Eating your way to a slimmer body with the 5:2 diet

Viking Tales: Sons of Rognvald

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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 Revelação do funk brasileiro who is now Following.

Rognvald ‘The Wise’ Einsteinsson, Jarl of Møre, friend of Harald Fair-hair, had many children through various liasons – typical of a strong leader in the Viking Era. One of his wives was Groa Thorsteinsdottir, grand-daughter of Aude the Profound. Bernard was her son [and my ancestor]. Ragnhild Hrolfsdatter, the Official Wife, produced Ivarr, Thorir, and Hrolf [aka: Rollo the Granger]. Un-named ‘friðla‎s’ [concubines/enlsaved women] gave birth to Einarr, Hallad and Hrollaug. All six sons, with their varying personalities, formed the ‘board of directors’ for ‘Rognvald Enterprises.’ Viking families operated like corporations, overseeing the home farms, the fleet of ships, the many crews of men for the ships, and the trading branch of the business. This struck viewers of the Vikings Series as incongruous, but being a Viking wasn’t just pillaging and drinking — Vikings were businessmen. Here is a story to rival the series Succession: the 6 sons of Rognvald and their fates. After Ivarr was killed on a raid with King Harald, Rognvald was given the Earldom of the Orkney and Shetland Islands as compensation. Since Rognvald already had lands at Møre/Maer in Norway, he gave the islands to his brother Sigurd. When his brother was killed by rival pillaging Vikings, Rognvald sent his son Hallad to rule — a big promotion. But the Earldom had a catch: to keep it, one had to repel other Viking bands who wanted to take over.  [After two years, Hallad returned, saying that he was sick and tired of continually fighting Vikings. He became the laughingstock of the family and of the community.]  Rognvald, enraged at and embarrassed by his son, called a Family Meeting. Topic: who next shall take over the Orkneys and Shetlands? Thorir volunteered, but Rognvald said that his fate lay in Norway. [After Rognvald’s death, Thorir inherited the Earldom of Møre.]  Hrolf, volunteered to go. His father said, “No – I see other lands in your future.” Bernard would have volunteered, but he always palled around with his half-brother Hrolf.  [Hrolf became the Duke of Normandy France in 911, ancestor of William the Conquerer. He rewarded his brother Bernard for his support with lands of his own. Bernard’s descendants became the families Harcourt and Beaufort in England, and d’Harcourt in France.] What about Hrollaug? No, said his father, he was foretold to have a future in Iceland.  [Hrollaug did indeed move to Iceland, dying around 904 CE, at Eyiafiord.] So Einarr spoke up, saying, “You give me enough fighting men and I will go. And happily, since none of you care about me and I get no respect in this family.” His father said, “Good. You’ve never made anything of yourself here, so go there.”  [Einarr left for the Orkneys and never came home again. On the Orkneys, there were no trees, so Einar started the custom of digging peat to burn for fuel. Hearing this, his family called him Torf-Einarr, or Einarr the Turf-Digger. Einar was the only son of Rognvald to avenge his murder. He killed Halfdan son of King Harald.] Did you ever think that your’s was the only dis-functional family? Think again.

The Orkneys and the Shetland Islands are part of Scotland nowadays. Our meals utilize local ingredients for a breakfast from the rivers and a dinner from the barnyard.

Leek & Salmon Bake: 129 calories 6.5 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 7 g carbs 64.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Simply delicious. 

One 2-oz egg ½ oz salmon [could be leftover from a previous meal] 1/3 oz leek, sliced thinly cross-wise 1 tsp low-fat sour cream OR plain Greek Yogurt dill weed to taste dash lemon juice small plum   Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Spritz an oven-proof ramekin [for 2 people, Dear Husband likes to use a 6×4” oval casserole] with non-stick spray and set the oven for 350 degrees F. Slice the leek and put in a microwave-safe dish. [NB: if the fish is raw, cut it into small pieces and put it in the dish with the leeks] Cook in microwave for 30 seconds at high heat to soften the leek. Add to the ramekin. Whisk the egg with the sour cream, dill, lemon juice, and salt/pepper to taste. [NB: some people find dill to be a very strong flavor, so go easy] Pour over the salmon/leek mixture and bake for 12-15 minutes. Prepare your beverages of choice and dish the berries. Have a wonderful breakfast and a wonderful day.

Cock-a-Leekie Soup:  202 calories 4 g fat 3 g fiber 13 g protein 22 g carbs 44 mg Calcium   PB GF  This Scottish farmstead soup goes back to the late middle-ages, as you can tell by the simple, Old World, Northern Europe ingredients such as barley, onions, dried fruit, and leeks. The recipe is from Graeme Taylor.  

11 one-cup servingsPreheat the oven to 200˚c/ 400 F
2 leg quarters + 1 back = 1# 9 oz water to coverRoast chicken pieces ~ 30 mins in a heavy bottomed pot. Pour water over chicken until it is covered. Bring to a boil, simmer 1 hr, on stovetop to produce stock.
1 onion, chopped = 1cup
2 leeks, sliced = 15 oz  3 oz/ ¾ c carrots, chopped 
12 prunes, chopped  
3 sprigs of thyme + 1 bay leaf ½ tsp salt + grindings pepper 		Add in these ingredients. Cook until vegetables are tender, around 20 minutes. Remove chicken, take the meat from the bones, and stir meat back into soup. I ended up with 1½ cups meat. Remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf. 
Strain soup through a collander into a bowl, saving solids and the stock. After cooking, there were 5 cups vegetables. 
Cool and skim fat from the stock. I ended up with 4 cups stock. Reunite solids with stock. Check for seasoning and let sit in the pot for 8 hours+. Portion and freeze.
Per serving: 2 Tbsp quick barley  Stir barley into the pot. Simmer, covered, 8 mins. Serve.

