fasting

Buddy Holly

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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 the Fasting Lifestyle.

What was the day the music died? February 3, 1959. That was the night that a small airplane took off in a snow storm and crashed in Iowa. On board were the original ‘Rock Stars’ — the pioneers of Rock ‘n’ Roll — Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper [aka: Jiles Perry Richardson Jr.], and Ritchie Valens. The best known of the group was Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley [sic] in Lubbock, Texas in 1936. His family were all musical, and his older brother, who called him ‘Buddy’, taught him to play guitar. Holley formed performing groups when he was still a child, but after he saw Elvis on stage, Holley knew that he wanted be a professional singer, too. In high school, he was a regular on a local radio show. At age 19, he bought the Fender Stratocaster guitar which became his trademark. Holley signed a recording contract, but he wanted more creative control. Incidentally, it was Decca Records that misspelled his last name, making him forever after “Buddy Holly”. Holly struck out for New Mexico, where he worked with an independent recording studio, and there he really hit his stride. He performed with a group called the Crickets [the name “Beatles” was derived from that], cutting their first hit “That’ll Be the Day” in 1957, followed by “Peggy Sue“. The group adopted a ‘preppy’ clothing style, and Holly established the composition of a Rock ‘n’ Roll band: lead guitar, drums, rhythm guitar and bass guitar. Appearances on Ed Sullivan and American Bandstand lead to international tours. It was a whirl-wind life for the young man: touring, marriage, song writing, touring, solo albums, recording, more touring, producing. Holly separated from the Crickets and in 1959, he formed a new group. They were part of the hectic tour that lead up to the plane crash, though none of the three new band-mates was on the plane with Holly. Contrary to Don McLean‘s song, the music didn’t really die in the accident: Buddy Holly influenced John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Kieth Richards, Bruce Springsteen, and Elvis Costello — an astounding legacy.

Our breakfast, made with New Mexico green chilis, is a nod to Clovis, New Mexico, where Holly did a lot of his recordings. Our dinner is a meal that Holly and his fellow musicians might have eaten at a diner on a break from their long rides on the tour bus.

Green Chili Scramble: 137 calories… 7 g fat… 1 g fiber… 11 g protein… 10 g carbs… 59 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Ever since his grad school days in New Mexico, Son v.2.0 urges us to put roasted green chilis in everything. The taste with eggs is classic.

++ Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1½ 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. ++++ 1½ Tbsp roasted green chilis from New Mexico ++++ 1½ oz navel orange OR 1½ oz apple ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Whisk the eggs with the chilies along with salt & pepper to taste. Scramble to your taste in a non-stick-pan spritzed with cooking spray. Plate with the fruit and dream of the New Mexico landscape.

Tuna Melt: 300 calories…  18.5 g fat… 3 g fiber… 33 g protein… 24.6 g carbs… 300.5 mg Calcium…  PB GF – if using gf bread For a quick, comforting meal, you can’t beat tuna melt.



+++1 slice 70-calorie multi-grain bread  [ex: Dave’s Killer Thin-Sliced Bread] ++++ ½ a 5-oz can of water-pack tuna, drained ++++ 1 Tbsp onion, finely chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp celery, finely chopped ++++ 1 pinch celery seed ++++ salt ++++ pepper ++++ 1½ Tbsp 2%-fat cottage cheese OR BECHAMEL ++++ 1 slice Swiss cheese, the deli kind ++++ ½ cup romaine lettuce, shredded ++++ 1 oz tomato, cubed ++++ ½ tsp lemon juice ++++ ½ tsp olive oil ++


Combine the tuna, onion, celery, celery seed, and mayo as you would for tuna salad. Toast the bread. Spread the tuna mixture over the bread and top it with the cheese. Toast or broil until cheese is melting. In a wide bowl, whisk the oil and lemon juice. Toss the lettuce and tomato with the dressing and relax while you dine.

Croissants

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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.

When in Portland, Maine, we always buy croissants like this at Standard Baking Company.

The croissant is practically synonymous with eating in France. Of course, they are made around the world now, from supermarkets to premium bakeries. What is the origin of these tasty, toasty, flakey pastries? In the 13th century, there was a yeasted, crescent-shaped bread called kipferl [crescent] that was popular in Austria. Legend has it that while the Ottoman Turks were besieging Vienna in 1683, bakers, at work in the predawn, heard digging and thus thwarted an attack on the city walls. For their assistance, the bakers were granted the right to bake their rolls in a crescent shape [the crescent is the sign on the religion of Islam]. Probably apocryphal, since the crescentic rolls predate that. Stories abound concerning how the kipferl came to France. Did Marie Antoinette import them from her homeland? Did Viennese bakers, striking for higher wages, move to Paris? No, and no. In the early 1800s, a baker named August Zang set up shop in Paris. At his ‘Boulangerie Viennoise’, he sold the pastries of his home city, including a flakier version of the original kipferl, made with brioche dough. The locals enjoyed ordering those ‘croissants’ [crescents], as they dubbed them, and the tradition began. A century later, Sylvain Claudius Goy recorded the recipe that made the croissant what it is today — laminated puff pastry layers that melt in your mouth and make an excellent vehicle for Brie or fruit jam. oh. Sorry….I’m supposed to be promoting FASTING. But with the Fasting Lifestyle, you can eat croissants on Slow Days. BTW, the pastries with chocolate inside are not ‘chocolate croissants’ — they are chocolotines or pains au chocolate, depending on where you are in France. And the general word in France for edibles of this sort is ‘Viennoiserie’, just so you know. FYI: In the King Arthur Cook Book, there are two different methods for making the dough these days: Croissants de Boulonger [with yeast and fewer laminations] and Croissant de Patissier [full-on puff pastry].

