calorie restriction

Foods you thought you shouldn’t eat.

~ me ~ Leave a comment

A lot of diets make you loose weight by making you give up entire food groups. No bread. No dairy. No eggs. No carbs. No fun.  Not so with the Fast Diet! All that’s required on a Fast Day is high protein, low fat, and lots of vegetables/fruit. And then there are the Slow Days, when you may eat as you please. And today on a Fast Day, you can eat eggs, toast, and the food truck favorite: tacos! Poached Eggs on Toast        303 calories           6.9 g. fat            10.9 g. protein            25.8  g. carbs Poached Egg on Toast1 slice whole-grain 70-calorie bread                                                                                                                       1 poached 2-oz egg                                                                                     2 oz melon                                                                                              hot beverage of choice: blackish coffee, tea, lemon in water               5-6 oz fruit smoothie If using an egg poacher, lightly spray the egg cup with cooking oil or non-stick spray. Heat a pan of water to a simmer. toast the bread. Poach the egg 3-4 minutes, according to your taste. Slice the melon.  Slide the egg on to the toast, season to taste.  I didn’t used to like poached eggs, but on a Fast Day, they taste good. Fish Tacos with Slaw         270 calories     2.1 g. fat     22.9 g. protein     36.4 g. carbs seafood tacos w: slaw & salsa

2 six-inch corn tortillas with 130 cal/two tortillas                                                                                          3 oz cooked fish — grilled or baked fish is fine        pinch or 2 each of chili powder & ground cumin           ½ cup tomatoes, cubed                                                 ½ cup  cabbage, chopped                                             1 oz red onion, chopped                                              ½ Tbsp  lime juice                                                          1 Tbsp plain, nonfat yogurt

Shred the fish and toss in a bowl with the chili and cumin.  Put the tortillas on a hot, ungreased griddle until soft, warm, and beginning to brown. Keep warm wrapped in a tea towel.  Chop the vegetables and mix in a bowl with the lime juice. On each tortilla, smear some yogurt. Then put the fish on the taco. Add a splash of hot sauce if you like. Top with the vegetable slaw. There will probably be enough slaw left over to serve on the side.  This is good ‘fast food’ and it is good for you!

Hearty yet slimming…

~ 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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle. 

How nice it is to eat a satisfying, filling meal and still know that you will weigh less tomorrow! Fasting doesn’t mean that you have to eat meager portions of boring food. Fasting does mean that your food choices will be high in protein and low in carbs and fat. The lower calories-per-day give your body a chance to recover from your usual fast-paced life — this is good, like catching your breath after a long run. Fasting two days each week really works!

Our meals are a classic ham omelette and chili con carne with a twist — this one is made with venison.

Ham ScrOmelette:  145 calories… 7.6 g fat… 0.7 g fiber… 12 g protein… 5 g carb… 45 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB  GF Here’s another classic of the breakfast table.

++ 1½ eggs per person  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ++++ ½ oz ground or chopped 3%-fat ham ++++ 1.5 oz melon or 1.5 oz apple ++++ herbs to taste ++++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Chop the ham, slice the fruit, prep your beverage. Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. When the bottom begins to set, distribute the ham over half of the eggs. {OR warm the ham briefly in the hot pan, pour in the whisked eggs and scramble together until cooked.] Fold the omelette and cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Pour your beverages, and you are off to a good start to your day.

