dieting

By Saint Swithun!

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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.

To swear a vow by Saint Swithin was common among ‘common people’ in the Middle Ages. Swithin/Swithun was a Saxon who lived in the Kingdom of Wessex and he was something of a ‘people’s saint.’ As a monk and as the Bishop of Winchester Cathedral, he would invite the poor to feast along with high officials. A miracle ascribed to him during his life has to do with a poor woman and a basket of eggs. So kindly was Swithin/Swithen, that he was considered a saint even before his death. On his 862 CE deathbed, he eschewed the pomp of a fancy funeral with a shrine inside the church. He wanted to be buried outside where common people could be close to his grave. In 971, the Bishop and King Edgar sought to raise his profile and to make a fancy shrine to lure more pilgrims. So they moved Swithin inside to a ‘gilded cage‘ in the ambulatory of a larger church. His bones were moved again in 1093 when the newest, Norman-style cathedral was built. St Swithin was not pleased: several times [971 and 1315] there were destructive rainstorms on his feast day, July 15. Common people took notice — don’t mess with the humble man! In Howard Pyle’s Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, his name is commonly used in oaths. St Swithin is the one to pray to in times of drought.

A special breakfast for St Swithin combines eggs [for his miracle of the broken eggs] and dandelions which are called ‘pissenlit’ in French, meaning ‘wet the bed.’ Dandelions purportedly have diuretic properties which I have never experienced. I think the good saint would have appreciated the earthiness of the meal and its name. The dinner combines many vegetables, grown by country folk whom Swithun held dear.

Pissenlit ScrOmelette: 142 calories 8 g fat 1.5 g fiber 12 g protein 4.6 g carbs [4 g Complex] 121 mg Calcium  PB GF  Susan Loomis found this recipe in the Dorgogne Region of France, and included it in her French Farmhouse Cook Book. If you like slightly bitter greens, you’ll enjoy this.  HINT: This recipe is for 2 [two] servings. Use the rest, wrapped in a crepe/galette for lunch tomorrow.

3 two-oz eggs 1 Tbsp water 1.4 oz/ 40 g/ 2 cups dandelion crowns, trimmed and washed [TIP: You could use only the leaves] ½ tsp garlic 1 slice [0.7 oz] uncured bacon

First collect your dandelions, which I did the day before. Cut them off just below the ground surface, being careful to keep the leaves and central stalk intact.  TIP: You could just purchase the leaves. Trim off any dead leaves and roots, cutting the root stock as close as you can to the base of the crown. Put the leaf clusters in a large bowl of cold water and agitate the water to remove any soil. TIP: You can do this the day before.

Dice the bacon and mince the garlic. Heat a saute pan to medium, and cook the bacon for 4 minutes: it will be almost cooked, but not crisp. There should be only a little fat in the pan – pour off any extra. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1½ minutes: the garlic should not be browned. Take the dandelions out of the water and give them a brief shake before adding them to the saute pan. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring now and again, until the leaves are wilted. Whisk the eggs with the water, plus some salt and pepper. Pour over the dandelions and rearrange them if they are not evenly distributed. As the eggs set, lift one side of the omelette and let the liquid egg run underneath to cook. Put a lid on the pan and cook for two minutes more. Fold and plate the omelette. Now you know Spring has arrived.

Ratatouille with Chicken & Polenta: 228 calories 4.4 g fat 9 g fiber 29 g protein 32 g carbs 115.6 mg Calcium  PB  Oddly enough, the inspiration for this meal was a dinner on an airplane. I was determined to duplicate and improve the meal, and I think I succeeded. The polenta needs to be made ahead, and the Med Veg could come out of the freezer. All ready in about 20 minutes with those preparations beforehand.

1 slice of polenta  1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables  3 oz chicken breast, skinless and boneless large pinch herbes de Province or thyme

Pour the Mediterranean Vegetables into a small saucepan and add a little water if there isn’t much liquid. Lay the chicken meat on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with pepper and herbes de Province. Put the lid on the pan and simmer until bottom of chicken is cooked. Check to see if you need to add more liquid to prevent the vegetables from scorching. Turn the chicken, cover and continue to cook until it is done. Meanwhile, spritz a heavy skillet lightly with non-stick spray and heat it. Cut the slice of polenta in half so you have two slices, each about 1/3” thick. Cook them in the hot pan on both sides until it is warm and beginning to brown. Plate the polenta, spoon the vegetables around the polenta, then arrange the chicken on top. 

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

1 two-oz egg + salami1.5 two-oz eggs 
sheep sorrel/arugulatomato puree + parsley
pecorino cheese + garlicbell peppers + onion
ricotta + cherriescayenne pepper + pear
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 oz mackerelBoston/buttercrunch lettuce + cherry tomatoes
puttanesca sauce, home-made https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/fastingme.com/10908 or jarredhard-boiled egg + apple + date
green beanscooked chicken breast + goat cheese crumbles
pine nuts + shallot + cinnamon dressing
Sparkling waterSparkling water

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/fastingme.com/10908

Veronica

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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 stuffyourface58 and Amanja who are now Following.