Mother Ann Lee

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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.

Shakers’ religious dancing.

A daughter was born to John and Ann Beswick Lees on February 29, 1736, on Toad Lane Road, Manchester, England. John Lees worked as a blacksmith by day and as a tailor by night to keep his family fed. The parents, devout and respectable people, named their daughter Ann. Illiterate, like other girls of her social class, she started working in the textile mills at age eight. When she was 20 years old, Ann became the cook at a local hospital/insane asylum. This was a time of religious revival in Manchester, as well as the start of the Industrial Revolution. Ann’s father married her to his apprentice, Abraham Standerin/Stanley, when she was 25. Her marriage either contributed to or reinforced her aversion to sex, which she saw a sinful. An off-shoot of the Quaker sect had been formed by Jane Wardley, and Ann became an enthusiastic member. Their worship services began with silent reflection and ended with mass shouting, writhing, and dancing, hence their nickname “Shaking Quakers”. Members of the group were often arrested for bursting into non-Quaker church services to deride the congregants. One time, while Ann was imprisoned, she had a vision that she was the embodiment of Christ and that she would found a new church in the new land of America. With eight adherents, she sailed for New York in 1774. The group worked there to earn money to buy land, and in time moved upstate to Niskayuna. On the weird Dark Day of 1780, Mother Ann began to spread her egalitarian ideals of communal living without sex; of working for the common good while giving “hands to work and hearts to God”. In 1781, she undertook a tour of Connecticut and Massachusetts along with some followers including her brother William. They were met with curiosity, contempt, and sometimes violence — but their proselytizing resulted in the establishment of 8 Shaker Villages. Due to injuries incurred from mobs on their tour, William died within in 1784, and Mother Ann a few months later at age 48. In time, 6000 Shakers held her in reverence as their sect grew. She is buried at the Shaker Cemetery in Watervliet, New York.

The Shakers were known for their simple but very good food. It was fresh from the garden and always featured a lot of herbs for flavor, and often fruit. Wholesome products of a farm life.

Apple-Cheese Pancake Plate:  142 calories 3.5 g fat 2 g fiber 10.5g protein 17.5 g carbs 31 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the main meal only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF – if using GF flour The preparation is so simple – if the pancakes were already made. I cooked the batch the night before. Fine for a Fast Day breakfast or, on a Slow Day, add a bit of peanut butter.

2 Apple-Cheese pancakes ** 1 slice Canadian bacon [back bacon] 2 oz melon   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Cook the bacon, warm the pancakes, and plate with the melon. Perfect.

**Apple-Cheese Pancakes makes 10 ½ cottage cheese ½ c grated apple 1½ tsp honey 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour 1½ tsp almond meal 2 eggs, separated  2 tsp Parmesan cheese, grated dash lemon juice pinch cinnamon  Stir together everything except the eggs. Add the egg yolks to the batter. Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into the batter. Cook on a hot griddle, spooning out enough batter to make 10 pancakes. Cook both sides. Serve what you need for today’s meal, then cool and freeze the remainder.

Summer Vegetable Tortillas:  310 calories 9 g fat 8 g fiber 28.6 g protein 49 g carbs 210 mg Calcium  PB  Eating Well magazine is the source of these fine tortillas, chock full of the flavors of the Summer garden.  HINT: This recipe serves two [2].  Photo below shows portion for one.

1 cup eggplant, ½” dice 1 cup onion, ½ “ dice
½ cup corn kernels
salt + pepper		Mix it all in a medium bowl, then put on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. (save the bowl) Spray the vegetables with cooking spray. Roast at 450 F for 10 minutes. 
1 cup zucchini ½“ dice 1.5 cloves garlic salt + pepperCombine in the bowl. Add to the baking sheet and spray again. Roast until vegetables are soft and starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
½ c shredded cooked chicken breast
½ c enchilada sauce from jar		Put chicken and the vegetables in a saute pan. Stir in enchilada sauce and heat until warm. 
4 corn tortillas, warmed
½ c Monterey jack, shredded chopped cilantro
lime wedges		Put ¼ of the filling on each tortilla. [save a bit for adding to eggs at breakfast] Top with cheese, serve with cilantro/lime.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs 
leek + dill weedsalt cod + strawberries
lemon juice + salmonCheddar cheese
dab low-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurtinstant potato flakes or mashed potato
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

2 chicken leg quarters + one back = 1 pound 9 0zGozleme bread
leeks + onion + carrotsground lamb + tomato
prunes + thyme sprigsonion + fat-free vanilla yogurt
bay leaf + quick-cooking barleycider vinegar + garlic powder
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Dwellings: The Cape

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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. 

Floor plan for a Cape-style house from Old House Journal.

Early in the settling of the North-Eastern United States, newly-arrived immigrants realized that they could not build houses here just like the ones they left behind in England/France/Germany. So they constructed a simple one-and-a-half-story dwelling that came to be known as the Cape Cod Style or simply, the Cape. The name came about in 1800, but in the 1600s and 1700s in New England, this was the house to have: it was easy to build and wood was plentiful. House Beautiful.com describes a Cape-style house this way: “…modest, one-room deep [?], wood-framed houses with clapboard or shingle exteriors (which, when weathered over time, turned that quintessential light gray color). They were low, broad structures with unadorned, flat-front facades….The classic Cape Cod cottage had a central front door with two windows on each side of it…The homes often had a large central chimney that linked to several rooms in the house, with a steeply pitched, side-gabled roof (meaning the triangular portions of the roof are on the sides of the house), which helped prevent snow accumulation. The ceilings of the single-story homes were low, which kept things cozy and also helped to keep living quarters warm.” The floor plan at the upper right shows the typical lay-out of the time: only three main rooms downstairs, around the central chimney. A ‘keeping room’ would be called the kitchen today or a ‘great room’/family room in modern decorating parlance. It was the warmest room in the house. That was where the cooking, eating, and everyday life occurred. The four rooms flanking the keeping room were for two pantries; a bedroom for a guest; and a smaller bedroom for a family invalid, or servant. A ladder or stairs lead to a loft for storage and for children’s sleeping quarters as the family grew. These houses continued in popularity into the 1800s, then the Cape-style had a revival in the 1900s. They are still built today, and not only on Cape Cod.