Venison Chili:   297 calories… 5 g. fat… 35.8 g. protein…. 55 g. carbs….      PB GF  This recipe is wonderfully simple and good to eat. My mother made this with ground beef.  I have swapped in venison which is much lower in fat and calories.   HINT: this recipe makes enough for 2 meals, so invite a friend or divide it in two and freeze the rest for a quick Fast meal later.

venison chili w: melon

++ ½# ground venison: if you are not a hunter, you can find it in some stores ++++ 1 cup onion, chopped  ++++ 1 clove garlic, chopped  ++++ 15 oz canned tomatoes, whole or chopped, drain the liquid but save it  ++++ 1 cup canned red kidney beans , drained and rinsed   HINT: freeze leftover beans  ++++  3 Tbsp green pepper, chopped ++++  ¾ tsp salt ++++ 2-4 tsp chili powder ++++ ½-1 tsp cumin, ground  ++++ 1 Tbsp grated Cheddar  ++++ 2 oz melon ++

Pour some of the reserved tomato liquid in a heavy pan. Add the onion, garlic, and green pepper. Cook until the onions and pepper are wilted, adding more liquid as needed. Remove the vegetables, add more liquid, and cook the venison until it is browned. Add the tomatoes, beans, cooked vegetables, and seasonings to taste. When it is hot and flavorful, put half of it in a container in the freezer for another meal. Serve with sliced melon and top with the cheese.

Tastes of the Country

~ me ~ Leave a comment

Simple, good tasting food is always a pleasure. In New England, ‘country’ goes from the coastline to  upcountry farms. Sample these recipes for a delicious Monday.

Buttermilk Baked Eggs:     283 cal        6.2 g fat          11.7 g protein          18.8 g carb            This recipe is from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. All I added were the sides. Great book full of good recipes for Slow Days.

 1 slice 70-cal whole-grain bread                                                                                                               one 2-oz egg                                                                                                                                                     2 Tbsp buttermilk                                                                                                                                           1 oz [¼ c.] mixed berries                                                                                                                         coffee, tea, lemon juice & hot water,                                                                                                    fruit smoothie or natural apple cider

buttermilk baked eggs:mixed berries

Cut out a hole from the middle of the bread using a 2” cookie cutter or juice glass. HINT: put the ‘hole’ in a sandwich bag in the freezer. Save for Dutch Breakfast later on. Toast the bread lightly. HINT: this step could be done the night before. Or cut and toast the bread weeks in advance and freeze. Lightly spray an oven-proof pan with cooking spray and put the toasted bread in in. Break the egg over the bread so that the yolk lands in the hole. Carefully spoon the buttermilk over the egg and bread. Season to taste. HINT: you could prep this far and refridgerate over night. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile put the fruit in a small dish, brew your beverage, pour your fruit smoothie and you have a terrific breakfast!

crab cakes w: asparagusCrab Cakes: 250 cal 4.7 g fat 24.0 g protein 14.2 g carbs

Rock and Jonah crabs abound on the coast of New England and they are grand as crab cakes. This recipe is from Todd English’s Olive’s Table cookbook. Note: this is the full recipe and makes many more cakes than you will eat at one meal. Prepare them all and cook as directed. HINT: This will provide a few future meals.

½ pound crab meat                                                                                                                                      2 T [1 oz] plain fat-free yogurt                                                                                                                                   1 tsp Dijon mustard                                                                                                                                       2 Tbsp. chopped green or white onion                                                                                                  1 T. parsley, minced                                                                                                                                  one 2-oz egg                                                                                                                                                         1 tsp salt & ¼ tsp pepper                                                                                                                               1 slice fresh 70-cal bread, crumbled                                                                                                          4 T. flour                                                                                                                                                           2 tsp oil                                                                                                                                                             5 oz asparagus                                                                                                                                                         1 tsp low-fat mayonnaise + few drops of lemon juice + pinch each of tumeric and garlic powder [this is your aioli dressing]

Gently combine 1st 8 ingredients in a bowl. Dust a large plate with the flour. Using a 1/3 c. measure as a mold, form the crab cakes and turn them out onto the flour. There should be 5 cakes. Dust the top of the cakes with some of the flour. Heat a non-stick skillet and add 2 tsp olive oil. Handling them carefully, cook the crab cakes until they are beginning to brown on the top and bottom. Cook the asparagus. Put aioli on crab cakes and asparagus.

