To maintain the AOC designation, the cheese is carefully made, always staying within the strict guidelines.

“To be called Roquefort, a cheese must be made with the raw, unfiltered, whole milk of sheep who are pastured on the land around the caves. Their milk must be delivered at least 20 days after lambing and made with animal rennet within 48 hours of milking. Penicillium roqueforti is then added, and the whole process of maturation, cutting and packaging must occur in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon on a strip of land only a mile and a quarter long,” says the Cheese Connoisseur.

The delectable bleu cheese can be eaten in so many ways! On bread, in salads, in desserts, in main dishes — let me live long enough to taste them all. I have several meals for Fast Days for bleu cheese…it was difficult to choose only two for today. These are delicious. If needs must, you can substitute a lesser bleu cheese. But don’t say that in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

ForeStreet ScrOmelette:  137 calories 8.4 g fat 0.6 g fiber 10.4 g protein 6.6 g carbs [5.9 g Complex] 66.7 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Based on a pizza from one of our favorite Portland, Maine restaurants, these flavors are terrific together.

Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1-½ 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.  1/2 oz bleu cheese ½ oz mushrooms ¼ oz leeks 1 oz pear  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]

Spritz a non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Slice the leeks and saute with the mushrooms until both are cooked. Whisk in the eggs and pour over the leeks and mushrooms. As the eggs begin to set, crumble the bleu cheese on top. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the pear, serve with the beverages of choice. 

Oyster & Bleu Cheese Pie: pie filling only, 1 of 6 servings = 116 calories 8 g fat 0.7 g fiber 5.6 g protein 5 g carbs [3 g Complex] 88 mg Calcium  With pie crust, 1 of 6 servings: add 193 calories [the entire pie crust for an 8” pie plate = 1160 or fewer calories]   PB GF  NB: if you want a GF meal, do not use any pie crust – especially not a purchased GF crust which is very high in calories.  This makes a fabulous, indulgent meal but it is low in protein and fiber. For a very special treat, it is wonderful. 

The left-hand column gives the recipe is for an 8”, full-sized pie plate, which serves 6. The center column gives amounts to prepare a 6” pie plate to serve 4.   HINT: leftover pieces freeze well.

8” pie pan with optional pie crust6” pie pan + optional pie crust Optional: Roll out dough + fit into pie pan. Crimp edge. Blind bake 15 mins. Remove foil and weights + bake until golden, ~ 10 mins or so.
1 Tbsp butter  ½ c finely chopped leeks ½ c finely chopped fennel bulb ½ c finely diced Granny Smith apple ½ tsp ground black pepper pinch salt 2 tsp butter ¼ c leeks ¼ c fennel ¼ c apple ¼ tsp pepper pinch salt Melt butter in a skillet, add leeks, fennel and apple. Sauté on low until tender and translucent. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Heat oven to 400F.
12 oysters – we like briny East Coast oysters


6-8 oysters





Place oysters flat in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Heat pan on medium high until water reaches 131F/55C, measuring with a food-safe thermometer. Shut off heat and let sit on burner for 5 minutes. Remove oysters from water and cool in a bowl. Open shells + a remove oysters, doing so over a bowl to catch the juices. 
4 oz blue cheese 3 Tbsp reserved oyster juice
1 egg white		2 oz blue cheese 1.5 Tbsp oyster juice ½ egg white In a separate bowl, mash cheese, adding reserved oyster juice. Beat egg white until softly peaked and fold into cheese.
Spread leek mixture in pie shell. Spread cheese mixture on top. Place in oven and bake 20 minutes.
fennel fronds

4-5 asparagus stalks/person		fennel fronds

asparagus		Remove pie from oven and arrange oysters on top. Bake 2 minutes more. Strew with fennel fronds. Let pie set about 10 minutes, then cut in portions and serve with steamed asparagus.

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

1 two-oz egg + 1 egg white1.5 two-oz eggs 
rhubarb + sugarpork scrapple
flour + baking powderscallions or chives
milk + Canadian or back baconstrawberries
Optional smoothieNo smoothie or only 3 oz
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Next week, I will offershaved, rare roast beef
2 relishes for meat or fishprovolone cheese
made from rhubarb.broccoli + onion
Enjoy a dinner from Archivespotato bread
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Market Town

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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.

