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 green smoothie diet who is now Following.

Johann Sebastian Bach is probably my favorite composer. When I was a child, my mother always had the classical music station WQXR on the radio, and she would name the composers as the music played. In college choir, we sang Bach pieces a few times over my four years of singing. Wonderful, soaring music. In art class, I came to appreciate the Baroque period without making the connection to Baroque influences in music. Baroque art is filled with drama, light and shadow, and evokes emotion in the viewer. Now I can hear that Bach’s music is the same: rich and ornate, the listener cannot fail to be moved. JS Bach was born on March 21, 1685. His father taught him to play the violin and harpsichord, and the boy sang in the church choir. Orphaned at age 10, Bach was taken in by his older brother who was also a musician. His brother taught him musical composition and to play the organ. At age 15, JS was on the move, something he would do frequently over his career. For the next 23 years, he went from town to town, working as church organist here, as the court musician there, always moving on due to religious politics or disputes about wages. JS was not a difficult man. He was devoted to his music and his growing family, and expected to be treated fairly. All along the way, Bach honed his skills and became more inventive in his music. He perfected the ‘fugue‘ and he promoted musical improvisation. The father of 4 musicians, Johann Sebastian Bach is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time. Three of his works were included on the ‘Golden Record’ on which NASA recorded music and other ‘sounds of Earth’ to send into space on the Voyager I in 1977. Music for the ages. 

Bach was born in Thuringia, a region of Germany which prides itself on its sausages. So sausage it will be, as part of breakfast, as part of dinner. Celebrate his birthday tomorrow by listening to his music.

Sausage-Apple ScrOmelette: 152 calories 10 g fat 0.5 g fiber 12.8 g protein 3.5 g carbs 43.2 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  A hearty breakfast to start your day right.

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 link chicken breakfast sausage = 35 calories ¾ oz apple sage leaves, fresh or dried   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Dice the sausage and apple. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the sausage/apple and stir to warm them and cook them a bit. Whisk the eggs with the sage, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the sausage/apple in the pan. Scramble to your favorite degree of doneness. Partake of your beverages of choice.

Sauerkraut and Sausage: 255 calories 5.5 g fat 12.6 g fiber 21.5 g protein 33.5 g carbs 196.4 mg Calcium  GF PB  This is the sort of food that fueled Bach, Goethe, and Luther. Check the calories and you will see that this is not a fattening meal.

1½ cups sauerkraut, canned or bagged or fresh 2 tsp caraway seed 2 oz/ 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened ½ cup onions, chopped coarsely 1 chicken sausage with apple [OR other 110 calorie sausage] left whole or sliced into ½” chunks 1½ cups raw collard greens OR Kale OR Chard, chopped or sliced cross-wise in ¼” strips [chiffonade] salt + garlic powder + pepper to taste.

Thaw the sausage if it is frozen. Combine the sauerkraut, caraway seed, applesauce, and onions in a saucepan large enough to hold the sausage [if leaving whole]. Cook slowly, uncovered until half of the liquid is gone. Add the sausage, cover, and continue to cook until everything is hot. Meanwhile, put the collards into ½ cup water with seasonings, and cook covered until the greens are tender, about 10 minutes.