dieting

The Sheik

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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.

On November 13, 1921, the silent film “The Sheik” debuted, and Hollywood was never the same. The script was based on a popular novel, the star was Rudolph Valentino — and that was a recipe for success! Edith Maude Hull’s book was published in 1919, and its mix of romance and adventure proved to be the escapism that people wanted. In the plot, Lady Diana Mayo is an entitled seeker of new experiences. While on a tour of the Arabian desert, she disguises herself as an Arab dancer to get into a private function hosted by Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. [Sheik Ahmed, BTW, was not an Arab, but an adopted child of European heritage. That got around anti-miscegenation rules and biases.] He is intrigued by her, and kidnaps her to get to know her better. She resists his advances, but when he is injured after rescuing her from a greater danger, Lady Diana realizes that she is in love with the Sheik. Stockholm Syndrome? With exotic scenery [the film was shot in California], sexy leading actors, a plot filled with the threat of impending danger and a whiff of illicit love, the movie was a big hit. Valentino was not considered to be leading man material for being “too effeminate”, but the women who flocked to the theaters thought otherwise. The film was an instant success and Valentino became the first Hollywood sex symbol. A sequel film followed five years later, and was wrapped just before Valentino’s untimely death. In the 1920’s, a man who was prowling for a hook-up was called a ‘sheik’ and a woman to whom he was attracted was called a ‘sheba’. Make some popcorn [on a Slow Day], and watch the Sheik online to see what all the fuss was about.

Eggs with an Arab spice for breakfast, and a classic food of the Levant for dinner.

Za’atar Scramble: 177 calories… 10 g fat… 1 g fiber… 10.4 g protein… 4.3 g carbs… 49.4 mg Calcium…  PB GF Za’atar is a splendid spice combination of the Levant, and it goes nicely with eggs at breakfast.

++ 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. ++++ 1 tsp za’atar ++++ 3 black olives, minced ++++ 3 oz melon, your choice+++  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 eggs with spice and minced olives. Scramble in a non-stick pan spritzed with cooking spray. Plate with the melon, and enjoy the warm feelings.

Felafel Pockets: 273 calories… 5.5 g fat… 8 g fiber… 14 g protein… 48 g carbs… 90 mg Calcium…  PB  This preparation uses two pita pockets from one pita bread. Each serving is 1½ pockets. [HINT: Save the other part for tomorrow’s lunch] 

++ 1 whole wheat pita bread, about 140 calories ++++ 6 falefel patties total, 3 per pita pocket ++++ ½ cup vegetable salsa ++

Prepare the salsa and let stand while you warm the felafel. Cut the pita bread into 2 equal pockets. If frozen, warm the felafel. Put some of the salsa into each pocket, then add 3 felafel patties. Spoon the remaining salsa on top. Cut one of the filled pockets in half and eat that tomorrow.

**Vegetable salsa: ½ cup diced fresh tomatoes …. ½ cup diced red or yellow bell peppers… 2 Tbsp red onion, chopped… 1 Tbsp lemon juice… Put everything in a bowl and toss to mix.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large + nutmegbacon + applesauce
half of 50-calorie whole-wheat English muffinyellow turnip
bechamel sauce w/ cheese + grapessweet potato
frozen spinach + thin slice 3%-fat ham red-skinned potato
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salmon fillet + chickpeas + cherry tomatoes1.5 pounds live blue mussels
black olives + lettuce + olive oildry white wine
white wine vinegar + herbs de Provenceheavy cream
chickpea flour + za’atarsweet potato
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Passing: Grey Owl

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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.

“Passing” means living your life as someone you are not, and getting away with it.. The term can be used for people living as a member of another race or of a different sex. Archibald Stansfeld Belaney was born on September 18, 1888, in Hastings, England. His parents left him with his grandmother and aunts at a young age, when they moved to America. Little Archie was raised as a proper English child. Perhaps it was the stories he read about ‘American Indians’ that caused him to move to Canada when he was 17 years old. While working for a fur trapper, Archie married a woman of the Ojibwa tribe and learned their language. World War I saw him enlisting in the Canadian army. Belaney told people that he was the offspring of a Scottish father and an Apache mother. And they believed him. He served as a sniper but wounds sent him to convalesce back in Hastings. Belaney married a local girl, but left her in England when he returned to Canada after the war. There Archie was befriended by an Ojibwa, who taught him woodland survival. This is when Archibald began to style himself as “Grey Owl”. He married once again — never having divorced his previous wives — this time to an Iroquois teenager called Anahareo. One winter while trapping together, Grey Owl killed a female beaver. He was about to return to camp with the skin when Anahareo heard the beaver’s babies crying in their lodge. She scolded her husband for the cruelty of killing the mother and leaving her kittens to starve. Grey Owl adopted the little beavers and he became an ardent environmentalist henceforth. He embarked on a career of writing and public speaking that took him all over North America and to England in the 1930s. People were captivated by the supposed Native American, dressed in buckskin and carrying a pet beaver. He lectured twice in his native Hastings, and no one recognized him. His book The Men of the Last Frontier, 1932, was a plea for the conservation of the natural world, and a best-seller. As the first celebrity conservationist, Grey Owl was very influential. He was employed by the Canadian Forestry Service and Parks Canada, working to reintroduce beaver colonies in national parks. After Belaney’s death at age 49, his first wife outed him and the brouhaha began. Native Americans were angry, his books were taken from circulation, and newly-engaged environmentalists were confused by his dishonesty. He might have been a fake, but he left a genuine message of a better way to interact with the wild lands of Canada and the world.