We love Market Towns. In Pennsylvania, where I was raised, county seats would have market buildings for weekly or semi-weekly sales of all possible meats, fruits, vegetables, baked goods. After our sons were born and we lived in New Hampshire, it was always a special treat to return to PA and take the boys to the market. Their eyes would widen at the pies and pastries, and the apple seller would give them one for free. When we go to Europe on vacation, we seek out the country markets: pop-ups in the town square [Thoiry, Ferne-Voltaire, Annecy, Paris] or those in ancient, covered halls [Durham, Venice, St Helier]. We love to shop there for our provisions and to wander around, feasting our eyes, wishing we could be there for weeks on end to try all the items on sale. Sigh. New Hampshire has nothing like that.

Our meals today are provisioned from markets in Brittany and Normandy. When purchasing, one must be sure to get only enough for your stay — a real shame to have leftover food to discard. The breakfast was born of necessity, utilizing odds and ends for one more meal. The dinner features a serendipitous find at market, which provided two meals.

Breton/Norman Bread Pudding:  204 calories 8 g fat 1.5 g fiber 11.6 g protein 13.8 g carbs [6 g Complex] 124 mg Calcium This dish was invented to clear out the fridge when leaving a rental cottage in Brittany. We repeated it when departing Normandy. It works well anywhere, even in your own home kitchen.

¾ fluid oz milk ½ slice whole-grain bread 1 egg 1 oz cooked fish OR ¾ oz cooked chicken 1 oz tomato ¼ oz cheese, grated fresh herbs, as available 2 oz strawberries   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   No Smoothie

Cube or dice the bread and tomato. Flake the fish/chop the chicken and grate the cheese. Stir together everything, except the strawberries. The mixture should be moist throughout, but not soupy. TIP: I like to combine it all the night before so the bread has time to absorb the liquids. Heat a saute pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Turn the bread pudding into the pan. Pat and nudge it into a large, flat patty. Cook until brown on one side, then turn it over. [Alternatively, bake it in an oven-proof dish at 350F for 18 minutes.] When done, it should be set and cooked all the way through, and browned on both sides. Plate with the berries and reminice about the vacation you just enjoyed.

We attended the market in Caen, Normandy. What an experience!! It was the largest open-air market we had ever seen, stretching for blocks along the port and into the city center.

So much to choose from that we didn’t see a fraction of it. But we found all the supplies for the week [except breads, which we buy at the local boulangerie]: eggs, vegetables, cidre, seafood. When we saw the fresh pasta cart, we were in heaven. Rabbit Ravioli caught my eye and I envisioned a plate of pasta on Wednesday and a ravioli salad for the following Fast Day. Here it is: a lightly-dressed salad topped with cooked raviolis rewarmed in a barely buttered pan.

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
garlic + scallionsbleu cheese
fish sauce + applemushrooms
cooked spinach + Srirachaleeks + pear
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

chicken/turkey thigh + egg6-12 oysters + leeks + apple
mirin + soy sauce + dashfennel bulb + fronds + egg white
sake or dry sherry + sugarbleu cheese + butter
onion + parsley + riceoptional: pie crust, not GF
Sparkling waterSparkling water

St Roch

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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.

Saint Roch is considered to be one of “Les Saints Qui Guérissent” [Saints who Heal]. He was often invoked to heal Black Plague victims, since he himself was one. Or was he?? Roch was born in Montpellier [now in France] in 1295. As a young man, he sold his worldly goods, donated to the poor, and went to Italy as a pilgrim. While tending the sick in Piacenza, he fell ill and was banished from town. Roch, called Rocco in Italy, recovered, helped by a dog who brought him bread. He went back home but he was clapped into prison, accused of being a spy. [Possible family intrigue involved] He died alone, after five years in prison, unrecognized by his relatives. When being prepared for burial, Roch was identified by a birth-mark. Roch died in 1327. When shown in art, he raises his hem to reveal the tell-tale engorged lymph node called a bubo, the mark of the Black Death. But the plague did not reach Italy until 1347, 20 years after his death. The term ‘plague’ was used loosely in the 1300s: small pox, bubonic, leprosy. Roch did not have bubonic plague, but he had something. And he recovered. Good news, full of hope.

