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. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.
February 22 is the birthday of the Father of our Country, George Washington, who was born in 1732. Truly a man who needs no introduction, so instead of reviewing his CV, let us look at what the great man ate. For breakfast, he ate only ‘hoe cakes,’ a pancake made of white corn grits. He ate them every day, with butter and honey. Hercules, Washington’s enslaved cook, knew what to prepare for a man with false teeth: soft foods. The Marquis de Lafayette, whom Washington regarded as the son he never had, might have suggested the very French Cherry Flamusse as an alternative. [the cherries are a nod to Parson Weems’ legend of young George and the cherry tree.] The first president’s estate Mount Vernon is located in tidewater Virginia, and Washington liked oysters. He would surely have eaten Virginia ham, although every Saturday Hercules whipped up a batch of salt cod stew, according to the book Never Caught, a book which discusses Washington as a slave-holder .
Today we’ll enjoy Cherry Flamusse at breakfast, and a festive dinner to celebrate Washington’s birthday: Ham & Oyster Pie.
Cherry Flamusse: 194 calories… 5 g fat… 1 g fiber… 11 g protein… 27.6 g carbs… 157 mg Calcium… NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF – if using GF flour This breakfast custard is borrowed from the dessert section of the cookbook, and it works very well either way! It is similar to a clafouti, but simpler. Served with cherries or any fresh fruit, it is sure to be a hit. HINT: This makes enough for 2 [two] servings: share with a friend or save the rest for a future breakfast or dessert. [As a dessert, without the clementine, one serving has 177 calories.]
++ 2 two-oz eggs ++++ 6 oz milk ++++ 4 tsp flour OR tapioca flour ++++ 1.5 Tbsp sugar ++++ 10 sweet cherries, pitted ++++ ½ clementine ++++ 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] ++
Spritz 2 ramekins or an oven-proof dish with 1.5 cup capacity with non-stick spray. Cut the cherries in half and arrange on the bottom of the dish. Whisk eggs until foamy, then add flour and sugar, whisking until there are no lumps. Stir in the milk and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake at 375 F. for 20 minutes. Turn the flamusse out of the dish so that the cherries are on top. Plate with the clementine sections, serve with the beverages. You won’t believe this is a ‘diet.’
Ham & Oyster Pie: 256 calories… 4.6 g fat… 3 g fiber … 20.7 g protein… 25.5 g carbs … 125 mg Calcium… GF This dish was popular in the Colonial American South at Christmastime. I first enjoyed it in the Fox Tavern at the Hancock Inn. As long as oysters are available, one can have it anytime. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] as shown in the photo.
3 oz [2/3 cup] roast ham in 1/2” dice —- cup oysters with their liquid, about 19 —- ½ cup onions, chopped —- ¼ cup milk —- 2 Tbsp white wine —- 2 tsp potato starch —- ½ cup peas, frozen —- 4 small stars cut from a 70-calorie slice of whole-grain bread = 0.55 oz bread
Drain oysters and reserve their liquid. Combine onion and oyster liquid [1/4-1/3 cup] in a small pan. Simmer, covered, until onions are transluscent. Stir milk, wine, and potato starch into the liquid until it is smooth. Add oysters, ham, and stir to combine. Heat over low until sauce has thickened. Taste for seasoning. Add peas, stir, and turn into a two-cup casserole. Bake uncovered at 400 F. for 15 minutes while you lightly toast the stars. Before serving, nestle the stars into the bubbling sauce. A meal fit for a president.
Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion
| 1 two-oz egg | 1.5 two-oz eggs |
| corned beef | leek |
| sauerkraut, canned or bagged or fresh | Caerphilly or Cheddar cheese |
| catsup | |
| strawberries | apple or pear |
| Whatever you need for your smoothie | Whatever you need for your hot beverage |
| Whatever you need for your hot beverage | Whatever you need for your smoothie |
| chicken + wonton wrappers | 4 oz mackerel |
| turmeric + ginger-garlic paste + ginger | leek |
| carrots + cabbage + scallion | tomatoes |
| onion + soy sauce | oregano |
| chili sauce + catsup | coriander |
| garlic | grainy mustard |
| Sparkling water | Sparkling water |
