Smoothies for the 5:2 diet

Fred Waring

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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.

There was a time, from the 1920s-1940s that everyone knew who Fred Waring was. Now he is remembered for a small kitchen appliance, if at all. It is a fascinating tale. Fred Waring, born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania in 1900, had been musical all his life. At age 12, he lead the Boy Scout Fife and Drum Corps. In 1917, Fred and his buddies formed a quartet, playing popular music and singing at high school and college dances. The band became larger, the instruments included banjos, and the band set itself apart by playing AND singing at the same time. After three years of studying engineering at Penn State University, Waring left school to pursue music. He was a showman, introducing unusual lighting effects and choreographed dance numbers for the band. At age 23, Waring took the band to more fame and acclaim in California. There they cut a record, the first to feature group singing. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians went on to success in films, recordings, Broadway, concerts in Europe, a popular radio show in the 1930s, then a television program from 1949 into the 1950s. By this time “The Pennsylvanians” had grown to 55 musicians and a Glee Club of singers. His music was everywhere and everyone knew his music. In 1936, an inventor wormed his way into Waring’s dressing room to tout the ’emulsifying machine’ for which he had a patent but no backers. Waring was interested and suggested some design modifications. After his band members gave demonstrations at department stores, the Waring Blender [originally ‘blendor’] became a popular kitchen and bar accessory. Waring had a lasting influence on music education, leading workshops for school music teachers for decades. Surely his musicality and showmanship has had more influence on modern musical performers than they know.

What better foods for a discussion of Fred Waring than foods prepared in a blender? “The Pennsylvanians” were once all the rage, and now various versions of the ‘Smoothie’ are in vogue. Tough to make one without a trusty Waring Blendor, or some contemporary equivalent.

Berry Lassi: This is a popular drink in India and I am pleased with how easy it is to make at home. You could drink the entire batch for a meal, or serve it three times as a breakfast beverage on the side. PB GF 1 of 1 Serving: 267 calories 2.5 g fat 3 g fiber 18 g protein 42 g carbs 769 mg Calcium 1 of 3 Servings: 89 calories 1 g fat 1 g fiber 6 g protein 14 g carbs 256 mg Calcium

300 ml/1¼ c plain fat-free yogurt 200 ml/ ¾ c almond milk ½ c frozen berry mix, unsweetened 1 tsp sugar

Put everything in a blender and wizz until smooth.

Fruit Smoothie: 88 calories 0 g fat 1 g fiber 1.5 g protein 21 g carbs 15 mg Calcium   PB GF DAIRY-FREE  This beverage has much more going for it than just plain orange juice. HINT: enough for 4 [four] 5-6 oz servings 

2 oz Rhubarb Mush or banana 20 oz/2.5 cups orange juice OR 20 oz/2.5 cups Crushed Rhubarb 2 oz fruit [all one variety or mixed; we like raspberries, strawberries, black currants, blueberries, apples]   HINT: I make the fruits up in ‘kits’ and keep them in the freezer. They could go into the blender frozen or leave the ‘kit’ on the counter overnight to thaw. Another time-saver!  

Put the fruit in the blender with 4 oz of the orange or rhubarb juice. Run it on “High” to break up the fruit and make it all smooth. Switch setting to “Low” and add the remaining juice. Run blender to combine the liquids. Save the rest for other mornings.

Green Smoothie: 1 of 1 serving = 231 calories 1.5 g fat 5 g fiber 6 g protein 93 g carbs 93 mg Calcium 1 of 3 servings = 77 calories 0.5 g fat 1.6 g fiber 2 g protein 31 g carb 31 mg Calcium   PB GF DAIRY-FREE  Use this as a beverage with some high protein food [ex: hard-boiled egg] on a Fast Day, at breakfast or dinner. HINT: this makes enough for three 6-oz servings.

2 cups mixed greens – spinach, kale, chard – roughly chopped 2 oz banana, sliced 2 oz berries ½ apple or pear 12 oz tomato juice 10 ice cubes

Put the fruit and greens in the blender and swirl it together on ”high” just long enough to break down the fruit and greens. Set blender to “low,” add the juice and ice cubes. Process until smooth. Put what you don’t drink today into a jar in the ‘fridge. Next time you use it, shake it well. If you think it has become too thick, feel free to thin it with water or Rhubarb Juice or OJ.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs1.5 two-oz eggs + ground cumin
Danish bleu cheeseTikka Masala sauce @ 20 calories/Tablespoon
herring marinated in wine tomato + cooked salmon + garlic powder
applefat-free plain yogurt + cucumber
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