The early adapters of the Cape-Style house were subsistence farmers or fisherfolk. Our breakfast is from the farm and our dinner is from the sea.

Allium Bake:  136 calories 6.6 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 9 g carbs 108 mg Calcium   PB GF The genus Allium contains all the onions and their relatives. This bake contains three of them along with two cheeses for even more succulent flavor.

One 2-oz egg  ½ oz sliced leek, green +/or white parts  ½ oz minced onion 1 Tbsp minced chives    1 Tbsp cottage cheese  1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese  pinch or two red pepper flakes  2 oz peach

Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Spritz an oven-proof ramekin [for 2 people, Dear Husband likes to use a 6×4” oval casserole] with non-stick spray and set the oven for 350 degrees F. Slice/chop the leeks and onions. Spray a skillet/saute pan with non-stick spray and cook the alliums until they are limp. Put them, along with the chives and any seasonings you like, in the prepared oven-safe dish. Whisk the egg with the red peppers and the two cheeses, and pour over the alliums. Bake 12-15 minutes or until done as you like it. Plate with the peach, pour your beverage of choice, and savor a flavorful day.

Halibut with Fruit Relish: 182 calories 5.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 25 g protein 6.4 g carbs 82 mg Calcium  PB GF Whether you bake or broil or grill the fish, a fruit salsa makes for a splendid topping. Today, it will be Rhubarb-Onion Relish**.

4 oz halibut filet   2 Tbsp rhubarb-onion relish                        4 spears asparagus OR  side salad = lettuce, carrot, tomato, beets, cucumbers, vinaigrette

**Rhubarb-Onion Relish:  makes 1½ cups  2 Tbsp = 26 g protein 0 g fat 0 g fiber 0 g protein  7 g carbs 13 mg Calcium  PB GF From Marion Cunningham’s The Supper Book . 

1½ cup chopped rhubarb + 1 cup chopped onions + ½ cup cider vinegar + ¼ tsp salt   1 cup + 1 Tbsp light brown sugar, unpacked + ¼ tsp each of ground cloves, allspice, cinnamonMix everything together in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 45 minutes until thicker. Can be canned in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Serve room temperature or cold.

Pan sear the fish in a lightly-oiled cast iron skillet for 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat. In the meantime, prepare the asparagus or salad. Plate and spoon the fruit relish onto the fish. Believe me, you will eat this fish “with relish.”

  

Baden-Powell

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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.

Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell, son of an Oxford geometry professor, was born on February 22, 1857. His father, Reverend Baden Powell, died when Robert was three, and his mother changed the family name to ‘Baden-Powell’. Sent to Charterhouse boarding school, Robert was not an avid student. He spent as much time as he could skipping class to play in the woods. Baden-Powell said that he learned a lot about tracking and stalking [also called ‘scouting’] while hunting animals in that forest. He also caught them and cooked them. Besides hunting small game, Robert was an artist, musician, and actor who loved canoeing trips with any of his seven brothers. After graduation, Baden-Powell joined the army. He served in India and then South Africa. As an officer, he realized the value of ‘scouting’ the countryside to avoid enemy encounters and to know the lay of the land. His skills as a scout were enhanced and he wrote a training manual called “Aids to Scouting”. Baden-Powell became a hero in Britain after he lead his garrison at Mafeking through a 217-day siege, surrounded by 1000s of Afrikaners. Back home, he was knighted, and was amazed to find that his army manual was being used by youth groups to promote outdoorsmanship. He teamed up with William Smith, the leader of the Boys’ Brigade, to host a camping trip in 1907 for 22 boys from different social strata. This was to test their ideas to encourage a vigorous nature experience for youths. “Scouting for Boys”  followed in 1908, and lads from all over enthusiastically formed Scout groups. The movement was so popular, that King Edward VII suggested to Baden-Powell that, instead of rejoining the army, he would do more good as an organizer of Scouts. Scouting grew by leaps and bounds, from 100,000 members in 1910, to one million in 1922 in many countries. In 1910, the Girl Guides were begun under the direction of Agnes, Baden-Powell’s sister. When he was 55 years old, he married 23 year old Olave Soames and they had three children. In 1938, the Baden-Powells retired to Kenya, where he died and is buried. In the 1930s, Hitler banned the Scouts, setting up the Hitler Youth instead. When America joined the war, he scoffed that those ‘Boy Scouts’ would be no match for his Hitler Youth. [Oddly, Baden-Powell had read Mein Kampf, and rather liked it, naively thinking that fascism was better than communism.] His grave in Kenya is marked with the Scout ‘trail sign’ meaning ‘Gone home.’

Outdoor cooking is part scouting. Eggs cooked over a campfire can be wonderful or awful — it is a learning experience. And what could be more typical for a camp dinner than baked beans with hot dogs! [Girl Scouts would follow that with a round or two of S’mores, but Boy Scouts disdain to copy the girls.]

Mushroom ScrOmelette:  142 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 9.6 g protein 8 g carb 64 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  When camping, it is easy to prepare a wonderful breakfast of mushrooms, fresh eggs, and apples. In the back-country, one might pack in dried mushrooms and powdered eggs, but closer to home we’ll use fresh ingredients. 

1½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume, into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.   1/3 oz mushrooms  1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese        pinch of rosemary    1½ oz of apple OR unsweetened applesauce             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 or slice the mushrooms and saute with a little water in a skillet. Remove and set aside. Now whisk the eggs with seasonings to taste. 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 mushrooms and cheese, fold and plate. Serve with fruit, plus your beverage and smoothie. You are off to a good start.

