fasting

Franklin Expedition

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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.

Sir John Franklin had been a member of several expeditions to the polar seas, but he was the last choice to head up the voyage in 1845, to find the fabled North-West Passage. European navies had long supposed that one could sail from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific by going north of Canada instead of the long way around the tip of South America. Many attempts had been made, but all failed due to the cold, the frozen sea, and lack of know-ledge of the water routes. Franklin’s expedition had two stout ships, Terror and Erebus, built for sailing through ice. The ships had a rudimentary heating system, and a 3-year supply of a new invention: tinned food, neatly sealed with lead solder — all set for an Arctic voyage. The last anyone saw of the ship, it was off Greenland in late July, 1845. After two years without a word, Lady Jane Griffin Franklin, went to the Admiralty to ask where her husband was. Several search parties were sent out, but no trace was found, until 1859, when a cached message was found saying that the crew had abandoned ship. A more complete picture emerged from archeology in the 1990s, aided by ancestral memories of the Inuit people. Bodies were located where the Indigenous People indicated, remains that told of scurvy, starvation, lead poisoning that would have caused poor reasoning, and cannibalism. The ships were finally located in 2014 and 2016. Thus ended the story of a very ill-fated expedition.

A galley full of tinned food sealed in lead was like a death sentence waiting to be carried out. So we will have a breakfast that evokes death sentences of that era. The dinner is made of fresh fish and potatoes, which might have prevented scurvy.

Hangtown Bake: 135 calories… 7 g fat… 1 g fiber… 8 g protein… 5.4 g carbs… 46.5 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  The grim name for this California Gold Rush Era meal comes from the moniker of Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California. Since it was the county seat, justice was meted out there — including capital punishment.

1 two-oz egg ++++ 2 oysters, raw and out of the shell ++++ ½ oz bacon, un-cured is preferable ++++ 1 Tbsp scallion greens, chopped ++++ 2 oz strawberries ++++  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]

Set the oven at 350 F. Cook the bacon until it is a little underdone, then chop it up. Chop the scallion and oysters and stir in a little bacon fat, along with the bacon. Whisk the egg, add the other ingredients and whisk again. Pour into a baking dish lightly-spritzed with non-stick spray and bake for 12-15 minutes. Prepare the beverages and plate the baked egg along with the fruit.

Chowdah: 294 calories… 7 g fat… 2 g fiber… 33.6 g protein… 17 g carbs… 114 mg Calcium…  PB GF  Here in Northern New England, chowder is king. Cod or haddock is traditional but hake is more flavorful and lower in calories. HINT: This recipe makes one BIG bowl of chowdah, but if you double the recipe, you can freeze the remainder or enjoy it for lunch another day. If you can, make it one day and eat it the next day for richer flavor.

½ slice bacon ++++ ¼ cup onion, chopped ++++ 2 oz potatoes, ½” dice ++++ 1½ cups fish stock ++++ 4 oz cod or hake fillets, cut into 1½” pieces ++++ ¼ cup 2% milk ++++ salt + pepper + parsley + turmeric

Cook the bacon until it is almost crispy, remove from the pan, blot dry of fat, and chop coarsely. Pour most of the fat from the pan and add the onions. Cook slowly until soft and transluscent. In another pan, boil the potatoes in water until tender. Drain and salt the potatoes. Put the fish stock, cod, potatoes, and milk in the pan with the onions. Heat slowly until warm. Add the bacon, parsley, and seasonings to taste. [TIP: Best if held in the ‘fridge for 8-24 hours before you heat slowly [do NOT boil] and taste for seasonings again.]

Charles Perrault

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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.

What did a clerk for King Louis XIV have to do with Puss in Boots? Everything. Charles Perrault was born in 1628, into a well-placed Parisian family. His father wished him to be a lawyer, so Charles sat for the exam. Although he passed, he never practiced law. Charles drifted a bit, then became a civil servant at court. He seemed to have an affinity for ‘academies’: he helped to found the Academy of Sciences, and resurrected the defunct Academy of Painting. As a side hustle, he was the secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions, which put mottos on monuments. One of his major contributions to Parisian life was that he convinced the government to open the Tuileries Garden, next to the Louvre Palace, to the public. At age 56, Perrault was forced to retire, so he devoted himself to his children. For some reason, he wrote a book containing popular folktales which he called “Tales of Mother Goose.” It was a huge hit, beloved by children and adults alike, each story followed by two morals. Although Perrault did not call them ‘fairy tales’, he made the genre popular. Five years later, he died on May 16, 1703, but his stories took on a life of their own. They were retold by the Brothers Grimm [who made them rather violent] in Germany in the 1800s, and, of course, reinvented by Walt Disney [who, well, Disneyfied them] in the 1900s. The best way I can think of to honor the Father of the Fairy Tale, would be to relax in the Tuileries Garden while reading Perrault’s Cinderella.