6 felafel pattiessalad greens + pear
2 servings of Side Salad walnuts/pecans + bleu cheese
Tomato + carrot cannelli beans + tomato
beets + feta cheeseolive oil + white balsamic vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Coco

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

Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19 in 1883. Her father placed her in a church orphanage at age 12, where the nuns taught her to sew. There the young girl was impressed with the plain lines of the Romanesque architecture and the ornate fabrics in the garb of the priests. On her own at age 19, Gabrielle became a hat-maker, with cabaret singing as a side hustle. Audience members called her “Coco” after a song she sang frequently. Using money from her polo-player boy friend, Coco opened a hat shop in Paris in 1910. In her hands, hats were stripped of feathers and bows, looking more mannish and very modern. The shop was such a success that she was able to pay back all the loaned money — Coco was fiercely independent in everything she did. A dress shop followed, and her styles became le dernier cri for modern Parisiennes. Over the decades, Coco Chanel became a major force in fashion, an influencer and style mavin. Chanel’s hallmarks were fluid fabrics such as jersey; the sailor shirt; pants for women!; knitted twin sets; the signature suit with the boxy jacket; and the little black dress with pearls. Fashion was never the same once Coco began changing the rules. Elegant, ground-breaking, stylish, comfortable clothes…what more does one want? Well, then there was WW2… Was Coco Chanel a Nazi collaborator? So it seems. Do with that as you will.

Coco makes me think of cocoa, so I’ll give you some beverages that contain cocoa yet make it possible to maintain Chanel’s slim profile. The dinner is also slimming and elegant.

Mocha Cafe au Lait: 65 calories  4 g fat 1 g fiber 4.4 g protein 10 g carbs [1.5 g Complex] 168 mg Calcium  PB GF  High in Calcium, this has 4.5x the protein and 5x the Calcium for only 10 calories more than Black-ish coffee. Some might call this a mocha latte, since it is made with regular coffee instead of espresso. So what.

½ cup cocoa milk [½ cup skim or whole** milk + 1½ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder] ½ cup hot black coffee ½ level teaspoon sugar

**values when using whole milk: 87 calories 4 g fat 0.5 g fiber 4 g protein 9.4 g carbs 140 mg Calcium

The night before, put the milk and cocoa powder in a jar with a tight lid. Shake it well, then put in the refrigerator over-night. TIP: It is necessary to combine the cocoa powder and milk hours before, since they do not readily mix. Next morning, shake the coffee-milk well, and warm it in the microwave or in a hot water bath on the stove. Pour the coffee into a large [one cup+] cup or mug. Pour in the warm cocoa milk and sugar. Use a frother to whip up the milk and coffee. Elegant.

Cocoa-Banana Smoothie: 250 calories  4 g fat 6 g fiber 14 g protein 44 g carbs 405 mg Calcium  PB GF  If you were in a hurry, this makes a complete breakfast meal. Lots of protein to keep you going. Lucious and chocolatey. Or, this could be a lunch on a Slow Day.

1 cups fat-free milk ¼ cup/ 2 oz regular tofu OR 2 Tbsp/1 oz part-skim ricotta 2.5 oz banana 2 Tbsp cocoa powder 1.5 deglet noor dates, minced 4 ice cubes grated nutmeg

Put everything in the blender and wizz it on “Low” until it is all blended. Then run it at a higher speed until it is smooth. Top with grated nutmeg.

Grapefruit-Avocado Salad: 289 calories 20 g fat 6.4 g fiber 18 g protein 15 g carbs [14.5 g Complex] 75.5 mg Calcium   PB GF  This is delicious, nutritious, and satisfying. Real food. Good food.

1 two-oz egg, hard-boiled 2½ oz avocado [this was half an avocado], sliced in 4 pieces 4 sections of pink grapfruit 1¾ cups lettuce, sliced/shredded 1 oz cooked chicken breast [you could substitute 4 shrimp for a meatless meal] ½ tsp white wine vinegar + ½ tsp lime-infused olive oil + ¼ tsp ground ginger lemon finishing salt

Whisk the oil, vinegar, and ginger in a meduim-sized bowl. Add the lettuce and toss to coat with the dressing. Remove the lettuce to a serving plate, letting some of the dressing drip back into the bowl. Spread the lettuce evenly over the plate and sprinkle with the finishing salt. Starting at the center with the egg, arrange the grapefruit and avocado around the plate. Place the chicken as you wish. Brush the remaining dressing on the grapefruit and avocado. 

