fasting

Diane de Poitiers

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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.

Diane de Poitiers’ name is forever linked with that of her lover, King Henri II of France. Literally linked, since the chateau that he gave her has their entwined initials carved on every surface. We might think: “that tart is the ‘other woman’ ruining someone’s marriage.” But wait! There is more to the story. Diane was the daughter of a country gentleman who taught his little girl to ride and hunt at an early age. She was, after all, named for the Roman goddess of the hunt. Life in the queen’s retinue provided her with an excellent education. As a 15-year-old, Diane was married to a middle-aged man with lots of money but homely looks. After he died, she wore black [and white] for the rest of her life — it looked good on her. Her husband’s nobility earned her a place at the court of Francois I, in Paris. There Diane learned the gentle arts of court life, and her beauty was widely admired. When little Prince Henri was sent to Spain as a ransom for his father’s loss of a war with Spain, Lady Diane was the only one who hugged the child good-bye. When he returned to France in his teens, Henri needed a tutor to relearn the princely arts. He was 17 and Diane, at age 37, was his coach. Although Henri was married to Catherine di Medici, he fell in love with Diane and the two were inseparable for 26 years. [Makes me think of Emmanuel Macron of France who married his high school drama teacher. She is first lady of France.] Catherine was extremely jealous, but Diane held her own and even assisted Catherine with her children. A brilliant economist and wily diplomat, Diane advised King Henri in all things. Indeed in all things, she was the ‘acting queen’ of France. She kept her enviable good looks by daily exercise and healthy eating, while encouraging her husband to appreciate art and literature. Diane’s most lasting achievements were the house and gardens at Chenonceau, the most beautiful chateau of the French Renaissance. When Henri II died from a dreadful jousting accident, Diane was forbidden to be at his death-bed and the petty Catherine made Diane give back the chateau and her jewelry. Diane retired to Normandie and did acts of charity until her death on 25 April 1566. On the whole, I think that Diane de Poitiers had many good qualities, even if she was ‘the other woman’.

Diane is buried at her Chateau d’Anet in Normandie. Our breakfast consists of healthy vegetables served on a galette, the rustic crepes popular in North-Western France. The dinner is fit for a queen — or a king’s favorite.

Ratatouille-Egg Galette: 151 calories… 5.5 g fat… 2 g fiber… 10 g protein… 14 g carbs… 44 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF – if using GF crepes  A meal direct from Brittany – if it weren’t for the ratatouille! A perfect blend of Northern and Southern France.

1 crepe one + 2-oz egg ¼ cup Mediterranean Vegetables, drained of excess liquids [reserve the liquid] ½ oz fresh mushrooms  + 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]

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

Filet Mignon with Tarragon: 278 calories… 14 g fat… 2 g fiber… 28.6 g protein… 7 g carbs… 49 mg Calcium  GF We have enjoyed this sumptuious Joanne Harris recipe for years and we still turn back to her My French Kitchen to make it again. HINT: This recipe is enough for two. Worth sharing with a special friend. If serving one diner, prepare all of the sauce and save it to put in eggs at breakfast or to use at dinner.

2 tsp butter + 2 portobello mushroom caps + ½ tsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp shallot , minced 2 Tbsp white wine + 1 Tbsp heavy cream + 1 tsp grainy mustard + ½ tsp minced garlic 2-3 Tbsp fresh tarragon + two 4-oz filet mignon + 10 spears asparagus

Cook the mushrooms on both sides in butter and a spritz of cooking spray. Keep warm off the stove. Heat the oil with a spritz of cooking spray, and cook the shallots until softened. Add the wine to the pan, then simmer for 3 minutes. Lower the heat, add the cream, mustard, garlic, and tarragon. Heat long enough to warm the sauce but do not let it boil. Cook the asparagus. In a separate heavy skillet, heat a drizzle of oil and a spritz of non-stick spray over high. Cook the meat 1½ minutes/side if you like it rare or 2 minutes/side for medium. Place the cooked steak on the mushroom cap, surround it with asparagus, and top it with the sauce. This is easy to prepare and absolutely delicious.

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

70-calorie whole-grain bread1 two-oz egg  + tarragon
honeyasparagus spears
clementineGolden Berries or strawberries
plain fat-free yogurtwhipped cream cheese
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

vegetable oil + 2 onions + garlic+ shrimpalbacore tuna + avocado + celery
fresh ginger + Thai red curry paste ground ginger + lime juice + Sriracha
2.5 pounds butternut squash + baby spinachmayonnaise made with olive oil + apple + baby spinach leaves
lime + ‘lite’ unsweetened coconut milkradish/alfalfa sprouts + cherry tomatoes
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Dorothea Dix

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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.

