Recipes for healthy dieting

Slow Days: Lord of the Rings Festival

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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. 

Early in our courtship, Dear Husband revealed that he was a fan of Tolkien‘s Lord of the Rings books. So was I – big time!! After we read the books aloud to our sons — one was 5, the other 3 — they were hooked as well. We began to celebrate March 25, the date of the Destruction of the One Ring, with special meals. For a book about Hobbits, those famous trencher-folk, there are surprisingly few actual foods mentioned in the four books [the Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King]. After combing through the pages, I came up with two breakfasts and two dinners. Of course the most memorable dinner is the ‘coney stew’ that Samwise cooks for Frodo in Ithilien, so we that was the first one we prepared. Now there are several meals from which to choose, and you can sample them too.

Bombadil’s Breakfast: When Tom Bombadil served his guests breakfast in FotR, it was plants, fruit and dairy of his own collection or production. The plants should be watercress [since his wife Goldberry was the River-Man’s daughter] and the fruit shall be Golden Berries [aka Peruvian Ground Cherries], again in a nod to his wife.

2/3 oz Camembert cheese ½ cup watercress leaves or microgreens ½ cup plain yogurt + 1 tsp honey 2 oz Golden Berries edible flowers [violets, chives, nastursium, or others] 

Warm the honey, stir it into the yogurt, and put into a ramekin. Plate the other items to your taste and enjoy a magical breakfast in The Old Forest. Wear a blue jacket and yellow hat.

Hobbiton Breakfast: In the Peter Jackson movies, characters mostly eat apples and cheese [that’s because the actor can still say lines clearly while chewing them]. Seedy Scones are in Bilbo’s larder in Hobbit, so they are on our breakfast plate. 

Seedy Scones*** apple slices Camembert cheese  

***Seedy Scones: This makes 2 cups of ‘Mix’. 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 3 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1.5 tsp cream of tartar 2 Tbsp unsalted butter buttermilk or soured milk, as needed mixed seeds + a pinch of salt Combine the dry ingredients [except seeds] in a bowl. Cut in the butter until well incorporated. 

Prepare the Scone Mix. Stir in just enough buttermilk/soured milk to cause the dough to come together in a rough ball. TIP: store the remaining mix in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a lid. Ready to use when you wish. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Shape into scones. Brush the surface with milk and scatter the seeds on top. Place in a buttered dish to bake  HINT: I did this the night before and left it on the counter to bake in the morning. Slice the apple and cheese. Bake the scone[s] at 400 F. for 7-10 minutes. Plate to please the eye.

Marish Mushroom Casserole: Farmer Maggot and his wife shelter the Hobbits at their farm in the Marish region as Frodo and friends try to escape the Black Riders and the Shire. Knowing how much Frodo loves mushrooms, Mrs. Maggot bakes a casserole for him. If you are a mushroom lover, like Frodo, this meal will make you happy.  HINT: This recipe is enough to serve two [2] diners.

BATTER: 1 egg + ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup skimmed milk + 1 tsp baking powder		Whisk together and let the batter sit for 30+ minutes. You will need 2/3 cup for this recipe. Remainder can be frozen.
3 slices uncured bacon @ 30 calories/slice Chop bacon and cook until almost done
8 oz mushrooms, several varieties, if possible  1 clove garlic  one scallion, slicedChop mushrooms, slice the garlic and scallion. Cook in the bacon until softend and most of the liquid has evaporated. Take off heat.
2 T Worcesterhire sauce 
2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour
1 oz egg [that’s ½ of one US Large egg] 
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated		Stir Worcestershire and flour to combine. Then add the egg and cheeese, an stir.Combine in the pan with the mushroom mixture.
2/3 cup batterPour into an oven-safe dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Smooth out the top of the mixture. Pour the batter on top.
Bake at 425 until batter is cooked.
½ tsp prepared mustard 
1½ oz green beans		Serve with green beans and mustard.

Samwise’s Rabbit Stew: A foraged meal [wild carrots and herbs would have been abundant], originally cooked over a campfire in Ithilien, can be easily prepared in your kitchen. Purists will note that the dried fruit, a gift from Faramir, was given to the Hobbits later, but it adds a nice flavor note to the meal. The potatoes were not part of Samwise’s stew, but he wished that they could be. This stew is the center-piece of our celebration.

In the center of the photo, dried fruits and Mallorn leaf-wrapped lembas. In the rear, dishes of Marish Mushroom Casserole.

4 oz boneless rabbit meat, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 oz carrots, sliced or cubed 2 oz po-ta-toes, cubed bay leaf + thyme + sage + lavender buds dried apricots + dried pear dried apple + dried cherry

Put the meat, vegetables, and herbs in a sauce pan and cover with water. Cover and simmer until all is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the dried fruit on the side. Long live Frodo!

Lembas: The ‘way bread of the Elves’ is described as being made of honey and nuts so that it will keep well as food for traveling. To me, that sounds like the German cookie “Lebkuchen” which I prepare every Christmas. Undecorated and wrapped in ‘Mallorn Leaves,’ Lembas is always on the LotR table. I will leave you to find your own recipe.

March 25 is a week away, which gives you LotR fans plenty of time to plan your own celebration. Have fun!