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
chorizo + creamy chevrecooked corn kernels
Mustard + herbes de Provencechives
peach
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Clam meat, fresh, frozen or canned + Parmesan cheeseolive oil + zucchini + pepperoni
Tomato + red bell pepper + Garlic powder carrot + celery + small pasta + onion
½ slice 70-calorie whole grain bread + thyme crushed tomatoes + mushrooms + garlic
Purchased Turkey meatballs + Plain, non-fat yogurtsmall white beans + sweet potato + Parmesan
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Keeping the Trains Running

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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 five of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

If you watched television adverts [especially for the evening news] during the past several decades, you might think that there had been a sudden plague of constipation — unlike anything seen before. In truth, many of the remedies described in ancient herbals were for the promotion of bowel movements. Two major causes of this condition are: increasing age [the micro-biota are not working as well] and poor diet. By poor diet, I mean a diet low in fiber, high in simple carbs — like the S.A.D. [Standard American Diet]. Poor diet decreases the health of the micro-biota that help us to digest our food. To help yourself to stay regular, you need to pay attention to fiber. By varying our diet and adding fiber, we improve the micro-biota, which helps us to be healthy and to maintain a healthy weight. How much fiber do you need? Around 30 grams per day.* Eat more vegetables, more fruit, more whole grains — there’s a good plan! *DO NOT jump to that level all at once. Build up to it gradually over several days to give the micro-biota a chance to accommodate to it.

In our family, we ‘keep the trains running’ by having an emulsion of dark green leafy vegetables every day. In plain speech, a vegetable smoothie at lunch. Yes, even on a Fast Day. As Maintainers [our weight is where we want it to be and it is stable], we can allow ourselves the extra calories, especially since it is for a good purpose. The micro-biota just love to digest pureed greens. My Primary Care Physician was giddy about the ingredients of the Green Milk, and how it provides greens, fruit, and Calcium.

Green Milk: 145 calories 0.6 g fat 3 g fiber 10 g protein 25 g carbs 340 mg Calcium  PB GF I drink this for lunch daily because it tastes really yummy.  HINT: When I have fresh greens, I make up kits [everything but the milk] in 1-cup jars and freeze them.

8 oz skimmed milk ½ oz dates, cut into 4 pieces [deglet noor have fewer calories than medjool] 1 oz spinach/Swiss chard, fresh or frozen

Put everything in the blender/VitaMix/container suitable for using with an immersion blender. Whirl on low speed at first, to break up the ingredients, then at the speed that will pulverize everything to a lovely shade of green. Makes 1.5 cups.

Sludgie: 169 calories 0.2 g fat 5.7 g fiber 2.7 g protein 26.6 g carbs 78 mg Calcium  PB GF From the name, you would think it was just awful – a real ‘hold your nose and drink’ sort of thing. The name is an affectionate nod to the unlovely color and the slow-pouring viscosity. As part of lunch, this is really quite palatable.  HINT: This makes 3 cups. Serve one cup/day.

2 oz kale/spinach/Swiss chard, fresh or frozen 2 oz bananas 2 oz figs or prunes or a mixture, each cut into 4 pieces 2-½ c tomato juice

Put everything into a Vita-Mix [or use the immersion blender] and blend it until it is smooth and uniform in color. HINT: When I get fresh greens, I make up as many one-quart kits as I can and freeze what I don’t need that day or the next. Handy.

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

1 two-oz egg + strawberries1.5 two-oz eggs 
salt cod + herb savoryzucchini + peach
mashed potatoes or potato flakesmixed fresh herbs
Cheddar or ADL cheeseJarlsberg cheese
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

ground bison meat + blueberrieszucchini + feta cheese
coleslaw + Worcestershireegg + dill weed + parsley
garlic powder + Dijon mustardwhite whole wheat flour + self-rising flour
Martin’s potato slider buns + egg whitetomato + plain yogurt + shrimp
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Aunt Beru

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Breakfast Beverages

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

Those of you who read my blog regularly [thank you for that!] will notice that in a breakfast menu I always mention ‘optional beverages.’ Today I’m going to flesh out what I mean by that — breakfast beverages without the extra flesh. We have always consumed a cold beverage and a hot beverage at breakfast, and I will explain how those evolved as we embarked on our Fasting Lifestyle. The beverages detailed below are what we drink everyday, since they are too delicious to serve only two days a week.

Cold Beverage: Dear Husband and I grew up drinking cold orange juice at breakfast. Our generation was taught that this was important for our health [advertising by the Florida Orange Growers Association is to blame for that]. But our bodies see orange juice as just sugar water — without the fiber in whole fruit, the sugar in the fruit is digested just as sugar is. 5 oz orange juice from concentrate = 74 calories 0 g fat 0 g fiber 0.6 g protein 17.9 g carbs [0 g Complex] 12 mg Calcium WITH the fiber, digestion is slower and the sugar spike is minimized. So we began to make our own smoothies: whole fruit, whole juices [fruit pressed, seeds removed], yogurt, some orange juice. The two most popular are these:

Berry-Yogurt Smoothie: 88 calories 0.1 g fat 1 g fiber 4 g protein 20 g carbs [5.2 g Complex] 105 mg Calcium  PB GF Dear Husband was inspired to create this, in an effort to get more Calcium in our diet. HINT: Makes 4 [four] servings Food values above are for one serving.

