recipes for Michael Mosley’s 5:2 Diet

Queen Mary on Trial

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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.

Mary Stuart was born to be a queen, and she became the Queen of Scots in 1542, when she was six days old. Her life was filled with failed love affairs and religious strife. She was raised as a Catholic and was engaged as an infant to Edward, son of Henry VIII, the Protestant king of England. The Scots Catholics put the kibosh on that, and Mary was engaged to the child Dauphin of France. She was sent to Paris at age five to be raised and groomed at Court. As teenagers, they married in 1558, with Mary wearing a non-traditional white wedding dress. Prince Francois became king, but a year and a half into marriage, he died. Meanwhile, in England, Edward was dead, Henry VIII was dead, and the crown went to Mary, Henry’s Catholic elder daughter. After her sister’s death, Protestant Elizabeth took the throne although some thought that Mary of Scotland had a claim, being the great-niece of Henry VIII. Mary returned to Scotland and tried to tread a line between the Catholic and Protestant factions, guided by her brother Lord James, a Protestant. She did not take well to guidance, it seems. Mary married Lord Darnley and bore him a son. But their marriage failed and he was found dead of strangulation. Within a few months, Mary was the wife of Lord Bothwell, prime suspect in the murder of Darnley. This hot mess lead the Scottish nobles to force her to turn over the crown to her baby son, James. Mary was imprisoned, but escaped and crossed into England, convinced that her cousin Elizabeth would be sympathetic to her. She wasn’t. Elizabeth feared that Mary would rouse the support of the closeted Catholics of England, so Mary went to house arrest again in 1568. For the next 17 years, Mary was shuttled from one secure location to another. Her supporters hatched plots to free her, to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, to put Mary of Scotland on the throne. All of this intrigue lead to Mary being put on trial for treason against the English Crown in October, 1586. It was a foregone conclusion that Mary would be found guilty. She was beheaded in February of 1587. Her son James became King of Scotland and England, something his mother only dreamed of.

For Mary, smoked meat at breakfast and haggis at dinner, two very Scottish foods for a queen who spoke mostly French. Although she reigned in Scotland for only six years, Mary’s life still captures the imagination 400+ years later.

Smoked Sausage ScrOmelette: 158 calories 10 g fat 1 g fiber 13.6 g protein 8 g carbs 45 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Having been gifted with Dakin Farms smoked chicken sausage,  we decided to make it a breakfast. The sausage adds a nice smokey Autumnal flavor to the eggs. NB: If substituting another brand of sausage, choose one that has 30 calories per ounce.

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.   ¾ oz Dakin Farm cob-smoked chicken sausage, diced 1.5 tsp each oregano and parsley, chopped 2 oz apple OR apple sauce, unsweetened  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]

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the prepared sausage and stir to heat . Whisk the eggs with the herbs and a grind of pepper and pour into the pan, stirring to incorporate the sausage. Cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Plate the fruit, pour your beverages and off you go.

Haggis Spring Rolls: 262 calories 13 g fat 3 g fiber 23 g protein 26 g carbs 41 mg Calcium PB The first time I enjoyed these was at the Whiski Rooms in Edinburgh, along with a wee dram of single malt. Today, the whisky is in the dipping sauce to complete the fusion of Asian-Scottish flavors. This meal has Dear Husband’s approval.

4 six-inch rice spring roll wrappers/skins 8 Tbsp haggis filling  1 cup lettuce leaves sliced into <½” strips ½ oz carrot, grated 1 tsp flavored olive oil 1 tsp red wine vinegar finishing salt 1½ tsp Thai hot chili sauce ½ tsp single malt Scotch whisky [I used Craggenmore from Speyside]

Put water into a wide, shallow dish such as a pie plate. Lay a tea towel on the counter. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water. Initially, the wrapper will look like a piece of thin, stiff, whitish plastic. Soon it will become more transparent, colorless, and pliable. Remove it from the water while still a little stiff [do NOT let it become limp] and lay it on the tea towel. Place 2 Tbsp haggis filling on the lower 1/3 of the wrapper, arranged as a little log. Roll it up, folding the sides in after the 1st turn. Move finished roll to the side as you repeat the steps. Heat a 10” cast-iron skillet over medium flame and spray with non-stick spray. Place the spring rolls in the pan with room between them. Cook slowly on one side, then roll onto another side. Continue until all the rolls are browned on each side. Prepare the salad and plate it. Combine the chili sauce and the whisky in a dipping cup. Plate the haggis, cue the bagpipes.

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
corned beef slices2%-fat cottage cheese
catsup + sauerkrautmushrooms
strawberrieschives or scallions
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

1 cup cooked salmon + 1 two-oz egg + fresh bread crumbs3.5 oz chicken breast + Parmesan cheese
red onion + coriander or cilantro + sesame oil¼ cup marinara sauce + Fresh bread crumbs
Chili-garlic sauce + soy sauce + 5-spice powder Mozzarella cheese + cottage cheese
side salad or Corn-tomato salsa or coleslawBaby greens + carrot + vinaigrette
Sparkling waterSparkling water

732, Tours

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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.

