recipes for Michael Mosley’s 5:2 Diet

Summer Soups

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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 Jason Lawrence who is now Following.

Warm, comforting hot soups are what we want in the winter, but have you tried soups in the summer? It is true that eating spicy food can help to cool the body on a hot day. Cool soups, with vibrant flavors, can be a delightful alternative to cooking or grilling. The best known summer soup is Gazpacho from Spain. Another famous cold soup is Vichyssoise, a hot French soup, made cold in New York City. And then there is Borscht. Ask anyone in eastern Europe, and they will tell you that their nation invented the soup. Most recipes are for a hot soup, but some cooks serve Borscht cold in the summer. Try a Summer Soup, one or more of them will end up in your warm-weather menus for years to come. And if you have a garden or a CSA share or access to a great Farmers’ Market, soups are a fine way to use fresh veggies.

A cool-as-a-cucumber soup starts off the day, and a well-seasoned noodle soup from Thailand makes a great meal at day’s end.

Cucumber Soup with Melon: ¾ cup serving = 78 calories 0.5 g fat 4.5 g fiber 11.5 g protein 8 g carbs 106 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the plated items only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF The soup is lovely as is, but if you want to add more food, add a 1.5-oz slice of ham from the deli. Food value for ham: 68 calories 3.6 g fat 0.5 g fiber 7 g protein 1.6 g carbs 10 mg Calcium. Add optional beverages, and you have a cool, delightful meal to start a Summer day.

makes 3 cups. 4 servings of ¾ cup each
two 8” cucumbers [total weight = 21 oz]Slice off both tips of the cucumber and remove half of the green peel. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Dice the cucumber.
2 oz mint leavesChop the leaves coarsely.
Piment d’esplette [or paprika or Aleppo pepper]
salt & pepper to taste		Add these to taste to a food processor. Run the machine until the cucumber is very finely chopped.
200 grams/ 7 oz Fromage Blanc OR plain Greek yogurtAdd cheese/yogurt and run the processor to combine. Adjust seasonings.
8 oz canteloupe melonScoop into 8 Tbsp-sized balls
Portion soup, garnish with two melon ball per serving
Optional: 1.5 oz sliced deli hamRoll slice and plate next to bowl of soup.  
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]

Thai Shrimp and Noodle Soup:  272 calories 2 g fat 4 g fiber 26 g protein 37.6 g carbs 82 mg Calcium  PB  This soup is superb, whether on a hot summer night or in the winter. HINT: serves 2. Invite a guest or save for a lunch later in the week. This soup is wonderful and spicy and filling.

6 oz raw shrimp, shelled, tails removedThaw shrimp in a bowl, then strain liquid from bowl into a 1-cup measure, adding water to bring volume to 1 cup.  Put shrimp into a pan with the liquid, and simmer until opaque. Remove shrimp and cut in half cross-wise if large.
46 gm rice vermicelli noodles [that’s one small ‘bundle’ of noodles]Bring shrimp-water to boil, add vermicelli, cover and take off heat. After 4 mins, drain, saving cooking water. Rinse and reserve noodles.
2 pinches crushed red pepper 1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice 2 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp Thai green curry paste 		Put shrimp-water and these ingredients in a pan together. Warm while whisking to combine.
2 oz carrots, grated  1 c. spinach leaves, loosely packedCoarsley chop spinach after measuring. Add carrots. Add spinach. Simmer until veggies are tender.
2 scallions, thinly sliced 1 oz grated carrotAdd shrimp. Serve soup warm or cold with garnish of chopped scallion and grated carrot.

Battle of Verneuil

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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.

French army on the right, confronts the English at Verneuil.

The Hundred Years’ War blurs by the students in history class — too many names; too many battles. Unless you have a dog in the fight, it matters not. But some battles stand out to me: Crecy in 1346, Agincourt in 1415 [made memorable by Shakespeare], and Verneuil. As at Crecy, my mother’s ancestors fought at the Battle of Verneuil. It took place in Normandie, France in 1424. In those battles, the English were trying to establish their dominance in the province that had belonged to their leader, William of Normandy, three and a half centuries ago. Once again, the English were outnumbered. Once again, the French were defeated. The French army was a combination of French knights, infantry, and archers, 1000s of Scots, and calvary units hired from Milan and Lombardy. This polyglot assemblage lead to poor communication on the battle field and a lack of unity with the attack. I try to imagine my ancestor, Gerard d’Harcourt, the 44-year-old only son of his noble family, with a wife and two young sons at home. He would have gone into battle on that hot August day in head-to-toe armor. Since dawn, while the two armies had been maneuvering into position, Gerard sat locked in his metal suit, without much food or water since breakfast. The battle finally began at 4 pm, and when it was over, [only?] 1600 English had died, compared to 7262 combatants on the French-Scots side. Gerard was one of them, along with his first cousin Jean VIII, Count d’Harcourt and leader of the French army. Less than 30 years later, hostilities ceased. Too late for Gerard and Jean.

A foraging army might well have found cepe mushrooms in the woods of Normandy to add to breakfast, and rabbits would have provided a welcome stew at dinner for those who survived the ‘bloodiest battle of the Hundred Year War.’