1 cup yogurt [plain, fat-free] 2 oz banana 2 oz mixed berries or all one kind — strawberries/raspberries/blackberries ½ cup fruit juice with fiber [or ½ cup unsweetened applesauce – adds 1 g carbs and 2 more calories] 1 cup orange juice  HINT: I combine the fruits and put those in the freezer as ‘kits.’

Put the yogurt and fruit in the blender/VitaMix or container for using an immersion blender. Whiz it on HIGH until everything is blended and no bits of berry are seen. Add juice/applesauce with the orange juice and blend on low. Put what you don’t use today into the ‘fridge for another day.

Blueberry Smoothie: 118 calories 0.2 g fat 3.1 g fiber 5.7 g protein 30 g carbs 99 mg Calcium  PB GF From the people at Wild Blueberries of North America comes this excellent smoothie. Take the calorie count into account when you meal-plan. HINT: Recipe makes enough for 2 servings. The food values above are for one serving.

3 oz banana ½ cup plain, fat-free yogurt ½ cup blueberries ½ cup orange juice

Put banana, yogurt, and berries into the blender and process until smooth. Add the juice and blend on low. Wonderful berry flavor!

Hot beverages: Dear Husband’s family used to joke that if you didn’t drink coffee, you weren’t old enough to get married. In truth, he didn’t drink coffee at the time of our marriage [age 23], and I often drank tea. Together we moved to drinking our only cup of coffee at breakfast, and together we learned to love cafe-au-lait. Then we heard about cocoa flavonoids, and began to make ‘cocoa milk’ to make our coffee a mocha.

How to prepare cocoa milk: ½ cup 1% or 2% or whole** milk ½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder The night before, put the milk and cocoa powder in a jar with a tight lid. Shake it well, then put in the refrigerator over-night. This overnight time permits the milk to ‘wet’ the cocoa powder enough to hold the powder in suspension, rather than floating on top. **values for coffee, sugar if using whole milk: 87 calories 4.2 g fat 0.5 g fiber 4.2 g protein 9.4 g carbs 140 mg Calcium

Blackish Coffee: 55 calories 3.4 g fat 0 g fiber 0.9 g protein 5.6 g carbs 32 mg Calcium There’s ‘black coffee’ [no sweetener, no lightener, no calories] and then there is Black-ish Coffee. 1 cup black coffee 1 tsp sugar [doesn’t matter what type] 3 Tablespoons half & half [10% milk fat]

Frothy Mocha Cafe au Lait: 65 calories 1.4 g fat 0.5 g fiber 4.6 g protein 9 g carbs [1 g Complex] 159 mg Calcium High in Calcium, this has 5x the protein for only 10 calories more than Black-ish coffee, if using 1% milk. [35 more calories if using whole milk]

½ cup hot black coffee ½ cup cocoa milk ½ level teaspoon sugar

Shake the cocoa milk well, and warm it in the microwave or in a hot water bath on the stove. Put the coffee in a large [one cup+] cup or mug. Shake the milk again and pour into the coffee, adding the sugar. Use a frother to whip up the milk and coffee. Elegance with a great chocolate taste.

Ingredients for next week: 

Breakfast, single portion for Monday ………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
zucchini + onion + garlic
Swiss chard + strawberries
jalapeño or hot pepper flakes + sage
Parmesan cheese
vinegar + roasted red pepper
paprika + garlic powder
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

1 pound zucchini + dill weed
salad greens + tomatoes
cooked chicken + Parmesan cheese
red bell pepper + pork roast
garlic + olive oil + onion
cranberries + zucchini
cooked brown rice + paprika
balsamic vinegar + olive oil
Sparkling waterSparkling water

There! I Said It Again

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

On November 8, 1963, a new song was hitting the airwaves. Teenagers swooned over Bobby Vinton‘s crooning, while their parents recognized the tune as a cover of a popular song from 1945. Redd Evans and David Mann wrote it, then Vaughn Monroe recorded it.  Jimmy Dorsey and Nat King Cole covered it in the 40s, cementing its popularity.  But for my generation, as yet unknowing of the Beatles, nothing was like a slow dance to the yearning lyric:

                                                                                                                                                                “I’ve said it, what more can I say,
Believe me, there’s no other way,
I love you, I will to the end,
There! I’ve said it again.”              Sigh.