October 10, 732 CE is very important in the history of France. School children and French majors alike know that date. Charles was the ‘king’ of Frankia. [actually, he was the ‘Mayor of the Palace’ but he functioned as king] Let’s look at that sentence before we move on. The kingdom was named ‘Frankia’ because it was founded by and run by the Franks, a Germanic Tribe that came to power in the vacuum left by the Romans’ departure. “Frankia” became softened into “France” and so we have a famous king who’s people named a future nation. But in 732 that future nation was far from secure. To the South, in Iberia [modern Spain/Portugal], the Muslims had taken control, establishing a foot-hold in Europe. Having done that, they set their sights on the land over the Pyrenees. Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman led his army across and around the mountains, and regrouped in South-Western France. From there they marched North, taking all the country-side before them. Charles had been dealing with border skirmishes in the South for years, including those against a pesky duke, but this was the limit. With the invaders a mere 127 miles from Paris, he took an army of possibly 20,000 soldiers to confront the Muslims. Al Rahman’s army was well armoured and mounted on horses with stirrups. They numbered 25,000 men, and since many of them were out skirmishing, raiding, and scouting, the Emir waited until they returned to start the fight. This gave Charles time to choose his ground to his advantage while Al Rahman gathered his men. By rights the Muslims, with their superior calvary and numbers, should have won the day. But Charles’ army formed a Roman Square and withstood all attacks. At one point in the fighting, part of al Rahman’s army left to guard their supply train. Other units thought it was a retreat, and joined them. As more men left the battlefield, al Rahman was surrounded and killed. By morning, all the Muslims were gone, the battle was over, and Charles earned the moniker “Martel,” “the Hammer.” Some historians call this the victory of Christianity over Islam. Some say it was the moment when France became a sovereign nation capable of defending itself. It did mark the start of the Carolingian Dynasty, but it was not the last time that the Muslims tried to take land in France. One enduring result of the campagne was that some of the army stayed in the region of Aquitaine. These were goat-herders who tended flocks brought along to feed the troops. Today their descendants produce a variety of goat-milk cheeses which are popular in South-Western France. Our favorite is the divine ‘Cabécou,’ little disks of cheese which ripen over four weeks, changing texture and flavour all the while.

The Muslims were from the Levant and then swept through northern Africa, picking up converts among the Berbers and Moors. Our breakfast has Levantine origins. The dinner is a Spanish soup with the French influence of piment d’esplette and ingredients that are more French than Spanish.

Levantine Lamb Bake: 219 calories 14 g fat 1 g fiber 26 g protein 8 g carbs 108.6 mg Calcium   PB GF Let’s take all the popular flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean and bake them with eggs. Great idea!! [If this sounds familiar, it is based on Lamb Gozleme [see 2 February, 2022] , which was featured previously. If you had left-over filling (about 2 Tbsp), you could use it instead of the tomatoes/feta/olive /lamb/spinach in the recipe below.

1 two-oz egg ¼ oz tomatoes, small dice 1/8 oz feta cheese, small dice 1 Kalamata olive, small dice 1/8 oz cooked lamb meat, small dice 1/8 oz spinach, chopped oregano + salt + pepper 2 oz peach or nectarine   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] or lemon in hot water

Prepare all the vegetables, meat, and cheese, and combine them well in a small bowl with the seasonings. Spray an oven-safe dish with non-stick spray and turn the bowl contents into the dish. Whisk the egg and pour over the other ingredients. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit and pour the hot beverage. If I knew how, I’d say ‘delicious!’ in Greek, Turkish, Syrian, Palastinian, Hebrew, and Egyptian.

Green Gazpacho with Shrimp: 279 calories 19 g fat 2 g fiber 13 g protein 11 g carbs 56 mg Calcium  PB GF  Author Martin Walker’s policeman, Bruno, prepares this dish, and you might wish to as well. HINT: The recipe makes 3 cups of soup, to serve three [3] people.

1½ green peppers [9 oz] cut in ½” dice
3 fl oz dry white or rose wine 		Put 1/3 of the peppers in a blender with the wine. Pulse a bit, then add 1/3 more peppers and pulse again. Add remaining peppers and pulse.
½ large cucumber [5 oz] cut in ½” dice Add the chopped cucumber and pulse a few times.
75 ml/4 Tbsp good olive oil
4 tsp white wine vinegar
tarragon sprig
2 cloves garlic, chopped ½ cup onion, chopped
salt & pepper to taste 		Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until the soup is still a little chunky. Pour into another container and chill 30 minutes or more.
Per serving: 2 oz small shrimp piment d’espletteSprinkle shrimp with piment and cook. Pour soup into a serving bowl and top with cooked shrimp.

Under the Influence: Nova Scotia

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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.