Should you hear the word ‘veronica,’ what would come to mind? If you were a gardener, the perennial plant called “Speedwell” would be in your mind’s eye. It grows from Zone 3-9 and is either a low ground-cover or spiky back-of-garden plant of handsome color. If you were a bull-fighting aficionado, you would see a matador lead a bull in a semi-circle with only his cape moving, but not his feet. Hemingway describes this in The Sun Also Rises. If you were a latin scholar, you would recognize that the word means “true image.” If you were a Roman Catholic, you would know Saint Veronica from the Stations of the Cross: she offers her veil to wipe Jesus’ face while on his way to crucifixion and finds that the veil now bears the likeness of Christ. Lastly, if you dug deeper into that story, you would become quite confused. Veronica is not mentioned in any of the four Gospels. There is a legend of a woman named Bernice who had a cloth with a face on it. The cloth had miraculous curative powers and has been kept at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome since the 700s. In 1913, the Catholic Encyclopedia said that the image on the cloth was called the ‘true image of Jesus,’ which in latin is ‘vera icon.’ They go on to say that people confused the “cloth of the true image” to mean “cloth of the woman named Veronica.” Thus ‘Veronica’ is not a proper name, it is a transliteration. Apologies to my old friend Ronnie R.

Since ‘veronica’ means many things in many places, our menu today is a bit of this and a bit of that. But all is good and wholesome. Perhaps you will do a kindness for someone today.

Smoked Salmon Bake: 279 calories 8 g fat 2 g fiber 15 g protein 34.4 g carbs 225 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Gosh this is good. You must try it!

1 two-ounce egg ¼ oz smoked salmon, crumbled into pieces 2 Tbsp scallions, green & white parts, diced or sliced 2-3 tsp chopped parsley 1 Tbsp chevre [goat cheese] ¼ cup blueberries  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 scallions and parsley into a heat-proof ramekin. Microwave for 30 seconds. Add the salmon.  HINT: I did this the night before. Beat the goat cheese and egg together until the cheese breaks up into tiny lumps. Pour into ramekin and stir all together to mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Prepare your optional beverage and dish the fruit.

Vegetable Quiche:  268 calories 14 g fat 3 g fiber 24 g protein 12.5 g carbs [8.5 g Complex] 293 mg Calcium  PB GF  I made this recipe with the idea of a crustless quiche [some might call it a fritatta or a tortilla] that didn’t break the bank on calories. Although the recipe should serve two, my portion was too large to finish. Use your judgement.

4 two-oz eggs 2/3 cup zucchini, grated [2 oz] ¼ cup red onion, chopped 1 cup broccoli, diced 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper [1.75 oz] 4 Tbsp cottage cheese, reduced fat 2 Tbsp plain yogurt 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese lots of chopped fresh herbs 3 oz tomato, diced [½ cup] 1 oz mozzarella cheese, grated salt + pepper ½ cup lettuce, shredded + ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare the vegetables [except the tomatoes] and steam them over simmering water for 3-4 minutes. Drain over an empty bowl to capture any remaining liquid. Put the vegetables into an oven-proof dish [I used a 9×7” oval] which has been spritzed with non-stick spray, and spread around evenly. Salt and pepper at will. Stir the cottage cheese, yogurt, Parmesan, and herbs until well-combined. Whisk the eggs well, then whisk in the cheese mixture. Pour over the vegetables. Chop the tomatoes and distribute them on top, then sprinkle with the grated mozzerella. Bake at 400 F. for 30 minutes – should be puffed and a little golden on top and set in the middle. Let the quiche sit while you shred the lettuce and toss it with the vinegar.

St Kilian

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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. 

,While working on Dear Husband’s very German genealogy, I was surprised to find several men named “Kilian.” How did an Irish name get into the family? Saint Kilian/Cillian/Killian was born c. 640 in County Cavan, Ireland. At that time, Ireland followed an independent, home-grown Christianity of hermits and monasteries. Kilian was part of 11 monks who traveled to Rome. They were instructed to convert the pagans of Wurzburg in the Frankonian region [now in Bavarian Germany]. What a journey and such a culture-shock for our pious Kilian! He converted the Duke Gozbert, and thus his followers. But by teaching Leviticus Chapter 18, verse 16 about not marrying your brother’s widow, Kilian ran afoul of Lady Gailana who was Gozbert’s widowed sister-in-law. This Bible verse is the one that Henry VIII later cited in an effort to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Lady Gailana solved her problem by having Kilian and two of his followers beheaded. John the Baptist’s preaching on the same verse got him beheaded by King Herod. The verse in Leviticus is about maintaining family unity by preventing jealousy. However, in Deuteronomy Chapter 25, verse 5, a husband is told that he must marry his brother’s widow if she has no children. At any rate, Kilian died and his relics are in the Cathedral of Wurzburg. He is the patron saint of all of Franconia. And that is how an Irish name arrived in Bavaria!

