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.

Eight to 10 thousand years ago, people were eating cheese. At least, that’s what the archeologists tell us. The early cheesemakers were pastoralists, with flocks to milk. Perhaps some milk was stored in a bag made of a mammal’s stomach, and residual rennet turned the milk to cheese. Good a guess as any. During the Roman Empire, many cheeses were being made in Italy, and the legions exported a taste for the product to far-flung outposts. Medieval monks made cheese. Centuries later, as Europeans colonized the New World, cheese was introduced to new areas. For a long time, cheese-making was mostly an activity for household consumption, with perhaps some extra to sell. The first commercial cheese factory in the USA was operated in western New York State in 1851. Today, there are around 2000 different cheeses made in the world. One of the oldest types is Roquefort, mentioned by Pliny the Elder in 70 CE.  Pont l’Eveque was cited in a poem from 1200 CE. Whether you like a fresh cheese [cottage/pot cheese], or a soft cheese [Brie/Camembert], or a hard cheese [Emmental/Cheddar], there is a cheese for every taste. My favorite is Cabécou, a goat cheese from  Périgord in South-Western France.

Cheese in eggs, cheese in a salad…. There are so many ways to consume this healthy dairy food. Yes, it is high in fat, but the high protein and Calcium are a bonus. Plus, cheese is low in carbohydrates, so it can be enjoyed in moderation by most of us. Even on the Fast Diet.

Cheese ScrOmelette:  154 calories… 9.6 g fat…  1 g fiber… 12 g protein… 5 g Carb… 108 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF What a classic. Why not eat this often?

++ 1½ two-oz eggs  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. ++++ ¼ oz cheese, ex: Cheddar or Gruyere ++++ 1.5 oz apple or 2.5 oz strawberries ++++ 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] ++

Whisk the eggs with seasonings to taste. Grate the cheese. Put the eggs into a hot pan spritzed with cooking spray. Once the bottom of the eggs is set, sprinkle with cheese, fold and plate. Slice fruit, prepare optional beverages, and have a grand day.

Chef’s Salad: 296 calories… 15.5 g fat… 4.6 g fiber… 16.7 g protein … 5 g carbs… 255 mg Calcium…  PB GF – if using GF cracker  This salad has been part of our repetoire for many years, yet we never ate it on a Fast Day. Now we can, and so can you.

++ 1½ cups mesclun/mixed salad greens ++++ ½ c chopped cabbage ++++ 1½ oz 4%-fat ham, cubed ++++ 1½ oz cheese, cubed – Jarlsberg or Mozzarella ++++ 1 oz cherry tomatoes ++++ 1 tsp olive oil ++++ 1 tsp wine vinegar ++++ ¼ tsp Dijon mustard ++++ 1 piece whole-grain Wasa bread ++

Whisk oil, vinegar, and mustard in a single-serving salad bowl. Toss greens and cabbage in dressing. Strew ham, cheese, and tomatoes over top, and enjoy your salad with a crisp cracker.