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.

Dear Husband and I have a thing about cookbooks — such variety! such cuisines! We don’t own thousands of them, but through our life together we have amassed several shelves-worth. We especially like the ones with a narrative along with the recipes. During the Pandemic, we read aloud from cookbooks to each other, since dining out was not an option. I am drawn to old books, so I am always on the look-out for older volumes of cookery. Today we will look at the American Woman’s Cookbook, edited by Ruth Berolzheimer, published in 1939. Pictured is my Mother-in-Law’s copy. She and her husband were married in 1938, so I guess that this book was purchased early in their married life. My Good Mother-in Law was not taught much about cooking by her mother, so this book must have come in very handy. As you can see by the photo, the book was much used, now held together with duct tape. The editor is listed as the director of the Culinary Arts Institute, a Chicago concern that seems to have had more interest in publishing cookbooks than holding cooking lessons. The book was a best-seller, with one million copies sold in the first four years. The first part of the book deals with “useful facts about food”, menu planning, a glossary of cooking terms, and table setting. Ms Berolzheimer gives advice on nutrition, too. In a section titled “Meat and Other Protein Food”, she states that “A child under four or five years old is well off without any meat at all. If he has an egg every day in addition to his three-fourths of a quart of milk allowance, he will get adequate protein food.” In the margin my Mother-in-Law [wife of a newly-certified pediatrician] wrote, “Not True.” At last, on page 104, we start finding recipes.

On page 121, there is a recipe for Jelly Pancakes — a favorite treat, prepared by Dear Husband’s father. This meal is found in many European cuisines, such as the Austrian Palatschinken. On page 197, there is a list of “Fish that are good baked whole”, and bluefish is one of them. The family used to fish for them, so they were eaten often — but never stuffed with bread crumbs and served with a catsup sauce!

Palatschinken: 268 calories… 9.4 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 12.4 g protein… 33 g carbs… 113 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB This is an Austrian crepe, prepared similarly to a French crepe. Here it appears at breakfast, rolled with jam. The recipe is from lilvienna.com.

++ 1 palatschinken** +++ 2 tsp jam, such as strawberry or apricot +++ 2 turkey breakfast sausages totaling 45 calories +++ 1 oz peaches or strawberries +++ Optional:  blackish coffee [43 calories] or blackish tea ++

Warm the crepe and spread with jam. Roll, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and plate with cooked sausages and fruit.

** 10 Palatschinken crepes	8” nonstick skillet
2 cups 1% milk—-2 two-oz eggs	Beat in medium bowl with wooden spoon until combined.
1 c white whole wheat flour—-Pinch salt	Whisk these together in separate bowl.
	Pour wets into dry mix, beat until combined.
½ tsp butter	Heat in skillet over medium-high until melted, swirling pan to coat bottom. Wipe pan with paper towel.  Save the towel.
¼ cup batter for each crepe	Add ¼ cup batter, swirl pan to distribute. Once golden, ~1-2 mins, flip + brown other side.
Butter as needed	Repeat with remaining batter, wiping pan with buttered towelevery 3 pancakes.

Bluefish for Supper: 266 calories… 10.5 g fat … 3.5 g fiber… 24.7 g protein… 12 g carbs… 43 mg Calcium…  PB GF Bluefish is a sportfish of the East Coast of North America. Dear Husband used to fish for them in New York’s Great South Bay with his father and uncles in his youth. When we are lucky, we can find them at a local market in Springtime. This is a delicious combination of flavors.

++ 4 oz bluefish fillet ++++ 1½ Tbsp reduced-fat mayonnaise ++++ 1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard ++++ 3 oz green beans ++++ 1 oz brown rice ++

Whisk together the mayonnaise and mustard. Put the fish on an oven-proof dish that has been lightly oiled. Spread the mayo-mustard sauce on the fish and bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes. Bluefish is dense-fleshed and takes longer than most fishes to cook. Plate with the green beans for a delicious meal which is based on one served by Legal Sea Foods in Boston.