Menu for the July 8th Feast of Saint Kilian: For his origins, a breakfast of corned-beef and cabbage — even though this is an Americanization of Irish boiled beef. For dinner, an unexpectedly German dinner salad: Pikanter Geflugelsalat mit Melone.

Corned Beef & Cabbage ScrOmelette: 154 calories 7.6 g fat 1 g fiber 14 g protein 6.5 g carbs [5.4 g Complex] 65 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  When St kilean’s day falls on a Fast Day, you are all set!

1 ½ 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 oz uncooked corned beef 1/3 cup cabbage, very thinly sliced ½ Tbsp cottage cheese pinch caraway seed + pinch thyme 1 oz apple   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]

Mince the beef and put in into a pan with ¼ cup water. Simmer until beef is cooked, then remove it to a small bowl. Put the cabbage in the water in the pan and simmer that until the cabbage is cooked – add more water as needed. Put the cabbage in the bowl with the cottage cheese and seasonings. Add some pepper, but you probably will NOT need to add salt, due to the corned beef. Mix the ingredients together. Heat a non-stick pan with some cooking spray and whisk the eggs. Put the beef/cabbage in the pan and distribute it over the surface. Quickly pour the eggs in and tip the pan to cover all the cabbage. Cook on one side, then flip and cook it some more. Fold and plate with the apple. ‘Tis a fine breakfast you’ll be having.

Honeydew-Chicken Salad:  264 calories 9 g fat 3 g fiber 23 g protein 23 g carbs 102 mg Calcium  PB GF The now-gone Manhattan restaurant Luchow’s created this recipe for their Sommer Fest menu of cooler fare. True, I swapped out some original ingredients for those with a lighter impact on the waistline. That said, this is a fine meal for a hot day. It makes you feel cooler just to look at it.  HINT: This recipe serves two [2] people.

5½ oz/1 cup chicken breast meat, cut in ½” cubes 2 oz dill pickle, chopped 2 Tbsp slivered almonds 2 oz red seedless grapes, each cut in two 8 ripe olives, halved 1 tsp capers 3 Tbsp plain yogurt + 1 Tbsp whipped cream cheese 2 cups crisp lettuce, roughly cut 1¼ cup honeyew melon, cut in ½” cubes

TIP: For the chicken, I cut 5.5 oz breast meat into cubes and poached them, the night before, in a little water until cooked. Place the chicken, pickle, nuts, grapes, olives, and capers in a bowl and stir to combine. Whisk the yogurt and cream cheese together and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Gently add and mix in the lettuce. Arrange two small Romaine lettuce leaves on the plate and mound the salad atop them. Surround the salad with the honeydew. Lovely.

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
smoked salmon + scallions1.5 cups dandelion leaves or crowns
chèvre cheesegarlic
parsley + blueberriessmoked uncured bacon
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

two eggs + tomato + zucchiniMediterranean Vegetables
red bell pepper + red onion +lettucechicken breast meat
mozzarella + cottage cheese + plain yogurtpolenta
Parmesan cheese + herbs + balsamic vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Zephyr

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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 cellulitewarriors and weightlossguide101website who are now Following.

The pantheistic Hellenes had many deities. All the usual events of nature — wind, day, night, the arrival of Spring — these could all be explained by the actions of those immortals. Zephyr was one of the four winds, representing the soft, warm West winds of Spring. Botticelli depicted Zephyr in one of his most famous paintings, The Birth of Venus. The winds lived on an island, imprisoned underground by Aeolus, Master of the Winds. There were four tunnels leading to the outside in the direction of the four Cardinal Points. At the direction of the gods, Aeolus would open one of the tunnels and release the correct wind. Unfortunately, Zephyr has been locked up again, for the kindly wind has died and the air is hot and sultry in much of North America. For us in New Hampshire, the wind of Summer is from the South-West, bringing hot and humid weather from the Gulf coast. The Greeks had no wind like that, and no deity represents it. Perhaps these ‘un-godly’ weather conditions arise from another origin….

In honor of Zephyr and his fellow winds, our foods will be light and full of air. The Pao de Queijo are a new treat for us, while the Cheese Soufflé is an old favorite.

Brazilian Breakfast: 233 calories 11 g fat 1 g fiber 11 g protein 25.5 g carbs 201 mg Calcium  PB GF – if made with tapioca flour Here’s a breakfast to get a Brazillian out of bed in the morning: cheesey pao de queijo with meat and fruited yogurt.