Saint Patrick

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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 Patrick, as we all know, is from Ireland, wears green, eats corned beef and cabbage, is attended by leprechauns, and you must kiss him because he is Irish. No, no, no — that isn’t true— although popular American culture makes it seem that way. His real name might have been Maewyn Succat, but later he took the name Padrick. Padrick was not born in Ireland. England, actually. He was kidnapped as an adolescent and enslaved in Ireland. At age 20, he escaped and returned to his family home. After a seeing a vision, Patrick became a priest, then a bishop. In 433 CE, Patrick went back to Ireland to preach the Good Word. He used the shamrock to illustrate how there can be three parts of the Christian God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Over 40 years, Padrick converted thousands of Irish citizens and became beloved. He died on March 17. The ‘wearing o’ the green’ became a symbol of Irish Catholic resistance to British Protestant colonial rule, since their color was orange. People in Ireland don’t eat corned beef — that is an American invention. Belief in leprechauns was part of the pagan religion that he preached against, so no Little People, no pots of gold. Your conscience will be your guide as to whom to kiss on March 17.

To be an American celebrating March 17, corned beef and cabbage is de rigueur. We’ll have that at breakfast. For dinner, a more traditional Irish meal involving lamb. During his youth in Ireland, Patrick was a shepherd, so this seems appropriate.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Bake: 143 calories 6.4 g fat 4 g fiber 11.5 g protein 9.5 g carbs [8.6 g Complex] 95.6 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  Since this flavor combination works well at dinner, we shall have it for breakfast, too. It is delicious! Irish Breakfast Tea would be a perfect accompaniment.

one 2-oz egg ½ oz corned beef, cooked ½ cup cabbage, shredded ½ wedge Laughing Cow cheese ½ cup raspberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish Irish Breakfast tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Simmer the cabbage in water to cover, cooking until it is limp. Drain well. While cabbage is still hot, stir the cheese and stir to melt. Dice the beef and stir into the cabbage. Pile into an oil-spritzed oven-proof dish and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit.

Lamb Stew with Glazed Vegetables: 317 calories 8 g fat 6 g fiber 24 g protein 31 g carbs 62 mg Calcium The recipe is from Salute to Healthy Cooking, so you know it is good. We have enjoyed this often. If you double the recipe, then you’ll have some to freeze for another meal. Yes, the calorie count is a bit high, but it is worth it.  One serving = ¾ cup  HINT: This recipe serves two [2].

Lamb Stew for twoNeed: saute pan + Dutch oven with lid + non-stick pan + oven
½ # lamb shoulder, boneless, cooking spray
salt + pepper		Cut lamb in 1″ cubes. Sear cubes on all sides in a heavy pan which has been sprayed with non-stick spray or oil. Cook meat in batches so the pan doesn’t cool down. Put cooked meat in a Dutch oven and season it.
½ cup onions, choppedPut onions in the cooking pan and saute  with enough water to make them sizzle until they are transparent.
1 oz dry red wineAdd wine to deglaze the pan, stirring brown bits up from the bottom.
Heat the oven to 350 F. 
¾ tsp white whole wheat flour water
½ Tbsp tomato paste 		Sprinkle deglazed pan with flour and stir to mix. Put in Dutch oven. Add enough cold water to go to the top of the lamb but not cover it. Stir in tomato paste.
1 tsp thyme 
1 bay leaf		Add herbs. Heat to a simmer on cook top over medium heat. Cover casserole and put in the oven. Bake 1 hour, check once in a while to make sure the stew is not boiling.
¾ cup carrots, cut in 2” batons Add carrots, cover pan, bake 15 minutes.
½ cup cubed potatoes Add potatoes, cover pan, bake 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf. 
6 pearl onions 1 c/5 oz turnips, in 2” batons
water
½ tsp sugar  + 1 tsp butter** 		Put vegetables in a small non-stick pan with sugar and butter**. Add enough water to go half-way up the onions. Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered, shaking pan occasionally.
Salt + pepperAdd salt and pepper. Take off heat and cover until vegetables are cooked. 
Plate stew with the glazed vegetables.
** If you were to cook the onions and turnips without the butter and sugar, you would reduce the calories to 297 and the fat to 6.5 g.

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

1.5 two-oz eggspolenta — uncooked
chicken breakfast sausage @ 35 calories/linkwhole milk + yogurt
apple uncured bacon
sagefeta cheese
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

sauerkraut + caraway seeds1.5 two-oz eggs  + cottage cheese
collards/kale/chard + garlic powdermushrooms + chives/scallion
applesauce, unsweetened + onionasparagus
chicken dinner sausage @ 110 calorieswheat berries
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Pi Day

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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.

March 14th is Pi Day. Why? As any math student will tell you, the value of Pi = 3.14………, thus 3-14 is the day to celebrate that value. What is Pi? If you took a bowl and measured the distance through the center from one side to the next, you have measured the ‘diameter’ of the bowl. Now you use a measuring tape to determine how far it is around the rim of the bowl and you have found the ‘circumference’ of the bowl. If you divide the circumference by the diameter, the result is always 3.14…….. This concept dates from the ancient Greeks, and Archimedes was the first to quantify the number. Actually, it has been considered impossible to quantify the number fully, because it is ‘irrational.’ Nine divided by three = 3.00 — it comes out evenly. But no matter how many decimal places you take it to, the value of Pi does not seem to end. So we thought… This is a common device in Sci-Fi films and TV shows: the wayward computer is told to ‘resolve Pi to the last decimal place,’ knowing full well that it was impossible. [If you prefer fractions to decimals, Pi can be approximated as 22/7.] In 2010, a super computer and a super mathematician finally resolved Pi to its 2-quadrillion digit end. Sorry, Mr. Spock.

