How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to bulkads45 who is now Following.

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

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

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

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

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

1 two-oz egg  ¼ oz scallion, sliced across   2 tsp chopped mixed fresh herbs          ½ oz artichoke hearts, canned in water, chopped  1 Tbsp reduced fat ricotta  2 oz strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]        Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

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

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

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