Locations are shaped by the peoples who inhabit them. Local cuisines are influenced by the peoples who move into an area, bringing new food stuffs and new techniques. The Canadian provence that is now called “Nova Scotia” was originally settled by the Mi’kmaq people who called their land “Mi’kma’ki.” They were the Eastern relatives of the Abenaki of New Hampshire and Maine [see 10 October, 2021]. In 1632, French settlers arrived and called the land “Acadia.” The Scots came in 1773, eventually taking over Cape Breton Island and giving the province its name: ‘New Scotland’ or Nova Scotia in latin. Scottish language and food still pervade beautiful Cape Breton, recently raked over by Hurricane Fiona, September 2022. The English were a major population from that time too, building up Halifax as a commercial and military hub. In the late 1800s and early decades of the 1900s immigrants arrived in the city to earn a living in a new land. A Greek restauranteur named  Peter Gamoulakos tried selling lamb gyros, but they were not so popular. He changed the meat to beef, added a sweet new sauce, and the Donair was born. Halifax has been crazy for Donair as a late-night snack since it was commercialized in 1971. In case you didn’t know, October is Mi’kmaq History Month.

Haggis is the best food for honouring the Scots who pioneered New Scotland and raised sheep. The dinner of Donair shows the influence of immigrants from the Mediterranean. Donair is available at every pizza joint and you can buy the components to make it at home. Quite frankly, the sweet, flabby commercial donair leaves me cold. I took the original elements and made it my way. Halagonians may scream, but there it is.

On the left, packaged Donair Meat, and on the right, ready-made Donair Sauce.

Haggis Bake: 144 calories 8 g fat 1.4 g fiber 13 g protein 8.6 g carbs 37 mg Calcium PB GF  Haggis could be described as a Scottish lamb sausage. ‘Sausage and eggs’ are a winning combination, so why not ‘haggis and eggs’? Canned haggis is available some places, or prepare your own from my recipe.

1 two-oz egg 2.5 Tbsp/0.7oz haggis  1 oz pear  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] or lemon in hot water

Whisk together the egg and haggis, and 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, pour the optional beverages, and have a bonny day.

Donair: 297 calories 15.5 g fat 2.5 g fiber 19 g protein 18.5 g carbs 96 mg Calcium  PB  The original Halifax Donair is based on a lamb gyro sandwich, so here it goes back to its roots. You can prepare the bread dough in advance and cook it right then, or cook it in advance.

1 gozleme bread made from 2.4 oz dough 3 oz ground lamb 1 oz tomatoes, diced  2 Tbsp raw onion, chopped 2 Tbsp ‘donair sauce’ + 1/4 cup cucumber with plain yogurt and dill carrot sticks

+’My Donair Sauce‘  makes ~ 2 Tbsp, enough for one serving 2 Tbsp vanilla yogurt 2 tsp cider vinegar 2 tsp garlic powder Stir together and put in a side dish for serving.

Prepare gozleme bread, dividing the dough into 4 portions. [You need one bread per person for this meal] Roll as thinly as you can to create a large round. Cook bread on a griddle on both sides. Brown the lamb meat and drain off all the fat. While the lamb is cooking, dice the tomato and chop the onion. Prepare the sauce. Plate the bread and top with lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Top with tomato and onion. Put the dish of sauce on the plate. Spoon on sauce to taste, then bring up the sides of the bread to enclose the toppings and start eating. That’s what donair should taste like!

If you want to see what Donair has become in the modern era, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px0vBD5DBx4

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

1 two-oz egg + kalamata olive1.5 two-oz eggs 
tomato + feta cheesesmoked chicken sausage
cooked lamb + spinachoregano + parsley
oregano + peach/nectarineapplesauce or apple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

green bell pepper + cucumber4 six-inch rice spring roll wrappers
olive oil + white wine vinegar + garliccarrot + Haggis filling 
tarragon + onion + dry white winelettuce + cherry tomatoes
small shrimp + piment d’espletteflavorful oil + vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Vercingetorix

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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.

Who was Julius Caesar’s most feared opponent? Vercingetorix, a leader of the Gauls, who lived from 82-46 BCE, that’s who. In 52 BCE, Caesar left Gaul for the winter, thinking that he had sufficiently subdued it in the three years since he had crossed the Rubicon. [ ] It was then that the leader of the Averni Tribe [who gave their name to the Auvergne Region], decided to act. [The Averni were Celts living in Gaul, thus they were Gallic Celts.] Vercingetorix had served in the Roman army, proving himself to be an able cavalry officer, while learning tactics and strategy. The Gallic captain waged a skillful campaign of guerrilla war: cutting supply lines, destroying bridges, making lightning attacks then fading away, stealing weapons, and placing informants in the enemy camp. As his forces earned victories left and right, other Celtic tribes joined until most of them were united under Vercingetorix’ leadership. Thus he is known as the earliest leader of a ‘united’ ‘France.’ Caesar returned to Gaul with his army and took to the field. Finally, he had Vercingetorix and a portion of his men surrounded at the town of Alésia in Burgundy. The Romans laid siege and built war engines to take the walls. The Celts resisted but had only one month’s food supply. A rescuing army could not break the siege and retreated. The Romans built a wall outside the wall of the town. Starving women and children came out of Alésia, asking to be taken into slavery rather than starve. The Romans left them there, and they starved. Eventually, the city was taken after Vercingetorix, in full armor, rode into the Roman’s camp and surrendered. His noble bearing and bravery was said to have moved some of the Italian conquerers. Caesar hauled the Celt back to Rome and imprisioned him. The last time he was seen in public was in 46 BCE, when he was exhibited during a victory parade. Soon after that, Vercingetorix was executed, probably by strangulation. A few years later, Julius Caesar would also be murdered.