A baker would celebrate March 14 as PIE Day. On a Fast Day, we will enjoy our pies without crusts — but they are pies just the same. Pie for breakfast is a lovely tradition in New England. Quiche is a pie by another name. Enjoy pie as you calculate the value of Pi to the 100th decimal place — by hand.

Pumpkin Pie Breakfast:  216 calories 4 g fat 2 g fiber 7.4 g protein 38.5 g carbs 98.5 mg Calcium   PB GF  My mother developed this recipe and to me it is the Gold Standard of pumpkin pies.  When prepared without a crust, it becomes more suitable for a Fast Day. NB: Mind the optional calories in the beverages to stay under 300 for the meal. Prepare the custards the day before

1 ramekin of Pumpkin Pie ** 1 chicken breakfast sausage [36 calories each]  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Remove a ramekin of custard from ‘fridge and place on a plate. Do this first to take off some of the chill. Cook the sausage and prepare the optional hot beverage. Enjoy being a ‘Yankee’ who has pie for breakfast.

**Pumpkin Pie Custards Serves 6Heat oven to 400 F. Spritz 6 ramekins with non-stick spray.
1½ cups pumpkin puree ½ cup brown sugar, not packed ½ cup white sugarCombine in a sauce pan and heat at a low setting.
1 cup milk, non-fat
2 two-ounce eggs		Whisk together, then stir into the pumpkin.Take sauce pan off heat.
¼ tsp mace + ½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger + ½ tsp salt
pinch ground cloves 1 tsp cinnamon + pinch allspice		Stir the spices into the mixture. Taste to see if any flavors need to be adjusted.
Pour into ramekins. Put in oven, bake 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 350F, bake 20 minutes or until a knife poked in the center comes out clean.
Cool custards and refrigerate. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Salmon Quiche: serves 6  Per serving: 110 calories 6 oz fat 0.5 g fiber 9.6 g protein 3.5 g carbs 56 mg Calcium  PB GF This goes together so quickly and tastes so nice, that I urge you to serve it at your next luncheon or guest occasion. You can serve as a dinner and then for a subsequent breakfast and/or lunch. 

Get a piece before it is all gone!

2 oz salmon, cooked 1 cup grated zucchini ½ cup coarsely-chopped onion 6 eggs 2 Tbsp reduced-fat ricotta 2 Tbsp plain fat-free yogurt dill weed salt to taste pepper to taste   salad, per serving: 48 calories 2.4 g fat 2 g fiber 1 g protein 6 g carbs 25 mg Calcium ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp flavorful vinegar 1 cup greens such as baby greens or mesclun 1 oz tomatoes, diced 1 oz cooked, chilled beets, sliced or cubed ½ oz carrot, grated

Spritz an oven-proof quiche pan [I used one that is 8.5”diameter x 2” deep] with non-stick spray. Crumble the salmon into the bottom of the pan and top with the zucchini and onion. Whisk eggs with the ricotta, yogurt, dill, salt, and pepper. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 F. for around 30 minutes, or until puffed and set in the center.  Serve with a side salad and some local, seasonal vegetables.

Loaves & Fishes

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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.

My attention is always piqued when a book that is not a cookbook starts talking about food. In the Christian Bible and the Jewish Tanakh and the Muslim Qu’ran, there are several general mentions of food, but the Gospels get really specific in stories about Jesus. ‘Loaves and fishes’ show up in the Feeding of the 5000 [Matthew 14, verses 13-21]. Jesus eats a Passover Seder Meal at the Last Supper with his closest friends. There is surely food at the Marriage at Cana [John 2, verses 1-12 ] but all we know about is the wine. Recently, John 21, verses 1-14 caught my eye. After his Resurrection, Jesus meets his disciples on the beach after they have been fishing all night in the Sea of Galilee. They have caught no fish. He tells them to fish on the other side of the boat, and they catch 153 fish right away! “They saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread…Jesus said to them, ‘Come and eat breakfast’.”

You have been invited, so here is a version of that meal. One of the fishes in the Sea of Galilee is tilapia. You could use that for a dinner meal of Loaves and Fishes. For our dinner, we will cook ‘the fatted calf‘ from the Parable of the Prodigal Son [Luke 15, verses 11-32]. Both meals use portions of the same batch of bread –very handy. I think that these meals are suitable for the season of Lent which began last week.

Loaves & Fishes: 146 calories 3 g fat 2.7 g fiber 12.4 g protein 18 g carbs 89 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  From the Gospels come descriptions of people eating bread and fish for breakfast and dinner. Try this for a change of routine. For authenticity, the fish should be charcoal-grilled, but that doesn’t work in my kitchen.

2 oz smelts, boned, heads and fins removed 1½ tsp za’atar + 2 tsp sumac powder 1.6 oz gozleme bread** 2 deglet noor dates   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Remove the heads, fins, and backbone from the smelts. Lay them flat/opened out on a cutting board. Combine the sumac and za’atar thoroughly and sprinkle half of it on the fish. Turn the fish over and sprinkle with the remaining spices. Heat a heavy skillet and spray it with cooking spray. Cook the fish on both sides until done. Plate with the bread and dates and time-travel back to 32 CE on the shores of Galilee.