Brandade, made from salt cod, was a staple food in Europe in the 1300s, so breakfast will include that. The dinner also is made with foods common from Southern France to Italy [OK. not the quinoa]. Eat like a saint. Be healthy.

Brandade Bake: 145 calories 8.3 g fat 1.2 g fiber 11.2 g protein 4.3 g carbs [2.8 g Complex] 44.8 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages. PB GF  The marvel of Southern France, brandade, is worth trying. Here it is at breakfast, all creamy and garlicy.

1 two-oz egg ½ Tbsp cottage cheese 1 Tbsp brandade [see St Bernard, posted 19 August 2018]    shake of granulated garlic 1 oz peach slices + ½ oz blueberries   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]

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

Mediterranean Vegetables with Seafood: 278 calories 6 g fat 6 g fiber 28 g protein 24.8 g carbs [24 g Complex] 290 mg Calcium   PB GF  This dinner qualifies as a hurry-up meal. If you have Mediteranean Vegetables in the freezer, you can serve this in the time it takes to cook the quinoa.

1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables, without chickpeas see: Sidekicks II  3 oz seafood: shrimp, fish chunks, bivalves, whatever you have 1 oz mozzarella, shredded 1 oz mushrooms, coarsely-chopped 1/3 cup cooked quinoa 

Start cooking the quinoa. Put the frozen Med Vegetables in a sauce pan with a lid. Warm them gently until they are mostly thawed. Add the mushrooms and seafood. Continue to heat, covered, until everything is warm and cooked. Plate with the quinoa and top with cheese. 

Jane Addams

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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.

Jane Addams lived up to the label of “New Woman” — one of the college-educated cohort of the late 1800s who saw it as their duty to roll up their sleeves and improve the life of those less fortunate. Born into the family of a small-town mill owner, she had a privileged upbringing. On a visit to London, she saw a ‘settlement house‘ in action: helping poor factory workers and immigrants get food security, better health, and education. Addams decided then and there that Chicago needed the same thing. She and like-minded women established Hull House in the industrial West Side of the city and Addams remained its director until her death in 1935. The list of services provided there is long: from cooking classes and day care to live theater produced by the immigrant communities themselves. Addams, never condescending, favored the idea of a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘hand out’ and she would take vats of soup to the factory gates at lunch time to sell for 5 cents a bowl.

At the same time that Jane Addams was working in Chicago, hungry workers were eating an early version of ‘Chicago Hot Dogs’ for lunch. Today’s breakfast uses the ‘drag it through the garden’ vegetable sides to flavor the eggs. The soup for dinner features canned tomato sauce to remind us that Hull House taught the skill of home canning to make meals more nutritious.

‘Chicago’ ScrOmelette: 135 calories 7.3 g fat 1.8 g fiber 10 g protein 7.3 g carbs 53.4 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  One of my methods for creating a new breakfast is to take flavor elements from a favorite dinner and then put them in eggs. Here, we have a ‘Chicago Hot Dog’ without the sausage and without the bun. Dear Husband deemed it ‘very good!’

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.   1 oz tomato, diced 1 Tbsp chopped onion 1 oz apple healthy squirt of yellow mustard 1 ‘sport pepper’ or 1 pepperoncini, chopped pinch of poppy seed + pinch celery seed  

Cook the onion and mustard in a pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Add the tomato, pepper, and seeds and heat through. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the apple for a taste sensation.

Hull House Soup: 183 calories 4 g fat 5.5 g fiber 7.5 g protein 23 g carbs 34.6 mg Calcium PB GF – if using GF pasta  An Italian woman in Chicago once served Jane Addams a meal of pasta with a simple ragu sauce, which opened her eyes to how food connected immigrants with their home country. This simple soup packs a lot of flavor.

2 cups spaghetti sauce, canned**
2 cups chicken stock
2 [1 Tbsp] cloves garlic sliced, chopped  3 oz [2/3 cup] green pepper in ½” dice  1 cup chick peas 1 cup chopped cabbage chopped fresh rosemary 2-3 pinches red pepper flakes		Put in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

**I used Classico brand “Florentine Spinach and Parmesan” sauce
½ cup water
1 oz [¼ cup] short pasta like ditalini salt and pepper to taste		Add to the soup in the pot and cook 15 minutes more, until all the vegetables are tender. Taste for seasoning and add water if too thick.

