fasting

Night on Bald Mountain

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

The music of Modest Mussorgsky was part of the sound-track of my childhood. On Sundays, a recording [actual vinal LP disk!!] of “Pictures at an Exhibition” always played while my sister and I set the dining room table. Then every October, the Walt Disney Show on TV would show a clip from the 1941 film Fantasia depicting “Night on Bald Mountain.” Gosh that was scary to watch!! Mussorgsky wrote his tone poem to describe in music the mid-summer celebration of witches and demons [sometimes called Walpurgis Night] but now it is more associated with Hallowe’en instead. Unfortunately, Mussorgsky did not live to see the fame of his music. It was premiered five years after his death when Rimsky-Korsakov became a champion of the Mussorgsky’s work.

Horseradish is a popular flavor in Mussorsky’s home country of Russia and that is what flavors the breakfast. The dinner has the colors of Fall and of Hallowe’en. Tomorrow, being October 31st, listen to the “Night on Bald Mountain” to enhance the mood.

Horseradish-Cheesy Bake: 143 calories 7.5 g fat 1.2 g fiber 8.7 g protein g carbs 78.6 mg Calcium   NB: Food values given are for the Bake and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.   PB GF David Rosengarten’s unusual cookbook It’s All American Food takes the reader on a tour of American ethnic and regional foods, and tells you how to make those treats in your own kitchen. This recipe is from the Manhattan restaurant Barney Greengrass, where they are known for their breakfasts.

One 2-oz egg ½ Tbsp crushed tomato 1 Tbsp cheddar/horseradish spread*** 1 Tbsp chives, minced 2 oz apricots   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]

*** Cheddar/Horseradish Spread 2 Tbsp WisPride Cheddar spread OR Kraft Old English Cheddar spread  4 [or more] tsp prepared horseradish [the kind in a jar] Cream together thoroughly. Save the rest for another day or another use.

Set the toaster oven at at 350 degrees F. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray. Vigorously whisk the egg, cheeses, and chives until well combined and pour into the ramekin. Put in the oven [it doesn’t need to be hot yet] and bake 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your optional beverages and prep the fruit. This will kick-start your day.

Tomato-Corn-Black Bean Salad:  274 calories 9 g fat 16.5 g protein 34.7 g carbs [34 g Complex] 63.4 mg Calcium  PB GF  For a real late Summer treat, you can’t beat fresh corn and tomatoes! 100Daysofrealfood  provided the recipe and then I altered it a little. HINT: This serves TWO.

1-1/2 ears of corn 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed 4 oz tomato: cherry tomatoes cut in half OR whole tomato cut in 1” dice ¼ cup red onion, diced ¼ cup basil leaves, chopped 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar salt and pepper 1 oz cooked beef, from steak or roast OR 1 oz roast pork

Blanch the corn for 1 minute in boiling water. Cool and cut the kernals off the cob and put in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the rinsed beans to the bowl. Gently mix the beans and corn with the tomatoes and onion. Slice the beef very thinly and warm it briefly if it is cold. Heat the vegetables in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to make slightly warm. In a small bowl combine the basil, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over the warmed vegetables and stir to combine. Plate and arrange the meat on top. As good as it is colorful.

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

Next Monday, I will discuss Fasting
while on vacation.		1.5 two-oz eggs 
Choose a breakfast from Archivessalmon

strawberries


Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Dining out on vacation
filets of sole

breadcrumbs + egg

cooked fish + herbs

cheese + green beans
Sparkling waterSparkling water

St Jude

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Godly Chic Diaries who is now Following.

You might know St Jude as the patron saint of hopeless causes or impossible cures. What you might not know is that he was Jesus’ first cousin and that his real name was probably Judas. To avoid confusion with that other Judas, biblical scholars began calling him Jude or Thaddeus. Jude was one of the original 12 apostles along with his brother James. Little is known about him except that he traveled to many areas of the Levant, preaching, teaching, and healing, often in difficult or ‘impossible’ circumstances. He is better known today for the children’s hospital named for him.

To highlight Jude’s region of origin and travel, we have breakfast containing ingredients that he would recognize and a Greek-style fish for dinner. Dieting shouldn’t be impossible. If you start the Fast Diet tomorrow, you could lose 5 pounds by the start of Hannuka [at the rate of 1 pound per week]. At the same rate, one could lose 8-10 pounds by Christmas. Give it a try — maybe St Jude can bolster your resolve.