Beanie Wienies:  300 calories 4 g fat 8.6 g fiber 14 g protein 43 g carbs 74 mg Calcium  PB GF  Dear Husband grew up eating this with his childhood chums. Our sons grew up eating this on camping trips with the family and with the Boy Scouts. What could be simpler? And the carb count is due to the good fiber of beans and carrots. So complex.

1 reduced-fat beef hot dog @110 calories   ¾ cup canned baked beans  1 oz carrots, cooked or raw

Put the baked beans in a small sauce pan. Cut the hotdogs into 1” pieces [on the diagonal, Dear Husband would say] and add to the pan. Warm thoroughly. Plate with the carrots and think about food memories of childhood.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large +  peach2 two-oz eggs + apple + honey
leek + 2%-fat cottage cheese2%-fat cottage cheese + almond meal
onion +  chivesParmesan + lemon juice + cinnamon
grated Parmesan cheese  + red pepper flakesCanadian/back bacon + melon
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

halibut + side salad  or asparagus eggplant + onion
relish: rhubarb + onionscorn kernels + garlic
ground cloves + allspice + cinnamon zucchini + cooked chicken
cider vinegar + light-brown sugarcorn tortillas + enchilada sauce           
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Donner Party

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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 foxreviewsrock who is now Following.

The Donner Party [aka the Donner-Reed Party] were a group of families who left the mid-western US in a caravan to head to California in 1846, when California was still a Spanish possession. Did you ever play the video game “Oregon Trail“? If so, you know that the likelihood of dying on the way West was very high. The nine families, totaling 32 people, were rather unprepared for the trip [they carried lots of luxury goods which were not necessary for survival] and were poorly counseled. Along the way, the group grew to 87 people in 23 wagons. When they arrived at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, they decided to take the untried Hastings Cut-off, purported to shave 400 miles from their trip. Bad move. They had been warned against that path, but short-cuts are tempting. That terrible route delayed their journey over the Sierra Nevada mountains until late October. The group split, the Donner family staying behind due to a broken axel while the remainder went ahead. Snow blocked their way, then trapped the larger contingent completely at Donner Lake. The 59 people there built cabins for shelter. The Donner family built cloth teepees. Poorly housed and unskilled at hunting, people [mostly men while women survived] descended into hypothermia and starvation. As people died, their bodies were stashed in the snow, then eaten by survivors when mice, leather, and other protein sources ran out. In December, a small party of men and women set out to get help. By the time seven of them arrived at Sutter’s Fort in January, they had survived by canabalism. Rescue parties were sent up the mountains, the first arriving on February 19, 1847. They found the survivors in terrible condition: malnourished, freezing, and crazed — perhaps due to prion disease? Four parties went to rescue the remaining travelers, which took two months. In the end, of the 35 members of the original group who had died crossing the mountains, 21 had been eaten. Travel to California dwindled after that, until gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, when the rush was on again. Today, Interstate 80 parallels parts of the Hastings Cutoff, going over Donner Pass, and Donner Lake is a popular tourist site.

I’m sorry. I could not resist the ‘black humor’ of proposing meals of carne [Spanish for ‘flesh’] and liver while discussing the horrors of the Donner Party.

Carne Bake: 138 calories  6.5 g fat  2 g fiber 9 g protein 6.5 g carbs 34 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Carne adovado and roasted green chilis are the signature flavors of New Mexico, and they are wonderful in eggs for breakfast.

1 two-oz egg  1/3 oz carne adovado  ½ oz roasted green chili, canned or frozen          3 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves   2 oz pear  or 5 cherries       Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]    Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

If the carne or the chilis have a lot of liquid, put in a strainer and let drain overnight or for several hours. Set the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin/dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Whisk the egg with the carne/chili mixture and pour into the dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes while you pour the beverages and plate with the fruit.

Liver-Asparagus Stirfry: 252 calories 8.5 g fat 3.5 g fiber 24.5 g protein 32 g carbs 39.5 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF noodles  Liver is very nutritious. When combined with these Asian sauces, it is absolutely delicious.

3 oz beef liver, cut in thin slices  3 oz asparagus, cut in 1” pieces  1 tsp sesame or canola oil     2 Tbsp oyster sauce  1 Tbsp soy sauce  per serving: 1 oz/28 g buckwheat soba noodles + 1 tsp sesame seeds + 1 Tbsp chopped scallions

Stir the oyster and soy sauces together. Combine with the liver and let stand 30 minutes. Cut asparagus, and cook the noodles for 6 minutes, then drain. Heat oil in a wide pan, then stirfry asparagus 2 minutes. Add liver and marinade and stir-fry 3-4 minutes – adding water if needed, until asparagus is tender-crisp and liver is no longer pink inside. Serve over noodles and top with sesame seeds and scallions.

Ernest Shackleton

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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.