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

1 two-oz egg1 two-oz egg 
brandadewhole grain bread + tomato
cottage cheesefish or chicken meat + cheese
peach + blueberrymilk + strawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverage optional hot beverage

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

Mediterranean Vegetablesthe topic will be foods from
a Farmers’ Market
mixed seafood Salad fixings for two portions
mushrooms + Mozzarellavinaigrette dressing
quinoaravioli, purchased
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Going South

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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 amyrichards who is now Following.

“Going South” has several connotations. In a business sense, it means a downward trend in sales or income. To First Nations people of far North America, going South means that something is going wrong, like the food stores going bad. As the Treebeard character muses in the Two Towers movie: “I always like going South: somehow it seems like going downhill.” In modern times, residents of Canada and the Northern US are called ‘snow birds’ because of their going South for the winter.

Today’s foods check off two of the meanings of Going South. We are ‘going South’ for a breakfast of Hoe Cakes which was a popular food item there among all classes of people. The dinner is useful if you have a bin of vegetable about to ‘go South,’ which you can turn into a fine meal. If your attempts at dieting have been going South, try the Fast Diet. It works for us.

Hoe Cakes with Fruit & Yogurt:  173 calories 1.7 g fat 4 g fiber 13 g protein 36 g carbs 75 mg Calcium  PB GF  Here the old Southern meal of cornmeal cakes is updated with healthy fruit and yogurt. HINT: The recipe yields 6 hoe cakes, which is enough for two servings of 3 cakes each.

3 Tbsp yellow cornmeal  2.5 Tbsp hot water  Combine by stirring well to make a mush. Let sit for 15 minutes.
1 oz egg white ¼ tsp yeastStir into the warm cornmeal mush and let sit for 1-12 hours. TIP: I did this the night before.
2 Tbsp cornmeal
2 Tbsp water
¼ tsp salt		Mix into the mush. If you take some up on a fork, it will sit on the tines, with a little batter dribbling through. If it is not like this, add more cornmeal or more water.
Using a little less than 2 Tbsp of batter, drop onto a hot griddle sprayed with non-stick spray. Make 6 cakes. Cook on both sides. Best if eaten fresh.
per serving: 1/4 cup blueberries 1/2 tsp honey, warmed
4 oz [1/4 c] plain, fat-free yogurt
2 slices Canadian Bacon 		Put the yogurt and honey in a small dish and stir to combine. Add the fruit and stir it in.
Warm the Canadian bacon on the same griddle used to cook the cakes.
Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or tea or lemon in hot water or mocha cafe au lait [65] Serve with the bacon. Enjoy the dish of berried yogurt on the side or slathered on the hoe cakes.

Fajitas with Chicken + Vegetables:  286 calories 5 g fat 3.9 g fiber 24 g protein 35 g carbs [ g Complex] 183 mg calcium  PB  A quick, delicious, and a good way to use vegetables. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] people.

1 tsp oil + 3 tsp water 6 oz chicken breast 2 cups veg, including: >3 oz sweet pepper + 4 oz zucchini >1 oz red onion + 1.25 oz broccoli 1 tsp chili powder + sprinkle AdoboCut the meat into strips. Cut the vegetables into strips or other edible sizes. Heat oil in wok, stir-fry meat, veg, and seasonings for ~ 7 minutes or until cooked and vegetables begin to brown
four 5” corn tortillasWrap in damp kitchen towel. Nuke 30-45 seconds. -OR- Warm on a griddle or in a dry skillet until pliable and starting to brown.
1 Tbsp plain nonfat yogurt per tortilla Divide the meat/veg among the tortillas and top with yogurt.
1 lime ¼ c cilantro leavesServe as garnish

Aunt Beru

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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 weightlossblogadmin who is now Following.

Tomorrow will be May The Fourth, which Star Wars Fans recognize as a day to celebrate since the words sound like “May the Force….be with you.” Yeah, it’s a stretch, since Obi-Wan didn’t lisp. Anyhow, since the only food you ever see anyone eat in the entire film series is the ghastly-looking blue smoothie which Aunt Beru prepares on Tatooine, I thought that today we should talk about smoothies.