Our day begins with a breakfast from Old England, land of “Grey Owl’s” birth, and ends with a meal of ingredients typical to the First Nations people whom Belaney so admired. Eating good food has nothing to do with cultural appropriation.

Ham & Mushroom Bake: 177 calories… 8.7 g fat… 4.6 g fiber… 14 g protein… 12.4 g carbs… 87 mg Calcium… NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB  GF A hearty, flavor-packed breakfast begins with ham and mushrooms. Although these are flavors of autumn, they can be enjoyed any time, especially on a Fast Day. 

++ One 2-oz egg ++++ 1 oz mushrooms, chopped… 1 oz roast ham or 3% fat deli ham, chopped ++++ 2 Tbsp Gruyere cheese, grated ++++ ½ tsp ground sage ++++ ¼ tsp savory ++++ ½ cup raspberries ++++ Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++ Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Set toaster oven at 350 degrees F. Spritz some cooking spray into a ramekin. Grate the cheese. Chop the ham and mushrooms, and put them into the ramekin. Whisk together the cheese, egg, and seasonings, and pour that in too. Bake 12-15 minutes, depending on how well set you like your eggs. It will puff up and start to brown a bit. Heat your beverage, shake the smoothie, and portion the fruit. Off to a good start.

Squash-Cupped Bison Chili: 215 calories… 3.5 g fat… 7 g fiber… 14.5 g protein… 34 g carbs… 120 mg Calcium…  PB  GF What an easy, delicious, and satisfying meal. HINT: One squash is enough for 2 servings, so invite a fellow-Faster for dinner. Save the remaining chili for another meal later.

Bison Chili: per cup- 136 calories…3 g fat.. 5 g fiber.. 13 g protein.. 14.5 g carbs.. 57 mg Calcium.. ++ 4 oz ground bison ++++ 15 oz canned tomatoes – in chunks or diced drained in a sieve [save the juice] ++++ 1 clove garlic, chopped ++++ 1 cup red onion, chopped ++++ ½ cup green pepper, chopped ++++ ¾ cup canned red or black beans, drained and rinsed ++++ 2-4 tsp chili powder ++++ ¾ tsp salt ++++ ½ – 1 tsp ground cumin ++  Cook the venison, onion, garlic, and green pepper in some of the tomato juices until vegetables are tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook gently until the chili is hot throughout. Taste to see if it needs more seasoning. makes 4 one-cup servings

For tonight’s meal: ++ 5 oz delicata squash, seeds removed ++++ 1 cup Bison Chili or use Chili Non Carne for a vegetarian version ++++ 2 oz melon, as a garnish ++++

Weigh the delicata squash whole and uncut to get a sense of how much will be 5 oz. You will be cutting off the ends of the squash and removing the seeds, to produce a hollow tube of squash: about two inches of squash that will stand up on the plate. Put the squash in the microwave oven and cook it until it can be easily pierced with a skewer. Assemble by standing the squash cup in the middle of the plate and pouring the chili in and around it. Then position the melon. Unusual! Teriffic!

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

1 two-oz egg = US large + blueberries1.5 two-oz eggs 
cooked quinoa + cooked kalebratwurst sausage + onions
cayenne + sage + garlic powderparsley + ketchup + curry powder
sage + 2%-fat cottage cheesestrawberries + prepared mustard
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

6 oz raw chicken meat + lime juicechicken breast + whole-grain noodles
Cafreal Masala marinadecarrot + green pepper + tomato
oil + onions + cooking sprayonion + mushrooms + chicken stock
black pepper + brown ricepaprika + sour cream or low-fat yogurt
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Pongol

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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.

See the pot of rice overflowing as the sun comes up? See the happy cow, decked out for the celebration? Must be Pongol.

It is time for Pongol! In January, the Tamil Hindus of southern India and Sri Lanka celebrate a multi-day festival in honor of the sun. This observance traces back to 200-300 CE, and has been pretty much unchanged since then. On the first day of the festival, old belongings are burned — out with the old! On the second day, rice dishes are prepared — sweet ones and savory ones. The word ‘pongol’ implies ‘overflowing’. Rice is cooked in a pot outside, on the East side of the house, facing the sun. The pot is supposed to come to a boil and overflow as the sun rises. Rice is taken to the temple as an offering, and eaten in the family. The third day is devoted to thanking the cattle for their work on the farm, as draft animals and as suppliers of milk. On the fourth day, girls offer prayers for the continued health of their brothers and for a good harvest; food is given to the poor. This is very much an agricultural occasion, recognizing that farming is hard work and that the harvest is a cause for celebration.

In 2025, Pongol begins on January 14, and runs to Friday, January 17. Eat rice and give a lot of thought to the people who grow and harvest all the food that you eat.

Pongol Breakfast Rice: 223 calories… 6 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 6.5 g protein… 37 g carbs… 119.5 mg Calcium  PB GF Celebrate Pongol with milk-boiled rice. It is unusual and yummy. The recipe is my own adaptation of several that were found online.