Fig & Chevre Plate: 153 calories 8.4 g fat 2.2 g fiber 7.8 g protein 13.4 g carbs [12 g Complex] 163 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the cheese, egg, fig, and spinach, not for the optional beverages.  PB GF Simple, elegant, and more filling than it looks.

½ hard-boiled egg 1 dried fig, 0.65 oz/ 16 g 1 oz chevre cheese ¼ oz baby spinach leaves Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/fastingme.com/12243 Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie https://wordpress.com/post/fastingme.com/11792 [88 calories]

Rehydrate the dried fig by covering with water and microwaving or heating for 1 minute. Let the fig sit in the water for another few minutes, then cut in half. Arrange the spinach leaves in an oval. Dab the leaves with crumbles of the goat cheese. Plate the egg half and the fig halves.  HINT: I composed the plate the night before, covered it with a plastic bag, and kept it cool until breakfast. Instant breakfast!

Greek-style Hake:  263 calories 11 g fat 7.7 g fiber 25.5 g protein 24 g carbs [23 g Complex] 173 mg Calcium   PB GF  The cookbook Ikaria by Diane Kochilas is related to the National Geographic study of locations world-wide where there is the greatest longevity. Thinking that nutrition has something to do with it is one direction that could take you.

4 oz hake ½ tsp olive oil 1/3 cup onions, halved then sliced ½ clove garlic, sliced pinch sugar 1.5 cup canned whole tomatoes 1 Tbsp [½ oz] dry red wine 1.5 Tbsp good Feta cheese, crumbled 2.5 oz asparagus OR one Side Salad [see Second Fiddles  9-Jan-’19]

Saute the onion slices and garlic in the ½ tsp oil, adding some water if the pan becomes too dry. Remove garlic and discard. Add tomatoes, sugar, and wine. Cook the vegetables down to reduce the liquid. Lay the fish on top of the vegetables, cover loosely, turn down the heat and cook until the fish flakes [about 10 minutes]. Meanwhile, prepare the asparagus or Side Salad. Top the fish with the crumbled Feta before serving.

Sarah Josepha Hale

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Do a popular fashion magazine, “Mary had a little lamb,” and American Thanksgiving have anything in common? Of course they do! And the reason is Sarah Josepha Buell Hale. She was born on a New Hampshire farm on October 24, 1788. Perhaps because she had no formal education herself, she was a life-long advocate of education for women. When her lawyer husband died, leaving her with 5 children and no income, Sarah went into dress-making with her sister-in-law. Within the next five years, Hale published a book of poems and her novel Northwood. 1828 saw her based in Boston as the editor of ‘The Ladies’ Magazine” which then became Godey’s Lady’s Book. As such, Hale became an arbiter of American taste — a social influencer of her day. She wrote much of the content of the magazine and also solicited leading literary luminaries. For 17 years, Hale lobbied five American presidents to expand “Thanksgiving” from a regional, New England observance to a national day of celebration. President Lincoln declared it so in 1863. An amazing trajectory for a poor farm girl’s life. An amazing woman.

In Northwood, Sarah Hale lovingly described the family around the holiday board and the foods that were served there. We will begin our day with a Thanksgiving theme: turkey and stuffing in our egg. Our dinner will feature lamb. But this is a lamb for eating, not ‘making the children laugh and shout.’ [A black humor parody of Hale’s 1830 “Mary’s Lamb” swept through my elementary classroom: Mary had a little lamb./ Her father shot it dead. /Now Mary takes her lamb to school/ between two hunks of bread.]

Turkey/Stuffing Bake:  135 calories 6.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 11 g protein 8.7 g carbs [6 g Complex] 44 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  GF- if using GF bread  Another in the dinner-for-breakfast series.

1 two-oz egg ½ oz turkey breast ¼ slice of 70-calorie whole-grain bread [¼ oz] 1-2 Tbsp onions 1-2 Tbsp celery lots of rosemary + thyme + sage + salt + pepper ½ tsp olive oil 1 oz pear 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]

In a saute pan, cook the onions, seasonings, celery, and turkey [if it is raw] in a little water and a ½ tsp olive oil until vegetables are softened. Cut the bread in 1/4” dice and add it to the pan of cooked vegetables. Stir to mix all ingredients completely. If turkey is pre-cooked, dice it and add to the vegetables/bread. Spritz a ramekin with non-stick spray and pour in the turkey mixture. Whisk the egg thoroughly and pour into the ramekin. Bake at 350 until puffed and starting to brown. About 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the pear and prepare the optional beverages. Be thankful for the start of another good day.