Social reform. Education for women. Mental health reform. Care for the marginalized. These are hot-button issues in our world today. Who would suspect that there was someone advocating for them in the mid-1800s! That person was Dorothea Lynde Dix, born April 4, 1802, in the state of Maine, USA. After a difficult childhood with a depressed mother and an alcoholic father, Dorothea moved to her grandmother’s house in Boston. She was able to get a good education there, and at age 14 became a school teacher. [very typical in that era] Soon, she was in charge of several schools, catering to the needs of girls who did not do well in traditional education. By age 20, Dix was so worn out that she was instructed to go to Europe for a rest. There, she met activists in the cause of better treatment for the mentally ill. Back in the States, Dix volunteered to teach a Sunday class at a local ‘insane asylum’. She was horrified to find that the mentally ill were housed with dangerous criminals in disgusting filth, while subject to abuse and cruelty. After visiting other Massachusetts institutions with similar conditions, Dix successfully lobbied the state government to set regulations for the care of those who had no say in the matter. She traveled to other states to investigate how they cared for the mentally ill. Her work lead to new mental hospitals being built in New Jersey, Illinois, and North Carolina. At the start of the Civil War, Dix went to Washing-ton D.C. and volunteered to be a nurse. [At that time, all hospital nurses were men] Although she had no nursing training, she was put in charge of all the Union Army hospitals and their 1000s of nurses. With her typical industry, Dix set out to hire and train women as new nurses, to reform how hospitals were run, and to fire many nurses who were not up to her standards. She was efficient and effective, but was widely disliked by the nurses and doctors. After the war, Dix continued her crusade for better care in hospitals and asylums despite frequent bouts of illness. Dorothea Dix’s impact on the care of marginalized people was enormous. She spent the last years of her life as a guest in a private apartment in one of her asylums in New Jersey.

One of the many mental hospitals inspired by Dix was in Illinois, so our breakfast is inspired by one of Chicago’s favorite foods. Hearty, warming soup might well have been served by Dix in the Army Hospital tents, and it is always welcome at dinner.

‘Chicago’ ScrOmelette:  135 calories — 7 g fat — 2 g fiber — 10 g protein — 7 g carbs — 53.4 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  One of my methods for creating a new breakfast is to take flavor elements from a favorite dinner and then put them in eggs. Here, we have a ‘Chicago Hot Dog’ without the sausage and without the bun. Dear Husband deemed it ‘very 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 and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.   1 oz tomato + 1 Tbsp chopped onion squirt of yellow mustard + 1 ‘sport pepper’ or 1 pepperoncini, chopped pinch of poppy seed + pinch celery seed + 1 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]

Cook the onion and mustard in a pan which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Add the tomato, pepper, and seeds and heat through. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the apple for a taste sensation.

Scotch Broth: 140 calories —5 g fat —2 g fiber— 7 g protein— 16.4 g carbs— 21.4 mg Calcium   NB: food values are for the soup only.  PB  This is one of those ancient comfort foods. One can imagine generations of Scottish crofters making the best of local barley and root vegetables cooked with a bit of mutton. This soup is warm and hearty. HINT: the recipe produces 5 [five] one cup servings.

4 oz ground lamb +++ ½ cup pearled barley cooked with 1¼ c water +++ ½ cup carrot, diced ½ cup turnip, diced +++ ¼ cup onion, diced +++ ¼ cup parsnip, diced +++ 2½ cup lamb broth 1 tsp butter +++ pepper and salt to taste +++ 1 Tbsp dried rosemary   optional per serving: 4 two-inch bannock = 64 calories– 2 g fat — 1 g fiber — 1.6 g protein — 9 g carbs — 17 mg Calcium

Prepare the barley by cooking at a simmer for 30 minutes. Cook the lamb and vegetables in the butter for 5 minutes. Add stock to the vegetables and simmer 30 minutes. Add cooked barley, stir to combine. Take off heat, cover, and let sit overnight. The soup will thicken as it sits, so before serving add water to achieve the consistancy you want.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs 
asparagus + pearParmesan cheese
prosciutto asparagus
Parmesan cheeseapplesauce
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4.5 oz fresh spinach + green beanspork tenderloin, cooked or raw + cucumber
onion or shallot + Laughing Cow cheeseAsian sweet chili sauce
sole or ocean perch filletssweet red pepper + carrot
70-calorie whole-grain breadbaguette slices + sesame-ginger dressing
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Not Kidding

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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.

