Recipes for healthy dieting

Botany Bay

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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!

For thousands of years the Tharawal and Eora peoples lived on the shores of Kamay. They fished and foraged and all was well. Until the British came to explore, to settle, to displace. The British named the place Stingrays Bay, then Botanist’s Bay, but soon changed it to Botany. Eighteen years after Captain James Cook first saw the bay, Arthur Phillips arrived on January 18, 1788, with the first shipload of ‘colonists.’ What to do with a vast territory 1000s of miles from Britain? Why, turn it into a penal colony and populate it with felons, of course! There were 19 crimes that could get you sentenced to Botany Bay, including: impersonating an Egyptian; stealing fish from a pond or river; bigamy; and clandestine marriage. The First Fleet consisted of three ships and enough convicts to establish a prison encampment. Phillips was told where to build, but he thought the area too marshy and far from the port, so he moved everyone to Port Jackson. More than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia from 1788 to 1868, and they built a new nation. Yet ‘Botany Bay’ caught on as a popular term for the sentence of deportation and shorthand for the entire continent of Australia. Many folk songs were written about it and the name even showed up in a popular Star Trek episode. Today the Sydney Airport sits at the north side of the Bay. The Kamay National Park is on the south shore.

There is a plant, Tetragonia tetragonioides, that grows wild in Australia. It is called ‘New Zealand spinach’ although it is not related to spinach. In the garden, it grows well, even in hot climates. In the kitchen, one can use it just like the real spinach. Our meals today utilize spinach, as well as Barramundi, a fish from Australia which can be seen in US markets sometimes.

Chevre & Spinach Bake: 132 calories  7 g fat  2 g fiber  9 g protein 9 g carbs 57 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  This one is really delicious.

1 two-oz egg 2 tsp creamy cheese                              2 Tbsp cooked spinach, drained/squeezed and chopped [if frozen, thaw, drain the night before]     lemon-dill seasoning + salt + pepper          2 oz pear OR 2 oz apple OR applesauce      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]

Combine the spinach, cheese, and seasonings. Whisk in the egg and pour into a lightly-oiled or spritzed ramekin. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the beverages of your choice and plate the fruit. What a nice way to start the day.

Barramundi a la Midi:  249 calories 9.4 g fat  6 g fiber 21.5 g protein 30 g carbs 147 mg Calcium  PB GF  Barramundi is a fish native to Australian waters. For some reason, I decided to prepare it with ingredients from Southern France. And it was great!

3-4 oz barramundi fillet   2 oz/2 cups fresh spinach leaves  ¼ c puttanesca sauce          1 Tbsp black olive sauce**  2 cloves garlic  ¼ c Camargue rice, cooked   2 oz green beans

**Black Olive Sauce  makes ¼ cup   good on fish or eggs   1 Tbsp = 44 calories             1 Tbsp lemon juice  ¼ cup pitted black olives  1½ tsp red wine vinegar  ½ tsp lemon zest      ½ tsp Dijon mustard  1 Tbsp olive oil                             Put olives in a food processor and run the machine until they are ground up, but not a paste. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until they are blended.

Cook the rice [3 parts Water: 1 part Rice] with a clove of garlic, cut in half. Broil or bake the fish. Slice the other garlic and cook it in a saute pan with some cooking spray and a bit of olive oil. After 30 seconds, add the spinach and 2 Tbsp water. Stir until the spinach begins to wilt, then add the sauce and mix them together. Plate the fish, topping it with the olive sauce. Place the spinach and the rice on the plate around the fish. Such a treat.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1 two-oz egg 
salt cod + potato flakesmashed potatoes + boiled cabbage
herb savory + strawberriesAmerican streaky bacon, uncured 
Cheddar cheese or ADL cheese, Old or Fortscallion + tomato           
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Tandoori simmer sauce, purchasedmussels  + leeks
low-fat coconut milk + carrotoat bran + whole milk
haddock + red bell pepperCheddar or Welsh aged cheese  
broccoli + 92-calorie naan carrots or green beans
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Great Molasses Flood

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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.

Wreckage of buildings in Boston’s North End, mired in molasses.

Molasses was a trade commodity. It was one of the major products that constituted the Triangle Trade of the 17-1800s. Molasses was a bi-product of sugar-making in the Caribbean, and was imported to New England in large amounts. How did they use all that molasses? Some of it went to livestock feed. Most went into making rum. A lot of molasses was used in food preparation — Boston Baked Beans, molasses cookies, molasses puff candy, poured on pancakes — molasses was a popular ingredient when sugar was expensive. By the time of World War I, molasses was used to manufacture some munitions, and also to make distilled alcohol, so there were storage tanks of molasses in a few places around Boston, Massachusetts. The largest of these was near Cobbs Hill in the North End, and it was owned by United States Industrial Alcohol. The company had been told that the tank was leaking, so they painted it brown to camoflague the fact. January 15, 1919 was unseasonably warm. The molasses and fermentation gasses expanded in the tank. And then it exploded. Near-by, buildings collapsed or were knocked off their foundations. Shrapnel in the form of half-inch rivets flew everywhere. The resultant implosion sucked a train off the tracks. Not done yet! When the tank ruptured, a 40-foot wall of molasses flowed down the streets at 35-mph. Twenty-one people died, 150 were injured, many horses and other animals were lost. The company blamed “Italian anarchists” and anything else they could think of — except their own neglect. The smell of molasses lingered for months. Building codes are stronger now in Massachusetts. Good thing.

