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.

Poor Camille! Her’s was a life of family strife, thwarted love, artistic yearning, artistic muse, and involuntary incarceration — a real-life ‘soap opera.’ She was born in 1864, to a well-off family in Fère-en-Tardenois, northern France. Recognizing her talent as an artist, her father moved the family to Paris in 1881, so that Camille could study. [Her mother was against it.] She learned at the studio of a friend of Auguste Rodin. Impressed with her talent, Rodin took her on as an assistant in his busy studio in 1884. He was smitten with her looks as well. He was 44, she was 21. Camille posed for some of his statues and was assigned to sculpt the hands of several pieces — including those of the Burghers of Calais. As Camille learned new skills from her teacher, she was also in love with him. They inspired each other’s work. Claudel exhibited her sculptures at exhibitions, but they were often thought too sensual for general viewing. Two of her most famous pieces are Sakuntala, 1886, and The Waltz, 1889. Their love affair came to a halt in 1893, when Rodin made it clear to the 29-year-old that he would not leave his original partner, 49-year-old Rose Beuret. Camille was shocked, incredulous, and desolate. From that time, Claudel actively tried to distance herself from Rodin. Within a few years, she created the amazing Age of Maturity. To see it is to enter into the emotional state of the three characters: the older woman, her arm around the man, confidently leads him away; the man goes willingly, although a bit numbly, having just released the hand of the younger woman; the younger woman, on her knees, implores him to stay with her. Whew. Over the next 20 years, Claudel would be awarded commissions, but then they would be canceled. She blamed Rodin for scuttling her career, but behind the scenes he was her champion and secretly funded her life. She became reclusive, living alone in her studio, until her brother Paul had her committed to an asylum in 1913. Was she certifiably mad? Was she put away so her siblings could have her inheritance? Did her mother’s distaste for her career have something to do with it? We will never know. On October 19, 1943, the life of the talented and tormented Camille Claudel ended. Her work is on display at the Musee Rodin, where Rodin insisted that it be on view, and at the Musee Camille Claudel outside Paris.

Our foods today could be only from France, to honor the doomed life of the woman Rodin called “Madmoiselle C.”

Cepe Bake:  139 calories 6.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 10 g protein 6 g carbs 61 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.   PB GF Am I bragging when I say that Bolete mushrooms [aka porcini] come up wild in our front yard? Sort of… but it is the truth – thanks to a stand of oaks which partner with the mushrooms. After researching which flavors go best with Cepes, here is an amazing breakfast.

1 two-oz egg 1 oz cepes/porcini [fresh or dried and rehydrated in hot water] 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese 1 oz tomatoes 0.13 oz prosciutto 1½ oz peach or pear   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]

Slice the mushrooms into small pieces [your call]. Cube the tomatoes. Coarsley chop the prosciutto. Spray a non-stick or small cast-iron pan with non-stick spray and cook the three above items until they are softened and have lost their liquid. Put the cooked ingredients into a lightly-oiled oven-safe dish and distribute over the bottom. Whisk the eggs with the cheese, and pour into the prepared dish. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until set. Plate with the fruit for a real mid-Summer delight.

Poulet Pierre: 286 calories 6 oz fat 3 oz fiber 31 g protein 24 g carbs 141 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF bread crumbs   A few decades ago, Dear Husband stuffed cheese in a chicken breast, breaded it, and dubbed it ‘Poulet Pierre.’ It was a family favorite. Here it is upgraded for Fasting. Still a favorite.

Two servings
1 chicken breast: that’s half of a whole breast, skin and bones removed.	Began with one chicken breast and remove tenderloin. Divide meat in half by cutting parallel to the cutting board to produce two cutlets.
Two 3½ oz chicken breast cutlets	You now have 2 cutlets, each around 3½ oz. If you wish, you can pound them to create an even thickness or to enlarge the diameter.
2-3 Tbsp white whole wheat flour	Put some flour on a plate on the counter.
One 2-oz egg	Whisk an egg and put it in a wide, shallow bowl on the counter.
one 70-calorie slice whole-grain bread	Whirl bread in a food processor along with some thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper. Put crumbs on a plate on counter.
0.4 oz Gruyere	Grate cheese and put it on the cut side of the chicken fillet. Then fold the fillet over the cheese.
	Holding the folded chicken in one hand, put it in the flour, turning it over to get the flour to stick to all surfaces. You will not use all the flour.
	Then dip floured meat into the egg, turning it so that the egg coats both sides. You will not use all the egg. [feed it to the cat]
	Then dip the egged meat into the crumbs, turning it so that crumbs coats both sides. You will not use all the crumbs.
	Put prepared meat onto a glass pie plate, spritzed with cooking oil. Bake 10 mins at 350F. Spritz the top of the Poulet Pierre with cooking oil, return to oven, cook 10 mins.
2 oz beets per serving   ¼ c barley pilaf** per serving	Heat the beets and prepare the pilaf. Plate it all and enjoy the flavors.

**Barley Pilaf: Makes 1.5 cups  1 serving = ½ c = 160 calories 1.5 g fat 3.6 g fiber 7g protein 31.6 g carbs 10.6 mg Calcium  PB NOT GF  This recipe is from Rush Hour Cookbook. It is a super alternative to plain rice or purchased pilaf.

Yield: 1.5 cups	Heavy, medium-sized skillet
1 cup quick-cooking barley	In skillet, cook barley over med-high ~5 minsuntil toasted and golden.
1 clove garlic, finely chopped	Add the grlic and stir 1 minute.
1½ c. chicken stock	Add stock and bring to a boil.
½ c whole-wheat orzo 1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried	Add to pot, stir, turn heat to low, cover and simmer 10 mins.
	Take off heat, let sit 5 minutes.
2 Tbsp chopped chives or scallions salt + pepper to taste	Add these, stir, plate

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

barley flour + white whole wheat flour	1.5 two-oz eggs
2-oz egg + baking powder + deglet noor dates	fresh chives
baking soda + fat-free milk + fat-free plain yogurt	Parmesan cheese
honey + Turkish fig + grapes	kiwi fruit or pineapple or apple
	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

pork tenderloin + apples	120-calorie Italian chicken sausage
chicken stock + broccoli	garlic + Parmesan + chicken broth
Bechamel sauce, no cheese	dry cheese tortellini + whole milk
carrot + thyme + sage	Canned diced tomatoes + fresh spinach
Sparkling water	Sparkling water