Today I’m going to say some things that I’ve said before: this Fast Diet works. How do you get started? How do you convince yourself to get on it and stay on it? [see Groundhog Day, posted 2 Feb 2018]  Like the singer of the song, you have to be in love: in love with the idea of being slimmer and healthier, and in love with your self enough to want to make the effort.                                                                                                                                     When you read my recipes, you’ll notice the food values for each. Yes, I’ve worked them out for each ingredient to get those totals. So barring errors in math, they are accurate and here’s why they matter to me.                                                                                         >>calories: rather important if you want to stay within our Fast day limit of 600 per day. If you don’t want to count calories, then I have done it for you.                                                        >>fat: this is total fat.  If one is supposed to limit fat to 25% of calories, then the limit on a Fast Day should be 15 g.  It has been shown that eating fat doesn’t make you fat, but a lot trans fat and saturated  fat in the diet increases the possibility of diabetes. Fasting reduces that possibility. Reduced fat also means reduced calories.                                                                                                    >>fiber: fiber in the diet helps digestion and bowel regularity.  It feeds your gut flora and can help to reduce the risk of colon cancer.  21 grams per day are recommended.                          >>protein: we need to eat lots of protein on a Fast Day to maintain muscle mass. When your body has reduced calories, it begins to go into whatever energy is stored. Fat reserves go first. Hooray! Then the muscles are targeted.  As we age [any age past 35 years], we lose muscle anyway. Lots of protein on a Fast Day [as well as on a Slow Day] can help to maintain that muscle. Exercise helps, to build muscle. ‘Average sedentary male needs 56 grams of protein/day.‘                                                                                                                              >>carbs: carbs come from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dried beans [Complex carbs], bread, sugars, pasta, white rice and potatoes [Simple carbs].  Simple carbs quickly convert to sugar in the process of digestion.  One reason that Fasting reduces the risk of diabetes is the reduction of Simple carbs in the diet. A ‘low carb’ meal should have less than 35 g of carbs.  If you reduce the Simple carbs on a Slow Day, you will probably lose weight faster.  We aren’t eliminating carbs, but we are being more sensible about which ones we eat every day.                                                                                                                                                                      >>Calcium: this matters for our bones and heart, nerves, and muscles.  1000-1200 mg of Calcium are recommended. Eating your Calcium [ex: cheese] is better than supplements.

Eat well, Fast well, live well.

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion

prosciutto  1.5 two-oz eggs
melon kippered herring
red onion pickle dry mustard
cherries
Whatever you need for your smoothie Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

tuna steak  +  olive oil 3# chicken
red bell pepper onion  +  celery  + carrot
zucchini     +   lemon juice Worcestershire sauce  + peas
cherry tomatoes dumplings [..Not by Bread… 7 Feb-2018]
Sparkling water Sparkling water

Smooth as…

~ me ~ Leave a comment

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.                                                                      Welcome to Frieda P.F. who is now Following.

“Smooth as butter” is a pilot’s term for a good airplane landing. Did you ever hear that the Earth is as “Smooth as a billiard ball“?   How about ‘Smooth as a smoothie”?  Ever since the 1960s, smoothies have seen increased popularity. But not all smoothies are created equal: some are good for you and some might as well be a glass of sugar water. Today we’ll dive into the blender for an investigation of smoothies.

Smoothie benefits: Juice alone has lots of sugar. It is like drinking a soda-pop!  Next time you see an article about the ‘benefits of the juice diet,’ run the other way.  But when you add fiber, whether from fruit or vegetable, it changes the sugar’s effect on your body. In other words, a smoothie made from whole fruit is good for you. Plus, the added fruit and/or vegetables give you a much-needed serving of the same. When drinking a green smoothie, by pureeing the greens, you are making them into their most digestible form. This means that all the micro-flora in your gut will thank you and that your lower intestines will be healthier and will work better.

Fruit Smoothie, chez nous

Breakfast Smoothies:                                                                                                                                 Fruit Smoothie:  88 calories  0 g fat  0.8 g fiber    1.5 g protein   21.2 g carbs   15.2 mg Calcium   PB   GF  HINT: enough for 4                                                                                       [four] 5-6 oz servings                                                                                 2 oz banana                                                                       2 oz fruit [all one variety or mixed; we like raspberries, strawberries, black currants, blueberries]                                                                      20 oz [2.5 cups] orange juice                                  HINT: I make the fruits up in ‘kits’ and keep them in the freezer. They could go into the blender frozen or leave the ‘kit’ on the counter overnight to thaw. Another time-saver!                                                                                     Put the fruit in the blender with 4 0z of the orange juice. Run it on “High” to break up the fruit and make it all smooth. Switch setting to “Low” and add the remaining juice. Run blender to combine the liquids. Save the rest for other mornings.