April 1st is “April Fools’ Day“. This is the day to pull pranks on unsuspecting friends. But let us discuss something more important. There are a lot of ‘experts’ out there who purport to give advice about dieting and a healthy lifestyle. And then they try to sell you something. They are trying to fool you — or is it ‘make a fool of you’? Does the headline read “Lose 5 pounds by the weekend!!!!” Bogus! Does the pop-up ad scream “This Grandmother’s jaw-dropping secret for melting off the pounds!!!” Click-bait! Think about it: if there were some simple way to lose weight, then why is there an obesity epidemic? The bottom line is that no diet will do the job — you need a lifestyle change. What type of lifestyle is recommended? Not one that puts whole categories of food on the no-no list, because over time that is not sustainable. Eating plans that rely on a variety of foods while reducing simple carbs are a great place to start. If then you add two days of 5:2 Fast Diet-style fasting each week, you will lose weight. Those days emphasize protein, lower fat, lower carbs, and fewer calories. Am I kidding you when I say this plan is a good one? Let’s see what the pros say: https://www.news-medical.net/health/Fast-52-Diet-Evidence.aspx “…participants found that they lost much more weight than those who attempted to limit calories for an entire week. Moreover, the diet had optimized their insulin resistance, which is a condition in which cells do not respond as they should to insulin.” https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/ask-the-expert/fast-diet “There is some evidence to suggest intermittent fasting helps with weight loss, and some studies have linked it to lower rates of coronary heart disease and diabetes, but more research is needed before this can be proven.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9698935/ “…we demonstrated that the intermittent fasting 5:2 plus program produced superior weight loss compared with the daily calorie restriction for 12 weeks in Chinese patients with overweight or obesity. There were no serious adverse events…” https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2018/World-first-study-shows-benefits-of-52-diet-for-people-with-diabetes/ ” Fasting on two non-consecutive days, consuming between 500-600 calories, and then eating normally for five other days each week not only results in weight loss but also improved blood glucose control.” This is why Dear Husband and I have been 5:2 Fasting for 10 years: it works, and I’m not kidding.

Our breakfast starts the day off by fooling your table mates — is that an egg yolk…? The dinner is a delicious, filling meal that says, “I’m not kidding — this is a Fast Day Meal!”

Trompe l’Oeil:  135 calories 6 g fat 2 g fiber 10.5 g protein 9.6 g carbs 128 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Here is a meal to fool the eye and tickle the palate with its combination of the cold soup and the hot egg. The soup, which is good as a lunch in larger portions, comes from cuisine actuelle.fr

½ cup Cucumber Soup*** + 1 oz ball of canteloupe melon + one 2-oz egg + 1 tsp grated Parmesan + 1 Tbsp whole milk    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 an oven-safe ramekin with non-stick spray and break the egg into it. Sprinkle the Parmesan around the yolk. Spoon the milk around the yolk. Add salt and pepper. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, scrape the soup into a similar ramekin. Nestle the melon ball in the soup. Plate them side by side and smile.

***Cucumber Soup  ¾ cup serving = 78 calories 0.5 g fat 4.5 g fiber 11.5 g protein 8 g carbs 106 mg Calcium

makes 3 cups = 4 servings, ¾ cup each
two 8” cucumbers [weight = 21 oz]Slice off both tips of the cucumber and remove half of the green peel. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Dice the cucumber.
2 oz mint leavesChop the leaves coarsely.
Piment d’esplette [or paprika or Aleppo pepper] + salt & pepper to tastePut these in a food processor. Use the spices ad lib. Run the machine until cucumber is very finely chopped.
200 grams/ 7 oz Fromage Blanc or plain Greek yogurtAdd cheese/yogurt and run the processor to combine. Adjust seasonings.
8 oz canteloupe melon Scoop into 8 Tbsp-sized balls
Portion soup, garnished with 1-2 melon ball per serving

Shrimp with Garlic-Fennel Sauce:  250 calories 7 g fat 2 g fiber 25.5 g protein 21 g carbs 80.6 mg Calcium  PB GF  The flavors of this Mediterranean meal are simply wonderful. The recipe is adapted from Sumptuous Spoonfuls. HINT: This serves two [2] diners.

1 tsp olive oil + 3 cloves garlic, minced + 2 Tbsp lemon juice + 2 Tbsp white wine 6 oz uncooked shrimp + 2 Tbsp tzatziki* + 2 Tbsp tzatziki sauce [no solids] 2 tsp fennel seed OR 2 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds + 4 oz [by weight] cooked farro 2 large romaine leaves optional: fennel frond garnish

Cook garlic briefly in oil until fragrant. Add lemon juice, wine, and shrimp to the pan. Cook 2-3 mins with out stirring, then turn shrimp, add fennel seed, and cook 2 mins more. Take shrimp from pan. Add tzatziki sauce [no solids] and stir over low hear until shrimp is coated. Place one romaine leaf on each plate and divide the shrimp into each leaf. Plate the farro and top with tzatziki.