Fruit juice alone has lots of sugar. It is like drinking a soda-pop! True, that fruit sugar is natural, inherent to the fruit. It is not added sugar, which now has to be included on the label. So what’s wrong with that? Your body doesn’t care where the sugar comes from, be it fructose [from fruit], or sucrose [from sugar cane/sugar beets]; your body still treats turns it into glucose [‘blood sugar’] and uses insulin [from your pancreas] to move it into your cells for energy. When you ingest the fruit and its juice [ex: eating the apple, not the juice only], your body sees that sugar differently, more healthily. The fiber in the fruit changes the sugar’s effect on your body. In our house, we used to drink orange juice at breakfast. Nowadays, instead of those empty sugar calories, we enjoy a smoothie of whole fruit which gives us the fiber as well as getting a start on our 5-a-day.

Here’s a smoothie to drink along with your breakfast:

Blueberry Smoothie: 1 serving = 118 calories 0.2 g fat 3.1 g fiber 5.7 g protein 30 g carbs 99 mg Calcium  PB GF  From the people at Wild Blueberries of North America comes this excellent smoothie. Take the calories into account when you meal-plan.  HINT: Recipe makes enough for 2 servings. 3 oz banana ½ cup plain, fat-free yogurt ½ cup blueberries ½ cup orange juice Put banana, yogurt, and berries into the blender and process until smooth. Add the juice and blend on low. Wonderful berry flavor!

If you want a smoothie with calories enough for a meal, try this:

Cocoa-Banana Tofu Smoothie: 276 calories 5.5 g fat 7 g fiber 20 g protein 42.4 g carbs [25.4 g Complex] 491 mg Calcium  PB GF  Adding cocoa powder makes this high protein shake taste like dessert without any added sugars. What a treat! Hmmmm… Is it a smoothie or a milkshake? The recipe makes 2 cups.

1-¼ cups fat-free milk ½ cup firm tofu, mashed to fit in measuring cup [3 oz] 2/3 cup sliced ripe [but not black] banana [3 oz] 2 Tbsp cocoa 4 ice cubes Put everything in a blender and wizz it on low speed to break up the banana. Then turn to a higher speed to make it smooth. Serve with some ripe strawberries. Yum.

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Seder

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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.

Seder, meaning ‘order’ due to the prescribed ritual, is the name of the meal served to family members on the first and/or second night of the eight-day Passover festival. A Seder Dinner recalls, in readings and in food, the story of the escape of the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt. With divine intervention, their leader Moses lead them to freedom. There are six food elements that tell the story: 1] bitter herbs, such as horseradish, to remember the pain of bondage; 2] a boiled egg to represent Spring [or mourning]; 3] apples/nuts/raisins/spices as the mortar that the slaves made to build Egyptian monuments; 4] green vegetables, typical of Springtime lettuce/celery/parsley] 5] meat bone, often lamb, sacrificed by the Israelites. Some vegetarians substitute beet root. 6] matzah, the unleavened bread of a hasty departure.

Our breakfast and dinner take the food elements of the Seder and use them for meals fit for Fasting. If you wish to, enjoy a full Seder with all the fixings on the first or second night, then use these meals for a Fast Day later.

Passover ScrOmelette: 143 calories 7.5 g fat 1.2 g fiber 10 g protein 8.4 g carbs… 56 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The flavor combinations of Passover are too good not to enjoy at breakfast.

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  1 Tbsp diced beets [I used pickled beets] 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped 1 tsp horseradish 1.5 oz applesauce, sprinkled with 1/2 tsp cinnamon 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]

Whisk the horseradish and salt/pepper to taste with the eggs. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. When the bottom of the eggs have just set, add the beets and parsley. Scramble to your heart’s content or fold like an omelette. Prepare the optional coffee/and smoothie. The applesauce with cinnamon will be delicious with the sweet beets and tangy horseradish.

Lamb Salad:  261 calories 15 g fat 3 g fiber 21 g protein 26 g carbs 85 mg Calcium  GF  Should a previous dinner involve a leg of lamb, save a few slices to make this salad. This meal is great for sharing with a guest: doubles well.