A breakfast that features Boston-inspired ingredients and a dinner from the Caribbean, the origin of molasses, are ways to commemorate the Molasses Flood.

B-O-S-T ScrOmelette: 161 calories 7.6 g fat 1.5 g fiber 11 g protein 9 g carbs 220 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The beans are for Boston’s nickname: beantown. The green onions are for the Green Monster at Fenway Park. The shrimp are for the strong maritime tradition of the port. The tomatoes are for New Englanders’ fervent wish to raise just a few ripe tomatoes before the end of summer. The perfect beverage would be a cup of tea – for the Boston Tea Party, of course.

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.   1 Tbsp white beans, preferable small ‘navy’ beans           2 Tbsp green part of scallions, sliced   1 oz tomato, diced and drained in a sieve overnight       ¼ oz shrimp, preferably tiny Northern shrimp OR larger shrimp chopped   1½ oz nectarine    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]

Put the beans, onion, shrimp, and tomato in a warm non-stick pan spritzed with non-stick spray or olive oil. Cook until warmed. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the other ingredients in the pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Pour the beverages of your choice, plate the fruit, and plate the eggs. 

Lobster ‘Lambi’ & Plantains: 270 calories  8 g fat 3 g fiber 18 g protein 35 g carbs 51 mg Calcium PB GF A simple meal from Haiti. Easy any season of the year. Ordinarily lambi is made with the meat of the Queen Conch, but if they are unavailable, try lobster tail instead. The plantains are oven-roasted and are a fun new vegetable for us.

3 oz lobster meat – a tail, for example  ½ Tbsp olive oil 1 lime, cut in half             3 oz plantain slices, from a ripe [yellow skin with some black spots] not green plantain         3 oz cantaloup melon   Fresh spinach leaves

Peel the plantains and carefully slice them so they don’t get squished. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick spray. Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with a flavorful salt. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes, then turn the slices and bake for a further 10 minutes.  If the lobster is uncooked, grill it indoors or outdoors while you squeeze juice from half the lime on it. Cut it into bite-sized pieces.  If the lobster meat is cooked already, cut it into bite-sized pieces and squeeze lime juice on it. Place the spinach on the plate with the lobster on top of it. Then arrange the melon and plantains. Keep the other half lime for more juice-squeezing to your taste.

Aldo Leopold

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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.

Do you think that the natural world “as a community to which we belong”? Those are the words of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology in the US. Born on January 11, 1887, and raised in Iowa, Aldo loved nature from the start. He observed, journaled, and sketched his environment throughout childhood. Leopold was graduated from Yale’s Forest School in 1909, and became an enthusiastic leader of the US Forest Service in the South West. There he established the first official wilderness area, Gila National Forest. A transfer to Wisconsin opened up new opportunities. He became the first ever Chair of Wildlife Management at University of Wisconsin. His family bought a run-down farm, the land exhausted and the buildings in ruin. Over many years, they revived the land by planting native species while living in “The Shack.” This became the inspiration for Leopold’s idea of the Land Ethic: living in harmony with nature and ethically co-existing with the natural world. A series of his essays were accepted for publication in 1948, and one week later, he died. But the work was published as A Sand County Almanac, considered one of the most important books for explaining the importance of nature to human life. He was right, you know. Humans are part of nature, not separate from it. What we do as individuals affects the entire natural world, right down to how you eat. Think about living ethically with the land, no matter where you live.

Ham and corn are popular products of Iowa, so we will start there for breakfast. A salad with pork and hard-boiled eggs is as close to the ground as it gets. Get a copy of A Sand County Almanac to peruse between meals.

Ham-Cup Egg with Corn: 140 calories  6.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 10 g protein 11 g carbs  37 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF Ham and corn are such a grand combination. Easy to prepare ahead for a quick breakfast.

1 two-oz egg  1 slice “Cottage Ham” [4” diameter thin slice of ham] I used North Country Smoke House brand at 21 calories/slice    1 Tbsp fresh polenta OR ¾ oz cooked corn kernals           1.5 tsp red bell pepper, diced  Sriracha   3 oz watermelon                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]

Fit the ham into an oven-proof container that measures 3.25” in diameter and 1.25” deep. [I used a cleaned tuna can. It was perfect.] You will need to snip the ham on 2 sides and overlap the meat to make it fit better into the mold. Combine the polenta/corn with the diced pepper and season with Sriracha/salt/pepper to taste. Whisk in the egg and pour into the ham cup. HINT: I did this the night before and put it in the ‘fridge. Turn on the toaster oven to 350 F and bake the ham cups for 20+ minutes, until the filling is puffed and set. Prepare the optional beverages and the melon. Use a wide knife to loosten the ham cups from the mold before plating. Some of the egg will have oozed into the mold as it baked, but that is easy to remove too. This is a real treat!