Pongol, unadorned.
Pongol with raisins.

3 Tbsp dry brown rice ++++ 6 Tbsp non-fat milk ++++ 2 Tbsp dry coconut flakes, sweetened ++++ Optional: 0.2 oz cashews [add 33 more calories] or 5 raisins ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Measure rice, milk, and coconut into a small saucepan, and add 3 Tbsp water. Cover and cook over very low heat, adding water if needed, until the rice is soft and expanded, and the liquids are absorbed. Scrape into a bowl and add optional topping.

Indian Vegetables with Turkey and Naan: 299 calories… 13 g fat… 6 g fiber… 17.6 g protein… 31 g carbs… 78 mg Calcium…  PB This delicious meal needs 2 things in advance: Rogan Josh Sauce and Naan breads, both of which you can purchase, although it is fun and easy to make your own naan.

++ 1 naan flatbread, 106 or fewer calories/piece ++++ 3 Tbsp Rogan Josh Sauce ++++ ½ cup zucchini, in ½” dice ++++ ½ cup cauliflower, in ½” pieces ++++ ½ cup tomato, in ½” dice ++++ 2 oz ground turkey [I used 15% fat but would have prefered less fat] ++++ ¼ tsp Indian curry powder ++ 

Cook the vegetables and turkey in a little water until softened and turkey is fully cooked. Drain, saving the cooking water for baking or soup stock. Add the sauce to the vegetables and meat, and heat gently. Warm the naan in the oven or on a hot, dry skillet. Plate to suit your preference. W.o.w.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs = US large2 two-oz eggs 
Gruyere or Cheddar cheesefat-free milk + white whole wheat flour
apple or strawberriessugar + blueberries [fresh or frozen]
33-calorie chicken breakfast sausage
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salad greensGrilled sirloin steak left-overs + thyme
Jarlsberg or Cheddar cheesemushrooms + red wine
olive oil + prepared mustardcreamed onions + peas
lemon juice + herbs to tastesheet of purchased puff pastry
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Ishi

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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.

Ishi in 1911.

On August 29, 1911, ‘Ishi’ walked out of the woods near Oroville, California. He was a member of the Yahi branch of the Yana Tribe , who had inhabited the area between the Sacramento River and Lassen Peak for centuries. Encroach-ment on tribal land by Spanish settlers in the early 1800s was followed by an invasion of Americans looking for gold from 1848 on. In 1840, the tribe’s population numbered around 1400. After massacres by gold-seekers in 1846, 1856, 1864-5, 1868, and 1871, the remaining Yahi went into hiding. Disease, accidents, and starvation killed the tribal members, until only Ishi was left. When he emerged from the forest, malnourished, in mourning, and disori-ented, he was taken under the wing of Alfred L. Kroeber who was director of the University of California Museum of Anthropology, then in San Francisco. Kroeber moved the man into the museum, as a ‘consultant’ on Yahi Tribal life and as a permanent exhibit. On weekends, White people would line up to watch Ishi knapp obsidian and make arrows. In his free time, he would hunt on the San Francisco peninsula and in Golden Gate Park. His true name was unknown, since he never spoke it: his people would never tell their name to a stranger, so he was called Ishi, meaning ‘adult man’ in his language. Ishi added to the Museum’s knowledge of the language and songs of the Yana, as well as giving practical demonstrations of Stone Age hunting techniques and tool-making. Was he happy living like that? Did he resent being put on display as ‘the last remaining wild Indian’? We will never know, since his command of English was limited. When he died of tuberculosis in 1916, he was cremated, according to his wishes. At first, his ashes were stored in a cemetery, but later Ishi’s remains were buried secretly in the woods where his tribe had lived.

Our foods honor the agricultural traditions of those tribes of Indigenous People who farmed. Corn, beans, and tomatoes were staple crops, as well as squash. Ishi’s people hunted large and small game, fished, and gathered native plants, such as acorns to eat.

Corn Scramble: 130 calories… 7.6 g fat… 1 g fiber… 10 g protein… 6 g carbs… 44 mg Calcium…  PB GF  Next time you enjoy corn on the cob for dinner, and cut off some of the kernels, and stir them into the eggs for breakfast. What a fine late summer meal!

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. ++++ 2 Tbsp/ ½ oz cooked corn kernels ++++ 1 Tbsp chives ++++ 1 oz peach  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]

Put the corn and snipped chives into a non-stick pan spritzed with cooking spray for long enough to heat them. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper then pour over the corn and scramble to your liking. Plate with the peach.

Tomato-Corn-Black Bean Dinner: 274 calories… 9 g fat… 16.5 g protein… 34.5 g carbs… 63.4 mg Calcium…  PB GF For a real late Summer treat, you can’t beat fresh corn and tomatoes! The recipe is from 100Daysofrealfood. and then I altered it a little. HINT: This makes 4 cups of salad. One generous serving = ¾ cup. As good as it is colorful.