Berry-Yogurt Smoothie

Berry-Yogurt Smoothie:  88 calories  0 g fat  0.9 g fiber  2.8 g protein  18 g carbs  91.5 mg Calcium PB GF     Dear Husband was inspired to create this, in an effort to get more Calcium and less orange juice into our diet. HINT: Makes 4 [four] servings                                                                          1 cup yogurt, plain and low-fat                                                                                        2 oz banana                                                                               2 oz mixed berries                                                                             4 oz fruit juice with solids in it                                                         8 oz orange juice HINT: I combine the fruits and put those in the freezer as ‘kits.’   Put the                                        yogurt, fruit, and fruit juice in the blender/VitaMix/container for using immersion wand. Whiz it on HIGH until everything is blended and no bits of berry are seen. Add orange juice and blend on low. Put what you don’t use today into the ‘fridge for another day.

reen Milk

Lunch/Meal Smoothies                                                                                                                         Green Milk:   136 calories   0.6 g fat   1.5 g fiber  10 g protein  24 g carbs   337 mg Calcium    PB GF  I drink this for lunch daily to ‘keep the trains running.’ On Fast Days, I eliminate the dates.                                                  8 oz low-fat milk                                                     ½ oz dates                                                                   1 oz spinach, fresh or frozen                                   Put everything in the blender/VitaMix or container suitable for using with an immersion wand. Whirl on low speed at first, to break up the ingredients, then at the speed that will pulverize everything to a lovely shade of green.

Banana Tofu Smoothie:  182 calories  2 g fat  1.5 g fiber  9 g protein   32 g carbs  250 mg Calcium PB GF    This is what I always took for lunch when I was teaching. Kept me going all afternoon.    HINT: This serves two.                                                                                                                                                                 1.25 cups fat-free milk                                                                                                                                            ½ cup firm tofu                                                                                                                                                         6” banana                                                                                                                                                                   2 Tbsp sugar                                                                                                                                                           4 ice cubes                                                                                                                                                          grated nutmeg                                                                                                                                                         Put everything in the blender and whizz it on “Low” until it is all blended. Then run it at a higher speed until it is smooth. Top with grated nutmeg.

May the Force…

~ me ~ Leave a comment

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

Tomorrow will be May The Fourth, which Star Wars Fans recognize as a day to celebrate since the words sound like “May the Force….be with you.”  Yeah, it’s a stretch.  Anyhow, since the only food you ever see anyone eat in the entire film series is the ghastly-looking blue smoothie which Aunt Beru prepares on Tatooine, I thought that today we should talk about smoothies.

Smoothie benefits:  Fruit juice alone has lots of sugar. It is like drinking a soda-pop! But when you retain the fruit’s fiber, whether from fruit or vegetable, it changes the sugar’s effect on your body. Plus, the added fruit and/or vegetables give you a much-needed serving of the same. When drinking a green smoothie, by pureeing the greens, you are making them into their most digestible form. This means that all the micro-flora in your gut will thank you and that your lower intestines will be healthier and will work better.

BREAKFAST SMOOTHIES, TO DRINK INSTEAD OF JUICE                                                            *Fruited Green Smoothie:    77 calories    0.3 g fat    1.6 g fiber      1.7 g protein     31.3 g carb    30.7 mg Calcium    PB GF     HINT: this makes enough for three 6-oz servings, so it will save you time on the next 2 breakfasts.  In the photo, the green smoothie is served with Tostada.

Tostada w: green smoothie

2 cups mixed greens – spinach, romaine, lettuce, chard – roughly chopped                                       2 oz banana, sliced                                                                                                                                                  2 oz berries                                                                                                                                                                                   ½ apple or pear                                                                                                                                                       12 oz tomato juice [such as Knudsen’s organic] 10 ice cubes

Put the fruit and greens in the blender and swirl it together on ”high” just long enough to break down the fruit and greens. Set blender to “low,” add the juice and ice cubes. Process until smooth. Put what you don’t drink today into a jar in the ‘fridge. Next time you use it, shake it well. If you think it has become too thick, feel free to thin it with water or OJ.

Smoothie kits

*M&Ms Fruit Smoothie:    80 calories      0.4 g fat       3.5 g fiber       4.2 g protein      16.2 g carb     131 mg Calcium      This recipe is from the Fast Diet book, further quantified by me.   PB GF   HINT: this makes enough for 2 servings, so reserve the rest for another breakfast which will save you time.