January 30, 2025 is International Croissant Day. One might not think it possible to eat croissants on a Fast Day, but here are some menus to do just that. In both meals, they are paired with figs — very French. I’m not sure that I would eat both of these meals on the same day, due to their low fiber and protein, but you can decide.

Croissant & Fig: 186 calories… 8 g fat… 2 g fiber… 5 g protein… 23.5 g carbs… 37.5 mg Calcuim… PB  Who would have thought that one could even think of a croissant on a Fast Day?!? How ’bout half a croissant with some figs enrobed in dried ham? Ooh-la-la! That is a good breakfast! Dear Husband loved the fig-ham combo.  HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] people.

++ 1 plain croissant weighing 2.5 oz ++++ 4 fresh figs or 4 dried Turkish figs [total weight = 2 oz/80 g] ++++ 0.7 oz Prosciutto ++++  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Hours before: soak dried figs in water until they are soft. [Not necessary if you have fresh figs.] Gently heat the croissant. Slice the Prosciutto into four lengthwise strips and wrap them around the figs. Cut the warm croissant in half cross-ways. Distribute the food between the two plates, and enjoy with a hot beverage.

Goat Cheese with Figs: 287 calories… 20.6 g fat… 2 g fiber… 18.5 g protein… 25 g carbs… 57.5 mg Calcium…  PB Joanne Harris, in her French Market cookbook, offers this as a salad. But we saw it as a Summer dinner and we were very pleased with it. Easy to prepare – as long as you can find fresh figs.

++ 3 fresh figs, each ~½ ounce ++++ ½ oz Bayonne or Serrano ham ++++ 1 oz chevre cheese, a creamy type ++++ 4 fresh mint leaves ++++ salt & pepper ++++ ½ plain croissant

Cut the stems from the figs. Cut down into the fig, from top to almost-the-bottom. Make another cut at right angles to the first, so that the fig now is a bud with four petals. Slice the ham into ¼” slices and chop the mint leaves. Cream together the cheese, ham, and mint, along with some flavorful salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 3 equal portions. Open the petals of the figs and spoon the cheese mixture into the center. Warm the croissant and plate it with the figs.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs 1 two-oz egg  + crab meat
apple or orangesoy sauce + ginger
New Mexico roasted green chilisbean or other sprouts
garlic powder + pear + scallions
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Slice 70-calorie multi-grain breadbeef liver + soy sauce
canned tuna + onion + celerysesame oil + sugar + fresh ginger
Reduced-fat mayonnaise or Bechamel saucecanola oil + oyster sauce
Swiss cheese + side salad + tomatosnow peas OR cabbage-garlic-soy sauce-fish sauce
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Viollet-Le-Duc

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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 the Fasting Lifestyle.

By Xabi Mendoza, in homage of Le-Duc

Notre-Dame de Paris was in ruins, and decisions had to be made. Should the old cathedral be torn down? This was not April, 2019, when the church went up in flames. This was 1842. Notre Dame then was not in good shape since its building 682 years before. Worse, the angry citizens really trashed the place during the French Revolution. But now it was the age of Romanticism, when old things were of value and people, influenced by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame [in French, Notre-Dame de Paris] had a new interest in preserving the church. Enter Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. He was born in Paris on January 27, 1814, into a family of architects. From his youth, Eugène was interested in how buildings were put together. He learned from architects, from builders, from traveling the country to visit historic places, from sojourning in Italy. When he was only 28 years old, Viollet-Le-Duc and colleague Jean-Baptiste Lassus were given the chance to rescue Notre-Dame. Having restored another church, Le-Duc had an idea of how to proceed, which was handy since Lassus died soon afterward. Le-Duc’s idea of restoration was not to put a structure back the way it was before. He wrote: “To restore a building is not to preserve it, to repair, or rebuild it; it is to reinstate it in a condition of completeness which could never have existed at any given time.” In other words, make it the way Le-Duc, an ardent medievalist, thought that it ought to be. He added windows and ornamentation. Most famously, he created the spire over the transept and the Chimerae on the roof. Through several changes in national government, Le-Duc continued to find favor and work ‘restoring’ buildings. In addition to Notre-Dame, he worked on nine other churches, two town halls, six castles, and the walls of Carcassonne. Le-Duc’s work and writings influenced generations of architects and artists. He died in 1879.

Our meals are from France [of course], with breakfast from Western France, and dinner from the South near Carcassonne.

Pissenlit ScrOmelette: 142 calories… 8 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 12 g protein… 4.6 g carbs… 121 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Susan Loomis found this recipe in the Dorgogne Region of France, and included it in her French Farmhouse Cook Book. If you like slightly bitter greens, you’ll enjoy this.  HINT: This recipe is for 2 [two] servings. Use the rest, wrapped in a crepe or galette for lunch tomorrow.