Springtime Pork Salad:  247 calories 8.5 g fat 5 g fiber 18 g protein 27 g carbs  80 mg Calcium PB GF  This is a delightful meal-salad, with clementines of Winter joining asparagus from Spring.  HINT: this serves 2 so invite a friend.

4 cups romaine lettuce, sliced cross-wise   3 oz pork tenderloin, cooked             8 sections clementine  2 oz asparagus, cooked and cut into 1” pieces  ½ two-oz hardboiled egg   2 Tbsp cranberry orchard nut medley   2 oz whole-wheat baguette   dressing: 2 tsp plain yogurt OR mayonnaise  1 tsp Sriracha  pinch garlic powder 2 tsp lemon juice

Slice pork into thin rounds. Slice or chop the egg. Whisk the dressing ingredients, and toss with greens in the serving bowl. Decorate with pork, asparagus, clementine, egg.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs = US large1 two-oz egg  + lemon-dill seasoning
canned white beans + scallion/green onionchèvre cheese
shrimp + tomatospinach, cooked or frozen
nectarine or peachapple or pear               
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

lobster tail + ripe plantainsbarramundi fish + fresh spinach 
fresh lime + olive oil       puttanesca sauce + Camargue rice  + garlic
melon such as cantaloup black olives + Dijon mustard + green beans
fresh spinach leaveslemon zest +  olive oil + red wine vinegar 
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Giotto, Artist

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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. Welcome to bulkads45 who is now Following.

Jean Brodie : Can anyone tell me: who is the greatest Italian painter?     Jenny : Leonardo da Vinci, Miss Brodie.           Jean Brodie : That is incorrect, Jenny. [Miss Brodie unrolls a print of Giotto’s painting “Flight Into Egypt”]  The answer is Giotto. He is my favourite.

While taste in art is subjective, Miss Jean Brodie was on to something. Giotto di Bondone, born around 1265, changed art forever, affecting the work of every artist who followed. How did he do it? By depicting nature and the people in it realistically. When he was born, the predominant art style was the Sienese School which depicted stiff, idealized figures against patterned backgrounds in a 2-dimensional space. Realism and naturalism were not in fashion, Byzantine-style icons were. 

Sienese Madonna and Child, 1270. The Lady’s body has no volume and her fingers are creepy. Baby is cute.
Cimabue’s version, with a crowd of angels like a bunch of grapes. Note that all their faces are the identical.
Another Sienese painting from 1300. Note that all three Madonnas have the same stylized face.

Giotto ‘began’ the Florentine School of art. He put figures with solid, rounded, 3-D bodies into naturalistic spaces. He used perspective before anyone else of his time. His characters had individual faces and contemporary clothing. He brought humanity into the scenes he painted, with people acting like people. Legend has it that he was discovered by the renowned artist Cimabue when Giotto was 10 years old. With his teacher, Giotto traveled. At the Basilica in Assisi, Cimabue began and Giotto finished a series of frescoes about Saint Francis. From that point on, he was in great demand, as an artist and architect. Giotto’s campanile in Florence is amazing. From Padua’s Arena Chapel, to Florence’s Santa Croce, to Rome, Giotto set up studios and taught assistants his style, thus spreading new ideas in art. How did he approach the Madonna and Child? A chubby baby sits on his mother’s arm, clutching her finger. A woman who has volume, and the dignity of an individual person. This is the genius of Giotto. He is my favorite.

Giotto died on January 8, 1337, but a trend to realistic art lived on. Our meals involve foods and flavors of northern Italy, with which he would have been familiar. As Giotto showed us realism in art, we will eat real food that is naturally-occurring, healthy, and traditional. Real food is real good.

Artichoke-Herb Bake: 136 calories  8 g fat 2.5 g fiber 9 g protein 7.5 g carbs 104.4 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg-bake and fruit only, not the optional hot beverage. PB GF  Artichokes, fresh, fragrant herbs, ricotta cheese — we must be in Italy! Fresh strawberries, in season, are excellent at breakfast.

1 two-oz egg  ¼ oz scallion, sliced across   2 tsp chopped mixed fresh herbs          ½ oz artichoke hearts, canned in water, chopped  1 Tbsp reduced fat ricotta  2 oz strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]        Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Prepare the herbs and vegetables. Put them in a bowl with the ricotta and stir to mix. Add the egg and stir it all together. Heat the toaster oven to 350 F. Spritz an oven-proof dish with cooking oil or spray and put the egg mixture into it. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the berries for the tastes of the Mediterranean.

Fish Parmesan:  245 calories  2.6 g fat  5 g fiber  31 g protein 11.4 g carbs  242.5 mg Calcium  PG GF – if using GF breadcrumbs  A new version of the restaurant classic, made suitable for Fasters. And it is delicious. For atmosphere, light the candle stuck in the wine bottle while you look at works by Giotto.