2 pao de queijo 1 slice uncured bacon [20 calories] 2 oz fat-free plain yogurt + 2 fl oz applesauce, unsweetened   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Prepare the Pao de Queijo** in advance. Cook the bacon and stir together the yogurt and the applesauce. And that was simple.

PAO DE QUEIJO:  makes 15 puffs. recipe from thekitchn.com  Each = 79 calories 5 g fat 0 g fiber 2 g protein 7 g carbs 44 mg Calcium  This is a Brazillian favorite. Easy to make, with a super taste of cheese.

1/3 c olive oil ½ c water + ½ c skimmed milk 1 tsp salt 2 c. tapioca flour OR 1 c. tapioca flour + 1 c. white whole wheat flour [yeah. I know. NOT traditional.] 2 two-oz eggs 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 450F. Place the milk-water-oil and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat as soon as you see big bubbles coming through the milk. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until you see no more dry flour. The dough will be grainy and gelatinous. Put dough in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat dough for a few minutes at medium speed until it is smooth + is cool enough that you can hold your finger against the dough for several seconds. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time. Wait until the 1st egg is fully incorporated before adding the 2nd. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in cheese on medium speed until fully incorporated.  For small puffs, scoop dough by level tablespoons onto parchment-covered baking sheets, spacing about 1½“ apart (24/ baking sheet).  For larger puffs, scoop dough with a 1 oz/ 2 Tbsp scoop, spacing about 2” apart (12/ baking sheet). 

I used a 1.5 Tbsp scoop and made 15 puffs. Nice size. Place baking sheets in oven and immediately turn heat to 350°F. Bake 15 mins. Rotate baking sheets between racks and from front to back. Bake further, until puffed, dry on the outside, and just starting to turn golden-brown on the bottoms, 10 to 15 mins.

Cheese Souffle:  293 calories 19.5 g fat 1.4 g fiber 20 g protein 9.5 g carbs 290.5 mg Calcium Few foods are as amazing as a good souffle, which rises to airy heights of flavor. HINT: The recipe serves 2 [two] people.

2 egg yolks 2 egg whites ½ cup Bechamel sauce, no cheese 2 Tbsp chives/scallion green parts, snipped or sliced 2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated   per serving: 1½ oz steamed or roasted green beans

Separate the eggs, being very careful not to get any yolk in the whites. Whisk the yolks with the bechamel, then stir in the cheese and chives, along with salt & pepper to taste. Heat the oven to 400 F. Whip the egg whites until they are stiff. Combine a half cup of the whites with the egg yolk mixture and gently whisk together. Fold remaining egg whites into the yolk mixture and pour into a 1-quart oven-safe dish. [I like to use a 1-quart glass casserole with straight sides, which fits in the toaster oven.] Being as gentle as possible, pour the souffle mixture into the ungreased/unbuttered/unoiled baking dish and smooth out the top a bit. Bake for 25 minutes. Cook the beans. Serve the souffle by scooping it out onto the plates. Some like a soft souffle, which will sink rapidly. I prefer mine to be cooked through yet still be creamy on the inside. Absolutely delicious! 

Canada Day

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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.

Canada Day is July 1st. It is not an ‘independence day,’ but it marks the agreement in 1867, that united Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and “Canada” [as Quebec and Ontario were called] under one government. This was an out-growth of a conference in 1864, at which ‘confederation’ was discussed. So at last, the disparate provinces agreed to join under one name and one government. Provinces and territories from the West joined in turn. Originally, the July 1st was called “Dominion Day” and for a long time it was a celebration of ‘Canada-ness’ within the British Empire. By the turn of the century, it was a showcase for assimilation of non-Europeans. By 1967, the day became more about Canada as a melting-pot under their new flag. Canada finally became a sovereign nation in 1982. This year’s observation will be filled with mixed feelings due to the ongoing revelations of the horror of government-sponsored ‘residential schools’ for First Nations people and all the damage that caused to generations of indigenous citizens. In 1967, Prime Minister Lester Pearson said, “May the land over which this new flag flies remain united in freedom and justice … sensitive, tolerant and compassionate towards all.” Let us hope that Canada — and all nations — can live up to those words.

For any busy holiday, French Toast is a great choice for breakfast since part of the preparation is done the evening before. To cut out the shapes in the bread, we’ll use a maple-leaf cookie cutter in honor of Canada’s flag. Beef is very popular in Canada — whether pasture-raised PEI beef or steers from the high plains of Alberta — so our sliders will be just the thing.

National Holiday French Toast: 187 calories 6 g fat 2.6 g fiber 12.6 g protein 15 g carbs [4.4 g Complex] 95 mg Calcium NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. HINT: This recipe makes French Toast for 2 people or two breakfasts. If serving one, prepare all the toast, but put the remainder in a bag in the freezer for a really fast breakfast later.