Ernest H. Shackleton (Photo by Frank Hurley/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge /Getty Images)

Ernest Shackleton has been one of my heroes ever since I read Shackleton’s Valiant Voyage in 6th grade. The story of his ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in 1914 gave me the shivers and then gave me great respect for the man as a seafarer and a leader. Shackleton was born in Kildare, Ireland on February 15, 1874. His family moved to London for his father’s medical practice, and Ernest was educated there. Although his father wanted him to be a physician, the boy wanted to go to sea. At age 16, he entered the merchant navy and soon became a Master Mariner. In 1901, Shackleton signed on with Robert Scott‘s first expedition to Antarctica. Although the young mariner was sent home early due to a case of scurvy, he was infected with a desire to explore the polar regions. By 1908, Shackleton had enough backing for his own voyage. He and his team went closer to the South Pole than anyone else had, but turned back. He was knighted and feted for his efforts, but he had to return. By the time he sailed on the Endurance, the Pole had been won by Amundsun, so Sir Ernest aimed to traverse the continent on foot, from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea, across the Pole. Then the ship became stuck in the ice. For 10 months the crew waited, eventually leaving the ship and camping on the ice. The Endurance sank and the crew lived on the ice as it floated them out to sea. Then the 28 men entered their three boats and traveled across the water to Elephant Island. They camped on the uninhabited isle and reinforced one of the boats. Shackleton, his navigator, and four crewmen set off to cross 800 miles of freezing ocean to get help. Sixteen days later, they arrived on South Georgia, then hiked 36 hours with only a few stops to the Norwegian whaling station. Every one of Shackleton’s men was saved, and they all credited his leadership and seamanship with their survival. On January 5, 1922, Shackleton died during his fourth trip to Antarctica. He was buried on South Georgia Island. In 2022, an expedition found the Endurance under the Weddell Sea.

While Shackleton and his crew ate penguins, seals and seaweed, one wonders what foods they might have dreamed of eating while they were stranded. Did they remember a simple Cottage Breakfast from back home? The Antarctic waters abound in tiny shrimp-like krill, so our dinner features shrimp flavored with lime — a nod to British sailors who were fed lime juice to avert scurvy and thus were called “Limeys.”

Cottage Breakfast:  199 calories 4.4 g fat 2 g fiber 11 g protein 27 g carbs 75 mg Calcium  PB  A breakfast of cottage-made dairy with fruit and a hearty bit of bread combine for a morning with a whiff of country air.

1½ pan muffins*   ¼ c cottage cheese + 2 Tbsp Vanilla low-fat yogurt   ¼ c blueberries       Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

While the pan muffins are cooking/warming [if previously frozen], combine the cottage cheese with the yogurt. Stir in the blueberries or spoon them over top. Plate and enjoy your country morning.        

*PAN MUFFIN each: 71 calories 2.5 g fat 1 g fiber 2 g protein 11 g carbs 8.5 mg Calcium

1 cup dry Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain hot cereal mix                    
1¼ cup buttermilk/soured milk 		Combine cereal and milk in a small bowl. Let sit 10 minutes. 
1/3 cup butter                          1/3 cupsugar                
1 two-ounce egg 		Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the egg. 
1 cup unbleached flour          1 tsp salt                              
1 tsp baking powder      
1 tsp baking soda		Add dry ingredients and cereal/milk mixture. Stir until just combined.                           
2 Tbsp batter for each pan muffinPortion out batter onto a hot griddle or flat-bottomed pan spritzed with non-stick spray. Cook on both sides.

Shrimp with Lime + Cilantro:  228 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 30 g protein 15 g carbs  90 mg Calcium  PB GF  This is such a popular combination of flavors that there are many recipes online. This one is from Skinnytaste.com, cut down to a single-serving size and with a few additions. Wonderful flavors!

5 oz raw shrimp, cleaned and halved if you wish. [I used tiny cold-water shrimp]  ¼ tsp ground cumin  1 oz brown rice Maifun noodles  1/3 tsp olive oil + water  2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed    ½ of one lime  2+ Tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander leaves  1 large [½ oz] lettuce leaf

Prepare your mise en place. Put the shrimp in a bowl. If they thawed in the bowl, pour off the liquid in the bowl and reserve it. Toss the shrimp with the cumin plus salt and pepper. Cook the noodles in 3 cups boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain, rinse, and reserve. Crush the garlic. Cut the lime in half and chop the cilantro/coriander leaves. Heat a non-stick saute or cast-iron pan. Add the oil and the drained shrimp. Let cook for 2 minutes, then turn over to the other side. Add some of the reserved water if needed to avoid sticking. Put the garlic and noodles in the pan and cook for one minute. Squeeze the juice from the lime over the pan, add the cilantro and stir well. Take off heat. Center the lettuce leaf on the plate and spoon the shrimp on top.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs 
carne adovado + cilantrofresh mushrooms 
roasted green chilisrosemary + apple or applesauce
apple or applesauceParmesan cheese
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

beef liverone 110-calorie beef hot dog
asparagus + sesame oilcanned baked beans
oyster saucecarrots
soy sauce
Sparkling waterSparkling water

St. Julien l’Hospitalier

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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.

Chartres Window 045, showing scenes from the life of St Julien.

Saint Julien l’Hospitalier is one of those saints whom theologians find problematic: there is no evidence that he existed. He is purported to have been born during the 4th century in France or Italy or Belgium. There are various brief versions of his life and deeds, which sound like mash-ups of other stories. There is a stained glass window at Chartres Cathedral, created in the 1200s, which shows events of his life. But the best [in my opinion] telling of his story was by Gustave Flaubert as one of his Trois Contes, published in 1877. When I read it in college, I was captivated and moved by the tale, so I will tell it to you. ’Julien was the pampered son of a wealthy couple. Right after his birth, his parents each heard a prophesy: the mother was told that her boy would be a saint someday; the father was told that the boy would have a bloody but fabulous life. As a child, Julien secretly enjoyed killing and maiming small animals. As a young man, he wantonly slaughtered game animals in the guise of ‘hunting.’ After mortally wounding a magnificent stag, Julien was told by the beast that he was cursed and would one day murder his parents. Julien left home to prevent the prophecy, gaining renown as a mercenary soldier. Eventually, Julien married the daughter of an emperor whom he rescued, and settled down to a life of leisure. All was well, and the couple lived happily. One night, after Julien left for an unaccustomed hunting trip, an old couple called at their castle. Julien’s wife invited them in and heard their story. Thirty years before, their son had left home — they had been searching for him ever since. Their son was Julien! Their daughter-in-law feted them, saying how happy their reunion would be when her husband returned. She offered them the Master Suite for the night. When Julien returned before dawn, he was astonished to see a man asleep in the shadows of his bed — surely his wife was having an affair! After he killed both of the sleepers in a rage, he realized his error. For years afterward, Julien wandered the roads, a beggar unable to forget his sins. Shunned by his fellow men, he lived as a hermit at the side of a dangerous river crossing, opting to help others while praising God. To anyone who arrived, Julien would give a night’s sleep and safe passage across the river. One night, in a dreadful storm, the boatman had to transport a leper over the river. Although he had little, Julien offered hospitality in his humble shack. The leper was given food and water, warmed by a fire. Julien tended the man with his own hands, even when the leper insisted that the host warm his frail body with the heat from his own. The leper, dying, asked for a kiss. When Julien bestowed it, the leper morphed into Jesus, and Julien, forgiven of his sins, was taken into heaven.’ Flaubert, usually described as a cynical author, wrote this tale of faith and redemption after seeing the window at Chartres.