The Gallic Celts lived close to the land, farming, foraging, and hunting. Our meals today involve vegetables and mushrooms and eggs, all ingredients in the Gauls’ larder.

Roasted Vegetable Bake: 157 calories 7 g fat 2 g fiber 8 g protein 7 g carbs 74.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  If you are like me, you sometimes end up with a drawer full of fresh vegetables and no hope of eating them all before they spoil. Enter the roasted vegetable. So many uses for them, and here they are at breakfast-time.

1 two-oz egg 2 Tbsp diced roasted vegetables, sprinkled and tossed with Worcestershire sauce 1/8 oz Gruyere cheese, grated 1½ Tbsp marinara sauce  2 oz strawberries  or peaches Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Combine the vegetables, cheese, and marinara. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray and add the vegetable mixture. Whisk the egg and pour into the ramekin. Bake in the toaster oven at 350 F. for 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Brew your warm beverage; shake and pour the smoothie, portion that delicious fruit, and enjoy a healthy, yummy start to your day.

Mushroom Tart: 268 calories 10 g fat 3 g fiber 22.6 g protein 16.4 g carbs 241 mg Calcium  PB GF – if you substitute 25 calories of GF bread   The Gunflint Lodge Cookbook supplied this recipe. Then, of course, I altered it to suit our requirements. Mushrooms are so traditional for Autumn, whether foraged or purchased.

1 small clove garlic ¼ cup leeks, white and/or green parts, sliced 6 oz mushrooms, cut into chunks or slices 2 Tbsp white wine two 2-oz eggs ¼ cup fat-free milk ¼ cup Gruyere cheese, grated ½ cup lowfat cottage cheese, drained 1¼ oz carrots ¼ Arnold Sandwich Thin

Saute/steam the leeks, garlic, and mushrooms in a little water until soft. Add the wine and cook uncovered until the liquid is nearly gone. Season with salt and pepper. Put the vegetables into a lightly-oil-spritzed baking dish, and cover with the cheese. Whisk eggs, milk, and cottage cheese together and pour over everything in the baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees until the filling is set [knife stuck into center comes out clean]. Remove from oven and cool 15-20 minutes before eating. Prepare the carrots and slice the Sandwich Thin, toasting it if you wish. A tasty Autumn meal.

Michaelmas

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyleworks: 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.

Michaelmas gets its name from the Feast of St. Michael on September 29. In a time-sharing move, the Church calls the day The Feast of Saint Michael and All the Archangels. In addition to being a day for the angels, it was one of the four Rent Days in Old England. As a serf, you paid your rent in farm goods — grain, eggs, fruit. But the traditional and best payment was a goose. Of course the Lord of the Manor had to pay his liege lord, so some of those geese got passed up the line a few times until someone sat down to a large feast of roast goose. Eating goose on Michaelmas, or lamb in Finland, ensured prosperity for the coming year. All over Europe there were ways to celebrate Michaelmas: The house was decked with Michaelmas Daisies [England], the carrots were dug and stored [Scotland], the breastbone of the roast goose was examined to predict the winter’s weather [Pennsylvania Dutch], you invite many guests for dinner [Ukraine], the sheep are brought in from summer pasture [Hungary], hold parades and processions [Spain, Portugal], and eat waffles [France]. Who was Michael to deserve all this honor? He was the commander of Heaven’s Angelic Army and the one who would judge the souls of the dead on his scales. Milton tells us that Michael cast Lucifer down from Heaven, in Paradise Lost. He ended a Plague in Rome, and he is the patron of Mont Saint Michel in France.

Autumn is the time to kill the livestock before winter, so we will have ham for breakfast. At dinner, chicken or turkey can stand in for the Michaelmas Goose. Be sure to eat a few blackberries at breakfast and put a few dashes of ginger powder on the meat at dinner.

Ham ScrOmelette: 145 calories 7.6 g fat 0.5 g fiber 12 g protein 5 g carb [4 g Complex] 45 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  GF  Here’s another classic of the breakfast table.

