Eating well with creative recipes while following the Fast Diet

The Van Gogh Affair

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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 adom1479 who is now Following.

On 27 July, 1890, Vincent van Gogh turned up at the inn where he stayed with a gun shot wound in his torso. Two days later, he died. Right away, even before a cursory investigation by the police in Auvers-sur-Oise, everyone proclaimed it to be a suicide. After all, the Dutch-born painter had seen a life-time of disappointments that sent him into deep bouts of depression… Like the time he threw his heart and soul into being an evangelical preacher to the poor in a Belgian mining town, only to be dismissed by the bishop for having given all his money to the poor and no longer looking distinguished enough to be a pastor. Or the time it took him two years to get over a broken heart. Wasn’t he more than a little crazy? Hadn’t he attacked his friend Gauguin with a knife and then cut off his own ear? Case closed on the death of an odd-ball artist who liked to paint things that were yellow. OR NOT! In 2014, a journalistic investigation sure made it look as if van Gogh’s death was not suicide, but either a prank gone wrong or perhaps murder. Does a man at the height of his artistic powers, who has placed an order for paints and canvasses kill himself? Does a right-handed man shoot himself in his left side? Read about it and draw your own conclusion. At any rate, 130 years ago a revolutionary artist died too soon. Poor Vincent, “This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you,” wrote Don McLean.

In honor of the scenes of van Gogh’s life, we will enjoy a breakfast made with galettes/crepes from Brittany and ratatouille from sunny Provence, both places where he painted. For dinner, a soup that features potatoes and sauerkraut — foods that would have been familiar to the Belgian family depicted in The Potato Eaters, the first van Gogh work I knew as a child.

Ratatouille-Egg Galette: 151 calories 5.5 g fat 2 g fiber 9 g protein 14 g carbs 53 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF – if using GF crepes  A perfect blend of the cuisines of Northern and Southern France.

1 crepe/galette   one 2-oz egg ¼ cup Mediterranean Vegetables, drain and reserve excess liquids ½ oz fresh mushrooms  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]

Drain the vegetables of excess liquids. Use the liquids to cook the mushrooms. Combine the vegetables and mushrooms and heat them. Warm the crepe and plate it. Poach or fry the egg. Spoon the vegetables over the crepe and top it all with the egg. Eat with your hands or use a fork.

Jota: 169 calories  4.5 g fat 7.4 g fiber 11.5 g protein 25.7 g carbs [all Complex] 83.5 mg Calcium  PB GF  The flavors of Africa and and the mediterranean meet in this bean stew. Very satisfying. HINT: This recipe is enough for 4 [four] 1-cup servings.

Here, the Jota is served with spinach leaves.

1-½ cups sauerkraut, drained 1-½ cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed bay leaf 4 oz red potatoes, cooked and diced 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 oz smoked ham hock, cubed ½ cup or more vegetable broth or water   Optional*: 1 clove garlic, crushed + 1 tsp flour + 1 tsp oil Optional**: raw leaves of baby spinach

Spray a heavy sauce pan with non-stick spray and cook the garlic until golden brown. Add the sauerkraut to the pan with the broth, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. In another pan, heat the beans with the bay leaf until warm. Remove half of the beans and put them in a food processor with the cooked garlic and half of the potatoes. Puree, adding water/broth to adjust the liquids. Add the puree, uncrushed beans, potatoes, and meat to the pan with the sauerkraut. Taste for seasonings. Add some water/broth to bring the volume to 4 cups. *Optional: Simmer a garlic clove in 1 tsp oil until brown. Remove garlic and whisk in 1 tsp flour, then add some stock to make a roux. Stir into the stew as a thickener. **Optional: When the soup is in the bowl, tear the spinach leaves into bits and poke them into the hot liquid to add some extra color, texture, vitamins.

Omelette

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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.

Omelettes [or omelets] are found in many cuisines. Surely, as long as people have had eggs and a pan to cook them in, they have been eating omelettes. The ancient Persians had their Kuku, which sounds rather like the ‘bakes’ we have on Mondays. Cookbooks in France mention ‘alumete’ in 1393, long before Mere Poulard. India eats its Pora. Canton, China enjoys eggs fu yung, and Japan serves tamagoyaki. The Spanish omelette [they call it a ‘tortilla’], which is cooked on both sides in a pan, seems to have caught on in 1798; while the Italian frittata, pan-cooked then baked, lacks an origin story. Louis XV of France whipped up a dinner of omelettes for his friends — weren’t they surprised! Whether king or commoner, the omelette is a fine meal. Whether Faster or feaster, omelettes provide flavor, nutrition, protein, and calcium in a low-calorie form.