1½ ears of corn Blanch corn 1 min in boiling water. Cool + cut kernels from cob. Put in a microwave-safe bowl. 
1 c canned black beansDrain + rinse beans, and add to the bowl. 
4 oz tomato: cherry tomatoes cut in half OR whole tomato cut in 1” dice +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ¼ cup red onion, dicedGently mix beans + corn with tomatoes + onion. Heat vegetables in microwave 45-60 seconds to warm slightly.
1 oz cooked beef, from steak or roast OR 1 oz roast pork Slice the meat very thinly and warm it briefly if it is cold.
¼ cup basil leaves, chopped +++++++++ 1 Tbsp olive oil +++++++ 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ++++++++++++ salt and pepperIn a small bowl combine the basil, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over the warmed vegetables and stir to combine. If you are not serving 5 people, cool and store leftovers in the refrigerator. Freezes well.
Plate ¾ cup corn salad per serving and arrange meat on top

Dwellings: Abenaki

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to weighttrimmers who is now Following.

The Abenaki, called the Dawnland People due to their lands in the far East of the continent, are the indigenous people of New England and parts of Canada. There were many sub-sets to the group, but they were related in their Algonquian language and culture. Although at odds with the powerful Iroquois, the Abenaki learned from them their agricultural practice of planting the “3 Sisters” as crops. Primarily a hunter-gatherer-fisher folk, each family within the tribe would travel a singular route throughout the year, reuniting at the sea coast or a river for fishing in the summer. These are the people whom the Pilgrims met when they disembarked in Massachusetts [an Algonquian word] in 1620. These are also the people who sided with the French in the ‘French and Indian War’ of the mid-1700s. Their dwellings were constructed of saplings, covered with woven mats and bark. Extended families lived in domed “wigwams,“ easy to build from found materials. The door of a wigwam always faced East, toward the rising sun. Smaller teepee-shaped wigwams were used on hunting trips, to sleep up to three. In the winter, an oval longhouse, large enough to house more people, was lined with blankets and furs for insulation. Their villages always had a longhouse for council meetings and tribal gatherings to arrive at decisions by consensus. To avoid depleting resources, villages were moved a few times a year — inland for the winter, near a water body for the summer.

It is interesting to me to learn how people lived and ate in other places and times. There have been indigenous people here in New Hampshire since the glaciers melted 10000 years ago. The Abenaki were here before the 1600s and they are still here today. Their cuisine was based on fish as the principle source of protein, along with game. Agriculture centered on the growing of squash, corn, and beans for drying. Today’s menus are based on those foods.

Summer Vegetable Bake: 129 calories 6 g fat 2.4 g fiber 8 g protein 11 g carbs 33 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg-bake and fruit only, not the optional hot beverage.  PB GF  Corn, beans, and tomatoes are native American foods and they find themselves to be right at home in this breakfast.

++1 two-oz egg +++ ¼ cup corn-black bean-tomato salad ++++ pinch of chili pepper ++++ 2 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] ++

Whisk the egg with the chili pepper. Heat the toaster oven to 350 F. Spritz an oven-proof dish with cooking oil or spray and put the corn salad into it. Pour the egg on top and bake for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the melon for a taste of Meso-America.

3 Sisters Stew: vegetarian version: 211 calories 3 g fat 9 g fiber 8 g protein 41.4 g carbs 71 mg Calcium  meat version: 280 calories 5 g fat 11 g fiber 20 g protein 41.4 g carbs 81 mg Calcium  PB GF  The author of this recipe, Alex Aguilera, based it on a classic Chilean dish, but First Nations people all over temperate North, Central, and South America would recognize the ingredients of this stew. Turkey was a common food of early Americans and can be added if you wish.  HINT: this recipe makes 4.5 cups of stew. One serving = 1 cup. Very filling.

¾#/12 oz butternut squash ……… 2 c corn kernelsPeel, seed squash and cut as 1” cubes. Put vegetables in pan with water to cover. Add a lid and simmer until squash is just tender, ~10 mins.
9 oz kidney beans, canned Drain and rinse beans, and add to the pot. Cook until beans are hot.
Put 1½ cups stew in a food processor or blender, along with some of the liquid. Puree, then return to pot to keep warm.
½ Tbsp canola oil …….. ½ c onion … ½ red bell pepper…….. ½ green bell pepperCoarsley chop onion and peppers. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and bell peppers, and cook over moderate heat, stirring sometimes, until softened, 8 minutes.
½ tsp cumin, seeds or ground ……. ½ tsp oregano….. ½ tsp crushed red pepper… salt & pepperAdd seasonings to vegetables in the skillet. Cook, stirring, ~4 minutes until fragrant. Stir into the stew and season with salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to your preference.Serve 1 cup per person, freezing the remainder.
Optional per serving: 1½ oz turkey dark meatIf turkey is raw, add it to the previous step.
If turkey is cooked, add it now and heat stew to warm the meat.