6” of banana [3.0 oz]                                                                                                                                                ½ cup plain, non-fat yogurt                                                                                                                                  2 oz fruit[either ½ cup mixed berries or 7 one-inch strawberries]                                                         8-10 ice cubes                                                                                                                                                            Blend at low speed at first to break up the fruit, then at higher speed to blend.  HINT: I make up ‘kits’ in advance.  Into a freezer-safe container, I place all the ingredients except the ice cubes and freeze it days to weeks in advance. The night before a Fast Day, the Smoothie Kit comes out to thaw on the counter overnight. Much simpler.  Kits shown in photo above.

Fruit Smoothie, chez nous

*Fruit Smoothie, chez nous:      88 calories      0 g fat       0.8 g fiber      1.5 g protein      21.2 g carbs       15.2 mg Calcium PB GF          HINT: enough for 4 [four] 5-6 oz servings 2 oz banana                                                                                                                                                                             2 oz fruit [all one variety or mixed; we like raspberries, strawberries, black currants, blueberries]                                                                                                                                                                  20 oz [2.5 cups] orange juice                                                                                                                                     HINT: I make the fruits up in ‘kits’ and keep them in the freezer. They could go into the blender frozen or leave the ‘kit’ on the counter overnight to thaw. Another time-saver! Put the fruit in the blender with 4 0z of the orange juice. Run it on “High” to break up the fruit and make it all smooth. Switch setting to “Low” and add the remaining juice. Run blender to combine the liquids. Save the rest in a jar for other mornings.

*Fruit Smoothie w/ greens, ME:       74 calories        0.1 g fat         1.0 g fiber        0.5 g protein 16.5 g carbs      29.4 mg Calcium      PB GF   This is the smoothie that we have used for years, and then I added some spinach, so it is a synthesis of the 2 previous smoothies. HINT: this makes enough for several breakfasts, so make it once and use it often. A real time-saver.

 2 oz banana                                                                                                                                                                                  2 oz berries [black currants, strawberries, blueberries, red or black raspberries, blackberries – any combo] HINT: I make these up in ‘kits’ and keep them in the freezer. They could go into the blender frozen or leave the ‘kit’ on the counter overnight to thaw. Another time-saver!                                                                                                                                                                          1 cup raw spinach or Swiss chard or kale or beet greens                                                                                          1 and 1/2 cups orange juice or natural apple cider                                                                                          1 cup tomato juice

Toss the fruit and greens into the blender. Add 1/2 cup orange juice. Process on high to blend the fruits and puree the leaves. Turn down to lowest setting and add the remaining juice. Process until smooth. Keep the setting on ‘low’ at this point, unless you like your smoothie with a huge head of foam!  

 MEAL-SIZED SMOOTHIES                                                                                                                     Banana Tofu Smoothie:                                                                                                                                    1.25 cups fat-free milk                                                                                                                                                ½ cup firm tofu                                                                                                                                                         6” banana                                                                                                                                                                                     2 Tbsp sugar                                                                                                                                                                       4 ice cubes                                                                                                                                                                Put everything in the blender and wizz it on “Low” until it is all blended. Then run it at a higher speed until it is smooth.                                                                                                                         Cocoa-Banana version: add 2 Tbsp cocoa to above recipe.

*Strawberry Tofu Smoothie: Half Batch =  199 calories   3.4 g fat  3.7 g fiber   14.2 g protein    26 g carbs     360 mg Calcium   1.5 Batch=  300 calories  5.1 g fat    5.5 g fiber     21.3 g protein     39 g carbs     540 mg Calcium PB GF   HINT: Makes 2 portions as part of a meal. Or one meal serving with 1/2 cup or so left over.   To serve as a full meal, measure out 3/4 of the batch.      I used to take this to work as part of lunch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        2  oz banana                                                                                                                                                               ½ c plain, fat free yogurt                                                                                                                                     ½ cup sliced strawberries                                                                                                                                                   2 Tbsp sugar                                                                                                                                                                        2.8 oz soft tofu, which is 1/5 of a package

Put everything in the blender and wizz it on “Low” until it is all blended. Then run it at a higher speed until it is smooth. If you want to, add another ½ cup of yogurt, or skimmed milk which will add more volume and bring the calorie count to 259. Then you might use it as an entire meal.  Dust the top with freshly-grated nutmeg.