There are omelettes for breakfast and dinner and dessert. Just about every Thursday, as you have seen, we enjoy an omelette for our Fast breakfast. Of late, since the hens are laying well, we have sampled the joys of dinner eggs: Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian. Here are some examples:

Guacamole Eggs:  145 calories 11.4 g fat 1g fiber 11 g protein 5 g carbs [45. g Complex] 45 mg Calcium   PB GF  Avocado and eggs are a very good combination. Both are high in fat, but the plant fat helps to mitigate effects of the animal fat. Here, we use Haas avocados.

Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1 ½ eggs per person HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.  3 Tbsp Guacomole, homemade** or purchased  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]

**Guacamole: makes 1 cup  1 jalepeno pepper, sliced. Remove the seeds if you wish it less hot. 1 cup diced tomatoes, canned or fresh 1-1/2 avocados 1/3 cup minced onion ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves salt lime juice, and hot pepper flakes to taste Peel, seed, and mash the avocados. Stir in the other ingredients and mash again or run through the food processor.

Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and pour them into a pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Cook, without stirring or scrambling, until the top is almost set. Spread the guacamole on half of the eggs, then fold the omelette over. Serve with optional beverages. Mocha coffee would be the more traditional choice for a Mexican food theme.

Omelette Basque:  274 calories 14.8 g fat 4.4 g fiber 16.7 g protein 20 g carbs [14 g Complex] 69.5 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF bread A savory omelette is a wonderful dinner, any day of the week. Susan Herrmann Loomas’ French Farmhouse Cooking is the source of this delicious meal.  HINT: serves two [2].

4 two-oz eggs 8 oz Italian bell peppers, green +/or red, cut in 1”x2” pieces 1 tsp olive oil ground espelette or Aleppo pepper or smokey paprika   per serving: one side salad with tomato   per serving: 0.8 oz whole-wheat sourdough bread

Cut the peppers as described above. Heat the oil in a 10-12” saute pan along with some healthy sprays of non-stick spray. When the oil is hot, add the peppers and cook, tossing them to turn to the other sides, until they have blackened parts. Lightly salt and pepper the peppers. Remove and separate into two portions. Whisk the eggs. Divide the eggs into two equal portions and add a pinch of espelette or Aleppo pepper to each batch. Put the pan back on the heat and add one portion of the peppers. Arrange them so that they are evenly distributed on the pan. When the pan is sizzling, add one portion of the eggs to the pan. Tilt the pan around so the eggs flow over the bottom and around the peppers. As the sides cook, lift the edge and let uncooked egg go to the bottom of the pan. Lightly salt and pepper the eggs. As the top just sets, remove the pan from the heat. Lift up one-third of the omelette and fold it over the rest. Fold the other side over the center, too, and ease the omelette onto a plate. Cook the other omelette right away. Plate with the salad and the bread. Everything you want in a dinner: delicious, quick, healthy.

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

1 two-oz eggBob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal 
mushroomslow-fat milk
galettes/crepesblueberries
Mediterranean Vegetables
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Smoke ham hock70-calorie multi-grain bread
sauerkraut + garlictuna + onion + celery + tomato
canned red beanscelery seed + Swiss cheese
red potatoes [raw spinach]reduced-fat mayonnaise or Béchamel
Sparkling waterside salad + Sparkling water

Saint Wilgefort

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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. Welcome to Athletic & Fit who is now Following.

Did you ever hear of Saint Wilgefort? Perhaps by her nickname: Saint Uncumber? No? Well, don’t feel bad, because this saint never existed. She was the creation of active minds seeking the answer to a question and she is the result of an hilarious mix-up of cultures. The Christian Church of the West shows Christ on the cross mostly unclothed, to reveal the gruesome details of his death. The Eastern Church prefers to depict the crucified Christ fully clothed, in the garb of a church leader [as seen in the Holy Face of Lucca]. When images of the Eastern crucifix spread into Northern Europe with missionaries, the non-Christian population, seeing the priestly robes as women’s garb, began to wonder: Why has a woman been killed like that? Why does she have a beard??? Imaginations ran rampant, a plausible explanation emerged, and here is the story: “This was the image of Saint Wilgefort [from the latin for Virgin who is Strong]. She had been the pretty, pliant daughter of a pagan family, but she secretly became a Christian. Her father told her to marry the man of his choosing, which she did not want to do. Wilgefort was going to be forced to marry, so she prayed to heaven to make her look repulsive and thus the wedding would be canceled. Behold! When she awoke on her wedding day, she had grown a full beard! Her prospective groom called off the ceremony and her father demanded an explanation. Hoping to show how strong her faith was, she told him everything. Her father, furious, said if she liked Christians so much, she could die like one and had her crucified.” This idea spread through Europe, popular with young women who wanted to marry for love, and with married women who wanted to get rid of a brute of a spouse. These women wished to ‘uncumber’ themselves of their unwanted men, and now they had a patron saint for that. Believe it or not, there are statues to her in churches and her image was widely distributed in the 1400s, before her following was stamped out by authorities.