TZATZIKIMakes 2½ cups, ~8 sv 1 Sv = 5 fl oz
1 English cucumber or another variety + Kosher saltGrate cucumbers whole if using English cucumbers. If using cucumbers with waxy skin, peel and cut in half before grating. Remove and discard seeds. Salt lightly.
Squeeze cucumbers in a clean cloth to remove liquid.
4-5 cloves garlic, minced  1 tsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil		In a big bowl, combine garlic with these and mix. 
drained cucumberAdd cucumbers to the bowl with garlic-oil
2 c plain Greek yogurt  Ground pepper + salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh fennel-dill-mint		Add these ingredients. Stir to combine.Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.

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

Aldo Leopold

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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.

Do you think that the natural world “as a community to which we belong”? Those are the words of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology in the US. Born on January 11, 1887, and raised in Iowa, Aldo loved nature from the start. He observed, journaled, and sketched his environment throughout childhood. Leopold was graduated from Yale’s Forest School in 1909, and became an enthusiastic leader of the US Forest Service in the South West. There he established the first official wilderness area, Gila National Forest. A transfer to Wisconsin opened up new opportunities. He became the first ever Chair of Wildlife Management at University of Wisconsin. His family bought a run-down farm, the land exhausted and the buildings in ruin. Over many years, they revived the land by planting native species while living in “The Shack.” This became the inspiration for Leopold’s idea of the Land Ethic: living in harmony with nature and ethically co-existing with the natural world. A series of his essays were accepted for publication in 1948, and one week later, he died. But the work was published as A Sand County Almanac, considered one of the most important books for explaining the importance of nature to human life. He was right, you know. Humans are part of nature, not separate from it. What we do as individuals affects the entire natural world, right down to how you eat. Think about living ethically with the land, no matter where you live.

Ham and corn are popular products of Iowa, so we will start there for breakfast. A salad with pork and hard-boiled eggs is as close to the ground as it gets. Get a copy of A Sand County Almanac to peruse between meals.

Ham-Cup Egg with Corn: 140 calories  6.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 10 g protein 11 g carbs  37 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF Ham and corn are such a grand combination. Easy to prepare ahead for a quick breakfast.

1 two-oz egg  1 slice “Cottage Ham” [4” diameter thin slice of ham] I used North Country Smoke House brand at 21 calories/slice    1 Tbsp fresh polenta OR ¾ oz cooked corn kernals           1.5 tsp red bell pepper, diced  Sriracha   3 oz watermelon                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]

Fit the ham into an oven-proof container that measures 3.25” in diameter and 1.25” deep. [I used a cleaned tuna can. It was perfect.] You will need to snip the ham on 2 sides and overlap the meat to make it fit better into the mold. Combine the polenta/corn with the diced pepper and season with Sriracha/salt/pepper to taste. Whisk in the egg and pour into the ham cup. HINT: I did this the night before and put it in the ‘fridge. Turn on the toaster oven to 350 F and bake the ham cups for 20+ minutes, until the filling is puffed and set. Prepare the optional beverages and the melon. Use a wide knife to loosten the ham cups from the mold before plating. Some of the egg will have oozed into the mold as it baked, but that is easy to remove too. This is a real treat!

Springtime Pork Salad:  247 calories 8.5 g fat 5 g fiber 18 g protein 27 g carbs  80 mg Calcium PB GF  This is a delightful meal-salad, with clementines of Winter joining asparagus from Spring.  HINT: this serves 2 so invite a friend.

4 cups romaine lettuce, sliced cross-wise   3 oz pork tenderloin, cooked             8 sections clementine  2 oz asparagus, cooked and cut into 1” pieces  ½ two-oz hardboiled egg   2 Tbsp cranberry orchard nut medley   2 oz whole-wheat baguette   dressing: 2 tsp plain yogurt OR mayonnaise  1 tsp Sriracha  pinch garlic powder 2 tsp lemon juice

Slice pork into thin rounds. Slice or chop the egg. Whisk the dressing ingredients, and toss with greens in the serving bowl. Decorate with pork, asparagus, clementine, egg.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs = US large1 two-oz egg  + lemon-dill seasoning
canned white beans + scallion/green onionchèvre cheese
shrimp + tomatospinach, cooked or frozen
nectarine or peachapple or pear               
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

lobster tail + ripe plantainsbarramundi fish + fresh spinach 
fresh lime + olive oil       puttanesca sauce + Camargue rice  + garlic
melon such as cantaloup black olives + Dijon mustard + green beans
fresh spinach leaveslemon zest +  olive oil + red wine vinegar 
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Giotto, Artist

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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 bulkads45 who is now Following.