Cepe Omelette: 139 calories 9 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 6 g carbs 46.7 mg Calcium  PB GF Cepes [aka: ceps, porcini] are a divine mushroom. Like many good foods, they exist in a brief moment of time and must be savored in the moment. True, they can be dried for later, which is a real plus. But today we will be Zen-like and enjoy them now.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.   ½ oz [1/3 cup] sliced, raw cepes ¼ tsp butter parsley, chopped salt & pepper 4 cherries   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]

In a non-stick pan, melt the butter and spritz well with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with parsley, salt, and pepper. Cook the mushrooms in the butter until tender [1 minute?] and pour in the eggs. Let the bottom of the eggs get firm, lifting the edges to let the raw egg run underneath. Either flip the eggs to cook on the other side, or leave the upperside soft when you fold and plate it with the fruit. With or without the optional beverages, this is a rare Summer treat.

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

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

If the rabbit is uncooked: Cut it into bite-sized pieces and quickly cook in a saute pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Remove the meat. Chop and cook the mushrooms in non-stick spray, but do not evaporate all of the liquid they give off. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and the stock to the pan along with the mushroom juices and ¼ cup water. Simmer to cook the onions. Whisk in the potato starch and the seasonings. Continue to whisk over heat until the potato starch is dissolved. Cook at a simmer until the liquid measures ¼ cup and is thickened. Add the rabbit meat, ham, and the mushrooms. Simmer for a few minutes and taste for seasonings. Pour and scrape into an oven-proof dish. Top with the Sandwich Thin. Bake at 350 F for15 minutes. Cook the carrots. Plate the meal by first putting the Sandwich Thin on the plate, then covering it with the rabbit-mushroom mixture. Pour any extra liquid so that it is soaked up by the bread. Plate the carrots to complete the meal.

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

2 cucumbers = 21 oz + cantaloupe balls1.5 two-oz eggs 
mint leaves + piment d’esplette/paprikaapple + melon
fromage blanc or plain Greek yogurt1 oz raw pork
Optional: 1 oz sliced deli hamdried sage
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

rice vermicelli + raw shrimp 4 oz pot roast of beef
carrots + scallion + Thai fish sauceboiling onions
lime juice + Thai green curry pastecarrots + beef gravy
fresh or frozen spinach + sugarsmall red potatoes
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Ernest Lawrence Thayer

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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 Imran Maqbool who is now Following.

The only poem that Ernest Lawrence Thayer ever wrote became one of the most beloved and oft-quoted set of lines in American literary history. What was it? Surely you know of Casey At The Bat! Thayer was born on 14 August, 1863, in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a family in manufacturing. He went to Harvard, where he joined the two famous humor societies: Hasty Pudding Club and Harvard Lampoon. Another member of those groups was William Randolph Hearst. When Hearst took over at the San Francisco Examiner, he hired Thayer to write a humor column for the paper. At the end of his two-year stint, the parting column in 1888, was a poem about a self-important baseball slugger who is humbled for being prideful. The poem went unnoticed until it became part of the act of a vaudeville performer later that year. “Casey” caught the popular imagination and rumor was rampant: was Mudville a real place? was Casey modeled after a particular ball player?? Thayer maintained that it was a work of pure fiction, although two towns actually claimed to be Mudville. Mike ‘King’ Kelly, from the Boston Beaneaters team, stated for years that he was the original Casey [one would brag about that???]. Nobody doubts that “Casey at the Bat” is everyone’s favorite baseball poem. My favorite rendition of it was by our older son when he was in 4th grade. He chose the poem as his entry in the school’s poetry recitation contest, and practiced long and hard. The audience and judges loved his changing inflections as he shouted “Strike One!!” contrasted with the echo’s whispered “Fraud.” He won the competition and was asked to repeat his performance on the school house steps on the last day of school. It was a triumph and his parents were proud.

Although baseball was invented in the United States, it involves countries around the world. Baseballs for the US market were once manufactured in Haiti [on a grand scale, but for a pitiable wage], and at the other end of the Island of Hispaniola, players from the Dominican Republic have been stars in the Major Leagues. The Japanese love baseball, and several top-notch Japanese stars play on American teams. Our breakfast is from Haiti and our dinner is from Japan.

Haitian Chicken Bake: 131 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 13 g protein 8 g carbs [6 g Complex] 43 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF The Haitians love to eat their ‘pates’ [pronounced ‘patty’], spicy fillings in puff paste dough. Here is the filling alone is used to jazz up some eggs at breakfast.

1 two-oz egg 2 Tbsp chicken pate filling** 1.5 oz pineapple   Optional: blackish Haitian 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]

NB: Prepare the chicken pate filling in advance and freeze or refrigerate it. Whisk the egg with salt and pepper, then whisk again with the meat filling. Pour into an oven-safe dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Portion the fruit and brew that Haitian coffee. Zut alors! A taste of Hispaniola!

**chicken pate filling = 1 cup ‘pate’Prepare a mise en place. You will be adding ingredients at rapid intervals, so do the prep now.
1 habanero pepperCut pepper lengthwise and scrape the seeds out of one half. Chop both halves. 
Chopped pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp garlic, minced 		Spritz a non-stick skillet with non-stick spray. Saute the pepper, onion, and garlic  3 mins until tender.
½ pound ground chicken Add chicken and cook 5 mins, stirring often.
¼ cup shredded carrotAdd carrot and cook for 2 minutes.
2 tsp no-salt tomato pasteAdd tomato paste and stir constantly 1 min
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp cider vinegar		Pour in lime juice and vinegar and stir. 
1 Tbsp chopped scallion
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp pepper 
¼ tsp salt 
1/8 tsp ground clove  1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 		Add scallion and all the seasonings. Stir, take off heat, and cool to room temperature. Run it all through the food processor.

