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

By now you know how much I enjoy tracing a random line on a map to see where it will take me. On the sphere [well, not exactly a sphere, but close enough] of the Earth, the equator girds the middle like a belt. From any point on that line to the North Pole, one traverses 90 degrees of the arc of the circumference of the Earth. Each degree is a line of Latitude, the ones that run East to West across the map. Since the Equator is the “0” line, the lower Latitude values are found in the tropics and sub-tropics. Such a one is Latitude 17 North. If you were to go to your globe or a world map, you would find that Lat.17N goes through Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma, India, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, and Niger. That’s quite a world tour! These nations have developed their unique cuisines over centuries of living in warm, humid climates. Local ingredients plus foods brought in by colonizers have turned into meals that are recognized around the globe for their flavor. Whether is is Mandi in Yemen or Chicken Adobo in the Philippines, one can eat well on 17N. From 1954 to 1976, the 17th parallel was the dividing line between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, holding great signi-ficance during the Vietnam War. A lot of lives were lost fighting over a line drawn on a map.

Our meals are from only two of the 20 countries on the 17th North parallel: India and Thailand. It would take us a while to eat our way through all those nations!

Kedgeree: 142 calories… 6 g fat… 1.6 g fiber… 12 g protein… 13.6 g carbs… 69 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PG GF Smoked haddock and asparagus from the British Isles + curry powder = a flavor combination invented during the colonial days in India. Delicious and satisfying for a Fasting breakfast. 

++ ¾ oz smoked haddock ++++ ¼ cup cooked brown rice ++++ 1½ tsp 10% cream ++++ ¼ tsp curry powder ++++ ¼ tsp nutmeg ++++ 1 two-oz hard-cooked egg ++++ 1 oz asparagus ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or  mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Combine the rice, cream, and the two spices. Cut the asparagus into 1” pieces and put into a small pan with some water. Put the smoked haddock [finnen haddie] on top of the asparagus so that it is not in the water. Cover and simmer until the asparagus and haddock are cooked. Remove the fish and break it into bite-sized pieces or smaller. Drain the asparagus. Stir together the rice mixture and the egg until well-blended. Fold in the fish and the asparagus. Bake in an oiled dish at 350 F. until the egg is cooked and the mixture is set, about 12 minutes. Pour the optional smoothie and enjoy a cuppa with your Indian/English breakfast.

Pork Pad Thai: 265 calories… 7 g fat… 4.5 g fiber… 20 g protein… 28 g carbs… 94.4 mg Calcium…  GF This is our son’s recipe, with a few tweeks by me to make it fit our calorie requirements.  HINT: Makes enough for 2 [two] servings. Share with a friend or pack it up for a later lunch or dinner.

++ 1 oz Asian noodles [I used buckwheat soba noodles] ++++ ½ tsp oil ++++ 2-3 Tbsp water ++++ ½ cup onion, chopped ++++ 2 cloves garlic, chopped ++++ 2 cups sliced cabbage ++++ 1 cup mung bean sprouts or chopped celery ++++ 2 oz scallions [about 3], slice in 1” pieces ++++ 3 oz lean pork, cooked or raw, sliced into thin pieces about 1” square ++++ 6 oz sugar snap peas, cut in half cross-wise ++++ one 2-oz egg ++++ 2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce ++++ pinch hot pepper flakes ++++ 1 tsp sugar ++

Heat a wok or large cast iron pan. Stirfry all the vegetables in the oil and 3 Tbsp water for 3 minutes, adding more water if the vegetables ever stop sizzling in the pan. Cook the noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse, and set aside.  If using raw meat, add to cooking vegetables after 2 minutes. Add the raw egg to the pan of vegetables and scramble it in.  If using cooked pork, add it with the noodles to the wok and stir over the heat to combine. Mix well as you add the fish sauce, the sugar, and red pepper flakes. Pass the Sriracha for added kick.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large	1.5 two-oz eggs
tomato salsa + 2% cottage cheese	frozen spinach + mustard
crushed red pepper + cumin	Bechamel Sauce, no cheese
cooked chicken + strawberries	nutmeg + pear
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

1 two-oz egg + Swiss cheese	ground lamb
cumin + canned garbanzo beans	Gruyere cheese
garlic + crushed tomatoes	cooked brown rice
chili powder + onion	Mediterranean vegetables
Sparkling water	Sparkling water