Jean Brodie : Can anyone tell me: who is the greatest Italian painter?     Jenny : Leonardo da Vinci, Miss Brodie.           Jean Brodie : That is incorrect, Jenny. [Miss Brodie unrolls a print of Giotto’s painting “Flight Into Egypt”]  The answer is Giotto. He is my favourite.

While taste in art is subjective, Miss Jean Brodie was on to something. Giotto di Bondone, born around 1265, changed art forever, affecting the work of every artist who followed. How did he do it? By depicting nature and the people in it realistically. When he was born, the predominant art style was the Sienese School which depicted stiff, idealized figures against patterned backgrounds in a 2-dimensional space. Realism and naturalism were not in fashion, Byzantine-style icons were. 

Sienese Madonna and Child, 1270. The Lady’s body has no volume and her fingers are creepy. Baby is cute.
Cimabue’s version, with a crowd of angels like a bunch of grapes. Note that all their faces are the identical.
Another Sienese painting from 1300. Note that all three Madonnas have the same stylized face.

Giotto ‘began’ the Florentine School of art. He put figures with solid, rounded, 3-D bodies into naturalistic spaces. He used perspective before anyone else of his time. His characters had individual faces and contemporary clothing. He brought humanity into the scenes he painted, with people acting like people. Legend has it that he was discovered by the renowned artist Cimabue when Giotto was 10 years old. With his teacher, Giotto traveled. At the Basilica in Assisi, Cimabue began and Giotto finished a series of frescoes about Saint Francis. From that point on, he was in great demand, as an artist and architect. Giotto’s campanile in Florence is amazing. From Padua’s Arena Chapel, to Florence’s Santa Croce, to Rome, Giotto set up studios and taught assistants his style, thus spreading new ideas in art. How did he approach the Madonna and Child? A chubby baby sits on his mother’s arm, clutching her finger. A woman who has volume, and the dignity of an individual person. This is the genius of Giotto. He is my favorite.

Giotto died on January 8, 1337, but a trend to realistic art lived on. Our meals involve foods and flavors of northern Italy, with which he would have been familiar. As Giotto showed us realism in art, we will eat real food that is naturally-occurring, healthy, and traditional. Real food is real good.

Artichoke-Herb Bake: 136 calories  8 g fat 2.5 g fiber 9 g protein 7.5 g carbs 104.4 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg-bake and fruit only, not the optional hot beverage. PB GF  Artichokes, fresh, fragrant herbs, ricotta cheese — we must be in Italy! Fresh strawberries, in season, are excellent at breakfast.

1 two-oz egg  ¼ oz scallion, sliced across   2 tsp chopped mixed fresh herbs          ½ oz artichoke hearts, canned in water, chopped  1 Tbsp reduced fat ricotta  2 oz strawberries  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]

Prepare the herbs and vegetables. Put them in a bowl with the ricotta and stir to mix. Add the egg and stir it all together. Heat the toaster oven to 350 F. Spritz an oven-proof dish with cooking oil or spray and put the egg mixture into it. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the berries for the tastes of the Mediterranean.

Fish Parmesan:  245 calories  2.6 g fat  5 g fiber  31 g protein 11.4 g carbs  242.5 mg Calcium  PG GF – if using GF breadcrumbs  A new version of the restaurant classic, made suitable for Fasters. And it is delicious. For atmosphere, light the candle stuck in the wine bottle while you look at works by Giotto.

1 servingHeat the toaster oven to 350F. 
Non-stick spray      
1 Tbsp milk 		Spritz an oven-proof pan with non-stick spray or olive oil. Pour milk on a plate.
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated  
1 tsp dried oregano and/or thyme  
¼ oz whole-grain breadcrumbs, fresh not dried		Grate Parmesan. Crumble or process bread into crumbs. On another plate combine these with salt and pepper. 
¾ oz mozzarella, grated              
2 Tbsp 2%-fat cottage cheese		Cream the cheeses together until well-combined.
4 oz fish, a firm-fleshed variety   olive oil sprayDip fish in milk on both sides. Dredge fish in crumb/cheese mixture to coat it completely. Put on pan, spray with oil. 
Bake fish 10 mins, until golden. Take out of oven. Preheat broiler.
¼ c. marinara sauce, homemade or purchased           
2 tsp capers 		Stir capers into marinara. Top fish with marinara sauce, then mound the cheese mixture over it.
Broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is melty and starting to brown
2 oz green beansPrepare beans and plate with the fish.