++ 3 two-oz eggs ++++ 1 Tbsp water ++++ 1.4 oz/ 40 g/ 2 cups dandelion leaves, trimmed and washed ++++ ½ tsp garlic, minced ++++ 1 slice/0.7 oz uncured bacon ++++  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] ++

First collect your dandelion leaves, which I did the day before. Cut the leaves off just below the ground surface.  TIP: You could just purchase the leaves. Trim off any dead leaves and roots. Put the leaves in a large bowl of cold water and agitate the water to remove any soil. TIP: You can do this the day before.

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

Camargue Bowl:  288 calories… 4 g fat… 10 g fiber… 23.5 g protein… 29 g carbs… 98.5 mg Calcium…  PB GF This meal is all about the flavors and products of the central Mediterranean coast of France, the Rhone Delta: vegetables from the sunny gardens, garbanzo beans [introduced by the Berbers], shrimp from the shallows, and Camargue rice from the marshes. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] and it is worth making the whole thing.

++ 1½ cups Mediterranean Vegetables, without chickpeas ++++ 1 cup chickpeas ++++ 4.5 oz shrimp, shelled, tails removed, cut in ½” pieces if large ++++ ½ cup cooked red Camargue rice ++

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, if canned. Gently heat the Vegetables and chickpeas until warm. Place the shrimp on top. Cover the pan and heat further until the shrimp are cooked, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice and heat through. Heap the servings into bowls and love it.

George Fox

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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.

George Fox was a Dissenter. After the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s, they took a dim view of all who did not toe their religious line. Thus the Puritans and other groups were called Dissenters. Fox grew up in a community of Puritans in Leicester-shire, England, where his father was a prosperous weaver. From a young age, George was religious and serious. He was sent to work as a shepherd, and he enjoyed the quiet and simplicity of that life. By his late teens, George was annoyed by people who lived in wealth, far from his idea of a Christ-like life. Over the next few years, his ideas coalesced around worship without clergy, where each participant was free to hear the voice of God for him/herself. In 1652, while on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, Fox had a vision of a huge crowd of people who thought as he did, so he set out to find them. He became an itinerant preacher and gathered a group of believers who were willing to go out to preach also. Fox was an accomplished and convincing speaker, and he inspired many to join him, despite the fact that vocal Dissenters could be imprisoned or beaten due to their beliefs. He and his wife, the widow Margaret Fell, were often in jail. Nonetheless, The ideas of the Society of Friends [nicknamed ‘Quakers’] spread far and wide, many members going to the New World for religious freedom. Fox decided to visit them and he traveled extensively — Barbados, Jamaica, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania. He conversed with the powerful [Thomas Cromwell], the influential [William Penn], and the ignored [American natives], yet remained humble and true to his convictions. George Fox died on January 13, 1691, and was buried at Quaker Gardens, Islington, UK.

Our breakfast is from northern England, home of George Fox. The dinner is from Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love, founded by Quakers and influenced by them for hundreds of years.

Kipper Bake: 138 calories… 7.5 g fat… 1 g fiber… 11 g protein… 5.4 g carbs… 90.4 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PG GF  Kippers and eggs are a classic combination for breakfast, and here they are in an easy bake.

One 2-oz egg ++++ ½ oz kippered herring ++++ ¼ tsp dry mustard, such as Colman’s ++++ 1 Tbsp reduced fat ricotta cheese ++++ 1 oz apple ++++ 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] 

The night before: soak the kippered herring in warm water for 1-2 hours. Remove from water, rinse, and flake or chop finely.  In the morning: Spritz a ramekin or other oven-safe dish with non-stick spray. Set the toaster oven at 350 F. Whisk everything, except apple, together and pour into the baking dish and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit and have a fine day.

Philly Cheesesteak en Casserole: 264 calories… 11 g fat… 1 g fiber… 33.7 g protein… 11 g carbs… 263 mg Calcium…  GF The iconic street food of Philadelphia has been made over for Fast Day. By the way, provolone is the original cheese for this dish – NOT Cheeze-Whiz.

+++ 2½ oz rare roast beef, shaved ++++ 0.8 oz Provolene cheese ++++ 1 oz onions, sliced ++++ 1½ oz broccoli florets ++++ 1 slice 70-80-calorie whole-grain bread [Martins’ is the best] +++

In a small skillet sprayed with non-stick spray, cook the onions in a little water until they are limp but not browned and set them aside. Take a slice of Martin’s potato bread and cut out a bell shape using a 3-4” cookie cutter. Lightly toast the bread. Add the beef to the pan and cook the meat while chopping at it with a metal turner. Add the onions when the beef is grey-colored and soft. Boil/steam the broccoli while the meat cooks. Lay the cheese over the meat and take the pan off the heat. The cheese will melt onto the beef. Make room in the pan for the broccoli and top with the bread bell. Enjoy your taste of Philadelphia while you hum the theme to Rocky.

Fort Sumter

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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.

Fort Sumter, December 1860. NPS photo.