**Gozlema Bread makes six 1.6 oz flat-breads or use larger amounts of dough for filled Gozlemas  1 of 6 sv = 26 calories 0 g fat 1 g fiber 1.4 g protein 5 g carbs 20 mg Calcium

1¼ c white whole wheat flour ½ tsp saltCombine in a 2 cup-sized bowl. 
¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurt Whisk yogurt with the water, and stir into the flour until well-combined. Add a bit more water if too dry.
On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit for a few mins on the counter OR overnight in a cool place.
Divide into six pieces, each about 1.6 ounces in weight. On a floured surface, roll dough into flat breads. Cook on an oil-sprayed skillet 3-4 mins per side until turning brown in spots. Freeze what you are not using today.

 

Veal with Dried Fruit:  270 calories 4.5 g fat 5 g fiber 27 g protein 28.5 g carbs 80 mg Calcium  PB GF – if not serving the bread  All the ingredients [except the tomato paste, which you could eliminate] are mentioned in the Bible. Is this the dinner that was cooked when the ‘fatted calf’ was killed? It seems celebratory to me. It is based on a recipe from lacucinaitaliana.com This is delicious.

Serves 2 
3/4 c. carrots
½ c. onion
½ tsp olive oil 1 bay leaf + 1 sprig rosemary 		Prepare the vegetables. Brown in a saute pan with oil, bay leaf and rosemary. Cook 5 mins.Season with salt + pepper.
1/3-1/2 cup hot water 
2 dried apricot + 1 dried fig + 2 dates 		Cut fruits in half or quarters. Add water and fruit to pan. Cover pan and simmer over low heat, around 15 minutes.
6 oz lean veal filets
Aleppo pepper + kosher salt 		If fillets are more than ½” thick, pound the meat to thin it.
Sprinkle the veal with the pepper and salt/
1/3 c.white wine 1 tsp. tomato pasteStir wine, tomato into the pan, then lay veal on top. Cover partially and simmer on low until meat is cooked and sauce has thickened. Turn the meat to ensure that it cooks through.
2 oz cucumber per person
sumac powder
1.6 oz gozleme bread per person		Divide meat, fruit, and sauce between 2 plates. Sprinkle cucumbers with sumac. Plate the cucumbers and gozleme bread.

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

2 two-oz eggs + pumpkin puree1 two-oz egg 
brown + white sugar + allspicecorned beef + cabbage
skimmed milk + mace + nutmegLaughing Cow cheese
36-calorie chicken breakfast sausageraspberries
ground ginger + ground cloves + cinnamonoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

6 eggs + cooked salmonlamb shoulder + onion + dry red wine
zucchini + onion + dill weedwhite whole wheat flour + carrot
reduced-fat ricotta + plain yogurttomato paste + turnip + pearl onions
side salad with tomato, carrot, beetpotato + thyme + bay leaf
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Luther Burbank

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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.

To say that Luther Burbank was a plant-breeder would be an understatement. In his career, he developed 800 different plant varieties!! He was born on a farm in Massachusetts on March 7, 1849. As a child, he enjoyed working with his mother in the garden. He bought a small farm where he began to cross-breed plants. This means taking the pollen from one plant and using it to fertilize another plant. If one can control and limit this fertilization, then one can control the characteristics of the resultant plants. Several generations of cross-breeding can lead to plants that are quite different from the originals. Early on, a new plants was the Burbank Potato. One of its virtues was that it was resistant to the Blight which had caused the Irish Potato Famine. He sold the rights to it and moved to land in Santa Rosa, California. There he began breeding in earnest. Vegetables, flowers, grains, grasses, fruits, cactus — all were subjects for investigation. He was not a scientific man, being a bit loosey-goosey about record-keeping. Burbank was about the what-ifs and the results. And he got results: His most famous flower is the Shasta Daisy. His most famous fruit is the plumcot. And his most successful vegetable of all is the Russet Burbank Potato which is the chosen variety for McDonald’s french fries. Don’t blame Luther Burbank if they cause you to gain weight — that one is on you!

What better to eat to celebrate Luther Burbank than plants?! Eat them at breakfast, eat them at dinner — good to eat and good for you.

Ratatouille-Egg Toast:  301 cal 6 g fat 4 g fiber 17 g protein 31.4 g carbs 212.4 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  Ratatouille, the French vegetable stew, is great with eggs for breakfast. And you can prepare it year-round.

1 piece 70-cal multi-grain bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is great] ¼ cup Mediterranean Vegetables, drained through a sieve  one 2-oz egg Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]   

Toast the bread. Warm the vegetables briefly and spoon onto the toast. Fry the egg using a non-stick or cast iron pan and put the egg on top of the vegetables on the toast. Pour the beverages and you have a fine breakfast as well as a head-start on your 5 servings of vegetables for the day.

Zucchini Fritatta: 280 cal 13 g fat 3.5 g fiber 20.5 g protein 14.6 g carb 296 mg Calcium  GF PB  Inspired by a recipe in Fresh Ways with Vegetables, part of a Time-Life series. This is really delicious and can be prepared any time of year.  HINT: serves two, so save half for lunches or dine with a friend. 