Christmas

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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.

Christmas in Bethlehem, 2023: the Nativity Scene at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

Christmas, December 25th, is not about trees covered with ornaments. Christmas is not about presents in stockings or under said tree. Christmas is not about Santa Claus, with or without his reindeer. Christmas is not about how much you can buy and how many bargains you find. Christmas is not about eating cookies and cakes. Christmas is not about Charlie Brown and his little tree and his little friends. Christmas is not about singing carols, with or without hot chocolate, eggnog, or mulled wine. Christmas is about the birth of a baby boy sometime in March in 3 BCE, in Bethlehem, then in the Roman Empire, now in the Palestinian West Bank. That baby, born into a family of Jewish artisans — his mother a weaver, her husband a carpenter — was said by angels to be the son of God. That baby grew up to be Jesus Ben-Joseph of Galilee who became an itinerant preacher or rabbi [meaning teacher]. In his 33 years of life, he healed people who were sick in mind and body and spirit. He preached a gospel [meaning ‘good news’] of peace and reconciliation. He told anyone who would listen that the most important thing was to love one’s fellow humans as much as we love ourselves. He said that we should help the poor, the orphans, the widows. He said that we should feed the hungry and visit the prisoners. He said that rich people would never be members of God’s kingdom. He was at one point a refugee, and at the end, he was a political prisoner. The birth of that baby and the advent of his life’s work is what Christmas is all about. It is up to us to act as it that matters to us more than gifts, or trees, or commercial trappings.

Our breakfast has hearts, for a message of love. The dinner is easy to prepare and yummy — nice to eat as Winter begins.

Heart-in-Heart: 150 calories 6 g fat  3 g fiber 9.6 g protein 17 g carbs  42 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF – if using GF bread  Egg + bacon + toast come to the table in a new guise.

1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread with a 2” heart cut out                   1 slice Canadian bacon with a 2” heart cut out                             1 small egg [1.8 oz with the shell]             1 oz banana slices OR ¼ cup 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]

Spray an oven-safe pan with non-stick spray. Lightly toast the bread. Put it in the pan and position the bacon on top of it so the hearts align. Sprinkle a pinch of herbs of your choice into the hole. Break the egg into the heart-shaped hole. Strew with salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes. Plate with the fruit.

Eggplant Parmesan: 263 calories 5.6 g fat 5 g fiber 19 g protein 44 g carbs  203 mg Calcium   PB GF  I love eggplant parmesan but I can’t stand cooking all those slices in oil [!!] and then layering everything together. This preparation is just what I need. HINT: This recipe serves 2 [two] people. Dear Husband enjoyed this.

4 slices peeled eggplant to a total weight of 6.5 oz   ¼ c part-skim ricotta cheese        ½ cup reduced fat cottage cheese   ½ oz egg   1½ cup canned whole tomatoes         basil  garlic powder 1 oz whole-grain linguine [or other pasta of your choice]          3 oz zucchini ribbons –OR– 2 oz spinach leaves

Sprinkle the eggplant slices liberally with salt and lay them in a collander on a plate and let sit 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta and cottage cheeses with the egg. Combine the tomatoes with the basil and garlic powder. Rinse the eggplant slices and bake at 375F on an oil-sprayed pan for 15 minutes or until tender. Spray two 8” oven-safe saute pans OR one larger pan with non-stick spray. Measure ¼ c of tomato into each pan and flatten it out. Lay two slices of eggplant, slightly over-lapping, on the tomatoes in the pans. Smear 1 Tbsp of tomato on each eggplant slice. Arrange 2-3 Tbsp of ricotta/cottage cheese mixture on each slice. Put any extra tomato sauce on top and then a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400F for 15+ minutes or until eggplant is soft. Use a vegetable peeler to slice zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Cook the pasta for 4 minutes, then take off heat. Add the zucchini to the pasta and let it sit, covered, for another 2-3 minutes. If using spinach, add it to the pasta pan with one minute to go. I like to serve it all in the skillet in which it was baked, but you can plate it to your individual wishes. Melty and tender – just the way I like it.

Sax

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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.