The Feast Day of St Julien l’Hospitalier, aka St Julien le Pauvre, is February 8. We will enjoy eggs from Spain — where some say he lived — and salad with venison, to remember the deer hunt that is a key event in Julien’s story. Julien is the patron saint of travelers seeking safe accommodation and of hoteliers.

Flamenco Eggs:  125 calories  5 g fat 2.6 g fiber 7.5 g protein 13.5 g carb 44 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the vegetables, egg, and the fruit, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF From Everyday Tapas, this recipe shows how a meal can go from being a dinner to being a breakfast. Similarly, any breakfast could also be a dinner. 

Here, the vegetables were prepared as described and plated.       A poached or fried egg is served on top.

1½ Tbsp tomato puree or ¾ oz tomato, chopped  1½ tsp parsley, chopped  1½ Tbsp onion, chopped 1½ Tbsp bell pepper, chopped  salt & large pinch cayenne 1 two-oz egg   4 cherries or 2 oz applesauce or apple  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]      Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Spritz a small ramekin with cooking spray or olive oil. Put the tomato, parsley, onion in the ramekin. Microwave for 4-5 minutes to cook the onion. Add the bell pepper and seasonings, and microwave for another 4 minutes. [Alternatively, saute the above ingredients, instead of microwaving].  HINT: you can do this the night before. Remove from microwave and make a ‘nest’ in the cooked vegetables. Crack the egg into the nest. Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the fruit. Prepare the optional beverages and have a finger-snapping, toe-tapping day.

Venison Salad:  270 calories  8.5 g fat 6 g fiber  31 g protein 33 g carbs  118 mg Calcium  PB GF  If you have access to venison, this meal is a fine way to celebrate any one of the many saints associated with deer.

3½ oz roasted venison  ¾ oz marinated mushrooms    1 oz roasted red pepper  1 slice dried pear       2 cups lettuce, ripped or chopped  1 tsp olive oil     ½ tsp balsamic vinegar  3 oz broccoli  2 oz tomatoes

Slice the roasted venison into pieces less than ½” thick. Whisk olive oil and vinegar together, then toss with lettuce and mushrooms. Place on a salad plate. Arrange the meat on the salad and arrange the red pepper, tomatoes, and broccoli on top. Dice the pear and sprinkle over all.

Jules Verne

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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.

Jules Verne, if not the inventor of Science Fiction, was one of the major popularizers of the genre. According to LSC University,”Science Fiction,” is “speculative fiction which explores ‘life as it would be were some scientific premise actually true.’ “ The first example, of course, was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818. Edgar Allen Poe wrote Sci-Fi in the mid 1800s. By the late Victorian Era, so many scientific innovations were developed that the time was right for science fiction — because anything seemed possible. When Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, he was destined to follow his father into the law. But growing up in the busy port city of Nantes, France, young Jules developed a wanderlust. He began writing stories in high school and thought about being a writer. Verne pere sent his son to Paris for law school, which allowed the young man to hob-nob with writers and playwrights. In the 1850s, Verne finally rejected his father’s wishes and committed himself to a literary life, producing two plays and writing a book. He also married a young widow with two children, which made him more anxious about financial security. Verne and his wife began frequent travels to Great Britain, inspiring him to write about travel. That lead to a travel manuscript combining science and adventure. When he teamed up with the editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel [who accurately read the zeitgeist], it was published as Five Weeks in a Balloon in 1862. Followed by Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and All Around the Moon (1870), Verne was established as a popular author. Two of his most famous books were Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and Around the World in Eighty Days(1873). The former was a travelogue, designed to be read with an atlas at hand, to trace the path of the Nautalus. The latter inspired journalist Nelly Bly to circle the globe in less time. Verne survived a gun-shot wound [by his deranged nephew], and died of diabetes in 1905. Jules Vernes’s tomb in Amiens, France is amazing — does it represent religious hopes or a sci-fi trope of reanimation?

The ingredients of our VERNal ScrOmelette are in tune with the Mediterranean Region, which the Nautalus traversed after passing through a sub-sea tunnel where the Suez Canal would later be. In another adventure, the crew visits the sub-Arctic, so naturally we will dine on Arctic Char. Had Verne partaken of meals like these, he might have been able to control or forestall his diabetes.

Vernal Equinox ScrOmelette:  156 calories 8 g fat 1 g fiber 13 g protein 4.4 g carbs 53.5 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The cured meat and asparagus are emblematic of the changing seasons: the meat is for Winter and the aparagus is for Spring. Together, they are a heavenly flavor combination to mark an astronomical event.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a     lid to store in the ‘fridge for next week.    1 oz cooked asparagus, chopped           ¼ oz uncured capicola or proscuitto  1 clementine                     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]

Thinly slice and coarsely chop the meat. Combine it with the chopped asparagus. Spritz a non-stick pan with non-stick spray. Put the meat-asparagus into the pan and stir until warmed. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the clementine and enjoy the start of the day with the beverages of your choosing.