4 slices 70-cal whole grain bread one 2-oz egg 2 Tbsp fat-free milk   per person: 1 oz strawberries, fresh or unsweetened frozen 1½ tsp maple syrup one 60-cal chicken sausage  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

THE NIGHT BEFORE: Whisk the egg and milk together. Cut the pieces of bread into appropriate shapes using a cookie cutter — for Canada Day, I used little maple leafs. [This step is important for the calorie count to come out right, so don’t skip it even if it seems too much like ‘crafty food.’ The bread that is left over can be fed to the birds or saved to make Stuffed Clams] Put the bread into a pan with a rim which is just big enough for the bread pieces. Pour the egg/milk mixture over the bread, making sure it is all wetted. Let stand OVERNIGHT. Also combine the strawberries and syrup.

The next morning, cook the batter-soaked bread in a hot non-stick pan with a spritz of non-stick spray. Cook until browned on both sides. NOW PUT 1/2 OF THE PIECES ASIDE TO COOL. PUT INTO A BAG AND FREEZE THEM FOR A LATER DATE. Cook the sausage, too. Mash the berries a bit and add the maple syrup. Warm the mixture a little and smear onto the plated toast. Enjoy with the sausage and beverage of choice. 

Beef BBQ Sliders: 269 calories 5.6 g fat 5 g fiber 22.6 g protein 31 g carbs 162.6 mg Calcium When a gift box of Corky’s Memphis BarBQue arrived, sliders seemed like a wonderful idea. Such fun to eat and easy to prepare, especially when the sauce and filling have been made for you. HINT: This serves TWO. Share with a friend or save half for lunch tomorrow.

3 Martins potato whole wheat slider buns  3.5 oz Corky’s Beef BBQ in sauce  per serving: 1.5 oz cherry tomatoes + ½ oz carrots

Warm the slider buns while the beef and sauce are heating. Assemble the sliders and cut each in half. NB: Each serving is three halves of slider. Plate with the vegetables. Eat with pleasure.

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

2 two-oz eggs + Olive oil1.5 two-oz eggs 
tapioca flour + white whole wheat flourcorned beef + cabbage
Parmesan cheese + uncured baconcottage cheese + thyme
applesauce + plain yogurtcaraway seed + apple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

two 2-oz eggscubed chicken breast + dill pickle + seedless grapes
bechamel sauce, no cheese
https://wordpress.com/post/fastingme.com/9725 		slivered almonds + plain yogurt + capers
scallions/chivesripe olives + whipped cream cheese
Cheddar cheese + green beanscrisp lettuce + honeydew melon
Sparkling waterSparkling water

St. Ireneus

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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 Treadmills Hub and tthenwhat who are now Following.

Saint Irenaeus was an important man in the early Christian church. He was born in the Greek city of Smyrna, today’s Izmir, Asia Minor [modern-day Turkey] in the 2nd Century CE. At a young age, he heard St Polycarp preach. That is significant because Polycarp had heard the original Apostles preach, thus Irenaeus was the last church leader to be only two degrees of separation from Jesus himself. Irenaeus was sent to Lyons, France as a missionary — there are many links between communities on the Rhone River and the Eastern Mediterranean. This was during the Roman Empire when France was inhabited by Celts. There he learned the local language, set up new churches, and became bishop. He was a fierce defender against schismatic teaching, especially Gnosticism. He studied it well enough to be able to refute it point by point This influenced the wording of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed by stating emphatically that God was the author of creation and that Jesus was human and divine. Irenaeus influenced as well the modern Christian Bible which includes both the Jewish texts and the Gospels. His name means ‘peace-maker’ and though he had no patience for heretics, he brought accord among Christians in many theological disputes.

Since Irenaeus began his life in Greece, our breakfast eggs are flavored with a traditional moussaka sauce. For his later life in France — gosh those guys moved around a lot!! — a meal of contemporary French ingredients and flavors.

Moussaka ScrOmelette:  153 calories 10.5 g fat 1 g fiber 12.6 g protein 3.4 g carbs 68 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  A good sauce makes a fine moussaka casserole. So why not carry that flavor over to breakfast by folding it into eggs? Great idea!

1½ 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.    1/2 fluid ounce/1 Tbsp moussaka sauce   1/8 oz feta cheese, crumbled 1 oz strawberries  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]

Warm the moussaka sauce. Whisk the eggs and 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 sauce and cheese, fold and plate. Serve with the berries.

Beet & Bleu Cheese Salad:  288 calories 11 g fat 5 g fiber 14 g protein 19.5 g carb 212 mg Calcium   PB GF  This recipe takes me back to a delightful restaurant 2 blocks north of Notre Dame in Paris. Dinner at Au Bougnat was a treat and eating this meal evokes fond memories.