One Fast Day serving = 1.5 crab cakes. Cool the others, wrap in cling wrap and freeze. To reheat, use the toaster oven, since the cakes will be previously cooked.

12 Tips for a Fasting Lifestyle

~ me ~ 1 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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle. 

Most people wonder how they will get through the day on only 600 calories.  Friends of ours’ used to scoff at our “Starvation Days” and sometimes others will taunt us about what they can eat while we are depriving ourselves. But we are smug in the knowledge that the day after we will be a pound lighter and looking good. Since this is my 12th blog post, I offer 12 tips:

1. Watch the video of Dr Mosley’s program  Eat-Fast-Live which we saw originally on PBS.       This is what inspired us to start this Lifestyle and it might help you too.

2. Plan ahead. We write on the calendar what Fast meals we want to eat in a week. Nothing ruins a diet like coming home and having no idea what to eat for dinner. That’s when the default foods come out [carry-out or pizza]. You can avoid that by planning.

3. Prep ahead. You see in many recipe the HINTS about preparing food ahead. This is a real time-saver in the morning. Want your spouse to help you to stay on the diet when you get home late? Write out the recipe, leave it on the counter, include info about where to find ingredients, and maybe the meal will be in progress when you come through the door.

4. Shop ahead. Now that you know what you want to eat, have the ingredients on hand. When Fast Day comes, you want to be ready.

5. Portion as you shop.  The recipe calls for 4 oz chicken breast, so when you get home, cut the chicken into the correct size. Wrap and label the part you need, save the trimmings for another use such as Chicken Curry [Feb. 11] or Chicken Noodle Soup [Jan 19]. The same goes for vegetables: slice and chop those 2 oz of bell pepper that you will need.  It takes moments to do this as you unload the groceries, so do it to save time later.

6. Listen to Diane Rehm interview Dr. Mosley.  http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows /2013-03-13/dr-michael-mosley-fast-diet  Diane asks the tough questions and ends the conversation by saying that everyone on her staff can’t wait to try the diet!

special coffee cup

7. Make the meal setting special. Instead of eating on the run or while standing over the sink, make a Fast meal an occasion. Use the good plates and flatware. Put the sparkling water in a nice glass with a twist of lemon. See the demitasse cup in the photo? It is the only one I have and it makes the breakfast table so pretty that it is saved for Fast days only.

8. Slo-o-o-ow down the meal. The other reason for the little cup at breakfast? By putting the coffee in a pitcher, I frequently have to stop to refill the cup. This bit of fussiness slows down the process. When you put food in your mouth, put down the fork. You don’t have to chew 30 times, but don’t simply cram the food in your mouth — savor it, taste it, and make it last.

9. Set goals by the clock.  After breakfast, vow not to put any calories in your mouth until noon. Then at noon, tell yourself that you can hold out for another 2 hours. Maybe setting a timer will help you: while the timer is ticking, don’t eat. This does not mean that you will eat when the timer rings! No. Set a new goal.

10. Distract yourself. After breakfast, I pour a large [1.5 cups] glass of water which I sip on until 2 pm. Then I have earned a hot cup of tea — something bold-tasting or soothing as mood dictates. A touch of honey in the drink provides a real lift. Mid-to-late afternoon is difficult for me. Go for a walk [not to the kitchen or break-room!] or get involved in a long project to take your mind off eating.

11. Hide the temptation.  I stash the bowl of pistachios in the cupboard on Fast Days. Yes, I still know they are there, but out of sight, out of mind.

12. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. This has a double meaning. 1]  If you yearn for something on a Fast Day, tell yourself that you can have it tomorrow. It is not a promise that you have to keep. Tomorrow it might not be calling to you.  2] Tomorrow is the day that you will weigh less. Tomorrow is also weeks from now when you will be slimmer and thinking about new clothes. Tomorrow will come.

Rich flavors borrowed from other chefs.