Arctic Char with Peas, 3 ways: Arctic Char is a member of the Salmon Family which can be both sustainably fished in the wild and farm-raised. It is delicious, too. There are three presentations given: one is ridiculously easy, the other slightly more complex. All taste great and are lovely to look at.

Recipe I: 263 calories 8 g fat 3 g fiber  28 g protein 10 g carbs  25 mg Calcium  PB GF        4 oz arctic char fillets  ½ cup green ‘English’ peas, fresh or frozen               Bake fish at 400 F. for 10 minutes per inch of thickness or grill for 4 minutes/side. Cook the peas and serve over/around the fish.

Recipe II: 263 calories 8.5 g fat 2 g fiber 27 g protein 10.5 g carbs 106 mg Calcium   PB GF      4 oz arctic char fillets ¼ cup watercress sauce**  1 cup snow peas, stems and strings removed    Bake fish at 400 F. for 10 minutes per inch of thickness or grill for 4 minutes/side. Warm the watercress sauce and serve over the fish. Cook the peas and plate. 

Recipe III: 274 calories  7.4 g fat 8 g fiber 25 g protein 16.4 g carbs 54.5 mg Calcium   PB GF    3 oz arctic char  ¼ cup edamame [soy beans]  ¼ cup snow peas                 ½ cup snow peas, stems and strings removed  ¼ cup watercress sauce**

**WATERCRESS SAUCE:  Terrific for adding to eggs or sauces.                   TOTAL RECIPE = 143 calories  5 g fat  2.5 g fiber 7 g protein  20 g carbs 297.5 mgCalcium     ice cube = 8 calories  0 g fat  0.1 g fiber  0.4 g protein 1.5 g carbs 16.5 mg Calcium        8 oz [by weight, not volume] watercress, well rinsed and trimmed of tough stems          1 medium-large onion [weighs 4 oz]  1 tsp olive oil  1 cup vegetable or meat stock 

Chop onion in a food processor. Heat oil over medium heat and cook onions for 10 minutes until softened. Run watercress in food processor until finely chopped. Add to the onion in the pan, cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve immediately or cool and store. I froze it in ice-cube trays and got about 18 cubes. The cubes were put in a bag in the freezer for future use.

Remove the stems and strings from the snow peas. Shell the edamame. Bake the fish at 400 F. for 10 minutes/ inch of thickness or grill for 4 minutes/side. Meanwhile, cook the peas and edamame. Plate the fish, drizzle with sauce, and surround it with beautiful green ‘peas’.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 Pan muffins 
tomato puree + parsleylow-fat vanilla yogurt
onion + bell peppercottage cheese
cayenne + applesauce or appleblueberries
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage    

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

roast venison + broccoli 5 oz shrimp + cumin + garlic
tomatoes + marinated mushroomsMaifun brown rice noodles
roasted red pepper + dried peargarlic + lime juice + olive oil
lettuce + olive oil + balsamic vinegarcilantro/coriander leaves + lettuce  
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Punic Wars

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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.

Remember studying the Punic Wars in school? Of course you do –War Elephants crossing the Alps and all that? There were three parts to the wars and they provide a lesson for our times. ”Punic” referred to people of Phoenecian origin who lived in the city of Carthage [in what is now Tunisia]. Prior to 264 BCE, Carthage was the premier city of the western Mediterranean, and trade had made the people rich and comfortable. When Carthage got into a dispute with the little city of Rome over control of Sicily, a war ensued. Despite Carthage’s long sea-faring experience, the neophyte Roman sailors won many battles by boarding the enemy ships with a special gangplank to fight hand-to-hand. Thus Rome gained Sicily and Corsica, and there was peace in 256 BCE. That lasted until 218 BCE, when Carthage tried to get revenge by taking over a city in Spain/Iberia. Those citizens appealed to Rome for help, and the war was on again! The skilled general Hannibal decided to take the fight to Rome. He lead an army through southern France/Gaul and over the Alps — elephants and all!! — into Italy/Roman Empire. After initial victories, the Carthaginian invasion was defeated in 202 BCE. The defeat was due to Carthage not paying its soldiers and not having invested in building up its offensive capabilities. By the third Punic War, 149 BCE, Carthage had become very lazy about treaties and keeping up an army. When Carthage attacked another neighboring kingdom, the Romans — who had built up their army and navy and were ready for anything — decided that Carthage had to be destroyed. And so it was — reduced to rubble. [That story of ‘salting the soil’ afterward… just a legend.] So, was 146 BCE the end of the Punic Wars? Not exactly… On February 5, 1985, 2,131 years after the fighting ended, Ugo Vetere and Chedli Klibi, the mayors of Rome and modern Carthage signed a symbolic peace treaty to end the war and to strengthen ties between the two countries. THAT’S how we should be acting today — maintain your defenses, pay people what they are owed, and make treaties.

Our day begins in Tunisia with a traditional meal. The day will end in Sicily, cause of the 1st Punic War, where our dinner was invented.

Tajine Maadnous:  215 calories 10.5 g fat 1 g fiber 20 g protein 9 g carbs 146.5 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are plated foods only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  This popular Tunisian dish is a bit like a quiche, a bit like a fritatta — and completely delicious. The recipe is adapted from one by Kristina Todini at 196flavors.com  HINT: this recipe serves 4 [four] people. Since it can be eaten cold, the left-overs would be fine for another breakfast or for lunch on a Slow Day. Or, if serving two people, cut the recipe in half and bake 18-20 minutes.