2½ oz beets, cooked, skinned, sliced or cubed, cooled 1¼ oz bleu cheese, cubed or crumbled 1½ oz tomato, sliced or cubed 3 walnut halves [or use slivered almonds if you don’t eat walnuts] 1 oz white beans, rinsed and drained if using canned 2½ c. salad greens ¾ tsp olive oil + ¾ tsp balsamic vinegar garnishes: pansy, chive, or nastursum flowers; sliced scallions

Assemble and prep all vegetable ingredients. Whisk oil and vinegar in a wide bowl. Put greens in the bowl and toss. Place in serving bowl and arrange the other ingredients on top. Add a few garnishes. Voila! A beautiful meal.

Manchester, NH

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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. 

There is a tall rapids on the Merrimack River. The Abenaki People would gather in the early Summer to catch the leaping salmon and smoke them for future use. They called the area “Amoskeag” — ‘at the fish land.’ European settlers came, sailing up the river until they reached the falls. They settled on the flat flood plains to farm and called the area “Derryfield.” Enter the Industrial Revolution, when factory-builders sought falling water to power the looms. A ‘planned city‘ was built at the foot of the falls and it was named “Manchester,” built to rival the textile city of England. After some false starts, the city was incorporated in 1846. Unlike the slums of Manchester, England, the New Hampshire version was designed with utopian ideals. Model housing for workers; parks and musical events for all; churches and social improvement agencies were all baked in. Local farm youths at first, then Europeans recruited off the docks at Boston and New York, then French Canadians came to work and add to the city’s melting pot. Since the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company took care of workers’ needs, they saw no need for unions and organizing was banned. Yes, there was child labor, as seen in the Lewis Hine’s photos. On the whole, workers liked it there. In its heyday, there were 30 factories in the complex and 17,000 workers. Mill #11 was the largest single cotton mill in the world. A great range of cotton fabrics were produced, including denim for Levi Strauss’ blue jeans in California. The economic depression after WWI caused some mills to close. Worker unrest followed, including attempts to unionize. In 1935, the Manufactuing Company declared bankruptcy which was a terrible blow to the city. Many empty mills were torn down, but several remain in a revitalized “Mill Yard” part of Manchester. Manchester is known as ‘The Queen City’ since it is larger than the capital of the state.

Breakfast is reminiscent of breakfast on a farm in old Derryfield, and features apples that grow in abundance in New Hampshire. Dinner remembers the First Peoples, feasting on fish at Amoskeg Falls.

Rounds, with Egg:  193 calories 9 g fat 2 g fiber 12 g protein 20 g carbs 38 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.Simple to prepare, easy to eat. PB Having a few pan muffins tucked into the freezer makes life easier. The protein and fruit will keep you going.

1 two-oz egg, pan-fried 1 slice Canadian bacon [aka: ‘back bacon’] 2 oz apple, sliced in rounds, not wedges 1 pan muffin   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]

Thaw or prepare the pan muffin. Warm the bacon and the muffin in a pan spritzed with non-stick spray. Then cook the egg to your taste. Slice the apple. Plated in moments, but be sure to eat it mindfully.

Salmon Roasted with Tomatoes:  288 calories 14.5 g fat 3 g fiber 27.6 g protein 8 g carbs 268 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 ½ cup 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 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Meanwhile steam the green vegetables. So easy. So yummy.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs1 two-oz egg + fat-free milk 
feta cheese4 slices 70-calorie whole-grain bread
moussaka sauce60-calories of chicken breakfast sausage
strawberriesmaple syrup + strawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

beets, canned or fresh + bleu cheeseMartin’s whole wheat potato slider buns or 100-calorie rolls
tomato + walnuts/almondsbeef BBQ meat in sauce <60 calories/oz
white beans, canned + edible flowers
salad greens + olive oil + balsamic vinegarcherry tomatoes + carrots
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Dandelions

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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 My Last Diet Plan and DC/Seasons of Parenting who are now Following.

Dandelions [Taraxacum officinale] originated in Europe and have spread to all temperate regions due to Colonization. Yes, they qualify as an ‘invasive species.’ The English name is a corruption of the French ‘dent de lion’ [lion’s tooth] due to the shape of the leaf. Children love dandelions — to make flower crowns and to blow away the downy seeds in a wishing game. To people who covet a smooth green mono-culture of a lawn, dandelions are the bane of their existence: no sooner have you mowed, than the flower stalks surge upward making the lawn look irregular and raggedy. But dandelions are good for you! They are very versatile in cooking: salad, tea, pesto, soup, wine — all can be made from dandelions. Just be sure that you gather them from a lawn or meadow that has not been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, or machine exhaust gasses.

If your taste buds shy away from foods on the bitter end of the scale [ex: arugula], then you might need to mask the dandelion flavor a bit more. For the rest of us, these recipes give you a chance to eat the ‘alien invaders,’ and put those weeds to use. From morning eggs to a silky smooth soup for dinner, dandelions are on the menu.