1 servingHeat the toaster oven to 350F. 
Non-stick spray      
1 Tbsp milk 		Spritz an oven-proof pan with non-stick spray or olive oil. Pour milk on a plate.
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated  
1 tsp dried oregano and/or thyme  
¼ oz whole-grain breadcrumbs, fresh not dried		Grate Parmesan. Crumble or process bread into crumbs. On another plate combine these with salt and pepper. 
¾ oz mozzarella, grated              
2 Tbsp 2%-fat cottage cheese		Cream the cheeses together until well-combined.
4 oz fish, a firm-fleshed variety   olive oil sprayDip fish in milk on both sides. Dredge fish in crumb/cheese mixture to coat it completely. Put on pan, spray with oil. 
Bake fish 10 mins, until golden. Take out of oven. Preheat broiler.
¼ c. marinara sauce, homemade or purchased           
2 tsp capers 		Stir capers into marinara. Top fish with marinara sauce, then mound the cheese mixture over it.
Broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is melty and starting to brown
2 oz green beansPrepare beans and plate with the fish.

Slow Days: Chinese Pork Steamed Buns

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Large cosmopolitan cities around the world have many choices of cuisine, and opportunities to get food that one didn’t cook oneself. Chinese food is very popular for take-away. But out here in the woods of New Hampshire, carry-out might involve a drive so long that the food is cold by the time one gets home to eat it. The solution? Make your own. OK, perhaps there is a bit of Yankee self-sufficiency in that course, but it is need-driven.

Chinese steamed buns, Char Siu Bao, are yummy and really not that difficult to prepare. With Chinese New Year coming up, treat yourself and your friends to steamed buns from home. You can make the filling days in advance. If you wish, the filling, or at least the Chinese Roast Pork, could be purchased at an Asian market or from a co-operative Chinese restaurant — I think I might have seen it at a supermarket in the deli case. Not an option? Then make your own filling.

FOR THE FILLING: 

1 T. oil OR 1 tsp oil + spray of PAM
 ⅓ cup finely chopped shallots or red onion		Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry 1 min.
1 Tbsp sugar         
1 Tbsp light soy sauce ++++1½ Tbsp oyster sauce +++2 tsp sesame oil ++++2 tsp dark soy      
                  		Turn heat down to medium-low, and add these ingredients. Stir and cook until mixture starts to bubble up.
½ cup chicken stock             2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour Add the stock and flour, cooking for a couple minutes until thickened
1½ cups diced Chinese roast pork = 6.75 oz = 193 gTake from heat and stir in pork. Set aside to cool. If you make filling ahead of time, refrigerate covered to prevent drying.

FOR THE BUN DOUGH:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast         ¾ cup warm waterIn the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (you can also just use a regular mixing bowl and knead by hand), dissolve the yeast in the warm water. 
1 c all-purposeflour  1 c white whole wheat flour        1 c cornstarch
4 tablespoons sugar  ¼ c canola or vegetable oil		Sift together flours and cornstarch, and add to the yeast-water along with sugar and oil. Set mixer to lowest setting and let it mix until a smooth dough ball is formed. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 2 hours.
2½ tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp water 		Add baking powder and turn mixer to lowest setting. If dough looks dry and baking powder won’t mix in, add water. Gently knead with dough hook until it is smooth again. Cover with damp cloth, let rest 15 minutes. Set up your steamer in the wok.
Roll dough into a long tube and divide into 20 equal pieces. Press each piece of dough into a disc about 4½ inches in diameter (it should be thicker in center and thinner at edges).
Add some filling and pleat buns closed. Place each bun on a parchment paper square or cabbage leaf. Put steamer over wok, being sure boiling water does not touch the buns during steaming process. Once the water boils, put buns in the steamer for 12 minutes over high heat.

TO ASSEMBLE AND COOK

1.5 T scoopScoop filling onto a piece of dough. Pleat to close buns. I haven’t mastered that part yet…maybe this year. Here’s another link for pleating steamed buns.
Place each bun on a parchment paper square, and steam. I steamed the buns in two batches using a bamboo steamer Be sure boiling water does not touch buns during steaming process. Once water boils, put buns in the steamer, and steam each batch 12 mins over high heat.

Serve the Cha Siu Bao fresh, with stir-fried vegetables. Freeze any that are left over for a future dinner or even breakfast.

Louis Braille

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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.

Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809, the son of a harness-maker. When Louis was three years old, he pierced his eye with an awl while playing with leather in his father’s shop. A resulting infection spread to his other eye and he was blind by age five. His ability to learn at the village school earned him a scholarship to the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. Louis continued to be an excellent student there. When he was 12, he heard about a method for soldiers to ‘read’ communications in the dark — a method developed by Charles Barbier that involved raised patterns of dots on paper. The army didn’t want the idea, but Louis Braille improved it and made it his own. He perfected it by age 16, and published a book called Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them. In 1833, he became the first blind teacher at the Institute. In addition to instructing algebra, history, and geography, Braille was an accomplished organist. He was hired at churches in Paris, and toured the nation to perform. The Institute published the first ever book in the Braille Alphabet, but a subsequent director banned the use of the Braille system. Despite that, the Braille system eventually caught on and was used throughout the world. Louis taught until 1850, when tuberculosis made him too ill. He died two years later: inventor, teacher, musician. Louis Braille’s limitation did not limit him.