Ingredients for next week:  breakfast

One ‘pan muffin’ [see ..Not by Bread.. II-7-’18]
Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain cereal		Advice about Fasting while traveling.
1 Applegate chicken sausage [choose your own breakfast from archives]
Raspberries, fresh or frozen
Whatever you need for your hot beverageWhatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your smoothieWhatever you need for your hot beverage

dinner

Hardboiled eggs [3 for two people; 1.5 for one]Advice on coping with a dinner buffet while on the Fast diet
Onions garlic[choose your own dinner from archives]
Garbanzo beans
Tomatoes, fresh or 1 can diced [some will be left over]
Swiss cheese or Gruyere
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Let’s talk about, um, er, elimination…

~ me ~ Leave a comment

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

Some people find that a change of diet causes a change in their digestive health. Whether you end up too loose or too tight in your bowels, the cause is how your intestines are reacting to the addition of new food [vegetables, fiber] as well as the subtraction of other food [fatty foods, processed foods].  It turns out that the standard American diet degenerates the health of the good bacteria which live in the gut and help to digest our food.  The solution?  Re-populate those good little guys!

“How?” you may ask?  The solution we found lies in those green smoothies which we ingested during the Plant-Based Diet, about which I wrote earlier.  For breakfast we share a Fruited Green Smoothie like this:                                                                             2 cups of greens – spinach or Swiss chard or kale or a combination       1/2 of an apple or pear, seeds and stem removed                                                                  1/2 banana                                                                                                                                   1/3 to 1/2 cup berries – straw- or rasp- or blue or a combination                                      1 and 1/2 cups orange juice

This is blended on high in the Vita-Mix and tastes better than it looks! The recipe makes enough for three 8-oz servings. Put the extra in a jar in the ‘fridge for tomorrow.  We drink this every day, Fast day or Slow day and find it to be very useful for good digestive health.

Smo-o-o-oth

~ me ~ Leave a comment

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

Lots of people think that smoothies are a good thing, but they can be fat traps. Even Michael Mosley advises against drinking them on Fast Days. He does offer a smoothie recipe in his Fast Diet book, and that is where this post begins: a smoothie to drink as part of a good breakfast instead of OJ and then a full-meal smoothie for those who like to sip their breakfast on the go.

Smoothie kits

M&M’s Fruit Smoothie:    91 calories    0.4 g fat 3.5 g fiber    4 g protein    16 g carbs [13.7 g Complex] 131 mg Calcium   PB GF     This is from the Fast Diet book by Michael Mosley and Mimi Sheridan. We make this because we want our Fast Day menus to be similar to our Slow Day menus and we have been accustomed to a juice smoothie for years. This gives us that but with more protein, probiotics, and some dairy.    NB: This recipe makes enough for 2 [two] smoothies.    HINT: I make up ‘smoothie kits’ in advance and keep them in the freezer. The night before a Fast Day, I put one of the kits on the counter to thaw for breakfast. Much simpler.  Two kits are shown above — enough for 4 servings.                                                                                                              3 oz banana [this is approximately 6″ of banana, which I measure]                                                      7 one-inch strawberries, stemmed [these may be fresh or frozen]                              ½ cup fat-free plain yogurt [I like to use Stonyfield Farm brand]                                                         ~10 ice cubes                                                    

Put ingredients in blender [or use an immersion wand] along with a large handful of ice cubes. Start at low speed while the ice breaks up and the fruit breaks down, then turn up to high for about 10 seconds. The mixture should have the consistency of a thin milkshake. If it is too thick, add water. HINT: Since this makes enough for two servings, if you are serving one, put the remainder in a jar with a lid into the ‘fridge for next Fast Day. Shake the jar before serving.

Flax Seed Breakfast Smoothie: 331 calories  9.3 g fat  12.1 g protein  44 g carbs   PB GF        To be perfectly honest, I have never tried this recipe.  I wanted to see how the numbers would work out. The goal was to make a high-protein shake, with fruit and probiotics from yogurt but low in fat. And it should fit within the 300 calorie/meal limit.  You might wonder why you couldn’t just drink all of the fruit smoothie shown above…. The answer is the low protein. This shake has a lot more protein, which you need for a Fast Day.

1 cup almond milk                                                                                                                                                   ½ cup plain, nonfat yogurt                                                                                                                                  2 Tbsp flax seed [2/3 oz]     honestly, I’ve never eaten/cooked with flax seed.                                          1 cup sliced strawberries [about 5.5 oz]                                                                                                             3 oz banana                                                                                                                                                           ~10 or more ice cubes

Put the fruit, flax, ice, and yogurt in your favorite blending device.  Run it on low speed to break the ice and fruit. Add the milk and raise the speed to high for about 10 seconds.

Please note the calorie count! If you were to consume this for breakfast, your dinner would have to have a low calorie count. I would suggest Cesar Salad [Mar 11] or Crab Cakes [Mar 1] or Baked White Fish [Jan 11] or Beans & Franks [Jan 28]. I would also ask you to note the high Carb content of this recipe. If Carbs matter to you, skip this one.