Lamb With Mediterranean Vegetables: 295 calories 14 g fat 9.3 g fiber 22 g protein 40.5 g carbs 205.6 mg Calcium   PB GF  Here’s a fine meal, full of complex carbohydrates and good flavor. 

1 oz cooked lamb, ground 1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables [see Sidekicks I, 17 Sept, ’17 ] ¼ cup cooked brown rice ½ oz Gruyere cheese, grated OR mozzarella cut in strips

Cook the ground lamb, keeping it in biggish chunks rather than tiny flecks. Pour into a sieve to drain any fat and rinse in hot water. Season the meat well with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Heat the Mediterranean Vegetables TIP: so much easier if they were waiting for you in the freezer. Preparing food ahead is such a good idea. Mix the lamb with the vegetables. Plate the rice, then pour the Lamb/Veg on top. Serve with the grated cheese.

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

1 two-oz egg, hard-boiled 1.5 two-oz eggs 
dried fig
crushed tomatoes
chèvre cheese
Kraft brand Cheddar Spread
fresh baby spinach leaves
horseradish + apple
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

hake + onion + garlic
beef steak, cooked + olive oil
sugar + olive oil
corn on the cob + tomato
white tomatoes + red wine
canned black beans + basil
feta cheese + Side Salad
red onion + red wine vinegar
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Saint Ursula

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

As a child I loved to look at a book called Famous Paintings, An Introduction to Art for Young People by Alice Elizabeth Chase. One of the paintings shown and described was “The Dream of Saint Ursula” by Vittore Carpaccio. Into the Saint’s peaceful bedroom, walks an Angel who heralds Ursula’s eventual martyrdom. But all is calm and we know that Ursula will go serenely to her violent death on October 21, in the year 383. The story of St Ursula is an odd one. She was a princess of a kingdom in Britain and she was betrothed at age 12. Ursula, buying herself time before the marriage, proposed a pilgrimage to Rome. She chose 11 gal-pals to go with her — and here the confusion begins. Poor translation from early latin texts turned “Ursula and 11 Virgins” into “Ursula and 11,000 Virgins”!! According to the legend, they all got to Rome, were blessed by the Pope, and turned around to go back home. While sailing down the Rhine [how many boats does it take to transport 11,001 or more people??], they were attacked at Cologne by Huns and all died when Ursula refused to marry their leader. When a midden of bones was discovered in Cologne in 1155, they were declared to be the remains of Ursula and her friends. [Even though some of the bones seem to belong to large dogs…] Take this tale as you will: in 1969, the Roman Catholic Church took Ursula off the list of official saints. Medieval and Renaissance artists loved to depict her, and when I arrange my slippers under the bed, as Carpaccio shows in his painting, I think of Saint Ursula.

Since Ursula went to Rome, we will enjoy a Roman Breakfast. And since she was boating down the Rhine to return home, our dinner will be served in Cucumber Boats.

Roman Breakfast: 270 calories 3.3 g fat 3.2 g fiber 9 g protein 28 g carbs [20.8 g Complex Carbs] 35 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB Though a bit unusual, this is a very good plate of breakfast food, based on ingredients available to Romans in the 1st century BCE. It is satisfying and flavorful.

1 Pan Muffin** 1 oz pear 1 oz cooked chicken, diced 1 oz radish 1 oz cucumber [optional: 1 deglet noor date = ¼ oz]   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]

Dice all the fruits and vegetables. Add the chicken and a good finishing salt, and gently stir to combine. HINT: I did this the night before and refrigerated the mixture. Prepare the pan muffin or take from freezer with time to thaw/heat. In the time it takes to brew the coffee, you can plate the muffin and the fruit-veg mixture. Romans did not drink smoothies or coffee, but we will. Hope you’ll enjoy your throw-back breakfast.

