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.

August 6 was always a day for celebration for members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, It marked the day in 1774, that Mother Ann Lee and her small band of followers landed in New York harbor. They lived there for a few years, then moved north to Watervliet, New York, where they established the first Shaker Community in the United States — or anywhere else. As the sect grew to enormous numbers by the early 1800s, the members were always sure to celebrate the Glorious Sixth, aka: Arrival Day or Landing Day. At all 20 communities, a special meeting was held, the congregation would sing, and a Mother Ann cake was served. Today, many of the original communities are gone, except for an historical plaque, but there are eight sites where the original villages are more or less intact and visitors are welcomed. There is only one Shaker Community that exists with live Shakers, found at Sabbathday Lake, Maine. The three members there continue their religious life. According to Wikipedia, the daily schedule of a Shaker in Sabbathday Lake Village is as follows: **The day begins at 7:30 am; the Great Bell on Dwelling House rings, calling everyone to breakfast. **At 8:00 am morning prayers start. Two Psalms are read, then passages are read from elsewhere in the Bible. Following this is communal prayer and silent prayer, concluded with the singing of a Shaker hymn. **Work for the Shakers begins at 8:30. **Work stops at 11:30 for midday prayers. **Lunch begins at 12:00. This is the main meal for the Shakers. **Work continues at 1:00 pm. **At 6:00 it is supper time, the last meal of the day.

Shakers, like many agrarian people of their time, ate what they grew and grew what they ate. During the early 1800s, when the Shakers were flourishing, people were beginning to leave the land in droves to find jobs in the new factories of the cities. The Shaker way of food production and consumption was becoming a thing of the past. Our meals, taken from their repertoire, show how good simple foods can be.

Shaker Tomato Pudding: 246 calories… 14 g fat… 4 g fiber… 9.7 g protein… 23.5 g carbs… 70 mg Calcium…  PB  GF – if using GF bread Shakers grew everything that they ate. Here the tomatoes and herbs of summer are baked with an egg to bind them. The Best of Shaker Cooking, Amy Bess Miller + Persis Fuller has many recipes – from soups to desserts. This recipe is in the “Vegetable” section of the book, but I have adapted it for breakfast. The Shakers would have served it with herbal tea. Here is a happy way to begin a Summer day.

Sv 1	6” pie plate, sprayed with cooking spray
1 cup/5 oz tomatoes, diced	Cut tomatoes and put into a sieve over a bowl overnight to expell extra liquid.
2 Tbsp onion, grated or finely minced—2 tsp brown sugar— 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped—2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped	Stir tomatoes into these.
½ oz/ 1/3 cup 70-calorie whole-grain bread—2 tsp butter, melted	Cut bread in small cubes. Stir together to combine thoroughly. Fold into tomato mixture.
One 2-oz egg salt + pepper	Whisk these together until frothy, stir into tomato mixture. Scrape into the small pie plate.
	Bake at 350F 18-20 minutes, until set.

Asparagus Soup:  278 calories…  1.5 g fat… 5.5 g fiber… 22 g protein… 27 g carb… 277 mg Calcium…  PB  GF — if using GF crackers  This fabulous soup is from Salute to Healthy Cooking and we have been loving it for years.  Despite its rich taste, it is very low in calories and fat. I ramped up the protein to make it suitable for a main course.  HINT: the recipe makes enough for 6 one-cup servings. Freezes very well for easy meals later. I serve it here with Finn Crisp crackers covered with melted cheese. If you want to eliminate them, go ahead. With global food availability, this soup is delicious taste any time of year.

Yield: 6 cups soup
1½ pounds asparagus	Snap off woody ends of asparagus and cut spears roughly in half.
5 cups chicken stock—½ cup onion, roughly chopped	Pour stock into a sauce pan. Add the onion and asparagus.
4 oz raw chicken breast cut into 4 pieces	Put chicken atop vegetables so it will steam/poach.
¼ cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained	Add beans. Bring liquid to a simmer and put on a lid.
	Take out cooked chicken, put it in a blender, but do not process yet.
Cooked asparagus/onions/beans	When cooked, scoop out to put in blender, but do not process.
1 cup potato in 1“ dice	Put potato in pot, cook until soft.
	Add stock and potatoes to blender. Process until smooth.
salt & pepper to taste	Return to pan and season to taste. Cool and divide into 6 portions: one for your meal today and five for the freezer.
Optional: 1 oz slice Swiss cheese —-Optional 2 Finn Crisp crackers	To serve, warm soup gently. Adjust seasonings. Cut cheese slice into 4×2” strips, put a portion on each cracker. Warm in oven until cheese melts.
Optional 1 Tbsp Boursin Light cheese	Plop a dollop of Boursin in center of soup in the bowl, and stir with a fork to melt cheese and marble the soup.