Greek-style Foods for Fasting Diet

Slow Days: Pastitsio

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

My friend Nick, a pure Greek-American from the Greek neighborhoods of Manchester, NH, called pastitsio ‘Greek macaroni and cheese.’ If your mac&cheese is in a rut, try this variation — it is really good. And don’t even think of telling Nick’s mom that pastitsio originated in Italy!

Ground lamb meat, onion, tomatoes, cinnamon, Greek oregano, butter [not the entire stick], elbow macaroni — here is the basis of Pastitsio. The oregano and cinnamon tell you how Greek it is. Nick always wondered how the early Greeks got tomatoes, but he was willing to give that a pass….

Pastitsio Sauce + Casserole
1 cup chopped onion
½ pound ground lamb		Saute onion and meat in a heavy saucepan while stirring sometimes until the meat is brown and the onions are golden.
1 cup crushed or whole tomatoes
1½ tsp salt freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Greek oregano
1½ tsp cinnamon		Stir in these ingredients and simmer 5 mins.
½ cup Gruyere cheese, gratedStir in the cheese and taste for seasonings.
3 oz elbow macaroniCook the elbows. Stir them into the tomato sauce and turn the mixture into an oil-sprayed 1-Qt casserole.
Salsa BesamelTop with salsa besamel and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

The meat sauce is combined with cooked pasta and then you prepare a besamel…..

The salsa besamel goes on top. Milk thickened with a butter-flour mixture, grated cheese and egg all combine in a sauce that is poured on top of the pasta and sauce prior to baking.

Salsa Besamel
2 Tbsp butter Melt butter in a saucepan. Take off heat.
1 Tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 cup milk		Stir in flour, salt, and pepper, then add the milk gradually and stirring all the time. Put on low heat and stir for 5 minutes.
1 egg yolk
¼ c grated Parmesan cheese		Beat together in a small bowl, then slowly add the warm white sauce and stir constantly.
Baked to a golden turn.

Serve with Winter Vegetables, as seen here, or with a Greek Salad, Pastitsio makes for a hearty mid-Winter meal. Delicious.

Halcyon Days

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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 Eat Think Wellness and Solute21 and Weight Loss Review who are now Following.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, in the middle of December, the weather is usually fair and calm, good for voyaging by boat. When the ancient Greeks wanted to explain a natural phenomenon, they would create a legend about it. As we are told, the minor gods Alcyone and Ceyx drew the wrath of Zeus and he killed them. The other gods and goddesses took pity and turned them into kingfisher birds [Family Halcyonidae, Genus Alcedo]. These kingfishers were said to build a floating nest in which to hatch their chicks. Needing calm seas to achieve success, the birds would cast a spell on the weather to ensure it: those were the Halcyon Days. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Halcyon Days begin on December 14 this year. The original meaning seems to have morphed to connote happy times, when all is well — a modern interpretation indeed of ‘calm and sunny’ weather. As the Covid vaccines are approved and delivered into waiting arms, perhaps our 2021 will have a long stretch of Halcyon Days.

It is a Greek legend, so Greek food is on the menu: morning and evening.

Creamy Greek Omelette:  165 calories 9 g fat 2 g fiber 12.6 g protein 14 g carb [11.7 g Complex] 89 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF The feta lends a tang to the eggs, while the cottage cheese gives a wonderful melting texture. A real treat.

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.  3/8 oz feta cheese 1½ Tbsp cottage cheese Greek oregano + salt + pepper 1½ oz of apple  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Mince the feta and combine with cottage cheese and oregano. Spritz a non-stick skillet with oil or non-stick spray and heat the pan over medium-low heat. Beat the eggs well with 1 spoonful of the cheese mixture using a rotary mixer. Pour the eggs into the pan and let cook undisturbed until the edges set. Lift the edges gently to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath. Before the top surface sets, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put dollops of the cheese mixture on half the omelette and make an attempt to spread it out. Fold the omelette in half and continue to heat in the pan. Filling will heat and may ooze out a bit. Brew and pour your beverages. Plate the apple and the omelette. Oh yum.

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 1½ cup canned whole tomatoes 1 Tbsp [½ oz] dry red wine 1½ Tbsp good Feta cheese, crumbled 2½ oz asparagus OR one Side Salad 

Saute the onion slices and garlic in the 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.

Clean Monday

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: 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.

“Clean Monday”  Does this sound like something Marie Kondo would do? She probably would. But tomorrow, the start of the 7th week before Easter [in the Greek Orthodox Church], is a very special day in Greece.  It is the beginning of Lent, a time of penance.  Clean Monday, “Kathari Deftera,” commences the night before, with people apologizing to those whom they have wronged. [Clean Conscience]  The next step involves eating fish and sea food — lots of it. [Clean Diet, free from meat]  And don’t forget Flying Kites!!  Families go to parks or the countryside to launch 100s of kites in honor of Spring. [Good Clean Fun]                                                                                                                                                    We should all have a Clean Day at some point.  Start now.  Be kind, crank up your Fasting, and let your kite transport you to a new level of optimism that THIS time, you can lose weight.

herring Plate w: cherries

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   NB: The food values given above are for the main dish only, not the optional beverages.  PB  V  If you like herring, this is for you.  It makes a nice change from morning eggs and comes together in no-time-flat.  NB: If you are taking an MOAI anti-depressant medication, ask your physician if you can eat herring safely since it 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                                                                                     3 oz berry-yogurt smoothie [44 calories] or natural apple cider                                                        blackish coffee [53 calories] or tea or lemon in hot water                                                           Do I need to describe this preparation? Spread the cream cheese on the crackers and pile on the herring. Delicious and so satisfying.

Greek-style Hake

Greek-style Hake:   257 calories   9 g fat   5.5 g fiber  25 g protein   25 g carbs [23 g Complex]  181 mg Calcium   PB GF   The cookbook Ikaria by Diane Kochilas is centered in on of the National Geographic study of locations world-wide where there is the greatest longevity. Thinking that nutrition has something to do with longevity is one direction that study could take you.

4 oz hake                                                                                                                                                    ½ tsp olive oil                                                                                                                                    ¼ cup onions, halved then sliced                                                                                                            ½ clove garlic, cut in half                                                                                                             pinch sugar                                                                                                                                      1 cup canned whole tomatoes                                                                                                                     1 Tbsp [½ oz] dry red wine                                                                                                                         1 Tbsp good Feta cheese, crumbled                                                                                                                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 Side Salad. Top the fish with the crumbled Feta before serving.