How successful would you be at eating if you couldn’t see what was on your plate? Our breakfast stays on the fork well, and the dinner can be eaten with the hands.

Mushroom-Bleu Cheese ScrOmelette: 137 calories 8.4 g fat  0.6 g fiber  10.4 g protein  6.6 g carbs  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 ingredients loved in France, these flavors are delicious together.

Three 2-oz eggs, of which you will use 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 the eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.    ¼ 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]    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. 

Ham & Cheese Street Crepes: 272 calories 9 g fat 2.4 g fiber 21 g protein 25 g carbs 212 mg Calcium  NB: The photo shows a meal for 2 [TWO]. The recipe below is for one serving. This is the familiar street-vendor lunch in Paris, except that the food values will not break the bank on a Fast Day. Very quick and easy to prepare if you had made the crêpe batter before and have it thawed out. HINT: can be prepared in advance and rewarmed later. Good for traveling or planning ahead.

Two galettes per person, this plate serves 2 diners.

2 buckwheat galettes  2 oz sliced deli ham  ½ oz deli sliced Swiss cheese              1 wedge “Laughing Cow” [Vache Qui Rit] cheese at room temperature   2 oz tomatoes 

Cook crepes. Spread the Laughing Cow cheese on one half of each crêpe. Lay the ham on the cheese side of each crêpe and top with the Swiss cheese slices. Fold in half. Heat a heavy skillet, adding maybe a spritz or 2 of non-stick spray. Lay the folded crêpes on the hot skillet to heat one side, then flip to heat the other side. You want the cheese to get melty. Fold each crêpe once more into tidy triangles, and push down on with the turner to flatten them. Plate them with the tomatoes and voilà!

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

1 two-oz egg = US large + scallion1 two-oz egg  + red bell pepper
canned artichoke hearts in water4″-diameter thin, round slice ham
reduced-fat ricotta Fresh polenta or cooked corn kernels  
mixed fresh herbs + strawberriesSriracha + watermelon
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 oz firm-fleshed fish + green beansromaine lettuce + cooked pork tenderloin
Parmesan cheese + mozzarella cheeseclementine + asparagus + hard-boiled egg
marinara sauce: homemade or purchasedcranberry orchard nut medley + garlic powder
2%-fat cottage cheese + fresh bread crumbsmayonnaise/yogurt + sriracha  + lemon juice  
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Lumière Brothers

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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.

On December 28, 1895, a roomful of people saw something that astounded them: a motion picture. The pioneering film showed workers leaving a factory at the end of the day, and ran one minute, 56 seconds. It changed the world of entertainment. Auguste and Louis Lumière were the sons of a portrait painter in Lyons, France. Being talented at tinkering, they were educated at the nearby technical school. Their father Antoine saw that photography was gaining in popularity, so he began selling cameras and photographic plates. When Louis was 17, he invented a new photographic plate that did not require processing in wet chemicals. So significant was this development, that the family became rich. Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Edison had invented the kinetoscope. It was a huge device that allowed one person at a time to view moving pictures. Antoine was invited to view Edison’s machine, and returned home with a piece of film. He told his sons to make a better machine, one that would project the images on a large screen for many people to view at once. And so they did. They called it the ‘Cinématographe.’ It was a machine that would record films and play them, weighing 11 pounds, and requiring no electricity to run it. The Lumière Brothers began to film everyday events: feeding the baby; the arrival of a train.  They debuted the films to a small scientific group in March, 1895, who found it to be interesting. By December, Antoine decided to go big — he and two technicians took the Cinématographe to a cafe in Paris, to show the general public. The newspapers were unimpressed, but the public couldn’t get enough of these short movies. By word of mouth, interest spread, and people lined up down the block to see the 15 minute showings. After 10 years, the brothers turned to other pursuits. They developed Autochrome, a process for color photography that was used for 30 years. Louis went into film directing and Antoine reverted to his earlier medical studies. Louis quipped that ever since that day in 1895, people could say, “I went to the cinema.”

‘Moving pictures’ began in France, but quickly took over the world. Our foods today are from two countries with vibrant film industries: breakfast is from the US, home of Hollywood, and dinner is from Italy, home of Roberto Rossellini, Fellini, and Sergio Leone.

Eggs In Sweet Potato Nests: 163 calories 9.5 g fat  1 g fiber 10.6 g protein  9 g carbs 137.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg/potato mixture and fruit only, not the optional beverages.   PB GF  Saw this discussed on line and decided to try it. HINT: you will prepare 6 [six] of the nests, but one serving = 2 [two] nests. Preparation is a little fussy but it is done the night before making for an easy morning. HINT: this recipe serves 3 [three]. I’m told these refrigerate well for the next morning.

