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.

On December 28, 1895, a roomful of people saw something that astounded them: a motion picture. The pioneering film showed workers leaving a factory at the end of the day, and ran one minute, 56 seconds. It changed the world of entertainment. Auguste and Louis Lumière were the sons of a portrait painter in Lyons, France. Being talented at tinkering, they were educated at the nearby technical school. Their father Antoine saw that photography was gaining in popularity, so he began selling cameras and photographic plates. When Louis was 17, he invented a new photographic plate that did not require processing in wet chemicals. So significant was this development, that the family became rich. Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Edison had invented the kinetoscope. It was a huge device that allowed one person at a time to view moving pictures. Antoine was invited to view Edison’s machine, and returned home with a piece of film. He told his sons to make a better machine, one that would project the images on a large screen for many people to view at once. And so they did. They called it the ‘Cinématographe.’ It was a machine that would record films and play them, weighing 11 pounds, and requiring no electricity to run it. The Lumière Brothers began to film everyday events: feeding the baby; the arrival of a train.  They debuted the films to a small scientific group in March, 1895, who found it to be interesting. By December, Antoine decided to go big — he and two technicians took the Cinématographe to a cafe in Paris, to show the general public. The newspapers were unimpressed, but the public couldn’t get enough of these short movies. By word of mouth, interest spread, and people lined up down the block to see the 15 minute showings. After 10 years, the brothers turned to other pursuits. They developed Autochrome, a process for color photography that was used for 30 years. Louis went into film directing and Antoine reverted to his earlier medical studies. Louis quipped that ever since that day in 1895, people could say, “I went to the cinema.”

‘Moving pictures’ began in France, but quickly took over the world. Our foods today are from two countries with vibrant film industries: breakfast is from the US, home of Hollywood, and dinner is from Italy, home of Roberto Rossellini, Fellini, and Sergio Leone.

Eggs In Sweet Potato Nests: 163 calories 9.5 g fat  1 g fiber 10.6 g protein  9 g carbs 137.5 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg/potato mixture and fruit only, not the optional beverages.   PB GF  Saw this discussed on line and decided to try it. HINT: you will prepare 6 [six] of the nests, but one serving = 2 [two] nests. Preparation is a little fussy but it is done the night before making for an easy morning. HINT: this recipe serves 3 [three]. I’m told these refrigerate well for the next morning.

½ oz/¼ cup grated sweet potato   1 two-oz egg   1 Tbsp grated Cheddar cheese       pinch or two garlic powder  chopped watercress or parsley to sprinkle on top             5 cherries  or half a clementine                   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]     Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Grate the sweet potato and cheese. Toss thoroughly in a bowl with the garlic. Divide among 6 muffin pan cups and push it around, pressing up the sides a bit. NB: I used a flexible non-stick muffin pan which worked well with no sticking. If you don’t have one, use liners or spray the muffin pans very well. Bake the cups in a 375 F. oven for 10 minutes. Whisk the eggs with some salt and pour over the baked sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the egg with chopped watercress or parsley. HINT: I left this on a cool counter/ refrigerator over night. Bake at 350 F. for 15+ minutes or until the eggs are set. Let them sit a bit to firm up before using a knife to loosen the egg nests to plate them. Add fruit and the beverages and try this new flavor combo.

Chicken Tetrazzini:  281 calories  5.6 g fat 4 g fiber 26.6 g protein 23 g carbs 103 mg Calcium  PB  This well-known dish is infamously high in fat and calories…. Until now. Enjoy it without guilt.

3 oz chicken breast  ¼ cup Bechamel sauce without cheese                  1 tsp sherry wine   1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese  1 oz capelli d’angelli pasta [angel hair]       1 oz carrot + 2 oz broccoli

If the chicken is raw, slice it thinly and poach it in water until it is just cooked through. Start cooking the pasta and the vegetables. [TIP: if you have a pot with a steamer insert, you could do it in the same pot at the same time.] Warm the Bechamel sauce and add the sherry, Parmesan, and chicken. Taste for seasonings. Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Plate with the vegetables. Delicious.

Ingredients for next week:                                         Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

2 two-oz egg = US large + paprika	1.5 two-oz eggs
whole tomatoes: fresh or canned	bleu cheese + leeks
feta cheese + onion + garlic + cumin	mushrooms
orange or red bell pepper + cayenne	pear
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

5 felafel patties + olive oil	2 buckwheat galettes
hard-boiled egg + pickled beets	2 slices deli ham + deli Swiss cheese
red cabbage slaw	1 wedge Vache Qui Rit cheese
baby spinach + lemon juice	tomatoes — cherry size or sliced fresh
Sparkling water	Sparkling water