Anne de Bretagne

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Brittany/Bretagne has long been a land apart. In the Neolithic, people constructed menhirs and the remarkable field of Standing Stones at Carnac. Once, it was called Armorica — a name that shows up in the North-Central coast being called “Cotes d’Armor.” Despite the 56 BCE Roman invasion, the native people still clung to their local language. Next came Celtic people from England, displaced by the incoming Angles and Saxons from Germany. This solidified the affinity between the Bretons and their neighbors across the English Channel in Cornwall — some place-names and the languages are similar. The Frankish Empire rolled over the land, creating the early nation of France, but as the centuries turned, Bretons had their own government, language, coinage, and were exempted from the onerous Salt Tax because they harvested that precious commodity near Guerande. Perhaps this is why the Bretons prefer their butter to be salted. Brittany was a [mostly] independent Duchy from the 900s, governed by an hereditary nobility. Until 1514. The only heir to Duke Francois II was his daughter Anne de Bretagne. She had been engaged many times, but now the duchy was in the hands of a 14-year-old girl, making her a pawn in the game of thrones. The prior King of France had declared during negotiations with her father that the French king should have a say in whom Anne married. So King Charles VIII married her himself in 1491, when she was 15 and he was 20. They were happy together, but had no surviving children at the time of his death in 1498. Anne, age 22, returned to Brittany as Duchess, but of course she had to marry again. The next king of France was her cousin-in-law, Louis XII, which made Anne Queen of France for the second time. Their’s was also a happy union, producing two daughters. Anne was an accomplished administrator, patroness of the arts, and an avid reader. She scribed and read official documents to her unlettered husbands. Had she lived past the complication of her last childbirth in 1514, who knows what mark she would have made in history. Upon her death, her daughter Claude married the future king, Francois I, forever joining Brittany to the nation of France.

Every Breton will tell you that the ‘crepe’ began in Brittany — a fact hotly disputed in Normandy. In Brittany itself, there is discord about the name: in the North and West of the region, they are called ‘galettes,’ while everywhere else they are ‘crepes.’ I use galette to designate the savory ones made of buckwheat, whereas I call the sweet dessert ones ‘crepes.’ Both our breakfast and our dinner today involve galettes. Not at all difficult to prepare at home.

Egg-Mushroom Galette/Crepe: 153 calories 6 g fat 2 g fiber 9 g protein 17 g carbs [11.3 g Complex] 39 mg Calcium NB: The food values given above are for the egg crepe and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB  This is yummy and very filling. The eggs are creamy, the mushrooms are earthy, and the crepe is nutty. 

1 galette/savory crepe   one 2-oz egg  1 oz mushrooms, chopped  1 Tbsp chives, chopped 1 tsp thyme generous dash of granulated garlic 1 oz raspberry OR strawberry  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Warm the crepe. Spritz the non-stick saute pan with oil or spray and gently cook the mushrooms. Put the chives, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper in with the egg and beat it up. Scramble lightly with the mushrooms, keeping the eggs moist. Turn eggs out on the crepe and fold the galette over the egg. Plate the fruit. Sip your beverages and have a very fine day.

Leek & Bacon Galettes: 260 calories 5.5 g fat 4.6 g fiber 10 g protein 37 g carbs 114 mg Calcium   PB  Joanne Harris writes in her French Market cookbook about buying these at a market stall in France. Now you can make them at home.  NB: It is easier/quicker if you prepare the galettes/crepes in advance.

This is really yummy!

2 buckwheat galettes/crepes   ½ cup Leek & Bacon Filling ** 2 oz fresh tomato, diced and seasoned with basil or thyme + salt

**Leek & Bacon Filling:  Makes 1½ cups  Excellent in galettes and mixed with eggs. 2 oz American streaky bacon, uncured 3 cups leeks, cleaned and sliced cross-ways 1 clove garlic, chopped ¼ c Gruyere 2 tsp mayonnaise Saute the bacon until it is almost crisp. Remove from the pan, blot, and slice cross-ways. Saute the leek and garlic in the pan with the bacon fat until the leeks are limp. Take off heat and immediately stir in the cheese and mayonnaise. Ready to use

Gently warm the galettes and place them on a baking sheet. Warm the Leek&Bacon filling and divide it between the crepes, spreading it on one half of each. Fold the crepes in half, then in half again, placing them on the baking sheet so that the filled part is upper-most [this prevents unfolding in the oven]. Cut and season the tomato. Warm the galettes/crepes thoroughly in the oven. Delicious!

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
pear OR appleBasquaise Sauce
Yorkshire Pudding batterblueberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

5 oz cod filletchicken breast meat + zucchini + eggplant
fresh beetsbroccoli + bell peppers + carrots
carrotplain yogurt + brown rice
garbanzo beans tandoori sauce, purchased: 1/2 cup = 140 calories
Sparkling waterSparkling water

The Canaries

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Breaking habits support who is now Following.

The Canary Islands lie off the NW shoulder of Africa, 71 miles out to sea. They were first settled in pre-history by unknown people, perhaps fisherman blown off course. The Romans, venturing beyond the Pillars of Hercules, arrived in the 1st century CE and found ruins built by previous settlers. They also found lots of ‘dogs of great size.’ Pliny said that the islands were thus named “Island of Dogs,” or “Canariae Insulae.” Berbers from Morocco called on the islands in 999 CE, but departed. When the Spaniards came in the 1400s, they found a native population living a stone-age life. Eventually the eight islands became the last port of call for Spanish ships headed across the Atlantic or down the coast of Africa. Columbus stopped there on September 6 before sailing West to ‘the Indies.’ Spanish sailors took as pets the little yellow birds that lived on the islands, calling them “canaries.” Back in Europe, the Canary Birds were bred for color and singing ability, and they became the status pet of the rich and famous. In the 1800s, the birds were a fad pet for the masses. Around 1913, John Scott Haldane proposed that small mammals or birds could detect deadly Carbon Monoxide gasses in the air of coal mines. The small animals would sicken or die when the air quality was degraded by undetectable toxic gasses, hence the ‘canary in the coal mine’ as an early-warning system. Today the islands are an autonomous region of Spain. Although the indigenous Guanche language is extinct, Silbo Gomero, a whistled communication method of the Island La Gomera, is being taught in some schools.