½ oz/¼ cup grated sweet potato   1 two-oz egg   1 Tbsp grated Cheddar cheese       pinch or two garlic powder  chopped watercress or parsley to sprinkle on top             5 cherries  or half a clementine                   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]

Grate the sweet potato and cheese. Toss thoroughly in a bowl with the garlic. Divide among 6 muffin pan cups and push it around, pressing up the sides a bit. NB: I used a flexible non-stick muffin pan which worked well with no sticking. If you don’t have one, use liners or spray the muffin pans very well. Bake the cups in a 375 F. oven for 10 minutes. Whisk the eggs with some salt and pour over the baked sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the egg with chopped watercress or parsley. HINT: I left this on a cool counter/ refrigerator over night. Bake at 350 F. for 15+ minutes or until the eggs are set. Let them sit a bit to firm up before using a knife to loosen the egg nests to plate them. Add fruit and the beverages and try this new flavor combo.

Chicken Tetrazzini:  281 calories  5.6 g fat 4 g fiber 26.6 g protein 23 g carbs 103 mg Calcium  PB  This well-known dish is infamously high in fat and calories…. Until now. Enjoy it without guilt.

3 oz chicken breast  ¼ cup Bechamel sauce without cheese                  1 tsp sherry wine   1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese  1 oz capelli d’angelli pasta [angel hair]       1 oz carrot + 2 oz broccoli

If the chicken is raw, slice it thinly and poach it in water until it is just cooked through. Start cooking the pasta and the vegetables. [TIP: if you have a pot with a steamer insert, you could do it in the same pot at the same time.] Warm the Bechamel sauce and add the sherry, Parmesan, and chicken. Taste for seasonings. Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Plate with the vegetables. Delicious.

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

2 two-oz egg = US large + paprika1.5 two-oz eggs 
whole tomatoes: fresh or cannedbleu cheese + leeks
feta cheese + onion + garlic + cuminmushrooms
orange or red bell pepper + cayennepear               
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

5 felafel patties + olive oil2 buckwheat galettes 
hard-boiled egg + pickled beets2 slices deli ham + deli Swiss cheese
red cabbage slaw  1 wedge Vache Qui Rit cheese 
baby spinach + lemon juicetomatoes — cherry size or sliced fresh
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Christmas

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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.

Christmas in Bethlehem, 2023: the Nativity Scene at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

Christmas, December 25th, is not about trees covered with ornaments. Christmas is not about presents in stockings or under said tree. Christmas is not about Santa Claus, with or without his reindeer. Christmas is not about how much you can buy and how many bargains you find. Christmas is not about eating cookies and cakes. Christmas is not about Charlie Brown and his little tree and his little friends. Christmas is not about singing carols, with or without hot chocolate, eggnog, or mulled wine. Christmas is about the birth of a baby boy sometime in March in 3 BCE, in Bethlehem, then in the Roman Empire, now in the Palestinian West Bank. That baby, born into a family of Jewish artisans — his mother a weaver, her husband a carpenter — was said by angels to be the son of God. That baby grew up to be Jesus Ben-Joseph of Galilee who became an itinerant preacher or rabbi [meaning teacher]. In his 33 years of life, he healed people who were sick in mind and body and spirit. He preached a gospel [meaning ‘good news’] of peace and reconciliation. He told anyone who would listen that the most important thing was to love one’s fellow humans as much as we love ourselves. He said that we should help the poor, the orphans, the widows. He said that we should feed the hungry and visit the prisoners. He said that rich people would never be members of God’s kingdom. He was at one point a refugee, and at the end, he was a political prisoner. The birth of that baby and the advent of his life’s work is what Christmas is all about. It is up to us to act as it that matters to us more than gifts, or trees, or commercial trappings.

Our breakfast has hearts, for a message of love. The dinner is easy to prepare and yummy — nice to eat as Winter begins.

Heart-in-Heart: 150 calories 6 g fat  3 g fiber 9.6 g protein 17 g carbs  42 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF – if using GF bread  Egg + bacon + toast come to the table in a new guise.

1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread with a 2” heart cut out                   1 slice Canadian bacon with a 2” heart cut out                             1 small egg [1.8 oz with the shell]             1 oz banana slices OR ¼ cup blueberries             Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]     Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Spray an oven-safe pan with non-stick spray. Lightly toast the bread. Put it in the pan and position the bacon on top of it so the hearts align. Sprinkle a pinch of herbs of your choice into the hole. Break the egg into the heart-shaped hole. Strew with salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes. Plate with the fruit.

Eggplant Parmesan: 263 calories 5.6 g fat 5 g fiber 19 g protein 44 g carbs  203 mg Calcium   PB GF  I love eggplant parmesan but I can’t stand cooking all those slices in oil [!!] and then layering everything together. This preparation is just what I need. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] people. Dear Husband enjoyed this.