Fort Sumter is on an island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. It was built after the War of 1812, to strengthen the defense of the harbor, since the town of Charleston had been a key site in the War of Independence in the 1770s. It was named after Thomas Sumter, an heroic fighter in the Revolution. But as the 1800s advanced, independence of other sorts came into question: many in the US wanted independence for the many enslaved people of the American South, and the slave owners of the South wanted the independence to do live as they pleased. As the fort neared completion in the late 1850s, the separatists in South Carolina told the US President Buchanan to remove the troops from the fort, and from nearby Fort Moultrie. He refused, and the fort was besieged. The soldiers there held out from December into January, but supplies were running low. A ship was sent from New York, with soldiers, ammunition, and food, but on January 9, 1861, as it neared the fort, it was fired upon. The ship retreated. In early April, the new President Lincoln told the South Carolinians that he would resupply the fort. The South Carolinians said that would be a declaration of war. The South began a bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, and on April 13, the 80 soldiers on the island struck their flag, and left the fort. The American Civil War had begun.

Thomas Sumter’s name was surely based on the word ‘sumpter’. The word originally meant a pack animal, but it became an occupation. Sumpters operated traveling grocery stores around the nation during peacetime, and during wars, they often sold food and sundries to soldiers. A popular item that a sumpter would sell to soldiers was an egg — at exorbitant prices. Eggs are more available to most of us, so we will have them for breakfast. Much better for us than the local Charleston favorite — Krispy Kreme doughnuts! The dinner is made with two popular food items of the Carolinas: ham and sweet potatoes.

Egg-Salad Toast: 167 calories… 8 g fat… 4.5 g fiber… 12 g protein… 22 g carbs… 101 mg Calcium…  PB Toast ‘n’ Egg for breakfast takes a new twist. If you must grab-and-go, this is a good choice. 

1 slice whole-grain bread [70 calories, 3 g fiber] ++++ one hardboiled 2-oz egg ++++ yellow Sriracha, ad lib ++++ 1 Tbsp reduced-fat ricotta -OR- reduced-fat cottage cheese ++++ 1 oz sliced tomato OR halved cherry tomatoes ++++ 2 oz strawberries -OR- 1 oz blueberries ++++  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]

Slice the tomato and salt it to develop flavor. Shell the egg and mash it with a fork on a plate. Squirt some Sriracha on it, add the ricotta, and continue to mash and squirt until you get the consistancy you like. Add salt and pepper and herbs to taste. Lightly toast the bread and spread with the egg salad. Top with the tomato and plate with the fruit. Wholesome and hearty.

Ham Dinner: 297 calories… 8 g fat… 6 g fiber… 19 g protein… 40 g carbs… 41.5 mg Calcium…  PB GF This is a classic Easter Dinner in many homes, as well as being a popular diner order. From the succotash to the sweetened sweet potato to the pineapple garnish, this meal is a classic.

++ 3 oz ham, sliced 3/8” thick ++++ ¼ c. lima beans ++++ ¼ c corn kernels ++++ 1 oz sweet potato ++++ 1 tsp brown sugar ++++ ¼ c canned pineapple ++

Cube the sweet potato and simmer in a small pan until tender, ~10 mins. Heat the ham slice in a non-stick pan over medium, until ham begins to brown. Heat the vegetables together. When the ham is cooked and the sweet potato is tender, plate the ham and drain the potato. Put the potato in the ham’s pan, along with a bit of the potato water. Stir to incorporate the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Then stir in the brown sugar until the potato is covered with the sugar. Plate everything, putting a pinch of salt on the vegetables. Place the pinapple chunks on the ham and tuck into an all-American meal.

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

1 two-oz egg = US largeuncooked brown rice
kippered herringfat free milk
dry mustard powder + appledry, sweetened coconut flakes
reduced-fat ricotta
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

shaved rare roast beef106-calorie Naan bread + onions
provolone cheeseRogan Josh sauce + zucchini
broccoli + onionstomato + cauliflower
Martin’s potato bread or whole-grain breadIndian curry powder
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Boxing Day

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

It has nothing to do with pugilism, or large corporate stores, or containers made of cardboard or wood — so why is December 26 called “Boxing Day” in the United Kingdom? The term’s origin seems to be a bit of a mystery. There are three suggestions of how the day got its name. 1] In the Middle Ages, churches would gather money all year, designated as ‘alms for the poor’. The donations would be put into the ‘poor box’, and the box would be opened on Christmas Day. The day afterward, the money would be distributed to the needy: the money from the box was given on Boxing Day. 2] In the Victorian Era, servants worked day and night for their employers — including Christmas Day. But the next day was a day off for the workers, and they would go home [most lived in the neighborhood] carrying foods and gifts in a box to give to their family members: there was a box of gifts on Boxing Day. 3] On the day after Christmas, employers would give their employees gifts: a gift in a box on Boxing Day. I can help thinking that the word is a contraction of something else…but I can’t figure our what it was. It is a difficult celebration to export: of the former British possessions, Canada, Australia and New Zealand celebrate it. Boxing Day is an official holiday where it is observed and in modern times it is a day to watch football, get together with friends, and eat Christmas leftovers. And of course, it is in no way related to the Feast of Saint Stephen, which is also on December 26.

Just as Boxing Day is unique to the UK, certain foods are also associated with the UK. We will have two of them to eat on Boxing Day.

