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. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

In 1905, Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle was serialized, exposing the dubious quality and safety of the meat-packing industry, to the horror of the meat-consuming public. Thus, in 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed by the US Congress. Prior to that, there were no guardrails for producers of food or “patent medicines” — they could add anything they wanted to their products. City people one generation removed from the farm assumed that the food they were sold in stores was prepared the way their mother did at home, with healthy ingredients made from whole foods. But sausage makers would add sawdust — or worse — as a filler to use less meat. When it came to medicines, there were few prescription drugs from trusted manufacturers. Folks made their own remedies from herbs or bought them from itinerant peddlers. The worse it tasted or smelled, the more effective it was thought to be. But these so-called ‘snake oils’ were made from kerosene and cocaine or any other old thing, with no known medical value. The 1906 law forced drug makers to label their ingredients, and food producers were forbidden to add adulterated foods. Ever since 1848, the Bureau of Chemistry had been testing foods to assess their safety. That job was taken over by the Department of Agriculture in 1862, then by the Food and Drug Administration in 1930. The group has the responsibility of ensuring the safety of all foods and medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter. Some people complain about the ‘intrusion’ of the government which prevents them from making their ‘own choices’. Do we want to go back to totally un-regulated times, not knowing if our purchased food is safe? Not knowing if a food supplement on the internet will hurt you? I don’t! We should be making it easier for them to do their work.

Our breakfast and our dinner contain — what else? — cured meat and sausage, in memory of the book that started the move toward food safety laws.

Capicola ScrOmelette: 147 calories… 8 g fat… 1.0 g fiber… 13.5 g protein… 7.5 g carbs… 73 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF Capicola is a dried ham which is very flavorful yet low in fat and calories. It goes splendly with eggs. 

++ 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. ++++ 1/3 oz uncured capicola ham, sliced thinly and chopped ++++ large pinch oregano ++++ 1.7 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] ++

Chop the capicola and slice the apple. Beat the eggs with the oregano. Heat a non-stick pan and spritz it with non-stick cooking spray. Put the capicola in the pan to heat very briefly, then pour in the eggs. Scramble or cook as you would an omelette. Serve with the beverages of your choice.

Roasted Grapes & Sausage: 269 calories… 14 g fat… 2 g fiber… 10 g protein… 30 g carbs… 65 mg Calcium…  PB GF This is a remarkable combination of flavors! HINT: This recpe serves two [2].  It comes together very quickly for a delicious meal. The recipe is from Melissa Clark of the New York Times. 

Serves 2	Heat oven to 450 F.
½ c onion, sliced—– 1 tsp oil—- ¼ tsp salt—– ¼ tsp ground pepper	On a rimmed baking sheet or a cast iron pan, toss everything together + spread in an even layer. Spray with non-stick spray. Roast 8 mins, until onions turn translucent and thinnest pieces are pale gold at the edges. Take from oven.
10 oz red seedless grapes—- ~ 2 cups—- ½ t fennel seed4 oz sausage, sliced = 260 calories	Crush fennel seeds slightly. Add these ingredients to the pan. Stir well and spread in an even layer, making sure sausage slices lie flat on the surface of the pan.
	Roast 10 mins. Sausage will be browned on bottom, grapes will be wrinkled but still plump. Divide between two plates.
Parsley — chives —- 1 tsp rice vinegar	Add these to baking pan, and scrape up any browned bits. Drizzle pan juices over plated food, taste for seasonings.
0.05 oz Parmesan, shaved	Distribute cheese over the plated food