July 20 is the feast day of Saint Wilgefort. Since the name ‘Saint Uncumber’ makes me think of cucumbers, both of our meals today will feature that vegetable. You will enjoy these whether you have a beard or not.

Cucumber-Smoked Salmon Sandwich:  143 calories 3.3 g fat 3.7g fiber 10 g protein 18 g carbs 75.7 mg Calcium  NB: The food values are for the meal and fruit only and do not include the optional coffee.  PB GF – if using GF bread  Such a simple and delicious way to start your day!

1 slice 70-calorie whole grain bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is perfect] 1 Tbsp cottage cheese + 1-½ teaspoons chives, chopped 1 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced ¼ cup [4 slices?] Swedish Cucumber Salad** 1 oz strawberries

Lightly toast the bread. Cream the cottage cheese and chives together with some grindings of fresh black pepper. Spread the cheese mixture on the bread. Place the salmon on top, then the cucumber slices on top of that. Serve with the sweet, fresh berries. Wonderful.

Tuna Cucumber Boat: 226 calories 9.4 g fat 5.6 g fiber 17.4 g protein 21 g carbs 69 mg Calcium  PB GF  So easy for the summer or anytime.

2 oz cooked or canned tuna one 8 oz cucumber, of which you will use half to serve one person  ¼ cup scallions  + 2 Tbsp celery, minced ¾ oz avocado  +  1-½ tsp mayonnaise     ½ cup 4-bean salad [see Sidekicks I, posted 17 Sept, 2017]  

Slice the scallion finely and put it in a medium-sized bowl. Break up the tuna and combine with the scallion.  Mash the avocado with the mayonnaise. Mince the celery. Stir them all into the tuna. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a melon-baller. Mound the tuna mixture [heaping half-cup] into the cucumber boat and plate with the 4-bean salad.

Slow Days: Hake with Green Sauce

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

In April, disappointed that our trip to France was canceled, we decided that if we couldn’t be in Gascony, we could eat as if we were in Gascony. After scouring our cookbooks, we chose recipes for dinner, and sometime breakfast, that would be typical of where we would have been on a particular date. Thus we “dined out” in the restaurants of our imaginations. One of the earliest meals was named Hake in Green Sauce. There is no sauce. “Green Sauce” is a centuries-old term for vegetables served on or with the protein of the meal. In Spanish, the term is ‘salsa verde,’ which we today think of as a mild-hot condiment in a jar. The recipe, called “Merluza, Salsa Verde,” is found in Anne Willan’s French Regional Cooking.

The ingredients you see pictured are enough for two people.

Hake, new potatoes [our’s were multi-colored], garlic, oil, crushed red pepper, peas and asparagus comprise the ingredients. The potatoes are simmered in boiling water for 15 minutes, then drained. The peas are cooked until just tender, then shocked in cold water and drained. Same for the asparagus. The hake is seasoned, then dredged lightly in flour. Brown the hake in an oil-coated pan until lightly brown on both sides, but not cooked through. Arrange the dish in an oven-safe dish [I used the tart pan you see in the above photo] and sprinkle with the hot pepper flakes and chopped garlic. Put the potatoes around the edges of the fish, then put the vegetables on top. Sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water into the dish, cover it, and bake at 375F/190C for 15-20 minutes, when the fish will be tender.

This is really good — I ate the whole thing!

Guiseppe Piazzi

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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.