4 slices peeled eggplant to a total weight of 6.5 oz   ¼ c part-skim ricotta cheese        ½ cup reduced fat cottage cheese   ½ oz egg   1½ cup canned whole tomatoes         basil  garlic powder 1 oz whole-grain linguine [or other pasta of your choice]          3 oz zucchini ribbons –OR– 2 oz spinach leaves

Sprinkle the eggplant slices liberally with salt and lay them in a collander on a plate and let sit 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta and cottage cheeses with the egg. Combine the tomatoes with the basil and garlic powder. Rinse the eggplant slices and bake at 375F on an oil-sprayed pan for 15 minutes or until tender. Spray two 8” oven-safe saute pans OR one larger pan with non-stick spray. Measure ¼ c of tomato into each pan and flatten it out. Lay two slices of eggplant, slightly over-lapping, on the tomatoes in the pans. Smear 1 Tbsp of tomato on each eggplant slice. Arrange 2-3 Tbsp of ricotta/cottage cheese mixture on each slice. Put any extra tomato sauce on top and then a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400F for 15+ minutes or until eggplant is soft. Use a vegetable peeler to slice zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Cook the pasta for 4 minutes, then take off heat. Add the zucchini to the pasta and let it sit, covered, for another 2-3 minutes. If using spinach, add it to the pasta pan with one minute to go. I like to serve it all in the skillet in which it was baked, but you can plate it to your individual wishes. Melty and tender – just the way I like it.

Thomas

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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.

Thomas gets his proof and stops his doubting. Painting by Caravaggio.

Thomas, who’s name means “a twin”, was one of The Twelve. That is, he was one of the men chosen by Jesus to be part of the inner circle of students/helpers/teachers. We do not know his family or his occupation or his age, but we do know that he was eager to follow Jesus, impetuous but perhaps slow on the uptake. Jesus always dropped hints that he would be killed, but then come back to life. Did Thomas take it as a metaphor, or did he just not get it? Thomas was not with the other Apostles when Jesus appeared to them, in the flesh, after his death and resurrection. When Thomas was told of the miracle, he said, “I don’t believe it. Not until I can stick my fingers in the holes left by the spear and the nails, will I believe it.” So, next time Jesus saw Thomas, he said, “Put your fingers in this wound, so you will believe.” Thomas believed, although forever after he was known as ‘doubting Thomas.’ When the Apostles set out to evangelize, Thomas was assigned the lands East of Israel: the Parthian Empire, along with the Medes, and the Persians. Legend has it that Thomas went all the way to India where he established churches. It is also said the he visited Saudi Arabia and China. Thomas met his death in Chennai in 72 CE, after 20 years of evangelizing. Was he killed on December 21st or on July 3rd? Doesn’t matter. He joined six of his fellow Apostles in martyrdom.

Due to Thomas’ reported travels to India and points East, our foods today are from India and China. Would Thomas, who was raised as a Jew, have eaten pork dumplings? Maybe.

Kashmiri ScrOmelette: 157 calories 8.5 g fat 1 g fiber 14.5 g protein 5 g carbs 58 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The sauce ‘Rogan Josh’ was available in jars on the supermarket shelf, so I incorporated it into these very tasty eggs.

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.  1/3 oz cooked chicken, diced 1 Tbsp [15 ml] Rogan Josh sauce [Taste of India brand] 1 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 together the eggs, sauce and chicken. Pour into a hot non-stick or well-seasoned saute pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray or oil. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the berries, pour the optional beverages, and set your aspirations for the day as high as the Himalayas.

Pork Dumpling Stir-fry:  270 calories 7 g fat 6.4 g fiber 13 g protein 32 g carbs 81 mg Calcium   PB A quick and easy meal, using purchased dumplings [31 calories/dumpling] and lots of good veggies.

5 pork dumplings [frozen, from an Asian market]Boil dumplings 7 minutes and drain, saving some of the water.
4 oz green bell pepper, sliced 
2 oz carrot, cut as batons  3 oz cabbage, thinly-sliced 		Cut the vegetables as directed and put them in one bowl.
1 Tbsp soy sauce 
1 tsp hoisin sauce 
½ tsp fresh ginger, chopped
pinch garlic powder 		Stir together these seasonings with 1-2 Tbsp reserved water. 
½ tsp sesame oil 
prepared vegetables
dumpling-cooking water		Heat a wok to high, then add oil. Add vegetables and stir-fry 3 minutes, adding water as needed to keep it all sizzling.
Seasoning liquidsMake a ‘well’ in the middle of vegetables and add dumplings along with seasonings. Cook without stirring 1 minute longer.

That was fast!

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

one 1.8 egg = US medium1 two-oz egg 
70-calorie whole-grain breadsweet potato + Cheddar cheese
Canadian bacon = back bacon     parsley or watercress
blueberries or bananagarlic powder + cherries or clementine
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

eggplant  + canned tomatoes + basilchicken breast + sherry wine
zucchini or fresh spinach + garlic powder carrot + broccoli
2%-fat cottage cheese + part-skim ricottaBechamel sauce w/ cheese 
Parmesan cheese + egg + whole-grain pastaangel-hair pasta + Parmesan cheese
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I Wonder As I Wander

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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.