>Use in omelettes, bakes, quiches, crepes.  >>Wrap in wonton wrappers  >>>Roll out purchased puff pastry and cut into 20 squares. Use 1 Tbsp filling per square, seal edges and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Miso Salmon: 242 calories 9 g fat 2 g fiber 29 g protein 12 g carbs 37 mg Calcium  PB GF Having heard of this over and over again, I asked our son for a recipe. So easy! So good tasting! You will have left-over sauce for flavoring a soup or another fish dish.

4 oz salmon filet, skinned 2 Tbsp miso sauce** 5 spears asparagus OR 3 oz broccoli

Place the fish on a small plate and paint one side with some miso sauce. Turn fish over and repeat. On medium-high, heat a well-seasoned cast iron pan or a non-stick pan and add a spritz of cooking spray. Cook the fish on one side for 4 minutes while painting the up-side with more miso sauce. Turn the fish to the other side, paint with the sauce, and cook 4-5 minutes longer, depending on the thickness of the fish. Test for doneness by cutting a small slit down to the middle of the filet to see if it has changed from deep pink to opaque pink color. Cook the asparagus, brush it with some of the miso sauce and plate.

**Miso Sauce: makes 6 Tablespoons  33 calories/Tablespoon 2 Tbsp white or yellow miso 2 Tbsp mirin 1 Tbsp sake or sherry 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil Stir together to combine.

Slow Days: Pecan Rolls

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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.

When our sons were young, our Summer Vacation was two weeks at Prince Edward Island in Canada. I would pack up ingredients for the meals we would eat, we would stuff our duffels with bathing suits and snorkel equipment, and off we would go to the old farm house we would always rent on a little lane that went down to the sea. It was delightful.

Early on, I discovered a new recipe: Pecan Rolls that could rise overnight and be enjoyed for the next day’s breakfast. Even better, the recipe made so many that they could be frozen and re–heated for subsequent breakfasts large enough to satisfy two growing boys. Great!! The recipe is from Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman.

Now we have our own house on Prince Edward Island, built to resemble our former rental, but with some serious updates — like a large, well-equipped kitchen. Every Summer there, I make a batch of Pecan Rolls: some for the next breakfast, many for the freezer to feed our Summer guests. Depending on how you cut the dough, you could make 24-36 large rolls. Have fun with this one!

Mise en place: in big bowl — 2 flours, mace, salt; in smaller vessels, left to right: milk-juice-honey, yeast, pecans, egg-oil, unplumped raisins
24 huge rolls OR 32 regular12 huge rolls OR 16 regular
1 cup raisins
boiling water to cover		½ cup raisins boiling water to coverSoak 15 mins, then drain, saving the water and raisins.
½ c cooled raisin water
1 Tbsp yeast		¼ c cooled raisin water 1.5 tsp yeastPour into 1-Quart bowl. Let sit a few minutes, then stir to dissolve
¾ c warm milk
½ c warm orange juice
1/3 c warm honey		1/3 c warm milk ¼ c warm orange juice 3 Tbsp warm honeyStir into yeast solution, let stand 5-10 mins.
¼ c oil, ex: canola two 2-oz eggs2 Tbsp oil, ex: canola one 2-oz eggAdd to the bowl and mix.
1 2/3 c white flour
2 tsp salt
½ tsp mace or nutmeg 4-5 c white whole wheat flour		½ + 1/3 c white flour 1 tsp salt
¼ tsp mace or nutmeg
2-2½ c white whole wheat flour		Combine in a large bowl.
Plumped Raisins
1 cup liquids		Plumped Raisins
½ cup liquids		Stir into dry ingredients.
1 cup liquids½ cup liquidsAdd more liquids and mix.
Remaining liquidsRemaining liquidsAdd and mix. Knead and let rise 1½-2 hours.
Punch down, divide dough in half if making larger amount. Roll ½ to an 8×12” oblong. 
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp honey 1 tsp cinnamon		2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp honey ½ tsp cinnamon		Stir to combine. Divide into 2 parts, if making larger amount. Brush rolled dough with 1 part butter-honey.
1/3 cup + 1/3 cup chopped pecans3 Tbsp chopped pecansSprinkle dough with 1 part nuts. With long side toward you, roll up dough, slice into 12-16 pieces. Repeat with other ½ of dough, if making larger amount.
Arrange rolls, cut side up, on buttered baking trays.
Let rise on counter 1 hour, or overnight in ‘fridge.
Bake 15-20 mins at 350F.
½ c. icing sugar or more 1 tsp orange juice or more¼ c. icing sugar or more 1 tsp orange juice or moreStir together icing. Slather on rolls to serve today. Cool and freeze un-iced remaining rolls in plastic bags.
Pecan Rolls, back bacon, strawberry yogurt — tastes like Summer to me!

Rin-Tin-Tin

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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.

Publicity still for the actor Rin-tin-tin.