Sv 4
¼# chicken breast, raw Cut into small cubes                   
½ tsp olive oilHeat oil and brown meat briefly
¼ tsp turmeric   
1 tsp tomato paste		Add these to the pan, along with salt + pepper.
1 cup water OR 1 cup chicken stockAdd, simmer until liquid is reduced to almost nothing.                        
2 tsp oliveoil                           ¼ bunch flat parsley                       ½ c. onionChop vegetables finely.
Saute in oil in another pan a few mins. Cool.                      
4eggs,beaten                          4 T. dry breadcrumbs                      2 oz. grated mozzarellaWhisk in eggs, add crumbs, cheese.
Mix well, pour into an oil-spritzed baking dish.
Bake @ 350 F/180˚C for 30 mins until top is set and golden.

Shrimp Arrabbiata: 287 calories 8.5 g fat 6.4 g fiber 16 g protein 30 g carbs 240 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF pasta The box of pasta says that this recipe is from Sarah Leah Chase’s book Cold-Weather Cooking. I added the shrimp and I’m glad I did.  HINT: This recipe serves three [3] people.

1½ oz pancetta or serrano ham, sliced in ribbons  3 cloves garlic, sliced               1 tsp red pepper flakes or more to taste  6 plum tomatoes, diced  3 oz whole-grain ‘penne’ pasta    6 oz shrimp   1 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese                     per person: 3 oz asparagus + 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Remove the shells from the shrimp and set aside. Spray a saute pan with non-stick spray. Add the pancetta and garlic and cook until garlic is golden-colored. Add the crushed red peppers and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer. Meanwhile, put the pasta in boiling salted water and cook for 3 minutes, then remove pan from heat but do not drain. Scoop out the pasta and add to the tomatoes, along with several tablespoons of the pasta-cooking water. Add the shrimp, some salt, and 1 Tbsp grated cheese to the tomatoes and cook until the shrimp are done. The pasta will continue to cook in the liquid from the tomatoes – if getting too dry, add some more water. Cut the asparagus into 1” pieces and cook in boiling water until soft to your taste. Test the pasta to find out when it is done. Portion and plate with grated cheese on top. Restaurant quality food, at home.

                     



    

        

Bridgid or Brigit?

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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.

Goddess Brigit at her well.
Saint Bridgid, portrait by PJ Tuohy.

February 1st is the first day of Spring in Ireland. It is also the first day of Imbolc, the ancient pre-Christian festival marking the half-way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. February 1st is the Feast of Saint Bridgid [Christian Saint of Ireland] AND the Feast of Brigit [pre-Christian goddess of Spring who presided over Imbolc festivities.] When Bridgid was born to an enslaved Christian woman, she was baptized by Saint Patrick. Growing up in the household of her father, a king of Leinster, Bridgid was generous to the needy, stealing her family’s food, then replacing it by a miracle. When she became a nun, Bridgid had a church built at Cull Dara, which was later called Kildare. This was the site of a former shrine to the goddess Brigit. Bridgid also built the first monastery in Ireland, a convent, and a school for metal-work and illumination. Since Bridgid left no written record of her life, some doubt that she existed. There are so many similarities in their stories, that it is tough to separate them. [one difference: Brigit was goddess of new life and pregnancy, while Bridgid once ended the pregnancy of a nun who had broken her vows.] Was Saint Bridgid a christianized version of the goddess Brigit? Was the saint ‘syncretized‘ with the goddess? Did either of them actually exist?  Today in Ireland they seem to be celebrated together, on the same day, through similar customs, such as plaiting Brigid’s Cross. Saint Patrick’s day has long been a national holiday in Ireland and that was that. In 2023, a new bank holiday was established for February 1 — the first holiday in Ireland in honor of a woman. Or is that for TWO women?

Herbs growing in a stream team up with eggs for a fine breakfast. Surely Bridgid/Brigit would have had a meal of barley and chicken mixed with mushrooms, and so shall we.

Watercress ScrOmelette: 150 calories 8 g fat 0.6 g fiber 11 g protein  5.4 g carbs 74 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Having Watercress Sauce in the freezer in handy cubes sure makes this meal a snap. And is it good!

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small     bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with   a lid to store in the ‘fridge for next week.  ½ Tbsp Watercress Sauce, well drained          ½ Tbsp ricotta, drained  HINT: I set them both out to drain through a fine sieve the night before to make sure there was no extra liquid.    1/8 tsp dry mustard  1½ oz peach          Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie[88 calories]

Combine the drained watercress, drained cheese, and mustard. Whisk the eggs and cook in a hot saute pan spritzed with olive oil or non-stick spray. As the eggs begin to set, spread the cress/mustard/cheese on top. Cook the way you like them and plate with the peaches. Pour the beverages and enjoy the summer taste of watercress all year long. 

Chicken, Mushrooms, & Barley: 275 calories  9 g fat 7 g fiber 23 g protein 48 g carbs  55 mg Calcium  PB  This serendipitous meal turned out to be a good one, using left-over pilaf and chicken in a hearty meal.

½ c barley pilaf**  1 oz mushrooms  2 oz roasted chicken, sliced                2 oz green beans     3 oz/44 g Brussel sprouts

Slice mushrooms and cook them in a little water until most of the liquid evaporates. Add mushrooms, liquid, and chicken to barley pilaf in a small sauce pan. Heat gently, adding water if it becomes too dry or starts to stick. Cook vegetables. Mix Brussel sprouts in with the pilaf + mushrooms, plate with the chicken on top and the beans on the side.

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

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

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

4 two-oz eggs = US large + chicken breast1.5 two-oz eggs 
olive oil + turmeric + onioncapicola, uncured
tomato paste + stock or water + parsleyasparagus
dry bread crumbs + mozzarellaclementine           
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

pancetta + shrimpArctic char + green “English” peas
crushed red pepper + plum tomatoessnow peas and possibly edamame
whole-grain penne pastaOptional watercress sauce
Parmesan cheese + garlic
Sparkling waterSparkling water