1½ eggs per person HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.  ½ oz ground or chopped ham 1.5 oz melon or 1.5 oz apple herbs to taste  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]

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

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

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

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

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

1 two-oz egg + Worcestershire1.5 two-oz eggs 
Gruyere cheese + strawberriesHaggis mixture
roasted vegetablescoriander
marinara sauceblack pepper
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverage optional hot beverage

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

2 two-oz eggs + Arnold Sandwich Thin Gozleme bread + ground lamb 
Clove garlic + Gruyere cheese  + leekstomato + onion
Mushrooms + white wine  + fat-free milkvanilla fat-free yogurt
carrots + Low-fat cottage cheese cider vinegar + garlic powder
Sparkling waterSparkling water

E=mc^2

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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 J. L. Bowman who is now Following.

In 1905, Albert Einstein was a young married man with an infant child and a steady job in the Swiss patent office. When most people read that, they think right away ‘underemployed — isn’t that a shame.’ But he liked it that way. He had earned a PhD in Physics and said that the job gave him eight hours a day away from work to be out in nature with his family and to do what he wanted. Also, since the job was not demanding, he could while away the work hours thinking about whatever he wanted. And what he wanted to think about was physics. Galileo [see Feb. 14, 2012] and Newton [see 24 Dec. 2017] had laid the foundations of physics in the 1600s and nothing new was to be said. Lol. Einstein had been pondering relativity since he was 16 years old. Relativity involves how one person views a moving object relative to how another observer sees it. On September 26, Einstein published his first paper on the topic of relativity. An article in the Smithsonian describes it well and is worth reading. The most important idea in the paper is represented by the famous equation E = mc^2, which reads as “Energy [E] equals mass [m] multiplied by the speed of light [c] multiplied times the speed of light.” What does that mean? It shows the relationship between an object’s mass and the amount of energy it contains. This explains why the explosion of a single atom can release a lot of energy, and why when an atom bomb goes off, a huge amount of energy is given off. Thus Einstein previewed the Atomic Age of energy-production and of warfare. The equation also explains why an object, like the Starship Enterprise, could never travel at light speed. This is because as an object of mass speeds up, the faster it goes, the more energy is needed. At that rate, it will never achieve Warp 1, let alone faster than light speed which is 299,792,458 m / s. So it was that Einstein’s paper introduced us to the use of atomic power and to the age of space travel — in 1905, when people were still traveling by horse and had been using electricity for only a few years! He was indeed ahead of his time. And he worked this all out in his head, with his wife  Mileva Marić checking his math and being his sounding board.

Calories are a measure of energy, telling how much heat is released when anything [ex: food] is burned. How much energy is released depends on the type of food and the amount. Thus a jelly doughnut has a different amount of calories from a slice of watermelon. Let’s apply Einstein’s equation to our breakfast: How much energy would be released if all the atoms in our 56 g egg [mass] broke apart? 56g [m] multiplied by c^2 = 5,033,029,001 MegaJoules of energy!! Since 1 ton of explosives produces 4,184 MJ of energy, you get the picture. For dinner, we start with a quarter pound of scallops. I don’t want to do that calculation…..

Za’atar Bake: 140 calories 7.5 g fat 2.6 g fiber 7.5 g protein 11 g carbs 54 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF Za’atar and hummus were made for each other, so combine them with eggs for breakfast. Yummy.

one 2-oz egg 1½ Tbsp hummus ¾ tsp za’atar 1 oz pear/apple   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Whisk the egg, then add the hummus and za’atar. Spritz an oven-safe dish or ramekin with non-stick spray and pour in the egg mixture. Bake at 350F. For 12-15 minutes – it should puff and be starting to brown. Prep beverages, plate eggs with fruit. That’s an easy preparation for a fine breakfast.

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

¼ pound sea scallops 2 Tbsp Indian curry powder ½ Tbsp butter cooking spray 1 Tbsp white wine 3 oz broccoli

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

Slow Days: Summer Vegetable Pizza

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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.

Since Dear Husband and I enjoy pizza for dinner every Saturday night, I am often on the lookout for a new way to top the pie. Thus, I was delighted to find a recipe at thekitchn.com for a pizza from the famous Berkeley Cheeseboard Collective. The corn and fresh vegetables remind me of a pizza which I enjoyed in Rome. This is a delicious way to use Summer’s bounty. Of course, I use a dough prepared with mostly white whole wheat flour, instead of all-purpose flour. It gives the pie a hearty, rustic flavour which we enjoy.