On January 1, 1801, Guiseppe Piazzi looked through his telescope in the mountains above Palermo, Sicily. He hoped that the first day of a new century would be an auspicious one — that he might find a new planet in the solar system and re-establish Italy as a powerhouse of astronomy. All astronomers knew that there was an extra-large distance between Mars and Jupiter, and Piazzi was sure that there was a planet lurking in that gap. Lo! He found a bright object orbiting the sun and he named it ‘Ceres,’ after Sicily’s patron goddess of the harvest. He had found a new planet!! Other astronomers, hoping to observe it, looked in the same area and found another object there, and then another, and another — astronomers were seeing new planets left and right and they realized that something was wrong. This lead to a consensus over the definition of ‘planet.’ To the ancient Greeks, ‘planet’ meant ‘wanderer:’ those bodies that moved back-ward then forward in their trip across the night sky. But by the early 1800s, ‘planet’ meant a body that orbits the sun and doesn’t have other planets very near to it. Thus Piazzi’s discovery was not a planet, and it was named an ‘asteroid.’ Ceres is the largest of all the bodies in the Asteroid Belt which lies between Mars and Jupiter. He didn’t find a new planet, but he made a name for himself and added to our knowledge of the structure of the Solar System. When the category “dwarf planet” was created, Ceres was given that status.

In honor of Guiseppe Piazzi’s birthday on July 16, we will enjoy a Sicilian Omelette in the morning. Capri is almost due North of Palermo across the Tyrrhennian Sea. Our dinner comes from there. Dine out under the stars.

Sicilian ScrOmelette: 157 calories 11 g fat 0.5 g fiber 13 g protein 2 g carbs 129 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette only, and do not include the optional beverages.   PB GF  A protein-packed salad meets eggs for breakfast. This is based on our Sicilian Shepherd’s Salad which we enjoy for dinner.

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.  ¼ oz salami sausage ¼ oz mozzerella 2 Tbsp chopped wild greens [ex: dandelion, wild sorrel] or arugula  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Chop the sausage, the cheese, and the greens, and combine them gently. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper, then pour into the heated pan. As the eggs set, sprinkle the sausage mixture over the eggs. Scramble or fold as an omelette and enjoy with the beverages

Caprese Chicken: 289 calories 15 g fat 2.5 g fiber 35.6 g protein 6.3 g carbs 140 mg Calcium  PB GF ‘Caprese’ means ‘from Capri,’ the fabled island off the West coast of Italy. In cooking, it often means the use of fresh mozzerella, basil, and tomatoes, as in this recipe. HINT: This recipe serves two [2]. The amounts can be cut in half for one person.

The pasta on the side is how to serve it on a Slow Day, or for a non-Fasting guest.
8-oz chicken breast Kosher salt + pepper Bone and skin the chicken and pat it dry. Remove the tenderloin and save for another use. Hold the meat flat on the cutting board with your hand flat. Cut it lengthwise parallel to the cutting board, so you have two, equal, thin pieces. Pound the meat to make as thin a filet as you can. Season on both sides .
2 oz mozzerella, sliced 2 oz sliced tomatoes 6-8 basil leaves Place cheese, tomato + basil on each filet. Fold the filet over to enclose the filling. You might need to hold it closed with a toothpick/skewer or tie with kitchen twine. TIP: Filet can be prepped to this point, covered + kept cool up to 24 hrs
Non-stick cooking spray 1-½ tsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, sliced  Heat oil + non-stick spray in a 10-12” nonstick pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic, stirring, until golden, about 4 minutes. Remove garlic and reserve it, leaving oil in the pan.
Sauté meat bundles until golden on the bottom, about 4–6 mins. If the meat darkens too fast, lower heat. Flip + cook for 4–5 minutes. Cover + cook 2 to 3 mins more, until chicken is cooked and filling is hot.
2 tsp Pesto basil leaves 3 oz asparagus per person Cook asparagus. Transfer chicken to the plates. Add pesto to pan juices and whisk. Pour pan juices over the chicken. Garnish with cooked garlic and basil leaves. Serve asparagus on the side.

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

70-calorie whole grain bread1.5 two-oz eggs 
cottage cheese + chivesguacamole
smoked salmon + cucumber
white wine vinegar + dill + sugar
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

tuna, fresh or cannedeggs + olive oil
cucumber + avocadobell pepper
4-bean saladwhole-wheat sourdough bread
scallion + celeryside salad
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Alexander III

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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 arun ard who is now Following.