“YO!!! Rinty!” was the call when Rin-Tin-Tin was sent into action during the TV show “The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin” in my youth. The plots centered around a little boy and his German Shepherd dog who had been adopted by an outpost of US Cavalry men, resulting in all sorts of interesting activities taking place in the American West of the 1800s. But the tale of the real dog started in World War I. Lee Duncan, an American soldier fighting in Lorraine, France, found a female dog with her puppies in a ruined German-forces kennel. He took the starving family back to base and got permission to care for them. After the war, Duncan adopted a male and a female, and took them back to America. He named them Rin-in-tin and Nannette after the little dolls made by French children, though he swapped their sexes. The female died and was replaced by a puppy from a friend of Duncan’s. The 1-year-old male, Rin-Tin-Tin, and the puppy ended up in southern California where Duncan worked for a sporting goods store. On the side, he was a hunting guide and trainer of hunting dogs. Rin-tin-tin was very athletic and well-trained, so Duncan would enter him in competitions at dog shows. Once, the dog was filmed scaling a wall almost 12 feet high. Duncan got the idea to put Rinty into films — inspired by another German Shepherd in movies — so he and the dog visited many fledgling studios. A new outfit named Warner Brothers signed them up, producing a movie written by Duncan for Rinty, called Where the North Begins in 1923. The dog was paid $1000 per week and a young scriptwriter named Daryl F. Zanuck was in charge of penning most of the 26 films the dog starred in for Warner. Like many stars of the time, Rin-tin-tin retired in 1930, when ‘talkies’ became popular, silenced by advancing age and audible off-stage commands. He died on 10 August, 1932. Rin-tin-tin’s puppies from Nannette lived on, trained by Duncan, and appearing in a few subsequent films — but not the aforementioned TV series.

Our breakfast begins the day in France, just as the Star Dog’s life began there. For dinner, a California cook-out of ‘hot dogs.’

Charcuterie Scramble: 190 calories 12.5 g fat 0.5 g fiber 13 g protein 6 g carbs 72.5 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Left-overs from a charcuterie board can be parlayed into a nice breakfast.

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.  ¼ tsp Dijon mustard ¼ oz chevre cheese 1/8 oz/ 1/2 tsp bleu cheese 3 slices/ ¼ oz pepperoni slices 1 oz grapes   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]

Slice the pepperoni into thin slivers. Cream together the cheeses and mustard, then whisk thoroughly into the eggs. Pour them into a hot pan spritzed with cooking spray, and strew with pepperoni. Cook as a scramble or an omelette. Plate with the grapes.

Hot Dog & 4-Bean Salad: 302 calories 12 g fat 3.6 g fiber 20 g protein 18.6 g carbs 103.5 mg Calcium  GF PB  Hot Dogs and summer salads go together, even for Fasters. This meal is very straight-forward, assuming the 4-bean salad has already been prepared.

1 Hebrew National reduced-fat hot dog [<110 calories] 1 deviled egg* ½ cup 4-bean salad** 2 oz tomato slice, broiled with ½ Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Grill or pan-cook the hot dog. Prepare the deviled egg. Slice the tomato to a thickness that weights 2 oz. Top the tomato with cheese and broil it. Plate it all with the 4-bean salad. Simple food at summer’s end.

*Deviled Egg:  80 calories 5 g fat 0 g fiber 8 g protein 1 g carbs 36.6 mg Calcium  PB GF Old favorite, updated.

One 2-oz egg, hardboiled, peeled prepared yellow mustard 1 Tbsp 2%-fat cottage cheese Yellow Sriracha or New Mexico green chilis in a jar paprika or sumac

Slice egg in half lengthwise. Scoop out the yolk and mash with a fork on a plate. Add cheese and savory liquid, and mash until well blended and of desired consistency. Spoon back into the divot of the egg white and sprinkle with paprika or sumac.

**FOUR-BEAN SALAD:  makes 8 cups  ½ cup= 99 calories 4 g fat 3 g fiber 3 g protein 14 g carbs 29.5 mg Calcium ¼ cup= 49.5 calories 2 g fat 1.5 g fiber 1.6 g protein 7 g carbs 14.7 mg Calcium PB GF

2 cups fresh green beans 2 cups fresh yellow[wax] beans 2 cups canned kidney beans 2 cups canned garbanzo beans 1 cup onions, chopped ½ cup cider vinegar ½ cup sugar [experiment with less] ¼ cup olive oil 

Cook the fresh beans until tender. Drain and rinse the canned beans. Combine with the onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together the vinegar, sugar and olive oil. Toss with the vegetables and refrigerate 4+ hours. Keeps for days in the ‘fridge.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large + pineapple1.5 two-oz eggs 
Haitian chicken pate filling: ground raw chickenCepe mushrooms
lime juice, Habanero pepper, onion, garlicbutter + parsley
carrot, tomato paste, scallioncherries or peaches
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salmon [wild-caught is better]rabbit meat + portobello mushrooms
white or yellow miso, mirinham + onions + herb savory
saki or sherry wine [not ‘cooking wine’]Arnold Sandwich Thin or similar
soy sauce asparagus or broccolicarrot + thyme
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Star-crossed Lovers: the Princess & the Herdsman

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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.