**PAN MUFFIN each = 71 calories 2.5 g fat 0.8 g fiber 1.8 g protein 10.8 g carbs 8.5 mg Calcium

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10-grain hot cereal mix   1 and 1/4 cup buttermilk [combine cereal + milk and let sit while preparing other ingredients. 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup unbleached flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda

Cream the butter and sugar; mix in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and the cereal/milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Cream the butter and sugar; mix in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and the cereal/milk mixture. Stir until just combined.  Use 2 Tbsp batter for each griddlecake [and use 4 Tbsp batter in muffin tins for Slow Day breakfasts].

Cucumber Boats with Salmon: 258 calories 12.4 g fat 3.2 g fiber 20.4 g protein 19 g carbs 162 mg Calcium   PB GF  So easy for the summer or anytime.

2-¾ oz cooked salmon one 3.5 oz cucumber, of which you will use half to serve one person 1/2 Tbsp watercress sauce [see Sidekicks II, posted 4 Oct, 2017] 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/8 oz leek ½ cup 4-bean salad [see Sidekicks I, posted 17 Sept, 2017]

Slice the leek and blanch in a little water in the microwave. In a bowl break up the salmon and combine with the watercress sauce, mustard and leek. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the seeds with a melon-baller. Mound the salmon into the cucumber boat and plate with the 4-bean salad.

S.A.D

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

How curious that the initials of what nutritionists call the ‘Standard American Diet‘ spell the word ‘SAD.’ That diet is blamed for many of the Western World’s health woes. It makes one sad to think about it. How did this start?? In the late 1800s, there was a health-food movement that saw the invention of processed breakfast cereal. By the early 1900s, growing urban populations needed food and they couldn’t afford to have it spoil. Enter the Kraft brothers. J.L. Kraft moved from Canada to Chicago in 1904, and sold cheese door to door in a cart. He lost lots of money since the unsold cheese became either moldy and too dry to sell. In 1906, brother Charles joined the company. They started trying to make a ‘processed cheese‘ in a tin which would have a longer shelf life. In 1916, they perfected it — just in time to sell thousands of tins to the US Army during WWI. Doughboys returned with a taste for the stuff and the company took off. By 1923, company sales equalled $22 million! Five years later, they added salad dressing and ‘oleomargarine.’ This was the start of the Kraft Food Company. Now allied with the Heinz Company, they make 200 items sold world-wide.

Charles Kraft was born on October 17. We will note that anniversary while eating foods that are purchased but are low in sugar, saturated fat, simple carbs — unlike the overly-processed foods that constitute the S.A.D. Today’s menu features meals with lots of protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and flavor.

10-Grain Cereal: 143 calories 0.8 g fat 4.3 g fiber 8 g protein 28 g carbs [22 g Complex]  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB  This is one of our favorite breakfasts – even on a Slow Day! 

3 Tbsp uncooked Bob’s 10-Grain Cereal ¼ cup low-fat milk + 1/3 cup water  Toppings: 2 Tbsp blueberries, fresh or frozen + 2 Tbsp milk  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]

If preparing the night before: Cook the cereal with the water/milk for about 8 minutes on the stove. Pour into a microwave-safe bowl. Next morning: Heat the cereal in the microwave for about a minute, then top with berries and milk. If preparing in the morning: Cook the cereal with the water/milk for about 8 minutes on the stove. Pour into the bowl and top with berries and milk.  

Tortellini with Black Kale:  209 calories 9 g fat 3.5 g fiber 10 g protein 24 g carbs [7.4 g Complex] 231 mg Calcium PB Packaged, dried tortellini is a handy item to have in the pantry. It makes for a fine Tuscan meal [Mediterranean food!] when pared with Black Kale. The recipe is from ‘thekitchn‘  NB: I used the recipe below for the kale as two servings, when paired with the pasta. But the calories are so low that you could use it as one serving alongside the pasta. 

27 g dried cheese/spinach tortellini [Barilla brand is good] 3 oz diced tomato 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese PLUS ingredients shown below for the kale.

For the Kale:

3 oz Tuscan/black kaleUse your hands to pull the kale leaves from their stems. Coarsely chop the leaves. Rinse them, but do not dry.
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic pinch red pepper flakes 		Heat oil in large, wide, high-sided sauté pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute.
¼ tsp kosher salt
pinch ground pepper		Add kale, stirring as it starts to wilt. Add the salt + pepper. Cover. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is just tender, .
2 tsp Lemon juice Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, serve.