All Seven Saxophones

Antoine-Joseph Sax should not have grown up, but he did and he changed the way music is played. Between his birth in Dinant, Belgium, on November 6, 1814, and his 14th birthday, young Adolphe fell from a height of three stories; drank a bowl full of acid-water; swallowed a pin; was badly burned in a gunpowder explosion; burned his side when he fell onto a hot frying pan; was almost asphyxiated from sleeping in a room where varnished furniture was drying; and was hit on the head by a cobblestone, then fell into a river and almost drowned. Maybe that is why he changed his name to “Adolphe.” His father,  Charles-Joseph Sax, an excellent wood-worker, was hired by William I of Orange to re-design the wooden instruments of the Belgian Army’s band, such as fifes and bugles. Adolphe grew up in his father’s workshop and learned the trade first-hand. When he was 14, he improved upon the clarinet. Adolphe studied flute, voice, and clarinet at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Sax wanted to invent a range of new instruments that would cover a wide range of notes. Combining a reed [found in clarinets and oboes, both wooden wind instruments] with a wooden instrument that had larger fingerings, Sax produced a hybrid. He called it the ‘Saxphone’. He entered an instrument-building competition in Belgium in 1840, and when he did not win, he went to Paris, France. There he hoped to supply the French Army with new band instruments. He was off to a rough start until he met Hector Berlioz, composer and music critic. Berlioz was enraptured by the new sound of the saxphone and wrote glowing praise about it. The original instrument was made of wood, but soon Sax switched to brass, creating the ‘saxophone’ we know today. But wait! Not just one saxophone, but eight sizes of different ranges! Then Sax made a wide array of other brass instruments which defy description. The French Army Band adopted the saxophone right away and Sax should have been raking in the money. Unfortunately, he did not patent it until 1846, then spent many years and much money fighting off those who would copy his invention. Sax was a lousy money manager, going bankrupt three times. His invention is still in use — in brass bands, in orchestras, and in jazz bands. Yet Sax died in poverty. Even brilliant innovators need good financial advisors.

French meals today, for Adolphe Sax’s adopted nation.

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

4 slices 70-cal whole grain bread one 2-oz egg 2 Tbsp fat-free milk   per person: 1 oz strawberries, fresh or unsweetened frozen per person: 1½ tsp maple syrup per person: one 60-cal chicken breakfast sausage   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: Whisk the egg and milk together. Cut the pieces of bread into appropriate shapes using a cookie cutter small enough to cut two shapes from each slice of bread. [This step is important for the calorie count to come out right, so don’t skip it even if it seems too much like ‘crafty food.’ The bread that is left over can be fed to the birds or saved to make Stuffed Clams] Put the bread into a pan with a rim which is just big enough for the bread pieces. Pour the egg/milk mixture over the bread, making sure it is all wetted. Let stand OVERNIGHT. Also, mash the strawberries and stir into the syrup.

THE NEXT MORNING, cook the batter-soaked bread in a hot non-stick pan with a spritz of non-stick spray. Cook until browned on both sides. NOW PUT ½ OF THE PIECES ASIDE TO COOL. PUT INTO A BAG AND FREEZE THEM FOR A LATER DATE. Cook the sausage, too. Warm the mix of berries and syrup, and smear onto the plated toast. Enjoy with the sausage and beverage of choice.

Asparagus Omelette:  270 calories 14.5 g fat 3.5 g fiber 18 g protein 10 g carbs 178 mg Calcium  PB GF Susan Herrmann Loomis comes up with another super dinner omelette. HINT: This recipe serves two [2], but you could cut it if you wish, or double it to serve four [4]. 

4 two-oz eggs  ½ oz [3 Tbsp] Parmesan-Reggiano cheese Whisk eggs, just to blend in the yolks. Grate cheese and stir it in.
4 oz asparagus, tough ends snapped offCook until tender, ~7 mins. Cut off bud ends and slice the stalks thinly.
2 slices uncured bacon [30 cal/slice], cut into ½” pieces Cook in a non-stick pan until ‘lightly golden’, 2-3 minutes.Drain off all but ½-1 Tbsp fat.
1 scallion [1 oz], thinly sliced reserved bud ends cooked baconSaute in fat until transluscent and add asparagus. Heat until hot. Add eggs without disturbing the other ingredients. Sprinkle with chopped bacon.
Cook until top is done to your liking. Fold and plate. Garnish with bud ends.
Side salad with beet and tomatoToss the salad and plate with the omelette.

Autumn, defined

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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.