~ me ~ Leave a comment

In the middle of a long, snowy winter, you look forward to a meal — that’s why people overeat in February. They think they are going to hibernate. Then there is Valentine’s Day… And Mardi Gras — you know that translates as ‘Fat Tuesday’ don’t you? But it doesn’t mean boring food to battle the bulges. Tomorrow’s menu really tastes good! [sorry about the formatting — it would not change for me]

PowderMill Scramble       247 calories       9.3 g fat      17.6 g protein         34.3 g carbo          This recipe is straight out of Jerry Willis’ Powder Mill Pond Restaurant where it was a favorite. Alas, brunch is not served at Jerry’s Marzano’s Tratoria, but you can enjoy this at home. Can’t believe the flavor of this!

1 ½ 2-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Beat up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next Thursday.                                                                                                                             ½ oz smoked salmon                                                                                                                                         1 Tbsp chopped chives or scallion greens                                                                                              1 clementine OR 1 ½ oz apple                                                                                                                                                   5-6 oz fruit smoothie or pure apple cider                                                                                     black coffee, black tea, lemon in hot water

Whisk the eggs [salt and pepper may not be needed depending onpowdermill scramble the seasoning of your salmon]. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. Before the eggs set, add the salmon and scallions. Scramble to taste. Brew your beverage and take the previously-made smoothie from ‘fridge. Plate with fruit of choice.  HINT: This would be a wonderful dinner, as long as you didn’t eat eggs for breakfast.

Baltic Hot Dog Dinner:     302 calories    12.1 g fat      11 g protein      27.3 g carbs             Believe it or not, this is adapted from the book Two Fat Ladies Obsessions. The meal has wonderful Eastern European flavors and is so simple to prepare that I assembled it in 16 minutes since the ingredients are ‘off the shelf’ :             hot dog:kraut in pasta bowl                                                                                  2 low-fat hot dogs [I like Hebrew National reduced-fat @ 100 calories each]                         ½ cup canned sauerkraut, drain it but save ~1/2 c. liquid                                                                                                                        ¼ c pickled beets                                                                                                                                        ¼ c sliced onions                                                                                                                                         ½ tsp horseradish from a jar                                                                                                                     2 Tbsp white beans, drained and rinsed     

Put the hot dogs [frozen or thawed] and onions in a saucepan with a little water or some juice from the sauerkraut. Let cook until the dogs are cooked and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove the dogs and add remaining ingredients to the pan to heat. Add more liquid if needed. Cut the hot dogs into 5-6 pieces and put them back in the pan until all ingredients are heated through.

Simple, Delicious, Easy

~ me ~ 1 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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle. Welcome to Suzy&Ed who are now Following. Join us in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Update: This blog was first published in 2015, in the site’s early days. Suzy was a friend who wished to be slimmer. Through the Fast Diet and other methods, she lost 30 pounds and was very happy with that. I’m not saying it was all due to the Fast Diet, because she never told me all the details, but she did like the flexibility and inclusivity of the Fast Diet.

Back to 2015: Join Suzy&Ed in sampling this Monday’s menu and see how much weight you can shed by Tuesday — it is a real ego boost and such an incentive. Expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. Losing weight slowly but steadily is the best way to do it — it gives your body the chance to shrink your skin as the fat layer under it decreases. Losing weight too quickly leads to sagging skin, sometimes requiring surgery to remove.

What sort of meals do we want when we are on a weight loss diet? Meals that are simple to prepare, delicious, and easy to fit into your lifestyle. Here are some examples.

Breakfast Casserole: 192 calories… 6 g fat… 2 g fiber… 14 g protein… 13 g carbs… 69 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values shown are for the plated items only, not for the optional beverages. PB GF – if using GF bread This is my take on strata-type breakfasts – without the layers. It is hearty, flavorful and very satisfying. HINT: This recipe makes enough for two [2] breakfasts. If serving one person, enjoy the rest of the casserole as a lunch later in the week.