Sunrise Landscape Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg TN and Oconaluftee Valley Cherokee NC

This season of the year, you are likely to hear a rendition of the song “I Wonder as I Wander,” sung by a soloist or played by a bell choir. The first time I heard it was at a Christmas Eve service, warbled by a soprano who’s voice I didn’t especially like. The song struck me as odd…and don’t get me started about the grammar! Over the years, it did not grow on me. Is this really a traditional song, sung at Christmas in the Appalachians? Well, no, it is not.  John Jacob Niles was a folklorist, songwriter, musician, and luthier from Kentucky. He traveled through the Appalachians writing down music that he heard. Niles was in Murphy, North Carolina in 1933, watching a revival held by a family of itinerant evangelists. The daughter of the group stepped forward and sang three lines of a song, which immediately caught Niles’ ear. He asked her to repeat it, which she did in exchange for 25 cents. $1.75 later, Niles had the same three lines and the bit of tune to go with them. He himself filled in the tune and more verses. When he published the song and tried to get a copywrite, there were complaints that he should not take credit for a song that he had not written. Except that he did write it — people were convinced that it was a genuine folk song, when it wasn’t. As for the lyrics, they strike me as fake, as if someone said, “What would a Christmas song sound like if Gomer Pyle wrote it? or maybe the Beverly Hillbillies?” In the past 90 years, the song has caught on and is beloved by many, for its haunting tune and folksy lyrics. I’m still not a fan.

Our foods are typical of subsistence farmers the world over. When you must, nothing from the chicken goes to waste. Thus, gizzards in the eggs at breakfast. The dinner sounds as if it is from Europe — but wait! Ratatouille in France = stewed vegetables in the US. And Polenta in Italy = cornmeal mush in the US. Thus, our dinner could easily be cooked and enjoyed in Appalachia.

Gizzard ScrOmelette:  139 calories 10.4 g fat 1.4 g fiber 12 g protein 5 g carbs 51 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  GF  Yes, really: gizzards. High in protein, low in fat. You could try this with the gizzard that is in the giblet package at Thanksgiving time or ask at the meat counter.

Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 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 gizzards, cleaned and simmered in seasoned stock for 1½ hours  [HINT: cook up a bunch of gizzards at the same time for future use]  1 clove garlic, minced sage + salt + pepper 1 oz applesauce  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]

Spritz a non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Slice the gizzards and cook them with the garlic and sage until warm. Whisk the eggs with salt & pepper to taste and scramble in the pan with the gizzards. Plate the applesauce and pour the beverages. Real farm food.

Ratatouille with Chicken & Polenta: 228 calories 4.4 g fat 9 g fiber 29 g protein 32 g carbs 115.6 mg Calcium  PB Oddly enough, the inspiration for this meal was a dinner on an airplane. I was determined to duplicate and improve the meal, and I think I succeeded. The polenta needs to be made ahead, and the Med Veg could come out of the freezer. All ready in about 20 minutes with those preparations beforehand. TIP: Not too many chicken breasts weigh 3 oz. Lay a 6-oz breast on a cutting board and put your hand flat on top of it. Slice parallel to the board to produce two equal fillets.

1 slice of polenta**  1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables  3 oz chicken breast, skinless and boneless large pinch herbes de Province or thyme

Pour the Mediterranean Vegetables into a small saucepan and add a little water if there isn’t much liquid. Lay the chicken meat on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with pepper and herbes de Province. Put the lid on the pan and simmer until bottom of chicken is cooked. Check to see if you need to add more liquid to prevent the vegetables from scorching. Turn the chicken, cover and continue to cook until it is done. Meanwhile, spritz a heavy skillet lightly with non-stick spray and heat it. Cut the slice of polenta in half so it is about 1/3” thick. Cook it in the hot pan on both sides until it is warm and beginning to brown. Plate the polenta, spoon the vegetables around the polenta, then arrange the chicken on top. 

**POLENTA: Sv 6-12 recipe from Bob’s Red Mill 12 slices: each slice = 43 calories 0.2 g fat 1 g fiber 1 g protein 9 g carbs 0 Calcium 1 cup dry polenta 3 c water or vegetable stock 1 tsp salt

Bring salted water/stock to a boil in a 2-qt saucepan. Add the polenta, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition. Once all the polenta is in the water, turn down the heat to its lowest  [I used the smallest burner on its lowest setting] and cook for 30 minutes. Stir often: to prevent lumps, to scrape down the sides, and to keep it from sticking to the bottom. But it is not risotto and does not need constant stirring. After 30 minutes, the polenta will be very thick – the spoon should stand up by itself. Then cook 2-3 minutes more. Brush a very thin layer of oil on a 9×13” baking pan, and turn the polenta into it. Nudge the polenta into the corners and smooth out the top. Let it cool as the polenta solidifies. Before serving, cut into 12 squares. Heat a non-stick skillet and spray with cooking spray. Pan-fry polenta portions until they begin to take on a little color and are heated through. Individually wrap pieces and freeze cooked or uncooked, until needed.