I always thought that the story “Blue Beard” took place in southern France, whence comes our breakfast. The dinner is a riff on a popular meal, just as subsequent authors riffed on Perrault’s tales, to make them their own.

Chicken Provincal Bake: 139 calories… 5 g fat… 2 g fiber… 10.7 g protein… 10.5 g carbs… 47.5 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  What wonderful flavors! Based on the dinner of the same name. 

++++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ 2 Tbsp crushed tomatoes, slightly drained ++++ ++++ ½ anchovy, canned fillets, rinsed and chopped ++++ 1 Tbsp low-fat cottage cheese ++++ ¼ oz cooked chicken breast, minced ++++ thyme, rosemary, pinch red pepper flakes ++++ 1 oz pear ++++  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 dish with non-stick spray and set the toaster oven for 350 degrees F. Whisk together the first 6 ingredients [not the pear!] and pour into the dish. Bake for about 15 minutes while you slice the pear and prepare your optional beverages. Great way to start the day.

Mackerel with Gooseberry Glaze: 276 calories… 16 g fat… 1 g fat… 22 g protein… 7 g carbs… 27 mg Calcium…  PB GF This popular dish from Normandy usually features fresh gooseberries. Here in the USA, those are less common so we make a glaze of gooseberry jelly. The zucchini picks up the color of green gooseberries.

++++ 3 oz mackerel, frozen or fresh fillets ++++ 2 tsp gooseberry jelly/jam ++++ ++++ 4 oz zucchini ribbons ++++

Thaw the fish if frozen. Heat the oven to 400 F. Put fish on a baking tray and brush with melted jelly. Using a potato peeler, carve long, thin slices from the length of the zucchini until you have 3 oz. Toss the ribbons with salt and pepper. Place the ribbons on the baking tray in a heap [if they are in a thin layer, they will over-cook]. Bake the pan with the fish and zucchini for 5 minutes. Rearrange the zucchini so that the bottom of the heap is now on top. Bake 5 minutes more, or until the fish is cooked. Plate the fish with the zucchini ribbons. Sheet-pan dinners are so trendy these days.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs 
2 oystersground cumin
scallion + strawberriesground paprika
American streaky baconGolden Berries
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

bacon + onion6 felafel patties
potato + fish stock2 servings of Side Salad 
cod or haketomato
2%-fat milk + parsleycarrot + beets + feta cheese
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Brendan the Navigator

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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.

Which European “discovered” the Americas? Was it Columbus, 1492? No. Was it Leif Erickson and his sister Freydís Eiríksdóttir, 1000? Nope. It was Brendan, an Irish monk, in 547 CE. Who??? Brendan, who lived from around 484 CE to c. 577, was born into an Ireland that was thrilled to hear the newly-arrived Christian message. After his ordination as a priest, Brendan was the abbot of a monastery with 3000 monks. He was eager to spread the Gospel, traveling to islands off the coast of Ireland and Scotland. Then Brendan heard of a paradisiacal island ‘in the Western ocean’ and he longed to travel there. He chose 16 companions who worked together to build a curragh, the wood-framed leather-hulled boats used by Irish fishermen in fresh and salt water. Around 512 CE, they set out and are said to have returned in 530. Centuries later, the story of the trip was widely circulated. In more modern times, the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis was belittled as medieval fantasy. But in the 1970s, Tim Severin [channeling his inner Thor Heyerdahl] built a 36-foot curragh and successfully sailed it from Ireland to Iceland to Newfoundland, Canada. Did the Irish reach North America centuries before anyone else? There is no hard and fast archeological evidence to prove it, but it sure sounds plausible. Read The Brendan Voyage by Severin and see what you think.

Our breakfast contains ingredients known to Irish descendants living in the US, and our dinner features a fish that Brendan and his crew would have encountered everywhere they stopped: the Faeroe Islands, the Orkneys, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland.

Corned Beef & Cabbage ScrOmelette: 154 calories… 7.6 g fat… 1 g fiber… 14 g protein… 6.5 g carbs… 65 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  Of course, Brendan never ate corned-beef-and-cabbage, but the Irish who later swarmed to the Americas and stayed there made the combination popular.

