losing weight

Hearty yet slimming…

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle. 

How nice it is to eat a satisfying, filling meal and still know that you will weigh less tomorrow! Fasting doesn’t mean that you have to eat meager portions of boring food. Fasting does mean that your food choices will be high in protein and low in carbs and fat. The lower calories-per-day give your body a chance to recover from your usual fast-paced life — this is good, like catching your breath after a long run. Fasting two days each week really works!

Our meals are a classic ham omelette and chili con carne with a twist — this one is made with venison.

Ham ScrOmelette:  145 calories… 7.6 g fat… 0.7 g fiber… 12 g protein… 5 g carb… 45 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB  GF Here’s another classic of the breakfast table.

++ 1½ eggs per person  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. ++++ ½ oz ground or chopped 3%-fat ham ++++ 1.5 oz melon or 1.5 oz apple ++++ herbs to taste ++++ 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 ham, slice the fruit, prep your beverage. Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. When the bottom begins to set, distribute the ham over half of the eggs. {OR warm the ham briefly in the hot pan, pour in the whisked eggs and scramble together until cooked.] Fold the omelette and cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Pour your beverages, and you are off to a good start to your day.

Venison Chili:   297 calories… 5 g. fat… 35.8 g. protein…. 55 g. carbs….      PB GF  This recipe is wonderfully simple and good to eat. My mother made this with ground beef.  I have swapped in venison which is much lower in fat and calories.   HINT: this recipe makes enough for 2 meals, so invite a friend or divide it in two and freeze the rest for a quick Fast meal later.

venison chili w: melon

++ ½# ground venison: if you are not a hunter, you can find it in some stores ++++ 1 cup onion, chopped  ++++ 1 clove garlic, chopped  ++++ 15 oz canned tomatoes, whole or chopped, drain the liquid but save it  ++++ 1 cup canned red kidney beans , drained and rinsed   HINT: freeze leftover beans  ++++  3 Tbsp green pepper, chopped ++++  ¾ tsp salt ++++ 2-4 tsp chili powder ++++ ½-1 tsp cumin, ground  ++++ 1 Tbsp grated Cheddar  ++++ 2 oz melon ++

Pour some of the reserved tomato liquid in a heavy pan. Add the onion, garlic, and green pepper. Cook until the onions and pepper are wilted, adding more liquid as needed. Remove the vegetables, add more liquid, and cook the venison until it is browned. Add the tomatoes, beans, cooked vegetables, and seasonings to taste. When it is hot and flavorful, put half of it in a container in the freezer for another meal. Serve with sliced melon and top with the cheese.

Tastes of the Country

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Simple, good tasting food is always a pleasure. In New England, ‘country’ goes from the coastline to  upcountry farms. Sample these recipes for a delicious Monday.

Buttermilk Baked Eggs:     283 cal        6.2 g fat          11.7 g protein          18.8 g carb            This recipe is from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. All I added were the sides. Great book full of good recipes for Slow Days.

 1 slice 70-cal whole-grain bread                                                                                                               one 2-oz egg                                                                                                                                                     2 Tbsp buttermilk                                                                                                                                           1 oz [¼ c.] mixed berries                                                                                                                         coffee, tea, lemon juice & hot water,                                                                                                    fruit smoothie or natural apple cider

buttermilk baked eggs:mixed berries

Cut out a hole from the middle of the bread using a 2” cookie cutter or juice glass. HINT: put the ‘hole’ in a sandwich bag in the freezer. Save for Dutch Breakfast later on. Toast the bread lightly. HINT: this step could be done the night before. Or cut and toast the bread weeks in advance and freeze. Lightly spray an oven-proof pan with cooking spray and put the toasted bread in in. Break the egg over the bread so that the yolk lands in the hole. Carefully spoon the buttermilk over the egg and bread. Season to taste. HINT: you could prep this far and refridgerate over night. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile put the fruit in a small dish, brew your beverage, pour your fruit smoothie and you have a terrific breakfast!

crab cakes w: asparagusCrab Cakes: 250 cal 4.7 g fat 24.0 g protein 14.2 g carbs

Rock and Jonah crabs abound on the coast of New England and they are grand as crab cakes. This recipe is from Todd English’s Olive’s Table cookbook. Note: this is the full recipe and makes many more cakes than you will eat at one meal. Prepare them all and cook as directed. HINT: This will provide a few future meals.