The Romans would have recognized the ingredients of our breakfast, and the dinner reflects the tastes of Morocco.

Roman Breakfast: 149 calories 3 g fat 3 g fiber 9 g protein 28 g carbs [21 g Complex Carbs] 35 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB  Though my Roman Breakfast is not the morning meal, this is a very good plate of breakfast food. It is based on ingredients available to Romans in the 1st century BCE. The meal is satisfying and flavorful. Try it.

1 Pan Muffin** OR 0.75 oz whole wheat bread 1 oz pear 1 oz cooked chicken 1 oz radish 1 oz cucumber [optional: ½ medjool date = ¼ oz]   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]

Dice all the fruits and vegetables. Add a good finishing salt and gently stir to combine.  HINT: I did this the night before and refrigerated the mixture. Prepare the pan muffin or take from freezer with time to thaw/heat. In the time it takes to brew the coffee, you can plate the muffin and the fruit-veg mixture. Romans did not drink smoothies or coffee, but we will. Hope you’ll enjoy your throw-back breakfast.

**PAN MUFFIN each: 71 calories 2.5 g fat 1 g fiber 2 g protein 11 g carbs 8.5 mg Calcium 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain hot cereal mix  1 and 1/4 cup buttermilk [combine cereal + milk and let sit while preparing other ingredients. 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup unbleached flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Cream the butter and sugar; mix in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and the cereal/milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Use 2 Tbsp batter for each griddlecake/pan muffin.  [use 4 Tbsp batter to bake in a muffin tin for Slow Days]

Moroccan Tuna: 278 calories 1.4 g fat 7 g fiber 34 g protein 20.4 g carbs  129 mg Calcium  PB GF  Moroccan spice blend can really add zest to a simple meal. 

4 oz tuna steak [frozen tuna steaks at the supermarket are good]  Moroccan spice blend  or ground cumin or mint 1/3 cup white beans, rinsed and drained   1 slice preserved lemon OR 1 slice fresh lemon per person: 1/3 cup peas with mint OR ½ cup broccoli florets sprinkled with cumin OR 1/3 cup green beans sprinkled with cilantro AND  ½ of a clementine

Rub tuna generously on both sides with Moroccan spices. Chop the lemon and stir into the beans. Bake the tuna on a cast iron skillet for 4-5 minutes per side in a 400F oven. When the vegetable is cooked, drain and stir in the seasoning. Section the clementine and plate it all as pleases your eye.

Tomatoes

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

80,000 years ago, there was a wild plant in Ecuador, Solanum pimpinellifolium, which produced red fruits the size of a cherry. Seeds spread by animals/people traveled south and north, to Peru and Mesoamerica. By 7,000 years BP [Before Present as geologists say], there was a larger tomato being cultivated in Mexico, where they entered the local cuisine. Post Conquest, the Spanish took tomatoes and other local food plants back to Spain. Not so fast! European botanists recognized them to be members of the Nightshade Family, which they equated with poison. Not only were people leery of tomatoes, there was even the legend that tomatoes were the ‘Forbidden Fruit’ of the Garden of Eden, and you sure don’t want to eat that! By the mid 1500s, tomatoes were being grown as a curiosity in Italy and in 1694, the tomato had arrived as a recipe in a cookbook. In September of 1820, a local promoter of good agriculture, Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson, let it be known that he would eat tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, from his garden in Salem County, New Jersey, USA. A throng of locals showed up to watch him sicken and keel over in agony. He didn’t die, of course, and people accepted the tomato as a new addition to their cooking. Is there a cuisine between Latitude 45N and 45S that does not use tomatoes? I think not. Although some people associate nightshades with arthritis, the tomato is GOOD for you — high in Vitamin C, Potassium, and the antioxidant lycopene. The United States is the largest producer of tomatoes in the world and ‘Better Boy’ is one of the most popular in home gardens, while other gardeners opt for heirloom varieties.

It was not difficult to choose today’s meals. These tomato dishes are so good to eat that I do hope you will try them. Whenever tomatoes are ripe in your area, eat some fresh.

Tomato-Curry ScrOmelette: 148 calories 8 g fat 3 g fiber 11 g protein 9.5 g carbs [8 g Complex] 78 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  This delicious recipe was loosely inspired by Fifty Breakfasts, a book by Col. A. R. Kenney-Herbert, detailing “dishes men like” and containing many flavors redolent of his years serving the Queen in India.

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. ½ Tbsp curry powder 2 oz fresh tomatoes, diced and drained 1½ oz strawberries dollop of plain, fat-free yogurt  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Drain the tomatoes so that they are not too juicy. Combine with the curry powder and whisk with the eggs. Spritz a fry pan with olive oil or non-stick spray and pour in the egg mixture. Cook to your liking. Top with a dollop of yogurt for the full effect. Prepare the beverages and plate the fruit. A rousing good start to your day.

