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.

Cookies and Milk — what a heavenly combination! My mother was an enthusiastic baker of cookies. Prior to their marriage, she had promised my father that ‘the cookie jar would always be full.’ A very sweet vow indeed. Dad’s favorite cookies usually involved molasses, so my mother baked an oatmeal cookie recipe with molasses in it. Dear Husband was given an oatmeal cookie recipe by his Good Sister Barbara with no molasses, which I thought was heresy, but I would bake them on and off. Recently, I decided to alter that recipe, and here is the result. Dear Husband requests it often. What are the ‘improvements’ that I made? More egg for texture; white whole wheat flour for more whole grain and fiber; less sugar; added chocolate chips and dried cranberries for fun.

4 dozen cookies	Preheat oven to 350F. Put silicon mats or parchment paper on cookie sheets.
¾ c. butter 1 cup brown sugar, unpacked 1/3 c white sugar	Cream together by hand or with an electric mixer.
2.5 oz egg [1.5 eggs]	Stir in thoroughly.
2/3 c white whole wheat flour 1/3 c all-purpose flour ½ tsp baking soda 2 c. rolled oats	Stir into the mixture until well combined.
½ c chocolate chips ½ c walnuts ½ c dried cranberries	Stir in to form a stiff dough. Portion with a 1.5 tsp scoop or use a spoon to form 48 balls of dough on prepared sheets. Flatten each dough ball by pressing gently with your fingers.
	Bake for around 7 minutes, until dough is no longer soft in center.
	Cool on the baking sheets. Super warm. Good keeping cookie.

Is this a ‘diet cookie’, one that tastes like a pale imitation at best and like sawdust at worst? No, this is a really good cookie, suitable for spouses, children, and a mid-afternoon treat for yourself with a glass of milk.

Here is the recipe provided by Good Sister Barbara:

4 dozen cookies	Preheat oven to 350F. Put silicon mats or parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets.
¾ c. butter 1 c brown sugar ½ c white sugar 1 small egg ¼ c water 1 tsp vanilla	Cream/mix these all together.
1 c. flour 1 tsp salt ½ tsp baking soda	Sift together. Add to the butter-egg mixture.
3 c rolled oats	Mix oats with existing batter and combine thoroughly.
	Use a 1.5 tsp scoop or a spoon to form 48 balls of dough on baking sheets.
	Bake 9-12 minutes.
	Cool on racks.