½ pound crab meat                                                                                                                                      2 T [1 oz] plain fat-free yogurt                                                                                                                                   1 tsp Dijon mustard                                                                                                                                       2 Tbsp. chopped green or white onion                                                                                                  1 T. parsley, minced                                                                                                                                  one 2-oz egg                                                                                                                                                         1 tsp salt & ¼ tsp pepper                                                                                                                               1 slice fresh 70-cal bread, crumbled                                                                                                          4 T. flour                                                                                                                                                           2 tsp oil                                                                                                                                                             5 oz asparagus                                                                                                                                                         1 tsp low-fat mayonnaise + few drops of lemon juice + pinch each of tumeric and garlic powder [this is your aioli dressing]

Gently combine 1st 8 ingredients in a bowl. Dust a large plate with the flour. Using a 1/3 c. measure as a mold, form the crab cakes and turn them out onto the flour. There should be 5 cakes. Dust the top of the cakes with some of the flour. Heat a non-stick skillet and add 2 tsp olive oil. Handling them carefully, cook the crab cakes until they are beginning to brown on the top and bottom. Cook the asparagus. Put aioli on crab cakes and asparagus.

One Fast Day serving = 1.5 crab cakes. Cool the others, wrap in cling wrap and freeze. To reheat, use the toaster oven, since the cakes will be previously cooked.

12 Tips for a Fasting Lifestyle

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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: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle. 

Most people wonder how they will get through the day on only 600 calories.  Friends of ours’ used to scoff at our “Starvation Days” and sometimes others will taunt us about what they can eat while we are depriving ourselves. But we are smug in the knowledge that the day after we will be a pound lighter and looking good. Since this is my 12th blog post, I offer 12 tips:

1. Watch the video of Dr Mosley’s program  Eat-Fast-Live which we saw originally on PBS.       This is what inspired us to start this Lifestyle and it might help you too.

2. Plan ahead. We write on the calendar what Fast meals we want to eat in a week. Nothing ruins a diet like coming home and having no idea what to eat for dinner. That’s when the default foods come out [carry-out or pizza]. You can avoid that by planning.

3. Prep ahead. You see in many recipe the HINTS about preparing food ahead. This is a real time-saver in the morning. Want your spouse to help you to stay on the diet when you get home late? Write out the recipe, leave it on the counter, include info about where to find ingredients, and maybe the meal will be in progress when you come through the door.

4. Shop ahead. Now that you know what you want to eat, have the ingredients on hand. When Fast Day comes, you want to be ready.

5. Portion as you shop.  The recipe calls for 4 oz chicken breast, so when you get home, cut the chicken into the correct size. Wrap and label the part you need, save the trimmings for another use such as Chicken Curry [Feb. 11] or Chicken Noodle Soup [Jan 19]. The same goes for vegetables: slice and chop those 2 oz of bell pepper that you will need.  It takes moments to do this as you unload the groceries, so do it to save time later.

6. Listen to Diane Rehm interview Dr. Mosley.  http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows /2013-03-13/dr-michael-mosley-fast-diet  Diane asks the tough questions and ends the conversation by saying that everyone on her staff can’t wait to try the diet!

special coffee cup

7. Make the meal setting special. Instead of eating on the run or while standing over the sink, make a Fast meal an occasion. Use the good plates and flatware. Put the sparkling water in a nice glass with a twist of lemon. See the demitasse cup in the photo? It is the only one I have and it makes the breakfast table so pretty that it is saved for Fast days only.

8. Slo-o-o-ow down the meal. The other reason for the little cup at breakfast? By putting the coffee in a pitcher, I frequently have to stop to refill the cup. This bit of fussiness slows down the process. When you put food in your mouth, put down the fork. You don’t have to chew 30 times, but don’t simply cram the food in your mouth — savor it, taste it, and make it last.

9. Set goals by the clock.  After breakfast, vow not to put any calories in your mouth until noon. Then at noon, tell yourself that you can hold out for another 2 hours. Maybe setting a timer will help you: while the timer is ticking, don’t eat. This does not mean that you will eat when the timer rings! No. Set a new goal.

10. Distract yourself. After breakfast, I pour a large [1.5 cups] glass of water which I sip on until 2 pm. Then I have earned a hot cup of tea — something bold-tasting or soothing as mood dictates. A touch of honey in the drink provides a real lift. Mid-to-late afternoon is difficult for me. Go for a walk [not to the kitchen or break-room!] or get involved in a long project to take your mind off eating.

11. Hide the temptation.  I stash the bowl of pistachios in the cupboard on Fast Days. Yes, I still know they are there, but out of sight, out of mind.

12. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. This has a double meaning. 1]  If you yearn for something on a Fast Day, tell yourself that you can have it tomorrow. It is not a promise that you have to keep. Tomorrow it might not be calling to you.  2] Tomorrow is the day that you will weigh less. Tomorrow is also weeks from now when you will be slimmer and thinking about new clothes. Tomorrow will come.

Rich flavors borrowed from other chefs.