Thomas the Rhymer [1220-1298], a poet and sooth-sayer, whom some said had lived with and gained wisdom from the Faery Folk, was flippantly asked by Lord Patrick Dunbar what the weather would be the next day. Thomas answered that on the next day a strong wind would shake the kingdom of Scotland. When the next day was fair and mild, the nobleman scoffed, saying that Thomas was no prophet. Then it was learned that King Alexander III [1249-1286] had died in a riding accident. The wind that shook the kingdom was the lack of an heir for Alexander’s line, leaving the country without a strong leader. Crowned on July 13, 1249 at age 21, Alexander had been a good king, dealing shrewdly with the English and ousting the Norsemen from the Western Isles, uniting Scotland. After his death, arguments broke out among 13 families, each vying for the crown — all the while making Scotland weaker as England grew stronger. War with England followed, with William Wallace and Robert the Bruce trying to unify the kingdom. Eventually, England won and kept its thumb on Scotland for centuries. A strong wind indeed.

The tattie scone is a typical item on the Scottish table, although not in Alexander’s time, since potatoes were introduced into Scotland in the 1600s. Our dinner selection is very true to his time, as every ingredient was eaten in that era — the smoked haddock came in with the Vikings; the cheese and spices from the import trade; the cabbage from the kitchen garden, and the Béchamel Sauce nods to the strong historical connection between Scotland and France.

Tattie Scone with Egg: 145 calories 5 g fat 2.6 g fiber 8.7 g protein 18.4 g carbs 87 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg, scone, and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB  Tattie Scones have been part of a Scottish Breakfast ever since potatoes were considered fit to eat. Easy to make with left-over boiled potatoes.

One 2-oz egg 1 tattie scone*** 2 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]

***TATTIE SCONES  makes 3, each at 43 calories 1 Tbsp egg white ½ cup mashed potatoes, no milk, no butter 1 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp milk ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder

Combine all ingredients so that it looks like thin Cream of Wheat. Measure ¼ cup portions and pour into a heavy skillet which has been well-seasoned or spitzed with non-stick spray. Spread out the batter to about 4.5” diameter. Cook slowly on one side until the scones are cohesive enough to turn over. Cook on the other side. Cool and store until you need them.

Prepare the Tattie Scone [HINT: Do this the night before and cook them, too.] and keep warm or re-warm. Fry the egg to your liking. Prepare the fruit and beverages. Plate the scone, top with the egg. Plate the fruit and pour the beverages. Almost an instant meal, if you made the scone beforehand.

Finnen Haddie & Cabbage:  287 calories 12 g fat 6.7 g fiber 25.7 g protein 18 g carbs 250 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF flour in the Bechamel  The flavor of smoked haddock is so marvelous that it elevates the humble cabbage to new heights.

3 cups sliced cabbbage and/or kale 1/3 cup [100 ml] Bechamel sauce, without cheese   nutmeg 2.5 oz finnen haddie [smoked haddock], skin removed ½ oz Brie or Camembert cheese, chopped

Cook the cabbage, covered, in boiling water for around 10 minutes. Drain, saving some of the water. [use remaining water for baking] Place the Bechamel, 2-3 Tbsp of the cabbage water, and the finnen haddie in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the fish and break into pieces less than an inch in size. Add the cooked cabbage to the sauce with a sprinkle of nutmeg, and stir until well-combined. Add the fish and turn into an oven-safe dish. Strew the cheese bits on top and bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Sigh. Delicious.

Under the Influence: Spain

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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 the year 711, the ‘Berbers’ crossed the Strait of Gibralter to invade Spain. Who were the Berbers? That was a non-specific name for the people of Northern Africa. Sometimes, they were called the Moors — like Othello. They occupied Spain until 1492, and they had a big affect on the culture and cooking of Andalusia in particular. Foods that came in with the Berbers included: saffron, rice [can you make paella without these two?!], couscous, carrots, eggplant, almonds, artichokes, apricots, coriander, grapefruit, and sugar. Hard to imagine cooking without those staple ingredients, isn’t it? Even though Isabella and Ferdinand eventually expelled the Berbers, the cuisine of Spain today owes much to having been under their influence.

Breakfast features the classic preparation of the Spanish Omelette [minus the potatoes, since they came centuries later] with many of the ingredients which arrived with the Berbers: rice, eggplant, coriander. The dinner stars the flavor of apricot, another import, and borrows from the Jewish community in old Spain, people who were tolerated by the Muslims of that time.

Berber Spanish Omelette: 194 calories 8 g fat 2.5 g fiber 12 g protein 14 g carbs 39 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the egg dish and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The Berbers brought rice and eggplant to Spain. The omelette was invented later, but we can enjoy them together now.