Dandelion ScrOmelette:  147 calories 8 g fat 2 g fiber 11 g protein 9.5 g carbs 103 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Since dandelions abound in most lawns during the early Summer, why not try them with scrambled eggs?

1 ½ 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 cup  dandelion greens 1 clove garlic 1 Tbsp cooked brown rice 1 oz melon   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]

Chop the dandelion greens and cover them with boiling salted water. Let sit 5 minutes off the heat, then taste a leaf to see if the bitterness is gone. If not, heat the water again to boiling, then take off heat for another 2 minutes. Taste again. If still bitter, drain the water, add fresh salted water and cook 2 minutes more. While that is going on, chop the garlic. Drain the dandelion greens. Heat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet and spray with cooking spray. Cook the garlic over medium for 30 seconds, then add the dandelion and rice. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper, then pour them into the pan. Scramble or cook like an omelette. Plate with the melon and try something new.

Forager’s Soup:  271 calories 17 g fat 6 g fiber 13 g protein 29 g carbs 250 mg Calcium  PB GF  Here is an Irish soup made with summer greens. Did I hear you say ‘weeds’? Know that a weed is a plant that is growing in the wrong place. The cook-pot is the right place, where they are splendid. The recipe is one of Darina Allen’s from Reclaiming Ireland’s Culinary Heritage, One Roast Lamb Or Sponge Cake At A Time. HINT: The recipe makes 3 cups, enough for 3 servings.

2 tsp butter
½ c onion
½ potato = 4 oz
salt + pepper 		Melt butter in pot over medium-high. When it foams, add vegetables, and stir to coat. Season. Turn down to very low, put parchment paper atop vegetables, to trap steam. Put on lid and cook gently 10 mins, until vegetables are soft but not brown.
1 c chicken stock
½ c + 1/3 c whole milk 		Heat stock and dairy in a saucepan to simmering. Remove parchment and add hot liquid. Simmer 5-10 mins to cook vegetables fully.
4 oz by weight = 2 c. wild greens: dandelion; garlic mustard; sorrel; chives
¼ c ricotta		Add greens + simmer uncovered 2-3 mins until greens are just cooked through (do not cover pot or overcook, or else bright green color will be lost.)  Add ricotta. Purée until smooth. Taste for seasoning.
1 oz chorizo/ bacon per personSlice chorizo and cook on low in a skillet until fat is rendered and meat is crisp, 5-10 mins. Drain on paper towels. 
Edible flowers
2 Finn Crisp per serving 		At serving time, warm soup over medium-low heat, uncovered. Scatter chorizo/bacon bits on each bowl, and garnish with flowers.

CottageCore

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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.

CottageCore is all the rage. If you have been living in your closet-cum-office for too long, ‘cottage core’ is a yearning for a simpler life, lived in the country, with plenty of time to bake bread, gather eggs, and pick flowers in the garden. It got its name in 2018 and came into full flower during the Pandemic. But is it really a new trend? There have been many forays into the simpler life: in the 1970s, we called it the “Back-to-the-Land” movement; in the 1920s, it showed itself in the StoryBook style of architecture; the “Arts & Crafts Movement” began in England and moved to the USA in the late 1800s as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and mass-production; in the 1700s, Marie Antoinette plus friends escaped from court life to live like peasants in her rustic village; you see the pattern. When I first heard about this in 2019, I thought, “That’s not a fashion or a trend — that’s how I have always lived!” There are flowers in vases, home-canned fruits for breakfast, vegetables from the garden, bread is baked, time is made to go for a walk. But then, we’ve lived in the country since the 1970s — maybe it is easier here? CottageCore is a lifestyle and it is a choice. Living from the land and knowing where your food comes from is a fine thing. Some people find it very difficult to do, some find it to be very sustainable. Find your own Core.

I have chosen two meals that have ‘cottage’ right there in their names! They are simple, good tasting, made with authentic ingredients, and have that back to the land esthetic. Eating wholesome food that did not come from a package should not be limited to CottageCore devotees. After the meal, go read Jane Austin and experience another CottageCore influencer.

Cottage Breakfast with egg:  157 calories  7.5 g fat 1 g fiber 8 g protein 15 g carbs 38 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB  I wanted a breakfast that evoked a cottage in the English country-side, so here it is. The pan muffins are very good.

1 pan muffin 1 oz applesauce, unsweetened one 2-oz egg: fried or hard-boiled or soft-boiled  or scrambled 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]

HINT: I prepared 8 pan muffins from the 10-grain mufffin batter, cooked them, and froze them. I made the remaining batter into muffins to eat on Slow Days. Take one pan muffin from the freezer the night before and let it thaw. Cook the egg to your taste and warm the pan muffin. Dish the applesauce, brew the hot beverage, pour the smoothie. What a sweet and easy meal.