My mother told me that there are seven basic plots in literature, and one of them is the story of the “Star-Crossed Lovers.” This plot centers around two people who are in love yet fate intervenes, in one way or another, to keep them apart. Shakespeare coined the term, implying that one’s astrology [one’s stars] controlled one’s destiny. In mythology there are star-crossed lovers, and one such famous pair is found in the 8th century Japanese story of the Princess and the Herdsman. The tale is the origin of the Tanabata or Star Festival, celebrated in Japan since the Edo Period.

Altair and Vega, separated by the Milky Way.

Orihime 織姫, the daughter of Tentei 天帝, the emperor of heaven, was a skilled weaver of silk. Her father set her to work daily, weaving fabric to clothe the other gods. She was proud of her role in the cosmic order, but she was lonely. Across the Heavenly River [the Milky Way], she could see a herdsman [of cows or sheep, according to various tellings] named Hikoboshi 彦星. He too was lonely, and one day he called to the lovely maiden. They struck up an unlikely friendship, and yearned to meet in person. Seeing that his daughter was unhappy, Tentei arranged the marriage of the pair. The happy couple spent so much time canoodling that the gods’ clothes were getting shabby and the untended animals were trampling gardens. Now the emperor was unhappy. He banished the pair to opposite sides of the River with the admonition that if they did their jobs well, they could be reunited on day each year on the 7th day of the 7th month. [Yes, that would mean July, and sometimes it is celebrated then, but with calendar reform it became 7 August.] We can see them in the sky today as the stars Altair and Vega, two parts of the shape called the Summer Triangle. And indeed, in early August, the lovers find themselves on the same side of the Milky Way, having crossed on a bridge made by sympathetic magpies. They must have done their jobs well.

The breakfast of light, airy pancakes would suit any princess. The dinner is the food of the people on the streets — or the pasture. Somen noodles are a typical food to eat during the festival, said to represent the flowing waters that divided these true Star-Crossed Lovers who really are stars.

Japanese Souffle Pancake Breakfast: 223 calories 6 g fat 1 g fiber 16 g protein 32 g carbs 132 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the pancakes and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  Here is a delightful breakfast treat. Dear Husband was most pleased. HINT: One batch serves 3 people, if each person has 3 pancakes.

3 souffle pancakes* 2 turkey breakfast sausages @ 30 calories each 1 plum [two halves], fresh or canned in light syrup  OR sliced strawberries Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Japanese Souffle Pancakes:  each of 10 pancakes: 45 calories 1 g fat 0 g fiber 3 g protein 8 g carbs 42 mg Calcium 

4 egg whites [6 Tbsp]Keep egg white refrigerated until ready to be whipped.
Set griddle to a medium-low setting – you want them to cook slowly..
2 egg yolks [2 Tbsp]
1½ Tbsp milk 4 tsp/10 g wh3
4 tsp/10 g white flour ½ tsp baking powder		Mix egg yolk in a bowl with milk. Sift the flour and baking powder into the yolk mixture and mix well.
Cooled egg whites ¼ tsp cream of tartar Take egg whites out of the ‘fridge and add cream of tartar. Whip egg white until foamy.
5 g sugar  10 g sugar 
10 g sugar [scant 2 Tbsp total]		>Add sugar to egg white, whipping until fine bubbles form.
>>Add more sugar and continue to whip.
>>>Add last sugar and whip until foam is shiny and soft peaks form.
Gently fold 1/3 of meringue into egg yolk mixture. Add another 1/3 meringue, and carefully fold. Pour yolk mixture into the meringue bowl and carefully mix it all together with a rubber scraper spatula.
Cooking spray + smear butterDrop 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter onto griddle, then top with an additional dollop on top of each pancake [to add height] and cook it for 3 mins. 
Flip them over and cook for 3 mins or until both sides are browned.
Serve as described below.

Prepare the batch of Souffle Pancakes. Cook the sausages. Cut the plum in thirds. Plate the 3 pancakes and place a piece of plum on each one. Drizzle with syrup from the can of plums. Place the sausages on the plate and enjoy the lightest, fluffiest pancakes ever – like eating a cloud.

Yakitori: 285 calories 9 g fat 4.5 g fiber 21 g protein 23 g carbs 117 mg Calcium   PB  These skewers are a popular street food in Japan, and we will serve them with buckwheat noodles. Quick and easy.

