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 JadynB who is now Following. Join us in the Fasting Lifestyle.

Elizabeth gets rather short shrift in the New Testament. But then, most women do. We know that she was the wife of Zechariah, a priest of the temple. Her family was descended from Aaron, famous for being the brother of Moses. Elizabeth is a cousin to Mary of Nazareth. At the time of her first mention, we are told that Elizabeth is “of advanced years”. What does that mean? In those days, girls were marriageable at age 14, so one could be “old” at 25 years. [most artists depict her looking to be in her 60s] The narrative also says that she is “barren”, which is not a clinical diagnosis, merely an observation that at her ‘advanced age’ she has not yet had a child. If a girl married at age 14, by age 25 she could have had eight children, so Elizabeth’s childlessness was noticed. This is a recurring story in the Bible: Sara, Abraham’s wife; Rebekah, Isaac’s wife; Rachel, Jacob’s wife; Hannah, wife of Elkanah; and Sampson’s mother — all of these women were considered to be barren, but eventually had a child or two. An inability to have children was considered to be evidence of god’s displeasure, so childless women were scorned. Why was she barren? Perhaps a hormonal imbalance…? At any rate, Elizabeth was greatly surprised and enormously grateful when she became pregnant. Her husband had been told by the Angel Gabriel that his wife would have a child. He scoffed, and was struck dumb — never insult an angelic messenger. Elizabeth had her baby, and he became John the Baptist, the one who proclaimed that the Messiah [his cousin, Jesus of Nazareth] was coming soon. And this is all we know about her, she disappears from the scriptures after the birth of her son. The “tomb of Elizabeth” is at a Franciscan monastery near Jerusalem. Other saints have the name Elizabeth: Elizabeth Ann Seaton, Elizabeth of Hungary, Elizabeth of Portugal. Two famous queens of England have borne the name as well.

The Feast Day of Saint Elizabeth is November 5. In the Levant, barley and chickpeas were common crops, so we will enjoy barley cakes at breakfast, and felafel at dinner.

Barley Cake Breakfast: 224 calories… 8 g fat… 5 g fiber… 8 g protein… 42 g carbs… 57 mg Calcium…  NB: the food values given are for the plated items only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB Barley flour has been used for centuries and it deserves a renaissance. These delightful cakes are the centerpiece of a very healthy breakfast with an English accent.

++ 2 barley cakes** ++++ 2 oz apple or pear ++++ ½ oz Cheddar cheese ++++ 5 hazelnuts or almonds ++++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Prep all ingredients, then arrange as you wish on the plate.

24 barley cakes	Large griddle or skillet.
1½ c barley flour —- ½ c white whole wheat flour —- ¾ tsp baking powder —- ¼ tsp baking soda	Combine thoroughly in a medium-sized bowl.
½ c fat-free milk —- ½ c plain fat-free yogurt —- 1 oz egg —-¼ c honey, warmed	To get only 1 ounce of egg, crack open a 2-oz egg, whisk it and use 1 oz. [give the rest to the cat] Whisk together in a bowl.
	Combine wet and dry ingredients and let sit until wetted, while griddle heats.
Cooking spray	Spray griddle with cooking spray. Using a 1.5 Tbsp scoop, drop batter on griddle, then flatten slightly with wet fingertips.
each cake = 51 calories.. 0 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 1.6 g protein… 16.5 g carbs… 14 mg Calcium…	Cook until browned on both sides and not squishy on the equator. Freezes well.

Felafel with Vegetable Salsa: 205 calories… 5 g fat… 7.5 g fiber… 9 g protein… 26.5 g carbs… 139 mg Calcium… PB GF The felafel recipe is from Molly Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook. Perfect for a hot summer day – or any day that you want a simple supper.

4 falefel patties ++++ ½ cup diced fresh tomatoes, diced ++++ ½ cup diced orange or yellow bell peppers, chopped ++++ 2 Tbsp red onion, chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp lemon juice ++++ optional: 1 oz mozzarella, diced

Combine the chopped vegetables with the lemon juice. Let sit while the felafel warms. If frozen, warm the felafel. Plate the felafel and the salad. It can’t be that easy?!?

Felafel Patties 25-30 patties	each patty= 30 cal–1 g fat — 1 g fiber –1.6 g protein –4 g carbs– 8.5 mg Calcium-
2 c canned chick peas [if using dried chickpeas, you will get a grainer product. Factor in time to reconstitute and cook]— 1½ cloves garlic, crushed– ¼ cup celery, minced– ¼ c. scallions, sliced–one 2-oz egg–1½ tsp tahini–½ t. cumin –½ tsp tumeric– ¼ t. cayenne–¼ tsp black pepper — 1½ tsp salt–	Combine in food processer until ingredients form a uniform paste. Scoop into a bowl and chill 1 hour.
	Form into balls on a silicon mat or parchment on a cookie sheet. I used a 1½ Tbsp scoop and then flattened the patties.
	TIP: You don’t have to bake them now. You could freeze the patties on a cookie sheet, then put them frozen into bags to cook later.
	Bake at 400 F, 10-15 mins. Patties should be heated through and have an outside ‘crust’ which is firm to the touch.
	Use now or cool/freeze for later use.