Mise en Place with all those luscious vegetables.
Sv 2
5½ -6 oz white whole wheat pizza dough/personIf dough is cold, let sit at room temp 2+ hours. The dough is ready when it does not bounce back when stretched.
1 c mozzarella 1/3 c feta cheeseGrate mozzarella cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Crumble feta cheese.
1½ tsp basil 1 clove garlic 2½ Tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
¼ tsp pepper flakes		GARLIC OIL: Chop basil finely. Chop the garlic.
Place everything in a small bowl and stir to combine.
NB: can be done hours before
¼ packed c. red onion
½ c grape or larger tomatoes
½ c kernels fresh corn ½ c summer squash ribbons 		Thinly slice onion. Cut grape tomatoes in halves or fourths. [If using whole tomato, cut in 1/2″ dice.] Cut ribbons of squash with a vegetable peeler. 
Prepare the vegetables and combine in a bowl. If any liquid accumulates in the bowl, pour it off.
1½ tsp garlic oil l¼ tsp kosher saltAdd garlic oil to the vegetables, season with the salt, and toss to combine. If preparing two pizzas, divide the vegetables equally into two bowls.
2 tsp Garlic Oil per crust prepared cheesesRoll out dough balls, and brush garlic oil onto each crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Arrange vegetables on top in an even layer, without any liquid. Sprinkle with feta.
Bake at 500F until bubbly. Take from oven.
garlic oil
8 fresh basil leaves		Drizzle with garlic oil, then tear basil into bite-sized pieces and scatter over top. Serve right away.
Can be cooked on a gas grill. Pre-grill the untopped crusts for 2-3 mins, until grill marks form. Bake covered.
The salad greens were added after the pies came from the oven to provide Pizza with Salad without any plates or forks. Truly a treat for a late Summer meal.

Religions: LDS

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

On September 22, 1823, young Joseph Smith made a rare discovery near his father’s farm in Palmyra, New York. Smith, who’s family were not church-goers, had been confused by competing messages from preachers at popular revival meetings of the time. So he prayed for enlightenment and was rewarded by a heavenly visitation. When he was 17, the Angel Moroni showed Joseph where to dig on a wooded hill-side, thus revealing golden tablets inscribed with a strange language. Over the next few years, Smith translated them with the help of his wife Emma, gave the tablets back to Moroni, and published the Book Of Mormon in 1830. Many readers were excited by the book which declared that the existing churches had been corrupted over the millennia and that Smith’s new church, The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, officially organized in 1831, would get back to the original ideas of Jesus and the Apostles. Searching for a New Jerusalem, the good-looking, charismatic Smith lead his growing flock to Ohio, then to Missouri in 1837. The influx of thousands of new residents made the locals feel that they were under attack. Also, the ideas of the new church seemed too strange to non-believers: were they replacing the Bible? did they worship Jesus or Smith? Smith had a revelation that the supreme state for a man was marriage, therefore a man needed many wives — some spiritual — to be united in Heaven — and some physical on Earth. His wife was accepting of the first four wives, but changed her mind and later denied that Smith had the 30-40 ‘wives’ that history claims. From Missouri, the Mormons went to Nauvoo, Illinois, where they founded a thriving city larger than Chicago. Again there was resistance and resentment from non-believers. Smith was arrested along with his brother Hyrum. Before their trial in Carthage, Illinois, a mob broke into the jail cell and killed them. Church leadership was assumed by Brigham Young who decided to take the group into the West where they could live undisturbed. In 1847, tens of thousands of the Saints crossed the plains to settle near Great Salt Lake, now called Salt Lake City, Utah. Members are well-known for giving 10% of their income to the church; for abstaining from drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine [including soft-drinks]; and for their missionary work. Due to member’s practice of baptizing deceased ancestors into the church so that they may be together in the after-life, there is great interest in genealogy. Ancestry.com is owned by Mormons but is unaffiliated with the church. The LDS has 16+ million members world-wide. They officially ended polygamy in 1895.

The Latter Day Saints went very far West, so our breakfast will be based on a “Western Sandwich.” Out West, where the buffalo [American Bison] roam, it makes sense to enjoy a bison burger for dinner [in the winter]. Smith’s Word of Wisdom specified that church members were to eat a diet heavy in fruits and vegetables, eating meat/poultry/fish sparingly or only in the winter when fresh produce was scarce.

Western ScrOmelette: 140 calories 8 g fat 2 g fiber 10 g protein 8 g carbs [7.4 g Complex] 54.5 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  My father used to love a western sandwich for lunch on Saturday and I developed a taste for them too. Here’s all the flavor, without all the bread.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid to store in the ‘fridge for next week.  2 tsp catsup, made without corn syrup 1½ Tbsp green pepper 1 Tbsp chopped onion ¼ cup raspberries OR 3 Bing cherries  Optional: herbal tea or lemon in hot water [no caffeine] Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Prepare the beverages of your choice. Chop the green pepper and onion, and put them in a hot saute pan spritzed with olive oil or non-stick spray. Cook until soft. Whisk the catsup and eggs and scramble with the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Plate the fruit and tuck in.

Bison-Bean Burger: 304 calories 12.6 g fat 7.5 g fiber 24.7 g protein 27 g carbs 175 mg Calcium  PB  Black beans have a lot going for them. And they are an excellent ‘extender’ for meat in a burger. Great for grilling!