Serves 2: 5-6 skewersSoak bamboo skewers 30 mins.
¼ c. lower-sodium soy sauce
2 T. mirin or sushi vinegar**
2 T. sake or dry sherry
1½ tsp. granulated sugar**		In a small pot over med-high, bring these to a boil. Lower heat, and simmer until slightly thickened, 5-7 mins. 
**if using sushi vinegar, reduce sugar to ½ tsp
Take off heat, let cool. Save out 2 T. sauce.
½ # chicken thigh meat, cut in 1″ pieces – NEED 24 pieces
½ bunch scallion, all parts, cut in 1″ pieces – NEED 18 pieces		Fold each chicken piece in ½ and thread on a skewer. Thread on a scallion piece. Continue so each skewer has 4 meat + 3 scallion.
Vegetable oilPreheat grill 5 mins to med-high. Lightly brush grates with oil. Grill skewers, turning at whiles, 4 mins. OR BROIL
After 4 mins, begin brushing skewers with sauce after each turn. Keep grilling 4-5 mins until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken registers 165°F
Arrange skewers on a platter. Brush with more sauce.
Toasted sesame seeds Sprinkle with seeds.
sesame noodlesServe with sesame soba noodles.
Sv 2
1 oz soba buckwheat noodlesCook noodles in boiling water 4-5 mins, stirring a bit so noodles don’t clump
Drain into a sauce pan, saving the water. Rinse soba under cold water, tossing to remove starch.
1 cup cabbage — bok choy or napaFinely shred cabbage, and simmer until soft but not limp.
1.5 T soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar or sushi vinegar** ¾ tsp sugar**
black pepper 		In a medium bowl, whisk these together. **if using sushi rice, use only ¼ tsp sugar
Set aside.
PAM spray
2/3 c. green onion, cut in ½” lengths 		Heat a skillet over med-high, and spray with cooking spray. Add green onions. Cook, stirring, 15-30 secs.
Soy-vinegar mixtureAdd and cook 30 secs.
Cooked noodles
cooked cabbage 		Add noodles and cabbage, toss until heated.
2 T. green onion, diced
1.5 tsp Toasted sesame seeds		Toast seeds in dry pan. Add green onion and sesame to noodles in the saute pan. Toss to mix.
1.5 tsp Toasted sesame seedsGarnish with seeds, serve warm or at room temp.

Hot Weather Food

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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.

The climate is changing and it is not in our favor. The human body — and every other living thing — has an optimal range for healthy living. While there are animals and plants that live in hot-humid Equitorial land and water environments, most life on Earth is in more temperate zones. Modern humans [Homo sapiens, sapiens] came to their planet-altering maturity during the last Ice Age. Cold weather agreed with them. Have you heard that the planet is now the hottest it has been for the past 120,000 years? Yes, science does have ways to determine the temperature ranges from deep in times past. It would be prudent if we each changed our behavior to help to keep the climate cooler. Small changes today can add up in the future.

Are meals are chosen to deal with the heat. Miami, Florida is a hot spot. Our breakfast comes from there and it will power you through a hot day. The dinner is to be eaten at room temperature, much better than a hot meal at the end of the day.

Cubano ScrOmelette: 151 calories 8.5 g fat 0 g fiber 12 g protein 1 g carbs 71 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  GF  The famous Miami sandwich comes to the Fasting breakfast table, with every flavor intact!

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.  1/8 oz ham, diced ¼ oz Swiss cheese, diced ¼ oz pork, diced [this could be from a previous roast or a grilled tenderloin] ¼ tsp mayonnaise ¼ tsp mustard 1.5 tsp dill pickle, diced  1 oz melon 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]

Cut up the meats, and combine in a small dish. Dice the pickle and the cheese, and whisk with the mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs. Season to taste. Spritz a saute pan with non-stick spray and heat it. Put the meat mixture into the hot sauté pan to warm, then add the eggs. Scramble together [or cook like an omelette] until the way you like it. Pour your beverages and enjoy a semi-tropical start to your day.

Zucchini Quiche Squares: 293 calories 13 g fat 2 g fiber 12 g protein 22 g carbs 118 mg Calcium PB My Aunt Betty introduced this recipe to our family years ago. Since then, I have reduced the fat and increased the protein. HINT: The recipe makes 8 [eight!] servings, so it works well for entertaining. It will also freeze, so you could have 7 meals for the future! If freezer space is limited, cut the recipe making only 1/3 of it, baking in a loaf pan. Then cut into 3 servings.

To prepare Quiche:  3 cups zucchini, grated 2 Tbsp minced onion 1 clove garlic, minced – nothing wrong with more, if you wish 1.5 cups ‘bisquik’ ** ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 wedges Vache qui Rit [Laughing Cow] cheese, cut into small pieces 2 tsp marjoram or oregano 2 Tbsp parsley, minced salt and pepper 2 oz ground chicken/turkey breast, cooked and very finely minced ¼ cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 2 Tbsp milk

Mix everything together, except the milk. If batter is too dry, add enough milk to make it moist enough. Pour into a 9×13” pan which has been spritzed with oil or non-stick spray. Bake at 350F 30-40 minutes, until beginning to brown on top. Cut into 8 pieces.

**bisquik, makes 2 cups 1½ cups white whole wheat flour + ½ cup white flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 2 tbsp butter

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, by hand or in food processor, and use as directed. Any leftover bisquick can be store in a jar on the pantry shelf for later use.

To prepare Meal: 1/8th of baked quiche 1 cup lettuce in bit-sized pieces ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp Balsamic vinegar + pinch salt Whisk the oil and vinegar and toss with lettuce, sprinkle with salt. Plate with the quiche. How easy was that?!

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

4 two-oz eggs = US large + milk1.5 two-oz eggs 
flour + baking powder + sugarchèvre cheese + herbs de Provence
white whole wheat flour + cream of tartarchorizo sausage
30-calorie chicken/turkey breakfast sausagemelon + Dijon mustard
plum or strawberriesoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

low-sodium soy sauce + mirin or sushi rice + sugartomato + hard-boiled egg
sake or sherry + raw chicken meat + scallionshot dog, 100-calories
buckwheat soba noodles + cabbage4-Bean salad + Parmesan cheese
sesame oil + sesame seedsyellow mustard + cottage cheese
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Summer This + That

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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 Kucia Kodes who is now Following.