For the Meal: Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 9-11 minutes, then drain. Combine with the diced tomatoes and Parmesan. Plate the pasta surrounded by the kale.

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

one Pan Muffin1 two-oz egg  + pear
cucumber + pear
turkey breast meat, raw or cooked
cooked chicken + radish
olive oil + celery + onion
optional deglet noor date
70-calorie whole-grain bread + herbs
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverage optional hot beverage

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

cooked salmon + Dijon mustard
ground lamb
medium-sized cucumber
Gruyere cheese
4-Bean Salad + leek
brown rice
Watercress sauce
Mediterranean Vegetables
Sparkling waterSparkling water

“How to Succeed”

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

On October 14, 1961, the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” had its debut. The show was a cynical look at the business world, where whom you know and naked ambition could carry you far. Some of its popular tunes included “I Believe In You” and “The Company Way“. The original role of the striving J. Pierrepont Finch was created by Robert Morse, then played in 2011 by Daniel Radcliffe. With music by Frank Loesser and a book by Abe Burrows, it was a sure-fire hit. The show was based on a satirical ‘how-to’ book written in the 1952 by Shepherd Mead who really did work his way up from the mail room to the vice-presidency of his company.

Today, I want to discuss how to succeed at Fasting or ‘the Fasting Lifestyle’ as we like to think of it. Why do we Fast? There are many benefits of intermittent [not everyday] fasting: lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, and lower weight. Furthermore, there is a reduction of HGH [human growth hormone]. This means that your body has a chance to rest and repair — rather like a good night’s sleep but more significant. The decrease of calories for many hours [600 calories in 36 hours, which includes one Fast Day + sleep hours before and after] gives the body a real break from its usual revved-up pace. Do this twice a week, because two Fasts are better than one.

How do you begin the Fasting Lifestyle? Start by choosing your days. You might do ONE day per week and see how you like it — say, Monday. Look at some of the previous posts and decide what you will eat that day. Write on the calendar that you will Fast that day and what you will eat — that makes it more of a commitment. Go shopping for the items necessary to prepare the breakfast and the dinner. If you keep it similar to what you usually eat, it might be a better transition.

Eggs scrambled with ham and served with applesauce will keep you going for hours.

Then do it. Weigh yourself before breakfast and write it down. Eat breakfast as late as you can and eat the second meal of the day about eight hours later. If you eat within an eight-hour window, you will maximize your weight loss. Weigh yourself the next morning to see how well it worked.

How do you STAY on the plan? I think that a key is to plan your meals ahead. Hide any foods that are of low nutritional value, so they won’t tempt you. Stick to eating protein-rich foods that will keep you full, such as eggs, lean meat, and fish high in Omega-3. Fill your plate with fruits and vegetables so your mind thinks you are eating a lot.

Tuna with Grilled Vegetables is a wonderful dinner.

Keep busy on Fast Days, so boredom doesn’t convince you that you are hungry. Keep your goals in mind. It is really rather easy to say ‘NO’ to empty calories on a Fast Day: one because you have your goals firmly in mind and because you could always eat it tomorrow. This is only two days a week, my Friends. You can do it. I believe in you.

Emergency Meals

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Sometimes the lights go out. And how do you cope then? We have frequently experienced outages, the worst being in December of 2008. That was the year of a dreadful ice storm that hit New Hampshire like a jack hammer. Phone poles and limbs came down, trees were uprooted, and we had no electricity for 9 days. We have lost power so often [usually in the Winter] that we have a routine. We quickly remove necessary perishables [milk, butter, meat, sausage, eggs, chicken, cheese] from the freezer and refrigerator, and place the items in a camping cooler on the back porch. There, they stay cool enough to use. Then we keep the freezers and refrigerator closed and covered with blankets for the duration. By having a gas cooktop and a pantry full of useful items, we can feed ourselves and even observe Fast Days under most conditions. Recently, Hurricane Dorian plowed across Prince Edward Island where we were staying, cutting off the juice for 48 hours. We coped just fine. The following are Fast dinners we have prepared and enjoyed during black-outs. The gratin cooked nicely on the cooktop, although the recipe would have you broil it at the end. [The gratin would also be a useful breakfast meal, served without any beverages.] And the dumplings were cooked in a bamboo steamer by candle-light, as you might tell by the darkness of the photo.