2 two-oz eggs + 2 egg whites ¼ cup low-fat ricotta chesse thyme, salt, pepper to taste 3 oz mushrooms, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed ¼ c. onion, chopped ½ pound zucchini, grated 1 tsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1½ oz mozzerella cheese, grated

Whisk eggs, ricotta, salt, pepper, and thyme together. Heat the broiler. Cook the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in an oven-safe pan for 2-3 minutes. Add zucchini and lemon juice and cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft and all the liquid has evaporated. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the Parmesan. Smooth the surface of the vegetables in the pan and pour in the egg/ricotta mixture. [OR: spritz two 8” cast iron pans with non-stick spray. Divide the zucchini mixture between the 2 pans, spreading it out and smoothing it down. Pour 100 ml of the egg mixture into each pan, tilting it to distribute the egg evenly.] Cook on the stove-top for 1 minute. Sprinkle with mozzerella and put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Cut in half, if cooking in one pan. Save that half for tomorrow or serve proudly to your dinner companion.

Anthems

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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.

We hear national anthems played at sporting events, especially the Olympics. [Most] every nation has one: some of them are controversial, some of them have interesting stories. The oldest national anthem is that of Japan, words dating from the 10th century, music from 1880s. China’s song, the March of the Volunteers, began as the theme of a propaganda movie made in the 1930s to inspire citizens to resist the invading Japanese. The French anthem, La Marseillaise, is a rousing soldiers’ song from the French Revolution. The problem is that the words are blood-thirsty: bloody flags being raised and gore flowing in fields. Sounds better if you don’t know French… The Americans’ Star Spangled Banner was written in the middle of a battle and describes the joy of observers at seeing the flag still flying over the fort at dawn — the battle was not lost. It is criticized as being jingoistic [‘conquer we must’], and some propose America the Beautiful as a more suitable song. And then there is the anthem of Spain: completely un-singable because it has no words — melody only. It was composed in 1761 and attempts have been made to add lyrics but they have failed. What does your nation’s anthem celebrate? The beauty of the land? The courage of the soldiers? The spirit of the people? The anthem of Ukraine proudly proclaims that “Ukraine will not perish” and describes the peoples’ willingness to fight for their freedom. May they succeed.

To honor the cuisine of two of the nations mentioned today, we have a breakfast from Japan and a dinner from the region of France where the anthem originated.

Jian Bang  [Japanese Rolled Eggs]: 149 calories 8.5 g fat 1 g fiber 13 g protein 6 g carbs [4 g Complex] 72.6 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF Number One Son prepared these for us as part of a larger Japanese breakfast, and they are amazing. I added the crab and leek to make a good thing even better. Yup, guilding the lily.

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  2 Tbsp crab meat, frozen or fresh 2 Tbsp leek, finely sliced ½ Tbsp soy sauce ¼ tsp sugar 1½ oz strawberries  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 non-stick spray. Cook the crab and leek until you can smell the leek, but don’t brown it. Remove from pan. Beat the egg with the soy sauce and sugar, and divide into 2 parts. Spritz the pan again and reheat. Put half of the egg in the pan and swirl/tip the pan to spread it out into a rough round. Distribute the crab and leek all over the egg. When top of egg is set enough that it is still moist but won’t jiggle much, roll the egg into a roll from one side of the pan to the other and leave it there. Pour the remaining egg in the pan and cook until almost set. Roll the roll across the pan again to incorporate the newly-cooked egg. Outside of the egg should be a little brown due to the soy sauce. Prepare the beverages and fruit and enjoy your meal from Japan.

Chicken Provincal: 252 calories 12.5 g fat 4 g fiber 25.4 g protein 15 g carbs 57 mg Calcium   PB GF– if using GF flour   This recipe is from the Culinary Institute of America, with a few tweeks by me. It glows with the warm tastes of Province. Despite what a buffet waiter told me, it is pronounced ‘pro-vohn-saal‘ — NOT ‘pro-van-kal.’ HINT: The recipe serves two [2] people.

6 oz chicken breast, boneless & skinless 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 2 tsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1 anchovy fillet 2 Tbsp dry white wine 1 c tomatoes, chopped, juice retained 1/4 c. chicken stock 5 cured black olives, sliced pinch salt 2 pinches rosemary per serving: 2-3 oz broccoli florets

Fillet the chicken breast meat by cutting it along the thin side to create 2 slices. These will cook faster, as well as looking like more food on the plate! Sprinkle the flour over the chicken to coat it lightly. Heat the oil in a small non-stick skillet and cook the chicken on one side. Turn once to cook the other side, remove from pan. Put the garlic, anchovy, tomatoes, and wine in the pan, mashing the solids with a spoon as they heat. Add the chicken stock, olives, and rosemary to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens. Return the chicken to the pan to heat it briefly. If the sauce gets too thick, add some tomato juices or water or more stock. Cook the broccoli and enjoy your meal from southern France.

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

1 two-oz egg2 oz smelts
70-calorie whole grain breadgozleme bread: white whole wheat flour + yogurt
Mediterranean Vegetables deglet noor dates
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

two 2-oz eggs + lower-fat ricotta veal + dried fig + dried apricots + dates
mushrooms + garlic + zucchini carrot + onion + white wine
lemon juice + Parmesan + oniontomato paste + olive oil
mozzarella cheese + thymebay leaf + rosemary + cucumber
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Montaigne

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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 A.C. Cockerill who is now Following.