Summer demands its own sort of foods. Foods for a road trip. Foods for the barbecue. Foods for the beach. Foods for when there is no time to cook. Foods for when it is too hot to cook. Thus, Summer foods do not have a particular theme, unlike Winter’s hot soups and stews. In a way, this is free-ing: if you do a little planning, a quick pick-up meal is easy to do. Have lots of different vegetables on hand, several fruits, some meat and fish in the freezer, then many Summer meals can be prepared out of this and that.

Our breakfast is from Malta, where it is very warm in the Summer. Our dinner uses lots of veggies on the grill. Easy to prepare, quick to cook, just right for Summertime.

Maltese Bake: 130 calories 6 g fat 2 g fiber 10 g protein 10.5 g carbs 66.5 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  The flavors of sunny Malta await you at breakfast.

1 two-oz egg 3 Tbsp frozen spinach ¼ oz tuna 1 filet canned anchovies, minced ¼ cup Mediterranean Vegetables, excess liquid drained off 3 oz melon   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]

Thaw the spinach the night before and place it in a sieve to drain out extra liquid. If pressed for time, thaw the spinach and squeeze it in your fist to expel liquids. Break up the tuna in a bowl and add the minced anchovy along with the Mediterranean Vegetables. Whisk the egg, then stir into the other ingredients in an oven-proof dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit and pour the optional beverages. Good stuff.

Fish Kabobs: 236 calories 8 g fat 4 g fiber 27 g protein 22 g carbs 77 mg Calcium   PB GF Any firm fish will work for this simple meal. The Fresh Polenta is from Jacques Pepin and it is a keeper.

4 g firm fish [swordfish, tuna, halibut], cut in 1-2” cubes 1 oz eggplant cut in 1” chunks, skin left on 1 oz cherry tomatoes ¾ oz red or yellow bell pepper, cut in 1” squares 2 tsp Pimenta do Queijo or other red pepper sauce ½ cup fresh polenta* ½ cup side salad**

Combine the pepper sauce with 2 tsp water in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Toss the eggplant and bell pepper in the pepper sauce and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove the bell peppers and microwave the eggplant 45 seconds longer. Cool the vegetables and save the marinade. Prepare the polenta. 

FRESH POLENTA: 1 sv = 1/3 cup = 80 calories  PB GF  1¼ cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen 1 tsp unsalted butter freshly-ground pepper + salt Puree corn in a blender until ‘smooth’ [it will still be a bit chunky, but you shouldn’t see whole kernels]. Put butter in a warm pan, then add corn, pepper and salt. Cook about 30 seconds or until it thickens. 

Assemble the kabobs on skewers and brush with remaining marinade. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Broil 4 minutes, then turn the kabobs, brush with marinade, and broil for 4 minutes more. Prepare the side salad and plate to applause.

**SIDE SALAD:  Serves 1  36 calories   PB GF  Here is a side salad to go with any meal. 1 cup lettuce, slice into ½” strips if leaves are large ½ oz grated carrots 1 oz tomato ½ tsp olive oil, plain or flavor-infused [ex: lime] ½ tsp flavorful vinegar 

Who Dunit? Who Ate It? Chapter VIII

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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.

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 in the 1900s: 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.

Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, is perhaps one of the most famous and recognizable fictional sleuths. His mind is computer-like in its knowledge and recall. He is restless, self-destructive, depressed, and reclusive, yet somehow likable. His only friend is his chronicler and former flat-mate Dr. John Watson. Holmes is better known for his ingestion of cocaine than his intake of food, yet Mrs Hudson, his landlady, brought three meals a day up to the rooms at 21-B Baker Street – even if her famous client never ate them. You can eat this one and think of him in foggy London.

Rashers & Egg: 145 calories… 10 g fat… 1 g fiber… 10 g protein… 4.5 g carbs… 30 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF A ‘rasher’ is an English term for one slice of bacon. Bacon and eggs are a classic combination.

+++ one 2-oz egg ++++ 2 slices American/streaky bacon ++++ 1 oz strawberry or apple or peach ++++ 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] ++

This breakfast is ‘elementary,’ as Holmes would say to Watson. Cook the bacon until crispy, remove from pan and pour out most of the fat. Add egg and cook to your liking. Plate with fruit and sip the beverage of choice.

Nero Wolfe was created by Rex Stout in 1934. Wolfe is quirky, reclusive, and hugely fat. Seldom leaving his New York flat, he still manages to solve crimes with the help of his assistant Archie. In Some Buried Caesar, Nero and Archie go to the agricultural fair to show Wolfe’s orchids. In the food tent run by the Methodist Ladies, they wax lyrical over homey fare. Instead of eating Fritz the Chef’s exotic delicacies, they dine twice on Chicken & Dumplings.

Chicken & Dumplings: 293 calories 7 g fat 4.6 g fiber 38 g protein 30 g carbs 67 mg Calcium  PB This was a real hit in my parents’ Central Pennsylvania home and it is still a favorite with us. Be aware that it is best made over 2 days, but it basically cooks by itself with a few busy bouts by you. Worth the time and effort. AND this recipe serves 4 [four] people, so have a party serving this great make-ahead meal. If you serve one or two, make the whole thing anyhow, then package and freeze the remainder.