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.   1/3 cup Mediterranean Vegetables with chickpeas 2.5 Tbsp cooked brown rice [save some if you cooked it for a previous meal] 2 oz watermelon  pinch coriander: ground dried or chopped fresh leaves   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]

Spritz a non-stick pan with cooking spray. Put in the rice and cook it until it is warm. Add the vegetables and cook until warm. Whisk the eggs and pour them into the pan without disturbing the vegetables and rice, so they are evenly distributed. Cook the eggs until they are set, and cooked on one side. Turn the egg round over without breaking it and cook the other side. To serve, cut in wedges and plate with the melon.

Apricot-Glazed Lemon Chicken: 262 calories 1.8 g fat 4 g fiber 29 g protein 35 g carbs [24 g Complex] 65.5 mg Calcium  PB GF  Lightly sweet, slightly sour. This chicken is very easy to prepare and it is delicious. You will want to eat this often. The recipe comes from the Great Hadassah Wizo Cookbook, via Omgyummy.com. So you know that then I modified it….

3-4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast 1.5 tsp apricot preserves/jam ½ tsp chopped lemon zest 1 tsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 or 2 slices of lemon ½ cup delicata squash, cubed 3 oz sweet potatoes garlic powder + paprika + pepper + salt

Take one boneless chicken breast and place it on a cutting board. Put one hand flat on top of it and cut through the meat parallel to the cutting board. This should give you two equal pieces of breast meat, each 3-4 ounces. [Set aside the other piece of meat, unless you are serving two today.] Whisk the jam, mustard, lemon juice, and zest. If the jam is too solid, warm it gently so it will combine with the other ingredients. Spray a baking pan or pie plate with olive oil and put in the chicken. Pour the sauce over it and place the lemon slices on top. Cut the delicata squash, skin and all, and put into an oven-proof dish, such as a pie plate. Cut the sweet potato into skinny French Fries, toss them with garlic powder, paprika, and pepper, and add them to the pie plate. Spray liberally with non-stick oil or olive oil. Put the chicken and the vegetables into a 400 F oven for 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables and salt them. Return to oven, raise the temperature to 425 F and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. Happy eating awaits.

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

1 two-oz egg + pear1.5 two-oz eggs 
Tattie Scone: mashed potatosalami
white whole wheat flourmozzarella
egg white + baking powderwild greens or arugula
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

smoked haddockraw chicken breast + basil leaves
cabbage + nutmegtomato + garlic
bechamel sauce, no cheesefresh mozzarella cheese
Brie or Camembert or Goudapesto + asparagus
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Two Richards

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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 eriefitnesstips who is now Following.

If one said, “King Richard of England,” two people might come to mind: Richard the Lionheart [first of that name] and Richard the Third. We have been trained by Hollywood to think that #1 was a great man and by Shakespeare to think that #3 was a monster. Curiously, each was crowned on July 6, #1 in 1189, and #3 in 1483. Richard I was hardly ever in England during his 10 year reign. Mostly he was off crusading or planning for it. While in-country, he wasn’t worth Robin Hood’s support [although he was better than his brother King John]. Richard was so far removed from his people that he never learned to speak English and he spent most of his time in Aquitaine, France. Richard III had scoliosis, hence his purported hunched back. He was a York and, like the rest of his family and their rival Lancasters [prototype for House Lannister], schemed for power and control of the throne. Yet some say he was a pretty good ruler. His reign and his death ended the War of the Roses, ushering in the Tudor Dynasty. Shakespeare, writing propaganda for the Tudors, painted him in the most unflattering light. Neither of these kings is who we thought he was.

In recognition of Richard II’s French heritage, we’ll have a breakfast which includes a fine French cheese. The dinner is from Yorkshire, like Richard III, and indeed he might have eaten it.

Raclette Bake:  287 calories 8.4 oz fat 3.3 g fiber 15.6 g protein 38 g carbs 295 mg Calcium NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF Raclette is a cheese from the Swiss/French Alps which is melted to make the eponymous dish of the region, presented with bread or potatoes. Here it is used to give a wonderful flavor to baked eggs. Wow.

one 2-oz egg ¼ slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread 1/3 oz raclette cheese, grated  2 Tablespoons 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]

Set the toaster oven at 350 F. Toast the bread and cut into cubes. Put the bread in a lightly-spritzed ramekin. Whisk the egg with the cheese, salt, and pepper and pour into the ramekin. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Pour the beverages, portion the berries, and think about the Alps.