“A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.“

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.“

What is a ‘philosopher’? It is someone who seeks wisdom. And where is this prize found? Michel de Montaigne decided, on his 38th birthday [February 28] in 1571, to trade in most of his way of life to seek wisdom in his own thoughts. He moved out of the family chateau to a tower across the courtyard. Alone with a bed, a writing desk, and his 1000-volume library he began to ‘try’ to figure out life’s great mysteries. [He went back to the chateau for meals. He also attended local social events.] The word ‘try’ is important because he called his writings ‘essais’ based on the French verb ‘essayer,’ meaning ‘to try.’ Who was Montaigne? He was the son of a family made very wealthy trading in salted herring. His mother was the daughter of prosperous merchants in Bordeaux. The family obtained noble rank due to his father’s military service, helped by the fact that 2 generations back they had converted from Judaism to Christianity. His father valued education and designed an unusual learning plan for his son. From shortly after his birth until his 3rd birthday, young Michel lived exclusively with a local peasant family — to learn empathy for simple folk. From age 3 to age 6, there was a tutor who spoke only latin to him — as did his parents and all the servants — making latin his native tongue. At age 6, off to a humanist boarding school, then studying law in his teenage years. Mayor and city councilor of Bordeaux; suffering from kidney stones; friend of kings: Montaigne stored up experiences which he later put in writing. His three books containing his 107 essays were published in two books in 1580, and the third, posthumously, in 1595. Free-wheeling in structure and organization, the writings range from cannabalism, to having thumbs, to the education of children, to tomorrow is a new day, Montaigne found a new way of expressing himself and inspired writers and thinkers for centuries.

As a nod to the Montaigne Family fortune, we will enjoy herrings at breakfast. The dinner salad evokes his childhood with a shepherding family. Will these meals make you philosophical? Who knows.

Herring Plate: 195 calories 8 g fat 4.4 g fiber 8 g protein 13.5 g carbs [11 g Ccomplex] 33 mg Calcium  PB  If you like herring, this is the breakfast for you. It makes a nice change from morning eggs and it is prepared in no-time-flat. NB: Do NOT eat herring if you are taking MOAI antidepressent medicine, as herring is high in tyramine.

3 Finn Crisp crackers  1.25 oz herring marinated in wine [not sour cream] 2 Tbsp whipped cream cheese 4 Bing cherries OR ½ cup strawberries, sliced  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] 

Do I need to describe this preparation? Spread the cream cheese on the crackers and pile on the herring. Delicious and so satisfying.

Shepherds’ Salad: 286 cal 15 g fat 5 g fiber 13 g protein 23.6 g carbs 311 mg Calcium  PB GF  This delightful meal is from Lynne Rossetto Kaspar’s The Italian Country Table. I have included a version of the original cooked salad dressing, but you may use a simple herbed vinaigrette if you prefer.

½ oz salami 1/3 c white beans 2½ cups [3 oz] lettuce, from the garden, the store, or wild sorrel, dandelion, or lambs quarters 1 oz mozzerella 1 radish, thinly sliced 2” celery, thinly sliced on diagonal ½ oz chicken breast 2 tsp of boiled dressing** OR 2 tsp vinaigrette dressing++

Prep your toppings: slice the salami rounds into matchsticks; shred the lettuce; cut the cheese into strips about ¼” square; slice the radish and celery. Measure 2 tsp dressing into a serving/salad bowl and add the lettuce. Toss to coat with the dressing. Arrange the meat, beans, cheese, and radishes in decorative groupings. Hearty and delicious, even if you didn’t have to forage for it yourself.

**SHEPHERDS’ SALAD DRESSING:  makes 1/3 cup enough for 7 servings  1 serving = 2 tsp = 32 calories 

3 Tbsp olive oil 
4” rosemary
6 sage leaves		Put in a pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4 smashed cloves garlic 
pinch of hot pepper flakes		Peel the garlic cloves and crush them with the side of a large knife. Add to the pan and stir for a few seconds.
½ cup red wine vinegar Add vinegar and boil the liquids down to 1/3 cup.
Strain and cool before serving. Put the remainder in a jar and store. 

++Vinaigrette Dressing makes 6 Tbsp, enough for 9 servings  1 serving = 1½ tsp = 52 calories 1 Tbsp cider vinegar + ¼ tsp salt : stir together and let sit 5 minutes 4 Tbsp olive oil + 1 ½ tsp cold water + ½ tsp tarragon or thyme : whisk together Add the vinegar and whisk again.

Slow Days: Aunt Ethel’s Hot Cross 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 FastDiet Forum https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/ 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.

When I was a child, the religious season of Lent meant that there would be Hot Cross Buns for breakfast. Maybe on Sunday, maybe on Friday. My Mother bought them at the A&P supermarket, Jane Parker brand. We loved them. When Dear Husband and I set up housekeeping, I wanted to make Hot Cross Buns for Lent. Many recipes were tried, but I wasn’t satisfied. When Good Friend Joe mentioned that his Aunt Ethel made great hot cross buns, I asked for the recipe. Ever since, I have made these prior to the start of Lent. Of course, I changed the recipe with the addition of candied citron [part of the Jane Parker recipe] and white whole wheat flour [to make it more healthy]. One ingredient that did not change was the use of potato water — water that is drained off from boiled potatoes — a key to success. Some people want their HCBs on Sundays during Lent, some on Fridays. Some eat them on Ash Wednesday and some on Good Friday. Some eat them only on Easter. Whatever. We like them on the 1st Friday of Lent, then every other week until Good Friday. And every year I sent a half dozen to Good Friend Joe and his Dear Wife, to eat whenever they like. Here’s how I prepare them:

Mise en place for 18 Hot Cross Buns.
¾ cup milkScald milk, pour into bowl
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ cup butter		Stir in sugar, salt and butter. Cool to lukewarm while the butter melts.
½ cup warm potato water
2 pkgs dry yeast = 4.5 tsp 		Measure warm water into medium bowl. Add yeast and let sit while yeast dissolves and starts to bubble. Blend into lukewarm milk mixture.
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup each raisins + citron + candied peel 1 tsp nutmeg
1½ tsp cinnamon 3 cups flour + more for kneading 		Toss the fruit with a bit of flour in a bowl. Stir together egg, fruit, spices, and flour. Knead well, adding flour to prevent sticking.
Put dough in a buttered/oiled bowl, turn to coat the top of the dough. Cover with a clean towel. Let rise for 45 mins.