Sv 2Spray oven-safe dish or ramekins with non-stick spray.
two 2-oz egg + 1 egg white [1½ Tbsp] ++ ¼ c milk, skimmed ++ herbs/seasonings of your choice ++ ½ tsp mustardIn a bowl, whisk these together.
1¼ oz 70-cal. whole-grain rye bread ++ ¾ oz minced 3%-fat ham ++ 2 Tbsp Gouda cheeseCut bread in ¼” dice. Grate cheese. Stir these into eggs to combine well. Pour into baking dish.
HINT: you could prep this the night before so bread will asorb wet ingredients. Cover, pop in ‘fridge.
Bake at 350º for 18-20 minutes.
per person: 1/3 c. of mixed melon and strawberries OR 2 oz apple
Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]While it is baking, prep the fruit, and prepare your optional beverage.

Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes: 269 calories… 9.6 g fat… 3 g fiber… 33.5 g protein… 10.5 g carbs… 93.6 mg Calcium… PB GF One of the earliest meals we made when starting the Fast Diet, this recipe hails from the Fast Diet book in a slightly altered form. Still a favorite. Quick and delicious.

++ 4 oz salmon ++++ 10 cherry tomatoes [5 oz] ++++ 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated ++++ 3 oz green beans or 2 oz sugar snap peas ++++ seasonings to taste ++

Spritz a small oven-proof pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Put the salmon in the pan and sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. Arrange the tomatoes on/around the salmon. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Meanwhile steam the green vegetables and plate it all. So easy. So yummy.

Flavorful Thursday

~ me ~ 1 Comment

Dieting and calorie restriction do not mean subsisting on salads and bland food. These 2 recipes are full of flavor for a Winter’s day.

mushroom omelette, applesMushroom Omelette:  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. For this morning’s breakfast, chop or slice ½ oz mushrooms and saute with a little water in a skillet. Remove and set aside. Now whisk the 1.5 eggs with seasonings to taste. Pour into a heated skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cook, tipping the pan and lifting the cooked eggs until the bottom is set but the top is still moist. Top with the mushrooms and ½ tsp grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with 1.5 oz apple [or 2.25 oz melon or 1.2 oz grapes], plus your beverage and Fast Smoothie. You are off to a good start.      295 calories

Chicken Curry: Based on Craig Claiborne’s ‘Anything Curry’ from his Gourmet Diet book, this meal takes a bit of preparation. But maybe the snow has kept you inside and you have more time to cook. Start with the curry sauce: Chop 1 c. onions, 1 clove garlic, and ½ c. celery and 1 c. apple. Cook until wilted in 2 sprays of cooking oil and 2 Tbsp water. Strew 1-2 TbChicken Curry w: tomatoessp curry powder [more if you wish] and 3/4 tsp dry mustard over the vegetables and stir to combine. Add a bay leaf and 2½ c. chicken stock. Cook down until the mixture measures 2½ cups. If you are serving one person, you will use 10 fluid oz. of the sauce; double that if serving 2 people.  HINT: Freeze the remaining sauce, either in 10 oz portions or 1¼ c. portions. To continue. Steam 1 oz carrot slices and ½ c. cauliflower florets. Boil ¼ c. yellow lentils until cooked. [You will need ¼  c. cooked lentils for this dish, so use any leftover another day.] Add the cooked vegetables to the curry sauce along with 2 Tbsp green peas. Add ¾ oz cooked chicken and heat the sauce to warm all the parts. Serve with the lentils on the side and a garnish of ¼c. diced tomato or diced cucumber.       288 Calories

Let’s Keep it Simple

~ me ~ Leave a comment

People tell me, “This is easy for you — you are retired! When do I have time to prepare meals like this?” OK, this one’s for you this Thursday. In a previous breakfast, we put 1.5 eggs in a jar and made the smoothie and put ½ of it in the fridge too. Ahead of the game already!   Thursday menu:       290 calories for breakfast            282 calories for dinner.