4 walnut halves 1 hard boiled egg 2 oz cooked lamb, from the leg or other lean cut 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce 1 Tbsp fresh parsley 3 Tbsp celery, diced 1.5 oz apple, cubed 1.5 tsp horseradish dressing

Chop the walnut into large pieces and toast in a dry skillet until fragrant. Cut egg into wedges; slice the lamb and celery; cube the apples. Toss the greens, celery, apples, and parsley with the dressing and arrange other ingredients to suit the eye.

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

1 two-oz egg1 two-oz eggs 
mushrooms70-calorie whole-grain bread
chicken/turkey breakfast sausageapple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

mussels + broccolilobster meat + Gruyere cheese
bechamel sauceshallot + garlic + broccoli
Cheddar cheese + scallioncarrot + tomatoes + tomato puree
Triscuit crackerscognac + dry white wine + 10% cream
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Albrecht Durer

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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 MJ who is now Following.

Albrecht Durer was one of the foremost artists of the Northern Renaissance school of art. The Germans were late to the game in terms of the Renaissance, but they gave it a spin all their own. Durer painted in great detail, using a light that seems to show everything, yet with shadows to produce contrast. Durer was an artist, not just a craftsman. He had the humanist’s idea that each person is important and that he had something to contribute. As a painter, he was sought after by kings. As a print-maker, his art was distributed to the masses. Some of his work is well-known, such as Praying Hands and the Four Horsemen, but so widely recognized that we have forgotten the artist’s name. One work of his that made an impression on me in art class was a sketch of a middle-aged female nude — probably of his wife Agnes. She struck me as plump and lumpy, and I promised myself I would never have that body, not even in middle age. This is one reason that I am a Faster. Thanks, Durer.

A frequent theme in Durer’s art was the depiction of Adam and Eve, usually with an apple. So we will enjoy apples in our egg for breakfast. One of the most charming of Durer’s works is The Young Hare. We will stretch taxonomy a little and feature rabbit for dinner.

Apple-Bacon Bake: 131 calories 6.2 g fat 1.6 g fiber 9 g protein 8 g carbs [7.3 g Complex] 72.8 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF  Apples and bacon go so well together it is a wonder they aren’t paired more often.

1 two-oz egg ¾ oz apple, peeled, cored, sliced thinly 1/8 oz bacon, diced ½ Tbsp ricotta cheese, drained if too liquid 1 tsp Parmesan cheese ¼ tsp prepared mustard sage ½ oz pear   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]

Spritz a ramekin with cooking spray. Set the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. In a saute pan, cook the bacon until done. Drain away the fat and blot in paper towel. In the same pan, saute the apple until softened. Put apple and bacon in the ramekin. Whisk the egg, ricotta, Parmesan, mustard, and sage together and pour into the ramekin. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Prepare the beverages and the pear. How pleasant.

Rabbit Pie: 275 calories 6.6 g fat 4.6 g fiber 25.6 g protein 27.5 g carbs [15 g Complex] 77 mg Calcium   PB  Rabbit is a common meat in recipes the world over. It is high in protein and low in fat. And yes, it does taste like chicken. You could substitute.

2 oz mushrooms, chopped 4 fluid oz chicken stock 2 tsp potato starch 0.55 oz [1 slice] ham from the deli, chopped 3 oz rabbit meat cut in bite-sized pieces ¼ cup onions, chopped big pinch dried thyme + big pinch savory + salt + pepper ½ Arnold Multi-Grain Sandwich Thin OR a 4” circle cut from whole-grain bread 1.5 oz carrots

If the rabbit is uncooked: Cut it into bite-sized pieces and quickly cook in a saute pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, too. Remove the meat. Pour off and reserve any remaining cooking liquid. Chop the mushrooms and cook in non-stick spray, but do not evaporate all of the liquid they give off. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and the stock to the pan along with the mushroom juices and ¼ cup water plus water from the rabbit. Simmer to cook the onions. Whisk in the potato starch and the seasonings. Continue to whisk over heat until the potato starch is dissolved. Cook at a simmer until the liquid measures ¼ cup and is thickened. Add the rabbit meat, ham, and the mushrooms. Simmer for a few minutes and taste for seasonings. Pour and scrape into an oven-proof dish. Top with the Sandwich Thin. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Cook the carrots separately. Plate the meal by first putting the Sandwich Thin on the plate, then covering it with the rabbit-mushroom mixture. Pour any extra liquid so that it is soaked up by the bread. Plate the carrots to complete the meal.