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 uncooked corned beef……………. 1/3 cup cabbage, very thinly sliced ………….. ½ Tbsp cottage cheese ……….. ……..pinch caraway seed + pinch thyme ……………….. 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]

Mince the beef and put in into a pan with ¼ cup water. Simmer until beef is cooked, then remove it to a small bowl. Put the cabbage in the water in the pan and simmer that until the cabbage is cooked – add more water as needed. Put the cabbage in the bowl with the cottage cheese and seasonings. Add some pepper, but you probably will NOT need to add salt, due to the corned beef. Mix the ingredients together. Heat a non-stick pan with some cooking spray and whisk the eggs. Put the beef/cabbage in the pan and distribute it over the surface. Quickly pour the eggs in and tip the pan to cover all the cabbage. Cook on one side, then flip and cook it some more. Fold and plate with the apple. ‘Tis a fine breakfast you’ll be having.

Salmon & Broccoli:  256 calories… 7 g fat… 5 g fiber… 29 g protein… 20.5 g carbs… 82 mg Calcium…  PB GF This is a meal that is so simple to prepare and so delicious that it seems impossible that it can be so good for you. Indulge yourself often.

4 oz filet wild Pacific salmon +++ 5 oz broccoli florets +++ ¼ c pearled barley, cooked +++ dab of salsa

Cook the pearled barley. Cut broccoli into florets and put into a pan with some water, and set on medium-high heat uncovered. Spray either a cast iron skillet or on a stove-top grill pan with non-stick spray and heat it over medium-high. [You could also broil or bake the fish. If you bake it, go for 9-10 minutes at 400F] Salt and pepper the fish all around. Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side, then take off the heat. Test the broccoli for tenderness, then plate with the barley, and enjoy.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1 two-oz egg + crushed tomatoes 
4″-diameter thin slice of hamlots of fresh herbs + anchovy + pear
Parmesan cheese + apple2%-fat cottage cheese
2%-fat cottage cheesebits of cooked chicken
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Roast beef, cooked + olive oilmackerel fillets, fresh or frozen
pickled beets, sliced in roundsgooseberry jelly or jam
Dijon mustard + shallotzucchini
red wine vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Thoreau

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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.

David Henry Thoreau was born in 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts, USA. His father owned a factory that manufactured pencils, thin graphite rods sur-rounded by wooden cylinders. They were not wealthy, but young David studied at Harvard University. He was an individualist even then: he reversed his names to become ‘Henry David’ — just for fun — and he refused to accept his sheep-skin diploma, declaring, “Let every sheep keep its own skin.” For a few years he worked at the pencil factory, developing the idea of mixing clay with graphite so that the pencil ‘lead’ was harder and lasted longer. For a bit he taught school. One of the Thoreau’s neighbors was Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry visited often, joining in philosophical and literary discussions. Thus, he came in contact with the Transcendentalists. Thoreau wrote for the group’s newsletter and did odd jobs around the place. In 1845, he built a small cabin in Emerson’s woods, on the shore of Walden Pond, and lived there for two years in an effort to escape the conformity of society. Yet while he was “living deep and sucking out all the marrow of life”, Thoreau would walk into town every day to get his mail or dine with friends. Not exactly the ‘hermit who rejects the world’ that one imagines him to have been. In those years, he developed his most important environmental works: Walden and A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Thoreau did urge readers to live with nature, and he continued to rail against societal norms in his famous essay Civil Disobedience, which influenced political and social leaders well into the 20th century. He died in Concord on May 6, 1867. In 1872, the first tourist visited the cabin site, and proposed that visitors each place a stone on a cairn there. Although Thoreau wanted to live off the beaten path, people now beat a path to his doorstep at the Walden Pond State Reservation. He would have hated it.

Our breakfast is simple enough to cook over a fire in a cabin, and sustaining enough to take you on a hike into town for the mail. The dinner represents Thoreau’s adult preference for a non-meat diet. He pooh-poohed hunting as a ‘youthful pursuit’.

Ham & Egg & Toast: 149 calories… 7.4 g fat… 1.5 g fiber… 14.5 g protein… 7 g carbs… 40 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  What could be a more classic combination at breakfast! This is a diner meal, scaled down to fit into a Fast Day menu. It sure is good.