Cottage Pie:  219 calories 7 g fat 2 g fiber 22 g protein 15 g carbs 35 mg Calcium  PB GF Cottage Pie is the beef version of Shepherd’s Pie. The addition of mashed cauliflower is a great trick to lessen the calorie and carb count of mashed potatoes. Some people like this with mashed cauliflower only, but I enjoy the combo for a more authentic taste. HINT: serves 2. Freeze leftovers for another dinner or invite a guest.

1 cup roast beef, ground or minced 1 yolk from a two-oz egg ½ cup mashed potatoes ½ cup mashed cauliflower 1 white from a 2-oz egg ½ cup beef gravy, as fat free as you can make it   per serving: 2 oz peas OR 1 cup lettuce + 1 oz tomatoes + ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp lemon juice

Add the egg yolk and gravy to the beef, along with salt and pepper to taste. Whip the egg white until stiff and fold into the mashed vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Put the beef mixture into an oil-spritzed oven-proof dish [2-3 cup capacity] and spread it out evenly. Smooth the mashed vegetables on top and ruffle it with a fork or spoon. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until the top begins to brown a bit and the inside is hot. Whisk the oil and lemon juice in a wide bowl, add the lettuce and tomatoes, and toss gently.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs1 two-oz egg 
dandelion greenspan muffin
garlic + cooked brown riceCanadian bacon/ back bacon
melonapple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

butter + onion + potato 4-oz salmon, wild caught
chicken stock + Finn CrispParmesan cheese
whole milk + wild greenscherry tomatoes
part-skim ricotta + chorizo sausagegreen beans or sugar snap peas
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Bunsen Burner

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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 mrinspire and Diets & Weight Loss Plans who are now Following.

The Bunsen burner is the work-horse of the laboratory. Except for a beaker or flask, no piece of equipment is as universally recognized. It was invented in 1855 by the German Chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. He had been investigating the fact that different elements [Copper, Strontium, Potassium] gave off distinctive colors [blue-green, hot pink, lilac] when heated, known now as the Flame Test. To pursue this study, he needed a reliable source of flame that would burn with no color of its own. With the assistance of the mechanic Peter Desaga, he developed the method for delivering a controllable, compact, safe jet of flame. Perhaps his quest for a safe lab flame grew from an early science experiment that exploded, blinding him in one eye. Bunsen went on from there to analyze sunlight, drawing the accurate conclusion that the sun was made of Hydrogen and Helium gasses. With Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, Professor Bunsen invented the spectroscope. They were co-discoverers of the elements Cesium [Cs] and Rubidium [Rb].

Our German Breakfast might have been familiar to the professors and mechanics at the University of Heidelberg. When I was a young teacher, I often would rush to work in the morning with a raw egg in my pocket. During the class prior to lunch, I would boil it in a beaker of water over the Bunsen Burner on the lab bench. However you cook your eggs, you will need one for our dinner.

German Breakfast: 136 calories 3 g fat 4.4 g fiber 9 g protein 15 g carbs [3.5 g Complex] 104.4 mg Calcium Sturdy whole-grain bread, some curd cheese with chives and a slice of ham or turkey will get you going in the morning, just as it does for the Germans.

1 slice whole-grain bread [we like Dave’s ‘Good Seed‘] 2 Tbsp small-curd cottage cheese, reduced fat [similar to ‘quark cheese’ in Germany] 1-2 Tbsp chopped chives ½ oz slice of 3%-fat ham** from the deli, thinly-sliced 1 oz pear   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [85 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] **you could substitute 1 oz turkey breast from the deli, thinly sliced

Toast the bread lightly or not. Spread with the cheese and sprinkle with chives. Top the cheese with the ham and plate with the pear. So nice. This would be a fine lunch for a Slow Day.

Herring Salad:  278 calories 6 g fat 7 g fiber 16 g protein 24 g carbs 103 mg Calcium   PB GF  Luchöw’s Restaurant in New York will live in memory as long as a certain generation yet breathes. And there was a lot to remember about it: the decor, the old-world service, the menu. Not a hokey tourist trap – it was the genuine German article. This is one of their fine Old World recipes. NB: if you take a MOIA anti-depressent, be aware that herring has high amounts of tyramine. 

1½ oz herring marinated in wine, drained ¼ cup beets, cooked, cooled and diced 1½ oz apple, peeled and diced ¼ cup white beans, drained and rinsed ½ hard-boiled egg, sliced 2 Tbsp onion, minced 1/2 oz dill pickle, chopped pinch sugar 2 tsp vinegar, or more 1 cup lettuce, shredded

Put the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently until everything is well-incorporated. Taste to see if it needs more sugar or more vinegar. A herring-lover’s delight.