++ 3 pound whole chicken, preferably a fowl although you will get more meat from a fryer ++++ ½ cup onion, chopped ++++ 1/3 cup carrots cut as coins ++++ ½ cup celery, chopped ++++ bay leaf ++++ 3 peppercorns ++++ 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce ++++ 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour ++++ 4 dumplings** ++++ per person:  ¼ cup green peas ++

Cut up a 3 pound chicken into leg quarters, breast quarters, back, wings. In a large pcast iron pan or Dutch oven, brown the chicken in a little oil on all sides. Add the vegetables, bay leaf, pepper, and water to cover. Simmer on the cooktop for 45 minutes. Add 2 tsp salt, cover, and simmer for another 45 minutes. Strain off the stock and let the fat rise to the surface to cool. Discard the fat. Reserve the vegetables. Cool the chicken and remove the skin. Pull off the meat in chunks: you will use 17 oz meat by volume. You could stop here.

Measure ¼ cup of stock and whisk in the 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour to form a paste. Measure 1.5 cups stock and pour into a stovetop-safe serving dish along with the Worcestershire sauce. HINT: save any remaining stock and chicken for excellent soup. You could stop here. Add the flour water paste and stir to incorporate. Put the vegetables and chicken meat into the dish and adjust seasonings to taste.  You could stop here. Twenty minutes before you serve, prepare dough for the dumplings.

**DUMPLINGS: makes 4 each = 70 calories.. 0 g fat.. 2.6 g fiber… 3 g protein… 23 g carbs… 130 mg Calcium… This dumpling is the savory type you cook over a stew, such as Chicken Fricasse. I’ve even used it in St Kitts Fish Stew. The recipe comes from Fannie Farmer.

— 10 Tbsp white whole wheat flour — 1+1/3 tsp baking powder — big pinch salt — pinch sugar —- big pinch spices or herbs —- 4 Tbsp/2 fl. oz milk —

Combine all the dry ingredients, then stir in the milk. The batter should be stiff but not dry. [add a little stew broth or water if needed] See directions below for cooking the dumplings.

Heat the chicken mixture and place 4 dollops of dumpling dough on the chicken and vegetables but not so that it is in liquid only. Let it all bubble gently for 10 minutes, then cover the dish and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Steam the peas and pour over the top of the dish before bringing to the table. Serve this simple classic proudly.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs  + dill pickle
tuna fish — canned or cookedSwiss cheese + 3%-fat ham
frozen spinach + anchovycooked, left-over pork + melon
Mediterranean Vegetables + melon dab of mayonnaise + dab of mustard
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

firm-fleshed fish [swordfish/tuna] fillets zucchini + onion + 3 eggs
eggplant + cherry tomatoeschicken breast meat [optional] + garlic + herbs
red/yellow bell pepperLaughing Cow cheese + Parmesan cheese
side salad  + Fresh Polentawhite-whole-wheat bisquick + oil + vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Dust Bowl

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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 jackrussellterrier23 who is now Following.

In the 1930s, the United States suffered a terrible ecological disaster: the Dust Bowl. The centers of continents are usually very dry and there had been many droughts on the prairies in past centuries. But a 10-year drought in the Central Plains had killed the farm crops and baked the earth. The major difference this time was that the deep-rooted prairie grasses, which had anchored and protected the soil, had been plowed up since the mid-1800s to plant wheat and corn. Now the silt and sand blew away in the wind as Dust, burying the fields and sifting into the windows of the houses. Dust was deadly to humans, causing irritation of the lungs which resulted in ‘dust pneumonia.’ Face masks were recommended, to filter the air, but many people in the area refused to wear them. The Dust traveled hundreds of miles to the East, enveloping the US Capitol in Washington D.C. as a bill on soil conservation was being discussed! The event altered the weather of North America for a few years, creating a heat wave in the upper-Mid-West in July of 1936. Triple-digit temperatures set records and caused the deaths of 5000 people. Does this all sound familiar, in this hot, hot July of 2023? The Dust Bowl and its heat wave were a local phenomenon then, while excessive heating this time is global. Our current weather woes are not going to go away. The Dust Bowl ended and new farming practices were put into place. This heat will continue until new energy practices are put in place. Do your part.

Bacon and eggs and apples are popular in the Heartland, so we will have them for breakfast. Ocean fish is not always available in the middle of the continent, but canned salmon can fill that gap, just as it fills the cucumber for our cooling dinner.

Apple-Bacon Bake: 131 calories 6 g fat 1.6 g fiber 9 g protein 8 g carbs 73 mg Calcium   NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF  Simple, honest flavors, easily prepared.

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

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

Cucumber Boat with Salmon: 258 calories 12.4 g fat 3 g fiber 20.4 g protein 19 g carbs 162 mg Calcium  PB GF  So easy for the summer or anytime.

2¾ oz cooked salmon, canned or fresh one 3.5 oz cucumber, of which you will use half to serve one person ½ Tbsp Watercress sauce  1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/8 oz leek, white part OR scallions ½ cup 4-bean salad 

Slice the leek and blanch in a little water in the microwave. In a bowl break up the salmon and combine with the sauce, mustard and leek. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the seeds with a melon-baller. Mound the salmon into the cucumber boat and plate with the 4-bean salad.