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In the middle of a long, snowy winter, you look forward to a meal — that’s why people overeat in February. They think they are going to hibernate. Then there is Valentine’s Day… And Mardi Gras — you know that translates as ‘Fat Tuesday’ don’t you? But it doesn’t mean boring food to battle the bulges. Tomorrow’s menu really tastes good! [sorry about the formatting — it would not change for me]

PowderMill Scramble       247 calories       9.3 g fat      17.6 g protein         34.3 g carbo          This recipe is straight out of Jerry Willis’ Powder Mill Pond Restaurant where it was a favorite. Alas, brunch is not served at Jerry’s Marzano’s Tratoria, but you can enjoy this at home. Can’t believe the flavor of this!

1 ½ 2-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Beat up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next Thursday.                                                                                                                             ½ oz smoked salmon                                                                                                                                         1 Tbsp chopped chives or scallion greens                                                                                              1 clementine OR 1 ½ oz apple                                                                                                                                                   5-6 oz fruit smoothie or pure apple cider                                                                                     black coffee, black tea, lemon in hot water

Whisk the eggs [salt and pepper may not be needed depending onpowdermill scramble the seasoning of your salmon]. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. Before the eggs set, add the salmon and scallions. Scramble to taste. Brew your beverage and take the previously-made smoothie from ‘fridge. Plate with fruit of choice.  HINT: This would be a wonderful dinner, as long as you didn’t eat eggs for breakfast.

Baltic Hot Dog Dinner:     302 calories    12.1 g fat      11 g protein      27.3 g carbs             Believe it or not, this is adapted from the book Two Fat Ladies Obsessions. The meal has wonderful Eastern European flavors and is so simple to prepare that I assembled it in 16 minutes since the ingredients are ‘off the shelf’ :             hot dog:kraut in pasta bowl                                                                                  2 low-fat hot dogs [I like Hebrew National reduced-fat @ 100 calories each]                         ½ cup canned sauerkraut, drain it but save ~1/2 c. liquid                                                                                                                        ¼ c pickled beets                                                                                                                                        ¼ c sliced onions                                                                                                                                         ½ tsp horseradish from a jar                                                                                                                     2 Tbsp white beans, drained and rinsed     

Put the hot dogs [frozen or thawed] and onions in a saucepan with a little water or some juice from the sauerkraut. Let cook until the dogs are cooked and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove the dogs and add remaining ingredients to the pan to heat. Add more liquid if needed. Cut the hot dogs into 5-6 pieces and put them back in the pan until all ingredients are heated through.

Simple, Delicious, Easy

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Hooray for S & E who started the Fast Diet last week! Join them in sampling this Monday’s menu and see how much weight you can shed by Tuesday.  It is a real ego boost and an incentive.

Today’s breakfast ingredients:                                                                                                                           ½ slice 70-cal whole grain bread, cubed;                                                                                                       one 2-oz egg;                                                                                                                                                         ½ a slice of thinly-sliced minced low-fat ham                                                                                                 2 Tbsp skimmed milk                                                                                                                   herbs/seasonings of your choice                                                                                                                        ½ tsp of Dijon-style mustard.                                                                                                                          1/3 c. of mixed melon and strawberries

Breakfast Casserole: This is my take on strata-type breakfasts. We find it to be so satisfying that we want to eat it on a ‘Slow Day’.  Spray a ramekin with non-stick spray. In a bowl mix the bread,  egg,  ham;  milk, herbs/seasonings, and  mustard. Stir ingredients together and pour into the ramekin. HINT: you Breakfast casserole w: s-bs+meloncould prep this the night before, cover the ramekin in plastic, and pop it in the ‘fridge for morning.  Bake at 350º for 18 minutes. While it is baking, cut and plate the fruit, brew your beverage, and make your smoothie [or take it from ‘fridge if made last week].        271 calories;   6.7 g. fat;    13.9 g. protein;       22.2 g. carbs

Today’s dinner ingredients:                                                                                                                                 5 oz salmon.                                                                                                                                                       salt, pepper, herbs to taste                                                                                                                                 10 small cherry tomatoes [5 oz larger tomatoes, cut in large chunks]                                                        2½ oz broccoli and cauliflower florets

Roasted Salmon with Tomatoes: In an oven-proof dish place the salmon. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs to taste. Scatter  tomatoes over the salmon.  HINT: This part could be prepped hours before and kept in the ‘fridge. Roast in a 400º oven for 10 minutes. In the meantime, steam the veg. to serve with the fish. It doesn’t get easier than this, does it?  This recipe is adapted from one found in the original Fast Diet book. The 10 recipes in that text are good, but I needed to quantify the amounts a bit.    304 calories per serving