Whitby Fish Pie: 294 calories 15.4 g fat 1.7g fiber 17.5 g protein 15 g carbs [1.7 g Complex] 139 mg Calcium This fabulous recipe is from Paul Hollywood, of British Baking Show fame. It is simple and delicious. Dear Husband loved it. HINT: This recipe is enough for two [2] people.

233 ml [1 cup] skimmed milk ½ bay leaf
½ small onion
2 whole cloves [the spice] 		Put the milk in a pan with the bay leaf and onion studded with cloves. Bring slowly to the boil, turn off the heat and let infuse for at least 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a liquid measuring cup.
20 g butter
20 g = 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 40 g spinach, fresh or frozen 1 Tbsp chopped parsley salt & pepper		Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook gently for a few minutes, then gradually stir in the infused milk. Increase the heat a little, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the spinach, parsley and some salt and pepper.
133g/3.5 oz fresh haddock
133g/3 oz finnen haddie [smoked] 58 g/1.5 oz shrimp, cleaned salt & pepper		Skin the fish and remove any pin bones. Cut into bite-sized pieces and put into a 4”x 6” dish with the shrimp/prawns. Pour on enough sauce to cover, gently mix with the fish and check the seasoning. 
Purchased puff pastry, 1/6 sheet ~47 g

Heat the oven to 200°C/400F/Gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a 4×6” rectangle. Cut into 6 strips and use to form a lattice atop the pie.  Bake for 20-25 mins until pastry is golden brown.

The Frigate Meduse

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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.

On July 2, 1816, the French naval vessel La Meduse sank off the coast of West Africa. She had set sail, full of optimism and colonial hubris from Southern France, bound on a mission for all the wrong reasons. On board were soldiers and a governor, sent to subdue Senegal and re-claim it for France. The captain was an incompetent political appointee and the governor, eager to begin his duties, urged a change in course and full speed to get there sooner. Mis-reading the charts, they ran the ship aground on a sandbar 60 miles off Mauritania. Did they ditch the cannon to lighten the ship and float her off? No. They put the captain, governor, and soldiers in the two lifeboats, left 17 sailors on board, and 147 passengers/crew were placed on a rickety raft. After two days of towing the raft, the lifeboats cut her loose — leaving those survivors with 6 casks of wine, 1 cask of water, and a bag of biscuits. Thirteen days later, they were rescued. Only 15 people remained. Some had fallen overboard, some were thrown overboard. Some mutinied and were killed, many died of hunger and thirst, some were eaten due to their raft-mates’ hunger. It was a horrible story when told in 1817, and told it was when the ship’s surgeon and the geographer wrote about it. This caught the attention of Theodore Gericault who painted a vast [16×23 foot] canvas, now called Le Radeau de la Meduse. It is a dramatic, astonishing, evocative, disturbing, realistic, and unforgettable work of art hanging in the Louvre.

Our menu for the day begins in Southern France, as did the voyage of the Meduse. The salt cod in the eggs was probably part of the ship’s stores when she set out. The day ends in Senegal, now free of the yoke of colonial rule, with a delicious meal of fish and avocados .

Marseille Omelette: 156 calories 8 g fat 0.7 g fiber 16.5 g protein 4 g carbs 69.6 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Garlic, tomatoes, salt cod, and lavender: all flavors of Marseille on your breakfast plate.

1 ½ 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  1/3 oz salt cod, soaked 1 clove garlic, minced large pinch dried lavender 2 oz sliced fresh tomatoes, salted and sprinkled with herbs   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]

The night before: soak the salt cod in water for 30-40 minutes, until softened. Mince and combine with the garlic and lavender.  Next morning: Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with the flavorings and pour into the hot pan. Instead of scrambling it, allow it to cook until the bottom is cooked and the top is firming up. Gently flip it to the other side to cook briefly. Plate with the tomatoes. Serve with the beverages of choice.

Senegal Tuna-Avocado Salad:  264 calories 14.6 g fat 6.4 g fiber 13 g protein 18 g carbs 30 mg Calcium  PB GF  This is my version of a meal which I enjoyed at Bissap Baobab, an excellent Senegalese restaurant, since closed, in Oakland, CA. 