Egg-Tomato Gratin: 235 calories 10 g fat 4 g fiber 16 g protein 16 g carbs [15 g Complex] 200 mg Calcium  PB GF V Jacques Pepin, in his book Fast Food My Way, tells about this family recipe. HINT: The recipe serves two. Invite a friend or save for lunch tomorrow.

3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced into wedges 3 oz onions, sliced 2 tsp garlic, chopped 1 tsp dried thyme + 1 tsp salt + ½ tsp pepper 1/3 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 10 fluid oz of tomatoes, drained [save the juice] 1 oz Swiss cheese or Gruyere, grated 

Cook the onions and garlic in some of the tomato juice, about 3 minutes. Add seasonings, tomatoes and the remaining juice. If tomatoes are in large chunks, crush with a fork and add the garbanzo beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 4 minutes. Nestle the eggs in the pan, then sprinkle with cheese. Cover and simmer another 2 minutes to warm everything and to melt the cheese. Excellent antidote to outrageous fortune.

Pork Dumplings Steamed with Bok Choy: 215 calories 8.5 g fat 2.3 g fiber 12.5 g protein 28 g carbs 190 mg Calcium  PB Our older son suggested this ‘starter recipe’ to encourage us to prepare Asian meals. NB: the dumplings were purchased at an Asian market and were very low in calories. You will need to have or to improvise a steamer to cook this.

5 pork dumplings 3-4 oz bok choy 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce dipping sauce: 2 oz black vinegar** + 2 oz soy sauce ** in lieu of black vinegar, combine equal amounts of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water. 

Set up the steamer [mine is a bamboo version which is used with a wok]. Trim the bok choy to remove the largest parts of the center vein, and arrange the leaves on the platforms of the steamer. Put the frozen dumplings on the leaves. Close up the steamer and position it in a dry wok. Add water to the wok so that it rises over the bottom edge of the steamer but not so much that the water level comes up to the bottom tray of the steamer. Bring the water to a simmer. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Mix the hoisin sauce with some water to thin it. Combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Remove the bok choy to the plate and drizzle the hoisin sauce over it. Place the dumplings on the plate and serve with the dipping sauce. Despite the low calorie count, this meal is very satisfying. Other vegetables could be added, as long as their steaming time is the same as the other ingredients.

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

Next week I will discuss how to
start the Fast Diet and how to
stay on it.		Bob’s 10-Grain Cereal or equivalent 
Look for a new favorite breakfast
in the Archives
low-fat milk

blueberries, fresh or frozen


Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Next week I will discuss how to
start the Fast Diet and how to
stay on it.		purchased dry tortellini
Look for a new favorite dinner
in the Archives
black or Tuscan kale +
red pepper flakes

garlic + tomato

olive oil + Parmesan cheese
Sparkling waterSparkling water

The Mill Town

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to FunnyJokesOf TheDay who is now Following.

We live in a Mill Town. Mill Towns began to spring up in New England in the early 1800s as people harnessed streams and rivers to run a variety of enterprises. Big Mill Towns often had a bad rep — dirty, crime-ridden, filled with the uneducated — not the sort of place ‘nice people’ would choose to live. Bennington, New Hampshire had many ‘mills’ in 1830: paper, knives, fabric, gun powder — all were made in the town. These mills were small affairs — no belching smokestacks, no teeming tenements for workers — housed in family homes clustered along the tumbling Contoocook River. Up until 1842, Bennington did not exist as a community. It was part of the agricultural town of Hancock and it was called ‘factory village.’ Hancock had no river downtown, and so the factories/mills were located in what became the town of Bennington. Now all the mills have closed except one: Monadnock Paper Mill which opened in 1819. Don’t picture some dreadful, noisy factory polluting the river — MPM has been aggressively promoted clean air and water in a carbon-neutral plant. This year they will celebrate their 200th anniversary of making specialty papers and the legacy of the Industrial Revolution in our little town. The Mill whistle still sounds at 7 am, noon, and 5 pm, making a comforting punctuation to the day.

The meals today reflect the town of Bennington’s factory history. One of the first mills was built by James Carken. There he made gun powder — until the mill blew up. Picturesque Powder Mill Pond had a restaurant in the 1980s/1990s that served their signature egg dish. As the mills prospered, immigrants moved to town. Italians [our oldest restaurant is Alberto’s], Greeks, Irish [the Catholic church was St Patrick’s], Swedes, and Swiss all made the town grow. Our dinner of corned beef and cabbage is a real working man’s meal.