Tomato Soup w/ Sandwich 289 calories 5 g fat 5.6 g fiber 16 g protein 30 g carbs 210 mg Calcium  PB GF  Comfort food can also be low in calories. The soup recipe is from Fresh Ways with Soups and Stews, published by Time-Life Books. HINT: the soup is enough for 3 servings, so it is worth the time to make enough to freeze for later, rather than making a single serving.

Cook Soup: 1 tsp olive oil 2½ cups onions, chopped 1 cup carrot, thinly sliced 1 tsp fresh thyme or ¼ tsp dried thyme 3 cloves garlic, chopped black pepper 28-oz can whole tomatoes, coarsly chopped with juices 1¼ cup unsalted chicken or vegetable stock ¼ tsp salt

Heat the oil and 2 Tbsp water in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot, thyme, garlic, and pepper for 7-10 minutes or until onions are translucent, adding more water if needed. Add the tomatoes their juice, stock, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. [more directions later]

Prep Sandwich: 1 slice 70-calorie bread [such as Nature’s Own] ½-oz slice Swiss cheese from the deli ½ oz ham, 97% fat free

Cut the bread in half. Cut the cheese in pieces the size of the bread halves. Construct a sandwich of bread, ham, cheese, bread. Save out one bread-sized piece of cheese. Wrap the sandwich in foil and put in the toaster oven at 350F until cheese is beginning to melt on the inside. Unwrap the sandwich and put the cheese on top. Toast the sandwich so that the top cheese becomes melted and might start to brown.

Finish Soup: 1 tsp ricotta or small-curd cottage cheese 1 tsp plain non-fat yogurt Puree the cooked soup in food processor or blender. TIP: Pour 2 cups [2/3 of the amount] into freezer containers to cool before storing. Put the remaining soup in the serving bowl. Stir the cheese and yogurt together and dollop it in the middle of the hot soup. Use the tip of a knife to pull the mixture out from the middle in several radiating arms. A few grapes add a dash of color.

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

1 two-oz egg1 two-oz egg + mushrooms 
chives + thyme
1 buckwheat galette [savory crepe]
strawberry OR apple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 oz tuna steak + Moroccan spice blend2 buckwheat galettes/savory crepes
white beans, canned leeks + bacon + garlic
preserved lemon OR fresh lemonGruyere cheese + mayonnaise
peas OR broccoli OR green beanscarrot + broccoli + cauliflower OR tomatoes
Sparkling waterSparkling water

The Bench on the Back Porch

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

In South-Central Pennsylvania, where my family originated, there is a traditional piece of furniture: a bench on the back porch. The fancier front porch faced the road or street in town. It might have comfortable rocking chairs on which to sit in the evening, watching the world go by and conversing. The more simple back porch was tucked into the ell of the house, facing the garden. Furniture there was more utilitarian and in my experience it included a wooden bench about 6′ long. The bench was painted and had been built by an earlier ancestor who had perhaps built the house. I like to imagine an ancestress, perhaps my great-grandmother Annie Ely Bertholet [1850-1919] or her mother-in-law Hannah Mattis Berthelot [1818-1853], coming out of her hot, dark kitchen in Oley on a summer day, to sit on the bench, with her back to the brick or stone wall of the house. Was she taking a coffee break? No, she would be pitting cherries in July and peaches in August, peeling apples in September. She would be shelling peas or stringing beans or shucking corn in season. Working, yes, but in a pleasant location where she could feel the breeze and enjoy the hummingbirds in the Trumpet Vine. My mother inherited the bench, using it to store cushions for the terrace furniture. And now the bench is mine. It lives inside and serves as a plant stand in the Sun Room during the winter. It is in retirement after many, many decades of service on the back porch.

The summertime ingredients for today’s meals can be shucked, pitted, peeled, and cut while sitting on the Bench.

Corn Scramble: 130 calories 7.6 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 6 g carbs 44 mg Calcium   PB GF  If you enjoyed corn on the cob for dinner previously, and cut off some of the kernels, then that’s what goes into the eggs. What a fine late summer meal!

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.  2 Tbsp/ ½ oz cooked corn kernels 1 Tbsp chives    1 oz peach   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Put the corn and snipped chives into a non-stick pan spritzed with cooking spray for long enough to heat them. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper then pour over the corn and scramble to your liking. Plate with the peach. If possible, enjoy your breakfast on the porch.

Minestrone Soup:  1 cup = 145.5 calories 3 g fat 5 g fiber 8 g protein 27 g carbs 86.4 mg Calcium  ½ cup = 73 calories 1.5 g fat 2.6 g fiber 4 g protein 14 g carbs 43 mg Calcium PB  GF [if you use GF pasta] This recipe can be doubled easily, and it is a fine dinner soup for a hot Summer day. Prepare it in the cool of the morning so it can be served in the evening.   

1 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup carrot, chopped 
½ cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped 
3 slices pepperoni, chopped 		Prepare these ingredients as described, and put into a sauce pan together.
Cook over medium heat until onions begin to wilt. 
½ cup sweet potato, cubed
½ cup zucchini, diced 
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
2 cups crushed tomatoes 
¾ cup small white beans, canned
lots of sage and rosemary, chopped
1 cup water 
2 cups chicken broth/stock		Prepare the vegetables as described. Drain and rinse the canned beans. Add these to the pan, along with the water and broth. Cook at a simmer for about 20 minutes. 