Punch down, divide in half, cut each half into 9 equal balls.  **freeze at this point: put dough balls on a cookie sheet and freeze them until solid. Portion into zipper bags for Lenten breakfasts.
The dough has risen. It is divided into 18 portions and rolled into balls. The balls are frozen and stored in a zipper bag for baking to serve later during Lent.

The night before serving, take frozen dough balls from the freezer and put on a buttered baking dish. Cover with a tea towel and let rise overnight in a cool place. 
Before breakfast, bake at 350F 15-18 mins.
Confectioner’s sugar milk or orange juiceMix icing until just a little runny. Spoon icing in the shape of a cross onto the top of each bun and serve warm.

And what a fine Lenten breakfast this is, with fruit yogurt and Canadian Bacon. Thanks, Aunt Ethel!

Winslow Homer

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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.

Who was the pre-eminent painter of seascapes in the 1800s? Winslow Homer, of course. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 24, 1836. His mother taught him the basics of watercolors, considered in those days to be an art for mere hobbyists. Apprenticed as a teenager to a lithographer, Homer learned the print-makers’ skills: drawing and color use. During the American Civil War, he was sent to the front lines to produce sketches that Harper’s Weekly would turn into illustrations for its news stories. His scenes of camp life were interesting to the folks at home, but the engraving of The Sharpshooter brought the fighting into peoples’ living rooms. That’s how it was done before Matthew Brady began to photograph the war. Several of the sketches were later turned into oil paintings, a medium which he had just learned. After the War, Homer devoted himself to painting scenes of peace and innocence. Pictures of children: Snap the Whip and Breezing Up and of country life: The Dinner Horn and The Blue Boat, gave way to depictions of people who are affected by the ocean, whether sailors [Eight Bells], fishermen [Fog Warning], their families [Dad’s Coming!] or victims of a cruel sea [The Gulf Stream]. One summer, Homer picked up his watercolors again, launching a new phase to his career which brought him a steady income. He became more drawn to small coastal communities, filled with working men and women instead of frivolous, richer city people. Even on a trip to Europe, he went to the seaside villages to sketch the common people. Back in the USA, he moved to his family’s Maine property, setting up his studio right on the shore. There he painted his brooding seascapes and settled into a prosperous living. He died at his studio in 1910, leaving 147 paintings as his legacy.

Since Homer painted seascapes, our breakfast is typical of coastal residents near his Prout’s Neck studio. For dinner, another meal of the common people of the coastal Atlantic.

Fish Cake Breakfast: 145 calories 2.5 g fat 2 g fiber 9.5 g protein 18.5 g carbs 42 mg Calcium PB GF Fish cakes have been a filling meal in North-Eastern North America centuries. In her 1832 cookbook, Lydia Maria Child promoted them for breakfast food. Great idea!  HINT: Prepare the fish-potato mixture the night before. This breakfast deserves a revival.

1 slice uncured American streaky bacon 6 Tbsp/rounded 1/3 cup Fish Cake mixture** 2 oz tomato slices ¼ oz fresh spinach 1 oz sliced strawberries or 2 Tbsp blueberries  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]

Slice the tomato and sprinkle with salt. Plate spinach leaves and top with tomatoes and fruit. Cook the bacon and plate it. Pour most of the bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to a low heat. Using either a 1 Tbsp or 2 Tbsp measure, scoop out some of the fish cake mixture and put it in the pan. Flatten it slightly to form a disk and cook until browned and crisp on one side. Cook until crisp on the other side and plate.

** Fish Cake Mixture  makes 2 cups 1/3 cup green or white onion, chopped 1-2/3 cup mashed potatoes [no milk, no butter] ¼ tsp dry mustard lots of salt + pepper 1 two-oz egg 2 Tbsp milk 6 oz cooked fish [cod, haddock, salt cod, salmon or a mixture], flaked into small pieces Combine the onion, potatoes, egg, seasonings, and milk, stirring well. Stir in the fish, gently but thoroughly. Portion the mixture and cook in a sauce pan with some bacon grease.

Seafood Chowder:  275 calories 11 g fat 1 g fiber 15 g protein 16 g carb 117 mg Calcium GF Dear Husband found the recipe in Yankee magazine. He prepares this every year and we think it is wonderful. It freezes nicely and easily serves a group. The directions look long and involved but the results are worth it.