1 two-oz egg + 1 oz ham + ½ slice whole grain bread @ 35 calories for the ½ slice

Heat the ham in a non-stick pan while the bread toasts. Take out the ham and cook the egg in the same pan — over-medium works for me. Plate to your taste and partake.

Spinach or Swiss Chard Fritatta: 284 calories… 12.5 g fat… 4 g fiber… 18.5 g protein… 24 g carbs… 166 mg Calcium  PB GF  Susan Loomis is the source of this recipe, which also can be a wonderful breakfast, scaled down to suit. HINT: this recipe serves 2 as a main course. Could serve 4-6 as an appetizer.

3 oz Swiss chard or fresh spinach + 1/3 tsp olive oil + 8 oz eggs = 4 two-oz eggs in their shells + 3 pinches granulated garlic + 3 pinches salt + large pinch paprika + 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese  per serving: 1 oz 7-grain sour-dough bread, or something similarly hearty + ¼ cup pickled beets 

Clean the chard by holding the leaf and pulling off the stem. Chop the leaves. Put olive oil in an oven-proof pan that can also be used on the stove-top. Turn on the broiler and move the upper oven rack to the top. Cook the chopped leaves in the oil until the leaves are limp, adding water as necessary to prevent sticking. Be sure to cook off the water/liquid in the pan. Spray the pan and its contents with non-stick spray. Stir and distribute the cooked chard evenly in the pan. Combine the eggs, cheese and seasonings. Whisk well and pour over the chard in the pan. Cook over medium heat until the bottom is well set, 4-5 minutes. Put under the broiler until the top is cooked. Serve from the pan or slide the fritatta out onto a serving plate, along with the toasted bread and the vegetables.

Floralie!!

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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.

Roman statue of Flora, artist unknown.

Here it is — my favorite ‘holiday’ from the classical era: Floralie! My maternal grand-mother was a teacher of latin, so my mother grew up with stories and poems of ancient Greece and Rome. I grew up learning classical mythology, and stories in the Baldwin Reader about Rome. So I guess it would be natural for me to be quite taken with Flora, the goddess of Flowers. [of course any tales of prosti-tutes in ancient Rome, often associated with Flora’s festival, were omitted from my education] What really tickles me is that her holiday, April 28 to May 3, is still honored 2238 years later in southern France, Italy, and England. There, towns have flower shows and decorate the houses with blooms. As I write this in New Hampshire, the first daffodils are blooming, along with the Pulmanaria, Scilla, and a few dandelions. Elsewhere, Forsythia is showing its golden flowers. Spring has arrived and nature is ready to celebrate Flora. Weave a floral wreath to wear in your hair.

For the goddess of Spring, we will eat flower buds in the form of asparagus at breakfast. For dinner, a delightful salad that can be composed to look like a giant blossom.

Asparagus Roll-ups: 117 calories… 7 g fat… 1.3 g fiber… 8 g protein… 2.6 g carbs… 51.5 mg Calcium…  NB: The food values shown are for the egg bake and the fruit, not for the optional beverages. PB GF Pretty on the plate and a delight to eat.

1 two-oz egg + 2 oz asparagus spears, tough lower stalks removed + 1 Tbsp whipped cream cheese + tarragon, chopped  + 4 Golden Berries or 2 strawberries  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]

Break the tough lower part of the asparagus stalks, wash, and steam or cook in minimal water until tender. Drain, salt lightly, and set aside. HINT: You could do this the night before. Whisk the eggs with the cream cheese and tarragon, along with a pinch of sea salt. Heat an 8”-9” skillet and spritz it with non-stick spray. Pour in the eggs and tilt the pan so that the eggs form a thin, even layer over the bottom of the pan. Without stirring or moving the eggs, cook until the eggs are set and as your like them – this will not take long. Remove the egg to your plate, like a big pancake. Put the cooked asparagus in the pan and shake it a bit over heat to re-warm. Lay the spears on the eggs so that the blossom ends hang over the edge. Roll the egg so that the asparagus is inside and plate attractively. With your optional beverages, you are set for a Spring-time breakfast treat.

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

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

Lightly combine the tuna with the celery, ginger, dash of Sriracha, lime juice, apple, and ½ tsp mayonnaise. Arrange the spinach leaves in the center of the plate and mound the tuna on top. Slice the avocado and layer on top of the tuna. Mix remaining mayonnaise with Sriracha to taste and drizzle the aioli over the avocado. If the cherry tomatoes are not bite-sized, cut in half. Place tomatoes around the edge of the plate and enjoy a meal that is blooming with flavor.