NB: low sodium broth is preferred
1 oz pasta, whole wheat is preferred to boost fiber [orzo/ dinetelli/broken spaghetti]Add the pasta and cook until it is soft, 5-6 minutes.
2 tsp Parmesan cheese, grated 
salt and pepper to taste		Add remaining seasonings and adjust to taste. TIP: Soup is always improved by letting it sit for several hours before reheating and serving hot.

HINT: One serving is one cup, but you could go to 1¼ cups each. This recipe made 4 cups for me – multiple meals from one prep!

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

1 two-oz egg + 10%-fat cream1.5 two-oz eggs 
yellow curry powder + cooked brown riceyellow curry powder
smoked haddockfresh tomatoes
asparagus + nutmegstrawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

sole or perch fillets + scallionsolive oil + onion + garlic +canned whole tomatoes
96% fat-free ham, sliced at delicarrot + thyme + low-salt chicken/vegetable stock
70-calorie whole-grain bread1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread + Swiss cheese
Worcestershire sauce + carrots + beets 97% fat-free ham + ricotta + plain non-fat yogurt
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Cuvier

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to betterweightloss29 who is now Following.

In 1800, the field of ‘science’ was fairly new. One had a day job and dabbled in natural science. Ben Franklin and the Comte de Buffon in the 1700s were such men. Georges Cuvier broke the mold. His work as a naturalist earned him a professorship at the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, during the French Revolution. He maintained the post during Napoleon’s reign and into the Empire. In that time, he became the most knowledgeable person in the Western world in the field of vertebrate paleontology. Paleontology was a new field too. Since it is the study of fossils, that assumes that fossils are the ‘preserved remains of ancient life’ as my textbooks used to say. This was not everyone’s assumption. Many people of that time thought that ‘fossils’, such as shells, were mere designs in rock to confuse the unwary and unwise. Further, the idea that entire species of animals had lived and become extinct was considered to be anti-religion. Yet Cuvier made a career of studying and identifying fossil bones and promoting the idea of extinction as scientific fact. Continuing the work of Hutton and Smith [correlation], Cuvier studied the layers of rock that rimmed the Paris Basin. He concluded that the area had once been a warm shallow sea, and that the rock strata changed over time — in direct opposition to prevailing thought. So well-known and widely-published was his work [Cuvier would work on 9 projects at the same time] that scientists from all over would send him fossils to identify. It was said that he could name the original animal from seeing one bone or one tooth. The only time he was stumped was by the first dinosaur fossil — no one had ever seen that before! Then next time you visit a natural history museum, think about Cuvier’s contributions to our knowledge of the ancient world.

During his hours of study in the Paris Basin, perhaps Cuvier packed a lunch of cheeses and sausage meat. Those are the core of our breakfast. Even though he was a student of bones, he had used fossil shells to help him to correlate the layers of rock across the Paris Basin. Our dinner can be served in clam shells on his birthday, August 23. Cuvier was a ‘catastrophist‘ and his way of eating was a catastrophe. Very slim as a young adult, he became very fat at maturity. We can admire his scientific intelligence but not his nutritional choices.

Charcuterie Bake: 137 calories 10 g fat 1 g fiber 11.4 g protein 8 g carbs [6.6 g Complex] 37 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  GF  One Sunday, we invited friends over for what we call a “French Lunch” – bread, sausage, cheese, fruit, wine, and good fellowship. Dear Husband thought, “I know what breakfast will be.” And he was correct: left-overs reborn as breakfast.

One 2-oz egg ½ oz chorizo sausage ½ Tbsp chevre cheese, the creamy type ¼ tsp Dijon mustard herbes de Province 1½ oz pear  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Set the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. Cut the sausage into a small dice, then cream it together with the goat cheese, mustard, and herbes. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin/dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Whisk the egg with the sausage mixture and pour into the dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes while you pour the beverages and slice the pear. As simple as the meal which preceeded it.

Stuffed Clams:  262 calories 7.5 g fat 5 g fiber 28 g protein 34 g carbs 423 mg Calcium  PB GF– if using GF bread crumbs  If you served stuffed clams to guests, they would not consider themselves to be ill-used. The inspiration for this dish was a meal at the Georgetown Inn, Georgetown, PEI, Canada.

1 oz red bell pepper, slicedIn a small pan, cook the pepper in a small amount of water. Reserve water.
2½ oz [½ medium] tomato
1½ purchased turkey meatballs		Chop the pepper, dice the tomato, dice the meatballs.
4 oz asparagus OR
2½ oz broccoli florets OR
 2½ oz carrots		Choose your vegetable and prep it for cooking. Add water to the pan in which you cooked the red pepper, then put in the prepped vegetable.
½ c [2 oz] clams, diced
½ slice 70-cal bread, diced
1½ Tbsp plain non-fat yogurt  garlic powder, thyme, salt, pepper		Combine these with the chopped pepper/tomato/meatballs, and gently stir to combine.
2 oz carrotsHeap into two [2] large, clean, empty clam shells or oven-proof dishes which have been lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Bake 10 mins at 350F while you cook the vegetables.
½ Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Sprinkle cheese on the stuffed clams in the last minutes of baking.
Plate with the vegetables.