Powder Mill Scramble: 141 calories 8.3 g fat 0.7 g fiber 11.2 g protein 6 g carb [5.6 g Complex] 49.8 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the Scramble and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF This recipe is straight out of Jerry Willis’ Powder Mill Pond Restaurant where it was a favorite. Alas, that restaurant is not more, but you can enjoy this at home.

1 ½ 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 smoked salmon ½ oz or 2 Tbsp sliced scallion greens 2 oz melon or clementine or 2 oz sliced apple or 1-1/2 oz mango 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]

Whisk the eggs [salt and pepper may not be needed depending on the seasoning of your salmon]. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. Quickly, before the eggs set, add the salmon and scallions. Scramble to taste. Prepare your optional beverage. Plate with fruit of choice.

Corned Beef & Cabbage: 299 calories 22 g fat 3.8 g fiber 22.7 g protein 14.8 g carbs 220.5 mg Calcium PB GF Fannie Farmer provides the inspiration for this recipe. Add deli corned beef to creamed cabbage with cheese, and you are in the spirit of mill town America.

3 cups sliced cabbage ¼ cup plain bechamel sauce 2 oz corned beef [pre-sliced from the deli] cut into strips ½ oz deli Swiss cheese salt & pepper

Steam the cabbage for 5 minutes. Stir in the bechamel sauce, corned beef, and seasonings. Put into an oven-proof dish and lay the cheese slice on top. Bake at 350 degrees F. until the cheese melts.

Relief of Leiden

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Your name is Cornelis Joppenszoon and you are starving. Not the usual hunger of a young teenage boy – you and your family are literally starving. The year is 1574, and you have lived in Leiden, Holland all your life, under the rule of the hated Spaniards. For the past year, your city has been beseiged by the Spanish army under the cruel Duke of Alva/Alba in an effort to break the Dutch Resistance efforts. Thousands of your fellow-townspeople have died and many begged the mayor to yield. He offered to cut off his right arm to provide food for the people instead! But help is on the way: the dikes were breached to flood the polders around the city and brave William the Silent is on his way with a fleet of rebel soldiers. When they arrive, they hand out white bread and herring to the people. What a relief to have something to eat again! That evening, when part of the city wall collapses, you sneak out to scout around. The Spaniards had left in a hurry: their camps intact and the fires still burning. In a pot over a fire, you find a sort of stew made of vegetables. Hooray! You take it back home and that night your family and friends eat ‘hutspot’ for the first time. The seige is lifted, Spain is in retreat, and Holland might regain her freedom. Now to find more food…. 

Today’s meals reflect the food events of the Relief of Leiden, celebrated every October 3: herring for breakfast and hutspot for dinner. Young Cornelis would be satisfied.

Herring Plate: 195 calories 8 g fat 4.4 g fiber 8 g protein 13.7 g carbs [11.7 g Complex] 33 mg Calcium  PB If you like herring, this is the breakfast for you. It makes a nice change from morning eggs and it is prepared in no-time-flat. NB: Do NOT eat herring if you are taking MOAI antidepressent medicine, as herring is high in tyramine.

3 Finn Crisp crackers 1.25 oz herring marinated in wine [not sour cream] 2 Tbsp whipped cream cheese 4 Bing cherries OR ½ cup strawberries, sliced  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]

Do I need to describe this preparation? Spread the cream cheese on the crackers and pile on the herring. Delicious and so satisfying.

Hutspot with Dutch Meatballs: 243 calories 8 g fat 4 g fiber 16.8 g protein 31 g carbs [21 g Complex] 82 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF rye bread This recipe from Holland was a hit at our house. The sweet carrots really add something to the potatoes. 

Hutspot: makes 1 cup 2 oz potato, peeled 2 oz carrots, peeled 2 oz onion, sliced salt and pepper to taste Cube the potatoes and put into a sauce pan with water half-way up. Cut the carrots in coins and put on top of potatoes. Slice the onions and put them on top of the carrots. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until all vegetables are soft. Drain, reserving the liquid. Mash the vegetables, adding reserved liquid if needed. Season to taste.