2-1/2 oz white/Albacore tuna 2 Tbsp celery, minced pinch or 2 ground ginger ½ tsp lime juice Sriracha sauce ¾ oz apple, diced 2 oz avocado 2 Tbsp radish or alfalfa sprouts 4 oz cherry tomatoes ¼ oz [½ cup] baby spinach leaves 1 tsp + ½ tsp mayonnaise made with olive oil

Lightly combine the tuna with the celery, ginger, dash of Sriracha, lime juice, apple, and ½ tsp mayonnaise. Arrange the spinach leaves in the center of the plate and mound the tuna on top. Slice the avocado and layer on top of the tuna. Mix remaining mayonnaise with Sriracha to taste and drizzle over the avocado. If the cherry tomatoes are not bite-sized, cut in half. Place tomatoes around the edge of the plate and sprinkle with sprouts. A fine meal when you want a taste of lands where the sun shines brightly.

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

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
70-calorie whole grain breadcooked brown rice
raclette cheesewatermelon
blueberriesMediterranean Vegetables w/ chickpeas
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

skim milk + onion + whole cloveschicken breast + lemon
bay leaf + white whole wheat flourapricot preserves/jam
butter + haddock + smoked haddockDijon mustard
shrimp + puff pastry + spinachdelicata squash + sweet potato
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Glaciers

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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.

Glaciers are fascinating things — though made of soft ice, they can sculpt rocks and change entire landscapes. There are rivers flowing through and beneath them. They are made of layers and although they look white, the ice is actually blue. They form when snow from the previous year doesn’t melt and then more snow adds to that the next winter. The snow compresses under its own weight and turns to ice. If the ice becomes 30 feet thick, it is officially deemed a ‘glacier.’ Around the world, they are melting at a great rate. This changes the weather, ecosystem around it, and even the elevation of the land. But curiously, a new glacier has been forming on the West coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Our family saw it in its infancy in 1992, at Gros Morne National Park, and it has been growing ever since. On June 25, 2018, it snowed in Newfoundland, to the amazement of many. An area of ice cools the air around it, causing more snow to fall, fueling the glacier build-up further. This is why we call it ‘climate change’ — some places get warmer, while others become colder.

Breakfast is white and creamy, like a pile of snow, and it is served cold. Similarly, the dinner is a cold meal, best enjoyed on a hot day.

Citrus Breakfast: 149 calories 1.3 g fat 1.7 g fiber 15.7 g protein 19 g carbs [5.5 g Complex] 118 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB GF  Is this the breakfast you imagine when you think ‘go on a diet’? Does it look like starvation rations? Banish those thoughts! Delicious, nutritious, and filling, this is a great breakfast for anyone, anyday. It is a vitamin-blast.

½ cup reduced-fat cottage cheese 2 Tbsp fat-free plain or fat-free French Vanilla yogurt   1 clementine, peeled and sectioned 2 Tbsp black currants  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]

Combine all the dairy and fruit [or combine the dairy and garnish with fruit after plating]. Knowing that I would have a busy morning, I did this the night before and refrigerated it. Great for a grab-and-go meal, if you prep it the night before.

Gazpacho:  171 calories 6.5 g fat 2.4 g fiber 14 g protein 14.6 g carbs 57.6 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF croutons This is from Craig Claibourne’s Gourmet Diet cookbook from 1980. We used to make this, then it fell out of the repetoire. Time to re-embrace this classic Summer soup.  HINT: Serves 3 [three]. Makes a fine follow-up lunch. 

1 pound red ripe tomatoes 1 tsp minced garlic ½ cup diced onion ½ cup green or red pepper in ½” dice ½ cup cucumber, diced 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil ¼ cup tomato juice generous grinds of black pepper + pinch Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper   garnish per serving:  2 oz shrimp, peeled, cooked, cut in ½“ pieces ¼ oz [about 5] whole-grain croutons

Core and dice the tomatoes. Put them into a blender. Add the next seven ingredients in order. Put the spices on top and turn the blender on to medium speed. When you are finished, all the ingredients should be mixed throughout but there should still be chunks of vegetables. Measure 1 cup of the soup into each bowl and top with the garnishes and a pinch of finishing salt. Just what we need in the Summer.

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

1 two-oz egg + plain yogurtmango + pineapple 
zucchini + feta cheeseoven-roasted plantain slices
flour + watermelongoat cheese
self-rising flourcoconut dumpling
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

eggplant + egg + basil + reduced-fat cottage cheese Albacore tuna + lime juice + spinach leaves
canned tomatoes + Parmesansprouts/microgreens + celery
part-skim ricotta cheese + zucchini or fresh spinachavocado + mayonnaise + Sriracha
whole-grain pasta + garlic powdercherry tomatoes + apple + ginger
Sparkling waterSparkling water