1 Bison-Bean burger patty 1 slider bun @ 90 calories  1 oz tomato slice ½ c coleslaw

Bison-Bean Burger PattiesYield 22 oz of mixture = six 3.5 oz burgers
5 oz/142 g black beans, drainedBlitz in food processor to break up, then scrape into a bowl.
1# ground bison1/4 c cilantro leaves1 oz eggAdd these to bowl with beans.Mix with hands to combine thoroughly.Form into 3.5 to 4 oz patties and put on a metal tray.
Chill or freeze 30 minutes before grilling

Prepare the burger patties and chill them all. Prepare coleslaw. Grill as many of the burgers as you need for the meal, and wrap the remainder for freezing. Cut open the slider buns, and grill them or brown on a griddle. Top each burger in its bun with a slice of tomato and plate with the coleslaw. Burgers are back on the menu!

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
hummus3%-fat ham
za’atarapple or melon
pearherbs to taste
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

1/4 pound sea scallops chicken or turkey breast meat, roasted
Indian curry powdergreen beans + carrots
broccoliFinn Crisp crackers
butter + white winestrawberries
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Edith Wharton, Designer

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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.

Edith Jones Wharton, in her many novels, wrote about ‘designing women’ who schemed to achieve their own ends. In her own life, Edith was an accomplished designer of interiors, landscapes, and architectural details. It started at an early age. One of the things that the young Edith Jones disliked about her mother was her decorating style — full-blown Victorian over-stuffed decor. After travels in Italy, Edith came to love simple, classical design elements. In 1897, Wharton collaborated with architect Ogden Codman on one of the first design manuals: The Decoration Houses. Building by the nouveau riche had reached a point of wretched excess and Wharton wanted to educate them. Get rid of the bric-a-brac, she exhorted, since “Trashy ‘ornaments’ do not make a room more comfortable.” The built-in shelves “filled with good editions in good bindings are more truly decorative than ornate bookcases lined with tawdry books.” Classic good taste should replace tacky kitsch, poor pictures, and bad furniture especially because of their effect on children: “[they] may, indeed, be fittingly compared with a mental diet of silly and ungrammatical story-books.” Her motto of “The supreme excellence is simplicity” was put to the test when she designed a country house that her husband and she could share in Lenox, Massachusetts. ‘The Mount‘ was planned with Codman [until they had a falling out] and completed in 1902. There, Wharton put all her decorating ideas into practice and the result is stunning. Although she drew from many styles, Wharton’s respect for Italianate features [rusticated corners and arched windows] shows in the house’s exterior and in the formal gardens which she planned. The interior rooms are light and airy and elegant — everything that late Victorian style was not. Unfortunately, divorce caused Edith to sell her beloved house in 1911. It has been restored and is open to visitors. Having been there, I would go again to be enlightened by Edith Wharton’s style.

For her love of Italian landscape and architecture, a breakfast involving a very Italian vegetable: zucchini. For dinner, a classic meal of the Gilded Age. You don’t have to be a Robber Baron to enjoy Lobster Thermador.

Zucchini Bake: 122 calories 6 g fat 2 g fiber 10 g protein 8.5 g carbs 88.5 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Fine breakfast for a summer day.

½ cup/1½ oz zucchini, sliced/grated, cooked 1 Tbsp fat-free cottage cheese, drained one 2-oz egg 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese, grated pinch garlic powder pinch herbes de Provence pinch cayenne pepper 1 oz pear OR ½ cup sliced strawberries -OR- 3 oz fresh strawberries Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Grate the zucchini on a box grater and steam it over water or ‘saute’ it in a pan with enough water to prevent sticking. Drain it in a strainer, then transfer to paper towels to dry off excess liquid. HINT: steam it the night before and let it drain in a strainer over night. Combine with the cheeses and garlic. Whisk the egg and stir into the cheese/zucchini mixture. Spritz a ramekin with non-stick spray and pour in the egg mixture. Bake at 350F. For 12-15 minutes – it should puff and be starting to brown. Prep beverages, plate the eggs with the fruit, and there you are: enjoying summer’s bounty.

Lobster Thermador: 269 calories 13.4 g fat 5.5 g fiber 29 g protein 18.4 g carbs 130.5 mg Calcium  PB GF  Lobster is wonderful for the Fasting Lifestyle, whether you get it pre-cooked or raw. The damage comes when it is slathered in butter. I think that butter masks the clean, pure taste of the lobster, so I haven’t dunked my lovely crustacean in it for years. This recipe is so elegant yet lacks calories to such an extent that I have added a very French dessert course: fresh peaches and raspberries.

¾ cup lobster, cooked and cut into chunks 1 Tbsp heavy cream 2 Tbsp Bechamel sauce [I always keep bechamel sauce frozen in small amounts.] ½ tsp Dijon mustard flat-leaved parsley, chopped, for garnish 3 oz green beans   OR Side Salad with tomatoes Dessert: 1 oz raspberries [fresh or frozen] + 2 oz peaches, cut into cubes [fresh or frozen]

Stir together the cream, Bechamel, and mustard. Lightly fold in the lobster. Heap into a ramekin, sprinkle on the parsley, and heat at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cook the beans and put the fruits in a lovely bowl for dessert.