Toad in the Hole: 157 calories… 1.4 g fat… 2 g fiber… 9 g protein… 50 g carbs… 28 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. – PB – This whimsically-named meal is of old English origin – Kenneth Graham crossed with Beatrix Potter? It begins with a Yorkshire Pudding batter which you need to prepare in advance. The Yorkshire Pudd recipe is from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. HINT: make the batter the night before to save time in the morning.

Yorkshire Pudding batter: ++ one 2-oz egg ++++ ½ cup white whole wheat flour ++++ ½ tsp salt ++++ 1 Tbsp high gluten flour ++++ ½ cup fat-free milk ++

Mix all the ingredients together and let the batter stand at room temp for 30-60 minutes or in ‘fridge overnight. You will need ¼ cup of the batter per person. HINT: The remainder can be frozen in 1 cup or ¼ cup batches for future meals. When it is time to use the batter, beat it with a rotary beater until it is frothy.

To prepare the breakfast: ++ 1 chicken breakfast sausage [@ 50 cal/link] ++++ ¼ cup Yorkshire Pudding batter, well beaten [prepare the batter the night before and refrigerate] ++++ 2 oz pear or apple ++++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] ++

Heat the oven/toaster oven to 425F. Cook the sausage, using a bit of water in the bottom of the pan since the sausage will render no fat. Pour out any remaining water from cooking the sausage. Spritz 5 holes of a mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray. Dice the sausage or slice into 20 pieces, and distribute it equally into each muffin hole. Beat the batter until it is foamy, adding crumbled sage. Pour the batter into the pan over the sausage bits. Pop the pan into the oven for 15 minutes. Slice the fruit, prepare optional beverage, and settle down to a quickly-prepared, fun-to-eat meal.

Cold Beef Plate: ..292 calories… 4 g fat… 5 g fiber… 28 g protein… 33 g carbs… 17.6 mg Calcium…  — PB GF —  Here’s a simple meal. Use either meat from a roast or from the deli. Sounds rather French, with the cornichons and Dijon mustard, but rosbif is as English as a Bramley apple.

++ 3 oz cold, sliced beef roast ++++ ½ cup [about 3 oz] pickled beets ++++ 4 small [0.8 oz total] cornichons ++++ 1 tsp Dijon mustard ++++ 1 oz sourdough rye bread ++

Plate to your own aesthetic taste. Do it up right, sit down to enjoy it while listening to music by Elgar.

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

2 two-oz eggs = US largebanana
olive oil + garlic blueberries
mushrooms + frozen spinachplain, fat-free yogurt
milk + flour + feta cheeseorange juice OR crushed rhubarb
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional Earl Grey tea

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

salad greens + fresh parsleyparsnips ++ onion
celery + walnut halves + applecarrot ++++ garlic ++++ sesame oil
hardboiled egg + cooked lambbrown rice ++++ turkey/chicken/pork
Horseradish dressingJapanese curry sauce 
Sparkling waterSparkling water

… By Proxy

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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.

Anne de Bretagne

When doing genealogical or historical research about the Middle Ages, one sometimes encounters the term “married by proxy”, along with a date. What does that mean? In the past, marriages were arranged: this duke’s third son will marry that prince’s widowed daughter. They will never have met, let alone courted, and they live in different countries. There was no thought of the groom’s family traveling to the bride’s town for a wedding, and there certainly weren’t any ‘destination weddings’. So a delegation from one family is sent to the other family to get all the contracts signed [this was a business merger, not a love match] and to ‘marry’ by proxy. The Legal Dictionary defines a proxy as one who has the authority to act for another person. A ceremony would be held, officiated by the local churchman, and a representative of the absent party would stand in for the missing member of the wedding — he/she was the proxy. Then, after this sham marriage, they would have a sham wedding night. The real bride and the fake groom [or vice versa] would get into bed — fully clothed, of course, and with witnesses. If their legs touched, that was enough to declare the marriage to be consummated and legitimate. This sounds far-fetched, but it really happened — many times. Henry IV to Joanna of Navarre, in April 2, 1402. Lorenzo de’Medici to Clarice Orsini, in 1469. Anne de Bretagne married  Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, December 19, 1490. Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur, in 1501. Margaret Tudor to James IV, in 1503. Mary Tudor, Queen of France, to Louis XII, in 1514. The practice dates from Roman times, and was written into Canon Law in 1215 CE. When the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholics, they took proxy marriage with them, and the newly-formed United States continued the practice in to the 1900s. Proxy marriages fell into official disfavor after World War II, and today, only five US states allow proxy weddings.

Our meals today represent dissimilar pairs that have been ‘married’ in the kitchen. A Reuben on a matzo? Why not. A Salisbury Steak made of bison meat? Sure. Not marriages of convenience, but of inspiration.

Reuben Matzo Egg: 168 calories… 10 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 14 g protein… 18.6 g carbs… 54 mg Calcium… NB: Food values shown are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverages. —  PB —  The flavors of a Reuben but Kosher for Passover! What’s not to love? Delicious, filling breakfast. The original recipe is from Kosher in the Kitch.