Dutch Meatballs: makes 6 you will need 2 per person ½ pound ground turkey, 3% fat 1 oz rye bread, crust removed if very hard ¼ cup skim milk 1 shallot [1 Tbsp chopped] 1 egg white ¼ tsp nutmeg + ¼ tsp salt + ¼ tsp black pepper Chop or tear the bread into 1/2” pieces. Put in a small dish and pour in enough milk to wet the bread – you will have some left over. You could cook the meat and shallot or leave them raw [which is what I did] Add the seasonings and egg white. Squeeze the extra milk out of the bread and add it to the meat/seasonings. Heat a non-stick pan and spray with non-stick spray. Measure the meat mixture into ¼ cup portions and gently form into balls. Place in hot pan and cook until brown on one side. Turn and cook further. Turn onto another side and cook until done.

Plating: Plate two meatballs per person, along with the hutspot vegetables and a bit of grainy mustard, if you like.

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

1 two-oz eggno breakfast, but two dinners
scallion
1.5 hardboiled eggs
smoked salmon
canned tomatoes
melon
garbanzo beans
Optional smoothieSwiss or Gruyere cheese
optional hot beverageonion + garlic

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

corned beef
purchased Asian meat dumplings
cabbage
bok choi
swiss cheese
hoisin sauce
Bechamel sauce
black vinegar + soy sauce
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Vitamin A

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to DailyKeto4U who is now Following.

September 30 is the Feast Day of St. Jerome, so naturally we will discuss Vitamin A. What in the world is the connection, you demand. Saint Jerome [342-420] was a prolific writer and he penned a biography of Saint Hilarion [291-371]. Hilarion, like many ascetics, was determined to mortify [punish] his body for its sins. This became a form of orthorexia: eating a diet so rigid and limited that it leads to deficiencies of essential nutrients. Jerome described Hilarion’s resulting health issues: failing eyesight and itching, rough skin. Hilarion added some olive oil to his diet and the conditions cleared up. Thus Jerome gave the first detailed description of a Vitamin A deficiency and a cure for it.

A varied diet is important for good health, which is one of the reasons why I like to post so many different recipes. Plus, we like to experiment with foods and flavors. Which vegetable contains the most Vitamin A? The sweet potato, by a long shot, so we will have it for breakfast. Red meat scores high, especially beef liver, so we will have that for dinner. Good food, simply prepared and in moderation will help you to live a healthier life.

Sweet Potato Pancake Breakfast: 132 calories 1.5 g fat 3.6 g 6 g protein 26.5 g carbs [21 g Complex] 24 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF– if using GF Flour These potato pancakes are a fine side dish and they hold their own as the star of this breakfast.

2 potato pancakes *** 2 oz applesauce 1 slice Canadian bacon/back bacon Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] Warm the pancakes, the applesauce, and the bacon. Savory and delicious.

***Potato Pancakes makes 8  8 oz sweet potato, peeled and grated 1 oz egg [Whisk one entire egg and measure 1 oz of it for this recipe. Use the remainder in baking.] 2 Tbsp minced/grated onion 3.75 tsp white whole wheat flour OR brown rice flour or other GF flour salt 1/2 tsp olive oil Combine the ingredients while you heat a griddle or heavy skillet. Brush 1/2 tsp of olive oil in the pan, then spray with non stick spray. Drop the ‘batter’ in 8 piles on the griddle, then flatten them out to a diameter of 3-4”. Cook on one side, then flip to cook on the other. Save the remaining pancakes for a side dish tomorrow or as part of lunch.

Liver & Onions: 273 calories 10.4 g fat 2.9 g fiber 25 g protein 20 g carbs 43.5 mg Calcium PB When my father was away on business, my mother would serve us liver and onions, which we came to regard as a special treat. Still a favorite on diner menus, still full of protein, Vitamin A, and Iron. 

½ cup onion, sliced 4 oz beef liver 2 tsp flour + salt + pepper ½ tsp butter ½ cup green beans

Cook the onions in a non-stick saute pan with a little water to keep it from scorching. Set the onions aside. Blot the liver on paper towels. Put 2 tsp flour on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge the liver in the flour, and shake off any extra. Melt the butter in the pan the onions were in and cook the liver over low heat until done. If the pan gets too dry, spray it with non-stick spray. Meanwhile, cook the beans and salt them. Just before the liver is done, add the onions to the pan to reheat.