Cheese Omelette: Remember how last week we divided 3 small eggs into two equal parts and put one part in a jar in the ‘fridge? Get that jar and whisk the eggs with seasoning to taste.  HINT: Fresh or dried herbs add no calories, but they add lots of flavor.  Pour eggs into the heated pan with a spritz of cooking spray and cook untCheese Omelette w: toastil the bottom is set but the top is still moist.  Sprinkle on ¼ oz grated cheese — we like Gruyère or Cheddar. Fold and plate. Meanwhile toast ½ piece of the 70-calorie bread, pour the smoothie out of the jar where you stored it since last time, and sit down to enjoy this with your nearly [or totally black] tea or coffee.  If you don’t want the toast, serve with 2 oz apple slices.  If you don’t make the smoothie, then make this omelette with 2 entire eggs. It will come out to the same calorie count.

Beans and Franks: It doesn’t get more simple than this! Find hot dogs which are no more than 100 calories and are low in fat. Hebrew National reduced fat are perfect. Pan-fry 1 ½ franks in a dry pan over Beans & Frankslow heat. Remove hot dogs and add 1/3 cup baked beans from a can. Is this not fast and easy? Heat the beans in the pan where the franks cooked to get all their flavor. Meanwhile slice 1 c. zucchini or summer squash and heat in a little water until soft. In the photo you see bits of red pepper in there too. Add a dab of relish [10 more calories] and 5 celery or carrot sticks [not enough calories to mention] and there you are.  If that took longer than 15 minutes, I’d be amazed.

It can be done and YOU can do it.

Still With ME?

~ me ~ Leave a comment

If you read ‘About this Blog’ on my first posting, you might have followed the links to Dr. Mosley and his Fast Diet. If you have, then you will see why I’m so excited about this lifestyle change. This has been very successful for us and it should work for you, too. Monday would be a good day to start Fasting…. try it on Monday and see how you like it.

Monday menu:       286 calories for breakfast         293 calories for dinner. 

Flamenco EggsBaked Eggs Flamenco:  Spray a small ramekin with non-stick spray. Put 1 Tbsp. chopped tomato or 1 Tbsp tomato puree into the cup along with 1.5 tsp parsley, 1.5 Tbsp onion, and 1.5 Tbsp bell pepper.  Stir in salt and a large pinch cayenne pepper. Microwave for 2 mins. Add one egg and bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, depending on how well you like your egg cooked. Toast either 1/2 slice of whole-grain 70 calorie bread [ex: Nature’s Own at Shaw’s or Demster’s Thins at Sobey’s] or bread that has 70 cals for 2 slices, which is shown. On the side are 2 oz  melon or 2 oz apple or 1 oz grapes.  I enjoy this with the smoothie described in the 1st blog and with almost-black coffee.  If you don’t want the smoothie, add the other half of the bread and double up on the fruit.      HINT: you could use that extra portion of fruit later in the day if the hungries hit.

Chicken Noodle Soup:  Usually we have a seafood meal on Mondays because we like fish and it is so good for you. But its been cold and this soup hits the spot.              HINT: This recipe makes enough for 2 servings. Invite a friend or freeze the rest for a meal in a hurry.   Heat 3 cups low-fat chicken stock and add 1.5Chicken Noodle Soup oz  [that’s 3″ at 1″ diameter] diced carrot. Cook until the carrot is almost soft. Add 2 oz chicken or turkey white meat, 1 oz broken spaghetti noodles, 1/4 cup canned white beans, 1.5 oz [1/3 c.] green beans and 1/2 oz [1.5″ x 3″] cubed Canadian bacon [back bacon for friends in Canada]. Simmer until the noodles are cooked, adding water if the soup looks too thick.  10.1 g Fat;  19.9 g Protein; 28.3 g Carbs

Start your Fast Diet on Monday and join me for a menu for Thursday, too.