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

1 two-oz egg = US large1.5 two-oz eggs + apple
1 oz roast hamcorned beef + cabbage
1/2 slice whole-grain bread [35 calories]2%-fat cottage cheese
thyme + caraway seed
optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 two-oz eggs + Parmesan cheese4 oz wild Pacific salmon
Swiss chard or spinach + garlic powder 4 oz broccoli
garlic powder + paprika + pickled beetspearled barley
1 oz whole-grain sourdough bread
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Chelsea Morning

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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 I first heard Joni Mitchell’s song Chelsea* Morning in 1969, I was delighted by visual images of warm orange/yellow items, seen in an early morning light. It was so cheerful! Honey, oranges, butterscotch — deliciously lovely. I described it to my mother, who dismissed it a sounding “sticky.” Oh dear. The color orange makes one optimistic, happy, enthusiastic, and thinking of ‘youthful connections’, according to a paint company in North America. To Buddhists, who wear orange robes, the color signifies transfor-mation. Orange is the color of Autumn, from leaves to pumpkins and squashes. One of the seven colors that make up visible light, orange’s wavelength is slightly shorter than that of red: 590-625 nanometers. Prior to the 1600s, Europeans had no word for the color orange. To describe it, they said ‘yellow-red’, since the color orange is made by combining various amounts of red and yellow pigments. When sweet orange trees were introduced into Europe by Portuguese traders, the fruit gave the color its name: laranja, in Portuguese; naranja, in Spanish; arancia, to the Italians; while the English took the French word: ‘orange’. The color can be associated with aggression and impulsiveness. And then there are the orange jumpsuits that prisoners wear in court… which lead to Orange Is the New Black on TV. Be mindful of wearing orange in Northern Ireland. That was the color of the Protestant minority rulers of colonized Ireland, in honor of the Dutchman William of Orange who became the England’s protestant king in 1689. Thus, green-wearing Catholics might take umbrage. Do you wear orange or eat oranges? Look around to see how and where you encounter orange in your life. *Joni Mitchell’s ‘Chelsea’ is from New York City, not Chelsea in London as many people think.

Our breakfast is made up of items from the song, so hum along as you eat it. The dinner is of the color orange, from the butternut squash. Does eating it make you optimistic, happy, enthusiastic? I hope so!

Chelsea Morning: 210 calories… 1.5 g fat… 4.5 g fiber… 10.5 g protein… 41.5 g carbs… 267 mg Calcium   NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB GF – if using GF bread  Inspired by the Joni Mitchel song, these ingredients make for a cheerful breakfast and may give you an ear-worm for the rest of the day. The song mentions milk, but I substituted yogurt. Put the milk in your coffee, if you wish.

1 slice whole-grain + 70-calorie bread + 2 tsp honey + 1 clementine + ½ c plain yogurt   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]

Lightly toast the bread and drizzle with honey. Eat the fruit and yogurt separately, or mix clementine slices into the yogurt.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup:  253 calories…  9 g fat… 4 g fiber… 19.4 g protein… 24 g carbs… 112 mg Calcium  GF PB  Found in the Toronto Globe & Mail, this recipe makes a lot of delicious soup. It freezes beautifully, so you can enjoy it often. Don’t forget to add the shrimp and spinach to each serving at the end. HINT: makes 6 cups of soup. Save out one cup for dinner and freeze the rest in portion-sized containers.

2 Tbsp vegetable oil + 2 cups onion
2 cloves garlic + 1 tsp salt		Heat oil in large soup pot over medium-low heat. Chop onions + garlic, add to pan with salt. Cook 10 mins, until onions have softened.
1 Tbsp fresh ginger + 4 tsp Thai red curry pastePeel, grate ginger. Add these to pot. Cook 1-2 mins
2½# butternut squash, peeled
3 c. water or unsalted chicken broth		Slice squash ½” thick, deseed it. Add these, take to a boil. Lower heat, simmer until tender, 15-20 mins.
1 tsp lime zest 
1 Tbsp lime juice		Add these, saving remaining zest and juice.
½ cup ‘lite’ unsweetened coconut milkStir in ‘milk’. Puree until smooth in blender.
Return to pot, reheat, adjust flavor with more lime juice and/or curry paste.
per bowl: 3 oz chopped shrimp 
¼ cup baby spinach cut as chiffonade		For each serving, stir spinach + shrimp into hot soup. Serve when spinach is just wilted.

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.