Agatha Christie

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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.

When Agatha Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England on September 15, 1890, no one could predict the effect she would have on literature. She was raised in moderate wealth as a solitary child. Despite her mother’s idea that she not learn to read until age eight, Agatha taught herself when she was four. From then on she read voraciously — children’s books, and classics of English authors appropriate to her age. Finally, at age 12, she attended a boarding school — and left because she chafed at the routine. Agatha loved writing stories and amateur theatricals. In 1914, after a brief courtship, she married Archibald Christie, who went off to war and worked his way up through the ranks. He encouraged her writing. In 1920, Mrs. Christie published The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the sleuth Hercule Poirot. He appeared in 15 books plus a play and short stories until 1937. Next, Tommy and Tuppence made their debut, as a chippy young couple around the author’s age. Miss Marple appeared in 1930, and became perhaps her most memorable character after 12 books and numerous stories through to 1976. Agatha Christie learned the apothecary’s trade and during both World Wars she worked in a hospital dispensary as her contribution to the war effort. Readers will appreciate that more than half of the murders in Christie’s books are by poison, ‘the woman’s weapon,’ showing that she learned her craft well. In December of 1926, Mrs. Christie was the subject of a famous mystery. She disappeared for 11 days, traveling around England under an assumed name. Some said it was a publicity stunt, others said it was a psychotic break caused by her mother’s death and her husband’s infidelity [her assumed surname was that of her husband’s paramour]. She never spoke of it. A brief courtship resulted in marriage to an archeologist, Max Mallowan who was several years her junior. With him she went on annual digs throughout the Levant. She wrote, he dug, she helped to catalogue and preserve the artifacts, and together they had a good life. Her accolades were many; her book sales were staggering; her play The Mousetrap set records. Her writing as ‘Mary Westmacott’ produced four more best-selling novels. My favorite is Absent in the Spring in which no murder occurs, yet the protagonist’s life is dismantled as she reflects on how she has interacted with her family. The Queen of Crime died in 1976 and her family handles her merchandizing.

When we think of a book by Dame Agatha, our inner eye sees a charming English village dominated by a church and the manor house. The murder has taken place in the manor house and of course the butler did it — or did he? Our menu today is typical of meals at the manor, before the mayhem started.

Ham & Mushroom ScrOmelette: 151 calories 8.5 g fat 2 g fiber 12 g protein 5.4 g carbs [4.5 g Complex] 56 mg Calcium   PB GF  These flavors go together so well that it would be a shame not to enjoy them at breakfast.

1½ eggs per person HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.  ¾ oz mushrooms, chopped 1/3 oz ham [from a roast; if you use 3%-fat ham from deli, the fat will be reduced] fresh herbs 2 oz pear OR ¼ cup raspberries OR 2 oz applesauce   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]

Chop the ham and mushrooms and combine. HINT: I did this the night before. Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the ham/mushroom combo and stir to heat and cook the mushrooms, if raw. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan, stirring to distribute the ham/mushrooms. Cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Dish up the fruit and brew your optional hot beverage. What a treat!

Pheasant Casserole: 250 calories 9.5 g fat 5.4 g fiber 22.5 g protein 21.6 g carbs [19 Complex] 86 mg Calcium   PB  This recipe is based on one from English Provincial Cooking by Elisabeth Ayrton and it dates back to the 18th century, when whole partridges were stewed with onion, carrot, and cabbage for 2.5 hours and served on thick slices of bread. Well, this is a modified version and it is delicious. This uses left over cooked pheasant meat and works well. You could substitute cooked turkey or chicken.

2½ oz cabbage, sliced 1-1½ ” thick 1½ oz baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise ¼ oz onion, cut in rings [which I forgot to put on the top] 2 Tbsp chicken or pheasant gravy 2 oz pheasant meat, cooked and taken off the bone ½ Arnold Multi-Grain Sandwich Thin

Prepare the carrots, cabbage, and steam them for 25 minutes until the carrots are tender. If the cabbage is not yet done, leave it in the steamer with the lid on but off the heat until needed. Warm pheasant meat in the gravy + 2 tsp of the water from the steaming-liquid. Warm the Arnold Thin in the toaster oven. Plate the bread. Spoon a tablespoon of gravy on top. Place the meat atop the bread. Stir the warm vegetables into the warm gravy and plate them. Put the raw onion rings on top and pour any remaining gravy over the meat.

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

1 two-oz egg + zucchini1.5 two-oz eggs 
garlic powder + low-fat cottage cheesegreen bell pepper + onion
Parmesan cheese + cayennecatsup, no corn syrup 
pear/strawberries + herbes de Provenceraspberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

lobster meat + heavy cream + Bechamel sauceground bison meat + egg
Dijon mustard + flat-leaved parsleycilantro + canned black beans
Green beans or Side Salad with tomatoescoleslaw
raspberries + peaches for dessertslider bun, 90 calories
Sparkling waterSparkling water