Its about time, isn’t it?

~ me

January 10th…  you’ve made some resolutions and probably broken a few already. But isn’t it time you worked on that dreaded weight loss issue? Yeah, you’ve thought about it… you’ve tried it once or twice… and then you gave up. Time to start again, but this time I’ll help you use the Fast Diet  which isn’t so much of a diet as it is a lifestyle change. And it worked for me and my husband, so it ought to work for you, too.  I’ll make it easy by giving you menus to use, with photos and recipes, too. And handy tips. And encouragement to get through it.

Let’s start with how this works. On Monday and Thursday, you will eat a total of 600 calories. That’s called calorie restriction. You may think that will kill you, but it won’t. The rest of the week, you eat a normal menu.  The amazing thing about this way of life is that you are not depriving yourself of your favorite foods day after day. If on a FAST Day you have a hankering for something that’s not on the menu, you can always have it tomorrow! And the weight will come off. ‘Well, yeah,’ says you, ‘I will have starved to death by then — I’ll never stick to that!”    Hold on, take one day at a time! Start this Monday:

Shirred Egg: 147 calories… 8.5 g fat… 2 g fiber… 10 g protein 10 g carb 106 mg Calcium NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF – if using GF bread I learned to prepare this dish when working on my Girl Scout ‘Cooking’ badge. I still eat it because it tastes so good. Easy to serve to guests, as well.

++ One 2-oz egg ++++ 1 Tbsp half&half/whole milk ++++ salt & pepper to taste ++++ 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese ++++ half a slice of 70-calorie whole-grain bread, toasted ++++ 1 oz melon ++++ Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++ Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Heat the toaster oven to 325 F. Spritz a 1-cup ramekin with cooking oil or spray. Break the egg into the cup, and pour the half&half on top. Sprinkle with cheese, add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then let sit 2-3 mins. Plate with the toast and fruit. Serve with your choice of beverages.

Recipe for Breakfast Smoothie:     THIS IS ENOUGH FOR 2 SMOOTHIES                                         Put 6″ of banana [3.5 oz], 1/2 cup plain yogurt, and 2 oz. [1/2 cup] sliced strawberries or raspberries or blueberries in a blender with 7-8 ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Drink half today.  HINT: freeze the rest for Thursday.  Don’t want the smoothie? Then double up on the fruit and have  a full slice of bread.

HINT: How to survive until dinner? Drink water; drink your favorite tea; distract yourself.  If you are used to a snack at a particular time of day, go for a walk or get involved in a project that will keep you busy until the urge to nibble passes.  You could eat a little raw fruit, but that might make you hungrier! You have some calories available to eat some apple slices or grapes if you need to.

Fish baked with Cheese

White Fish Baked with cheese: 145 calories… 6 g fat… 0 g fiber 33 g protein… 0.2 g carb… 129 mg Calcium … PB GF Another winner from the Fast Diet book. There are those who say that one never serves fish with cheese….and this recipe proves them to be wrong.

++ 6 oz firm white fish fillets such as haddock or cod ++++ ½ oz cheddar cheese, grated ++++  Your choice of vegetables to add up to 125 calories: ½ cup pickled beets [74 cal]—- 3 oz green beans [26 cal] —- ½ cup peas [62 calories] —- ½ cup carrot coins [12 cal] —- 3 oz broccoli florets [30 cal] —- 2 oz parsnip, sliced as coins [42 cal] —- 1 cups salad greens + ½ tsp lemon juice + 1 tsp olive oil [48 cal] —- 3 oz tomatoes [15 cal]—-

Heat oven to 400 F. Put fish in an oven-proof dish which has been lightly smeared with olive oil. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables of your choice. How easy it is to be healthy!

I sure hope you’ll try this.  Otherwise,  what will you eat on Monday?