++ 1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. ++++ ½ matzo cracker [14 g], like Streit’s brand ++++ ¼ oz corned beef, sliced thinly and minced ++++ 2 Tbsp sauerkraut [drained] ++++ 1.5 tsp Russian Dressing** ++++ freshly- ground black pepper ++++ Optional: black coffee with 1 tsp sugar [16 calories] or blackish tea ++++  Optional: 4 oz Kosher orange juice [56 calories] ++

Whisk the eggs vigorously, then stir in most of the corned beef and sauerkraut. Pour into a non-stick pan which was spritzed with olive oil. Scramble until done to your preference. Carefully break your half of the matzo in two or three pieces. Spread most of the Russian Dressing on the matzo crackers, then top with the eggs. Garnish with remaining corned beef, a dollop of the Dressing, and black pepper.  Delish.

Bison ‘Salisbury Steak’: 260 calories Rather than my telling you what to eat with your Salisbury Steak, I’ll give you options. Use any good veg from your ‘fridge, garden or freezer.

one 4-oz bison burger = 124 calories… 2 g fat… 0 g fiber… 25 g protein… 0 g carb ++++ ½ oz mushrooms = 8 calories… 0 g fat… 0.5 g fiber… 0 g protein… 2 g carb ++++ 1 tsp curried catsup = 8 calories… 0 g fat… 0 g fiber… 0 protein… 2 g carbs…

Side vegetables: your choice to total up to 120 calories — 2 oz cooked beets: 24 calories… 0 g fat… 1.6 g fiber… 1 g protein… 5.4 g carbs… 5.4 mg Calcium……….. 2 oz carrots: 23 calories… 0.1 g fat… 1.6 g fiber… 0.6 g protein… 5.4 g carbs… 18.4 g Calcium…………. 1/3 c. baked beans: 79 calories… 0 g fat… 3.4 g fiber… 4 g protein… 18 g carbs… 29 mg Calcium……….. 2 oz broccoli: 20 calories… 0 g fat… 1.4 g fiber… 1.6 g protein… 4 g carbs… 26 mg Calcium………. 2 oz green beans… 18 calories… 0 g fat… 2 g fiber… 1 g protein… 4 g carbs… 21 mg Calcium………. 2 oz peas: 44 calories… 0 g fat … 3 g fiber… 8 g protein… 8 g carbs… 13.6 mg Calcium…

Sprinkle a small, hot skillet with some Kosher salt. Put the burger on the salt and turn down the heat to medium-low. Cook one 4 oz bison burger on one side for about 3 minutes. Flip it and cook until done as well as you’d like. Put on a plate to stay warm.  Topping: Add some water to the pan and stir/ cook the mushrooms until soft. Meanwhile prepare your vegetables. To serve, put the ketchup on the burger, top with mushrooms. Arrange those colorful sides on the plate and get ready for some good American eating.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs = US large1 two-oz egg  + pear or apple
pepperonione 50-calorie chicken breakfast sausage
black oliveswhite whole wheat flour + non-fat milk
winter savory + apple or pearhigh gluten flour
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

baked beans + onionleft-over roasted beef
celery + canned/stewed tomatoespickled beets
brown stock + hot saucesourdough rye or wheat bread
optional: boiled egg/scallion/tomato/lemoncornichons/pickles + Dijon mustard
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Booker T. Washington

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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.

Booker Taliaferro was born in 1856, in Virginia, USA. His mother was the enslaved cook of James  Burroughs, his father was an unknown White man. For nine years, Booker was enslaved and worked on the farm. After the end of the Civil War, Booker’s mother moved her four children to Malden, West Virginia to join her husband there. The boy worked: packing salt, mining coal, then as a house boy — all before he was 12. The woman who’s house boy he was taught him to read and to write. Then he went to a school for the formerly enslaved. There he took the surname ‘Washington’ — either after his step-father or for the 1st president. In 1872, Booker walked back to Virginia to apply at the Hampton Institute. In his three years there, he was an outstanding student and he became a supporter of Samuel Chapman Armstrong, the White man who founded the school. After teaching for a few years back in Malden and at Hampton, Washington was recommended by Armstrong to head a fledgling school for Blacks at Tuskegee, Alabama. On July 4. 1881, the school had 30 students and classes were held in a donated outbuilding [described as a shanty]. Within 20 years, Washington had built it into a well-respected training school with 1100 students and 80 faculty. The curriculum was based on ‘industrial’ topics: farming, and skilled trades that Washington believed were more important for economic stability than learning the liberal arts. Some people, seeing how far he had come in his own life, thought that Washington was slighting the academic potential of African-Americans. He was certainly a trail-blazer — he was invited to speak in 1895 at a big conference in Atlanta, where he appeared on stage with White speakers. In 1901, he dined at the White House with President Teddy Roosevelt, which shocked Southern society. Booker T. Washington wrote seven books, the most famous being Up From Slavery. He worked tirelessly to promote the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, and to empower Blacks to improve their lives and their communities. Was he too accommodating to White expectations? By modern standards, yes — but he lived in a post-slavery world where no one quite knew how to raise up the formerly enslaved within the hostile environment of the former enslavers. He did a lot for his people until the day he died on November 14, 1915.

Our meals are taken from the Teacher’s Room menu at the Tuskegee Institute. Washington proposed the menu himself to showcase foods produced at the Institute by the students.

Breakfast with Booker T.: 181 calories… 7 g fat… 4 g fiber…12 g protein…20 g carbs… 41 mg Calcium.. — PB GF — if using GF bread — The menu specifies ‘fruit’, but not what type. Melons grow well in the South, so I chose them. The bread might have been corn-bread, but I substituted the easier to standardize whole-grain variety.