We here in the Northern Hemisphere are now in the season of Autumn, or “Fall” as it is called in the USA. If you were to ask different people when Autumn begins, you would get a slew of different answers: Meteorological Autumn, one of the four three-month divisions of the year, begins September 1 and ends November 30. When the meteorologist on TV says “This was the warmest Fall on record,” it is based on temperatures from September, October, and November. This coincides roughly with…….. …..Astronomical Autumn, one of the four natural seasons of the year, begins at the Autumnal Equinox in late September [on the 23rd in 2023], and ends at the Winter Solstice in late December. You can see how this complicates the meteorologists’ calculation of total snow-fall in ‘winter’, since Autumn runs late into December. The start of Astronomical Autumn is the day of the Equinox: marked by equal hours of day/night. Seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth, which changes the angle of the sun’s rays. Skywatchers know that Autumn is here because it is the best viewing time for the constellations Perseus, Andromeda, and Pegasus which are found high in the dome of the sky at this time of year. For Scholars and Educators, Summer ends and Autumn begins when school resumes after a Summer break. In the US, this was usually after Labor Day, to permit farm children to help bring in the harvest. In recent years, the long, blissful Summer Vacation has been eroded more and more, and schools begin in August. Ask a Fashionista, and she will say that Autumn begins after Labor Day, when the wearing of white clothing stops. [Except that she probably lives in a city where ‘Urban Black’ is in fashion year ’round.] Store owners mark the start of Autumn by putting the Back To School goods on the bargain rack and hauling out the Hallowe’en goods. If they display Christmas items, this is called ‘rushing the season.’ Farm Stand owners in higher latitudes know that the turning colors of leaves, the availability of apple cider, and the display of pumpkins will attract local customers and tourists on a ‘Leaf-Peeping‘ expedition to stop in for Autumn’s start. Often seeing the first turning leaves causes people to think that Fall has begun. Coffee Roasters and Brewers know that Fall has begun when they issue their Pumpkin Spice flavored java and the seasonal Pumpkin Ale.

However you define Autumn, we can’t ignore the delicious ingredients that are available as the seasons change: summer vegetables and autumn’s offerings overlap, as traditional seasonal flavors combine in eggs for breakfast and on pizza for dinner.

Autumnal Equinox ScrOmelette:  147 calories 7.5 g fat 1.6 g fiber 10.6 g protein 12 g carbs 52 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The mushrooms are for Autumn, the tomatoes are for Summer. This meal is for when the seasons overlap.

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 oz mushrooms, chopped 1½ oz tomatoes, cubed/diced, drained 1 Tbsp scallion, chopped 2 oz peach or plum or pear Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Drain the tomato cubes in a sieve, overnight if possible. Put the vegetables in an oil-sprayed non-stick pan to warm them and to cook them a bit. Whisk the eggs and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Prepare the beverages and plate the fruit with the eggs. Contemplate the change of the seasons.

Autumnal Equinox Pizza: 285 calories 8.5 g fat 6.4 g fiber 10 g protein 43.4 g carbs 96 mg Calcium  PB A whole-grain pizza with flavors of the season is just what you need for the Autumnal Equinox in September. Summer’s tomatoes meet Autumn’s cured olives and meat. HINT: This 8” pizza will serve two [2] on a Fast Day.

6 oz whole-wheat pizza dough 3 Tbsp canned crushed tomatoes 4 black olives, chopped 1/3 oz prosciutto, chopped 4 tsp grated Parmesan  per serving: side salad with cukes and beets

Heat the oven to 490F. Have one rack in the middle and one rack at the bottom position in the oven. Brush a baking sheet with enough olive oil to cover an area 8” in diameter. Press and stretch the pizza dough into an 8” round on the oiled baking sheet. If the dough won’t cooperate, let it rest for 2 minutes. Spread crushed tomatoes over the crust, leaving ½” around the edges. Distribute the olives and proscuitto on top, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Place the pizza on the baking sheet in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Use this time to prepare the salad. Now open the oven and see if you can lift the pizza off the pan with a turner. If the pizza is too floppy, return it to the oven for another minute or so. When the pizza is baked enough not to be floppy, take it off the baking sheet and put it on the lower rack, with no pan at all. Continue to bake another 3 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove the pizza to a rack to cool and ‘out-gas.’ It must be on a rack, not the cutting board or counter or plate. Remove the pizza to a cutting board and cut into 6 pieces. On each of two plates, place the salad and 3 pieces of pizza. A bit of Pizza Heaven on a Fast Day.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1 two-oz egg 
Scallions + Smoked salmon scallions
chèvre /goat cheese — the soft kindwhite whole wheat flour
parsley + blueberriessoy sauce + melon
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salmon + garlic + milkchicken stock + fresh ginger + cornstarch
clam juice/fish stock + leekbeef + garlic + ground coriander
cornstarch + green beansred pepper flakes + onion
dill + nutmeg + cayenne + peas broccoli + red bell pepper + brown rice
Sparkling waterSparkling water