Makes 10 one-cup servings
4 strips thick-cut American streaky baconDice bacon. In a medium skillet cook it until crisp and brown. Remove bacon and put into a big bowl. 
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced ~1 cupPour off all but 1 Tbsp fat and add onions. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring, until translucent – 10 mins?. Set aside with bacon in the bowl.
1 pound baking potatoes, peeled + cut in ½” cubesIn another saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water and boil until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and add potatoes to the bacon/onions. [Save water for baking]
2 pounds steamer clams in their shells 1 Qt waterPut clams in a large pot with water. Heat to boiling, cover, and cook until clams open, about 3 minutes. Take out clams leaving liquid in the pot. Strain liquid through a sieve lined with toweling to remove debris. Take clams from shells and cut into smaller pieces if necessary. Add to potatoes, onion, and bacon.
one 1½ pound lobsterPut strained broth back into empty pot and bring to a boil. Put lobster head-first into boiling broth. Cover and cook 20 minutes. Remove lobster and let cool. Crack shell, remove the meat. Cut into ½” chunks and add to potatoes.
1 pound scallops, trimmed 1 pound shrimp, peeled Heat broth until boiling. Add scallops, shrimp. Reduce heat to low. Simmer about 3 minutes, until scallops + shrimp are just cooked through.
1 quart whole milk 4 Tbsp butter 2 sprigs parsley
¼ tsp paprika salt + pepper to taste		Finely chop the parsley. Add all the previously cooked ingredients, along with the milk, butter, parsley and seasonings. Heat until steaming but not boiling. Take off heat.
Cover and cool. Let soup sit in the ‘fridge or on a cool back porch for 12-24 hours. This really enhances the flavors.
When ready to serve, heat to steaming hot but do not boil.
Freeze what is left over in serving-size containers.

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

whipped cream cheese1.5 two-oz eggs 
Finn Crisp crackerscrabmeat
herring marinated in white wineleek + sugar
cherries or strawberriessoy sauce + strawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salami + white beans + red wine vinegarchicken breast + flour + olive oil
chicken breast + rosemary + sagechicken stock + garlic + anchovy fillet
mozzarella + radish + celerykalamata black olives + white wine
garlic + lettuce or wild greensfresh tomatoes + broccoli florets
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Who dunit? Who ate it? Chapter VII

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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 Lisa who is now Following.

Dear Husband and I love to read ‘whodunits.’ Crime literature in English harks back to Edgar Allen Poe’s Murders on Rue Morgue in 1841. As the genre took off, a sub-genre developed: culinary crime. These books are read as much for the procedural as for the vicarious thrills of the meals that are described along the way. There are many authors who tantalize our tastebuds while they challenge our little grey cells and today, I will feature foods from two widely different sources.

Two authors from the British Isles and their detectives are featured today. Breakfast is based on a very unhealthy snack food, often craved by Frank Phillips, a homicide detective in Northumbria. I took some liberties and made it a bit healthier. Dinner is a very healthy meal prepared by Enzo Macleod, a forensics specialist in Haute-Garonne. I took some liberties and used Camargue rice, from southern France, to add some complex carbs.

Frank Phillips, the older, plumper, rumpled, rougher side-kick of the young, slim, polished, elegant, handsome DCI Ryan loves to stop at the Pie Van to fuel up on Bacon Butties. Frank is a ‘Geordie‘ through and through, and not the sort of person to go on a diet. Despite his love of Butties, his devotion to his younger wife and their adopted daughter has him minding his heath. If he had this version throughout the series by L.J. Ross, Phillips might not have had to diet in middle-age.

Bacon Butty: 193 calories 4 g fat 6 g fiber 5 g protein 30 g carbs 62.4 mg Calcium This is such a widely popular sandwich in England and the Republic of Ireland that there are some 700 varieties. Some call it a ‘sarnie.’ If you add an egg, it becomes a ‘breggy.’ It seems to have originated in Ireland.

1 Arnold multi-grain Sandwich Thin, top and bottom 2 slices uncured American bacon, cut in half 2 oz applesauce 1 packet ketchup, for fast-food authenticity   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Lightly toast the bun while the bacon cooks until crispy. Portion the applesauce, construct the sandwich, and serve with ketchup. ‘Fast Food’ for a Fast Day.

Enzo Macleod is a Scottish-Italian forensic expert transplanted to the University of Toulouse where he teaches. His private life is complicated, but on the job he is straightforward. On a dare, he determines to solve seven famous cold cases. Ordinarily he does his eating out of our sight, but in the final book of The Enzo Files, The Night Gate, by Peter May, we find Enzo preparing a simple dish of roasted fish for his [3rd] wife and his son.

Enzo’s Broiled Fish w/ Grapes: For a side dish, Enzo serves boiled potatoes, but you could substitute Camargue red rice.  with potatoes: 216 calories 1 g fat 2 g fiber 23.5 g protein 32 g carbs 53 mg Calcium –-OR- with Camargue rice: 279 calories 2 g fat 2.5 g fiber 24 g protein 45.4 g carbs 53 mg Calcium   PB GF   Enzo MacLeod, Peter May’s Scottish-expat forensic expert who lives in France, prepared this meal for a family dinner at home.

4 oz thin filets of white fish 2 Tbsp lime juice 2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced 4 oz white/green grapes 2 oz potatoes, either small ‘new’ potatoes OR cubed red potato OR 1 oz/2 Tbsp uncooked Camargue rice

Stir together the juice and ginger and pour into a shallow dish such as a glass pie plate. Lay the fish in the marinade and let sit 30-60 minutes, turning the fish half-way through. Start cooking the rice, if using. Put the rice in a cook-pan with three times its volume in boiling water. Simmer for 35 minutes, until water is absorbed. OR Boil the potatoes until tender, drain. Season them and keep warm. Put the grapes around the sides of the fish in the baking dish. Broil 5-6 minutes, until the fish is cooked and grapes start to blacken. Plate with the starch of your choice and consume with pleasure.