++ 2 oz sliced ham ++++ 1 slice/1 oz 70-calorie whole-grain bread ++++ 2 oz melon of any sort ++++ Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++ Optional: blackish coffee  [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [75 calories] 

Warm the ham in a pan, if you wish, toast the bread, and plate with the fruit.

Dinner at Tuskegee: ..304 calories… 5.3 g fat… 6 g fiber… 36 g protein… 26 g carbs… 29 mg Calcium.. — PB GF– A simple yet nutritious meal from the menu at the Tuskegee Institute, consisting of products of the farm.

++4 oz roast beef ++++ 2 oz tomatoes ++++ 1/2 cup green [English] peas ++++ 2 oz sweet potato slices ++

Peel the sweet potatoes, and roast at 400F for 15-20 minutes. Cook the peas. Slice the beef and tomatoes, and plate along with the other vegetables. Good tasting and easy to prepare.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large + file powder1.5 two-oz eggs 
tomato, fresh or pureed + baconcooked spinach + black olive
onion + green sweet pepper + Cheddargoat cheese/chevre
Creole seasoning + apple or pearbasil + apple
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

shrimp, fresh or frozen + soy sauce + ginger2 buckwheat galettes: buckwheat flour, 2 eggs
oyster sauce + garlic + carrot + onionbeef, raw or cooked + red bell pepper
cabbage + 6-inch egg roll wrappers + tomatooyster sauce + chicken stock
canola oil + duck sauce + hot saucecornstarch/cornflour + asparagus
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Watercress

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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.

On right, watercress beds at New Arlesford, England.

Three millennia ago, the Persians ate watercress [Nasturtium officinale], and they liked it. They also knew that their soldiers were healthier when they at watercress often. Greeks and Romans ate it, as did American natives. Not only did they enjoy the flavor, but they ascribed medicinal properties to it: to cure blood disorders and scurvy, to sweetening bad breath. The plant is a member of the Cabbage Family and it has a spicy, tangy taste. It grows in slightly alkaline streams of slow-flowing, non-polluted water. In the 1500s, a German in Erfurt began to grow the plant commercially, rather than harvesting it from the wild. The idea spread to Holland, then to England in the 1800s. ‘Cress became very popular around 1865, when the watercress beds of New Arlesford [pronounced ‘Allsford’], England were linked by a new train line to London and the Midlands. This was a real boon after the local wool boom crashed around 1850. In the shallows of the River Itchen, watercress grew wild. Then cement ‘troughs’ were built for planting the herb, and water was pumped up from deep wells to irrigate the plants. Since the water is of consistent temperature, the ‘cress could grow year ’round. We were astonished at the volume of watercress that we could see as we walked the “English Camino” in October. The “Watercress Line” ran huge quantities of the fresh greens to London until it was replaced by a modern route. Today the train is run by volunteers as a 10-mile heritage train. Watercress is wildly healthy and easy to use in salads, in a stir-fry, and a simple garnish. No wonder it is found in cuisines from China to the Mediterranean to Canada.

Watercress at breakfast in New Arlesford.

Here is a simple, versatile sauce made from watercress, to use with eggs or on seafood. WATERCRESS SAUCE  Terrific for adding to eggs or as a sauce for fish.  TOTAL = ..143 calories… 5 g fat… 2.7 g fiber… 7 g protein… 20 g carbs… 297.5 mg Calcium.. 1 of 18 ‘ice cubes’ = ..8 calories… 0 g fat.. 0.1 g fiber… 0.4 g protein… 1.5 g carbs… 16.5 mg Ca.. ++ 8 oz [by weight, not volume] watercress, well rinsed and trimmed of tough stems +++ 1 medium-large onion [4 oz] +++ 1 tsp olive oil +++ 1 cup vegetable or meat stock ++ 

Put the onion in a food processor and run until completely chopped. Heat oil over medium heat and cook onions for 10 minutes until softened. Add watercress to processor, and process until finely chopped. Add to the onion and 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. 

Watercress Bake: 139 calories… 6 g fat… 1 g fiber… 9 g protein… 6 g carbs… 90 mg Calcium… NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. —PB GF— Watercress is so versatile and so healthy. When you see it in the market, turn it into Watercress Sauce and freeze in small amounts [from ice cube size to ½ cup] for use all year ’round.

++++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 2 Tbsp [1 cube] Watercress Sauce, drained ++++ 1 Tbsp ricotta cheese ++++ 1/8 oz mushrooms ++++ 1 oz fresh peach ++++ ¼ oz fresh blackberries ++++ 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] ++++

The night before: thaw the watercress sauce in a sieve over a small bowl overnight. Chop the mushrooms and cook in a little water for 15 seconds in the microwave. Next morning: Combine the ‘cress, mushrooms, and ricotta. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin or other dish with non-stick spray. Whisk the eggs and add the cress mixture. Whisk again and pour into the prepared dish. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Prepare the beverages and the fruit. What a simple, sumptuous meal.

Watercress Soup: ..157 calories… 5.4 g fat… 3 g fiber… 8.4 g protein… 22 g carbs… 63.5 mg Calcium… —PB GF– Jacques Pepin’s Good Life Cooking is the source of this recipe and the stream that flows to the beach is the source of our watercress. So low in calories, you might want to add some Finn Crisp crackers for filling fiber or the Caprese Salad for more protein or a hard-boiled egg. HINT: This recipe makes 5 cups of soup which serves 4-5 people.  

++ 2 tsp canola oil ++++ 4 oz [weight, not volume] watercress leaves and tender stems ++++ 1 cup celery, coarsely chopped ++++ 2 cups onion, coarsely diced ++++ 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed ++++ 2½ cups good stock – vegetable/chicken/beef ++++ ¾ tsp salt ++++ 10 oz [weight, not volume] potatoes, peeled, cut in 2” chunks ++++ 2 oz [weight, not volume] sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks ++++ Optional: 1 Tbsp chevre cheese – 40 calories/ 3 g fat/ 0 g fiber/ 2.5 g protein/ 0.5 g carbs/ 10 mg Calcium ++++  Optional: Caprese Salad – 46 calories/ 2 g fat/ 0.6 g fiber/ 4 g protein/ 2.6 g carbs/ 115.6 mg Calcium PB GF ½ oz mozzerella cheese, thinly sliced ++2 oz tomato, thinly sliced and sprinkled with salt++ fresh basil leaves++ There should be equal numbers of cheese slices as tomato. Arrange the cheese, tomato, and basil overlapping like shingles on the plate. ++++  Optional: hard-boiled egg  70 calories/ 4.8 g fat/ 0 g fiber/ 6 g protein/ 0.4 g carbs/ 28 mg Calcium PB GF Cut the egg lengthwise in quarters and nestle into the plated soup. Optional: 2 Finn Crisp crackers – 40 calories/ 0 g fat/ 3 g fiber/ 1 g protein/ 10 g carbs/ 0 mg Calcium PB GF

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the cress, celery, onion, and garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Put the stock, salt and potatoes into the pan and bring to a boil. [NB: my stock was very dark, which changed the color of the soup to a darker shade of green] Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool slightly then puree in blender/food processor or with immersion wand. If not thoroughly pureed, run through a sieve. Heat the soup before serving. In the bowl, put the chevre in the center, let it soften a bit, then swirl it into the soup. Serve the salad on the side.

Vegetable Sides

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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 Cyber Brust who is now Following.

Vegetables come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I have heard many people say that they don’t like vegetables — perhaps they never tried the right ones. Or maybe their mothers boiled vegetables to mush, which is a crime against nature. I am here to tell you that vegetables are delicious — and there are so many ways to enjoy them! Put any of these suggestions next to the protein source of your choice, and you will have a splendid meal for a FAST Day. There are a lot of good reasons to eat vegetables, so go for it! From the ‘Four Corners of the World’ [France, China, First Nations, India], may I present:

CHICKPEA RAGOUT: makes ~4 cups ~1 cup= 121 calories…. 3 g fat.. 5.5 g fiber.. 6 g protein.. 20 g carbs.. 26 mg Calcium

  ++ ½ tsp olive oil ++++ ½ cup diced onions ++++ ½ cup scallions, chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp garlic ++++ 2 cups diced tomatoes, fresh or canned and drained ++++ 1½ cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed if canned ++++ ½ cup chicken stock ++++ ½ tsp salt ++++ ½ tsp pepper ++ Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the onion, scallion and garlic. Stir briefly over the heat then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat until liquids are mostly evaporated. If using now, separate out your portion and keep warm. Cool the remaining ragout and freeze it in serving portions.  This is from Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way

CHINESE CABBAGE:   This is a fine dish to accompany a variety of foods from Chinese dumplings to fish.

Serves 2
Non-stick spray +++ 1 clove garlic, sliced Spray a heavy pan and cook garlic over medium heat 30 seconds.
½# cabbage, shredded/thinly-sliced +++ 2 Tbsp water Stir in cabbage and water. Cover and cook 1 minute.
1½ tsp soy sauce Add, cover and cook 1 minute.
1½ tsp fish sauce ++++  2 Tbsp waterTurn up heat, add sauce along with 2 more Tbsp water. Cook, uncovered, until cabbage is tender and liquids have evaporated
Each serving = 35 calories … 0.1 g fat… 2 g fiber… 2.7 g protein… 7.5 g carbs… 56 mg Calcium

CORN-TOMATO-BLACK BEAN SALAD  As a relish on fish, or in eggs. makes 2 cups 

++ 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar ++++ 1 Tbsp canola oil ++++ ¾ tsp sesame oil ++++ 1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob ++++ ½ c chives, snipped ++++ 1 cup diced tomato ++++ ½ c black beans ++++ ¼ tsp dry mustard ++++ 1/8 tsp turmeric ++++ ¼ tsp sugar ++++ 2 dashes ground cumin ++ Stir together all ingredients and let sit to mellow the flavors.

CUCUMBER RAITA  Use as a side dish or in wraps  1 cup = 132 calories  PB GF

++ 2/3 cup non-fat yogurt ++++ 1 Tbsp lime juice ++++ 1 clove garlic, pressed ++++ 1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced ++++ ½ tsp ground cumin ++++ ¼ tsp salt ++++ ¼ tsp ground pepper ++++ 1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped ++ Combine all ingredients and use immediately or chill up to 30 minutes.