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.

Through most of recorded time, women have had little say about how their lives would unfold. If you were a woman of noble birth, even less so. If you were a princess, you were a mere pawn in the power struggles of nations. Such was the story of Mary Rose Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. How did a princess live? At age six, she had her own household staff — several noblewomen to tend to her needs, a doctor, a teacher — and a yearly income from the Crown. Mary was taught latin, French, music, dancing, and embroidery. When she was seven, her mother died; her father died when she was 13. At age 11, she was engaged to marry Charles of Spain who was four years younger than she. In the meantime, her dear brother became King Henry VIII, happy to have a pretty, nubile sister to trade for political gain. In 1514, the Chess Game of State dictated that she marry the widowed Louis XII of France. He was 52 years old, gouty and ‘poxy’, and the lively teenaged Mary [‘the most beautiful princess in Europe’] rebelled at the idea. She sulked and cried, but to no avail: Mary became Queen Consort of France. King Henry had made a deal with his sister: be a good sport and marry Louis now, then when he dies, you can marry whom you wish. That sounded good, since Mary was already enamored of her brother’s good friend Charles Brandon. King Louis died after three months of wedded ‘bliss’. When Charles Brandon arrived as part of the entourage to escort Mary back home, Mary proposed to him and they secretly married in Paris. King Henry was wild with rage. He was very fond of his sister, but to marry a commoner and without his permission — that was going too far, and they would pay! And they pay did: over several years, Mary and Brandon paid a total of  £7,200,000 in cash and jewels to the Royal Exchequer for the privilege of being married and living in peace. They retired to Suffolk and lived quietly, having four children of whom two survived to adulthood. The flagship of Henry VIII’s navy was the Mary Rose, which sank in the Solent in 1545 and was raised in 1982. Was the ship named for his favorite sister? Perhaps.

Our meals for Mary Tudor’s birthday, March 18, 1495, are from France. Firstly, because her first husband was the French king. Secondly, because after she and her second husband married, they stayed in France for a while until they had made nice with Mary’s angry brother, Henry VIII.

Breton/Norman Bread Pudding: 204 calories 8 g fat 1.5 g fiber 11.6 g protein 14 g carbs 124 mg Calcium PB GF– if using GF bread. This dish was invented to clear out the fridge when leaving a rental cottage in Brittany. We repeated it when departing Normandy. It works well anywhere, even at home.

¾ fluid oz milk ½ slice = ½ oz whole-grain bread 1 two-oz egg 1 oz tomato 1 oz cooked fish OR ¾ oz cooked chicken ¼ oz cheese 2 oz strawberries OR 1.5 oz melon  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Cube or dice the bread and tomato. Flake the fish and grate the cheese. Stir together everything, except the strawberries. The mixture should be moist throughout, but not soupy. Heat a saute pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Turn the bread pudding into the pan. Pat and nudge it into a large, flat patty. Cook until brown on one side, then turn it over. [Alternatively, bake it in an oven-proof dish for 18 minutes.] When done, it should be set and cooked all the way through and browned on both sides. Plate with the berries and reminice about the vacation you just enjoyed.

Fish with Polenta and Mediterranean Vegetables: 229 calories 6 g fat 3 g fiber 26.5 g protein 16 g carbs 180 mg Calcium  PB GF  Awfully good and easy, too.  HINT: serves two people.

1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables* 2 slices polenta** each 3.5×3.5” 8 oz fish: cod- tilapia-perch 1.5 oz mushrooms 3 Tbsp Parmesan, grated ½ tsp olive oil hot pepper flakes herbes de Provence garlic powder

Thaw or prepare the vegetables*. Thaw or prepare the polenta**. Saute the fish in oil, cooking both sides. When you flip fish over to cook the other side, add squares of polenta to the pan to heat. Heat Mediter-rinean Vegetables, adding the mushrooms, herbes de Provence, and garlic powder. Plate polenta, top with vegetables, and nestle the fish into place. Top each portion with grated cheese.

*MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES:  makes 3+ cups  PB GF  2 cups eggplant, peeled & cubed  OR 1½ cup bell peppers, cubed 2 cups tomato, cubed 2 cups zucchini, cubed 2 cloves garlic 1.5 tsp oregano Prepare all the vegetables, and put them in a saucepan. Simmer, covered, until cooked through. If watery, remove lid and continue to simmer. Add oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and the chickpeas, if using. Use whatever amount you wish for this meal and freeze the remainder in ½-cup or 1-cup portions.

**POLENTA:  12 slices   recipe from Bob’s Red Mill PB 1 cup dry polenta 3 c water or vegetable stock 1 tsp salt Bring salted water/stock to a boil in a 2-qt saucepan. Add polenta, a few table-spoons at a time, stirring after each addition. Once all polenta is in, turn down heat to its lowest [I used the smallest burner on its lowest setting] and cook 30 mins. Stir often: to prevent lumps, to scrape down the sides, and to keep it from sticking to the bottom.  Unlike risotto, it does not need constant stirring. After 30 minutes, the polenta will be very thick – the spoon should stand up by itself. Then cook 2-3 minutes more. Brush a very thin layer of oil on a 9×13” baking pan, and turn the polenta into it. Nudge batter into the corners and smooth out the top. Let it cool as the polenta solidifies. Before serving, cut into 12 squares. Heat a non-stick skillet and spray with cooking spray. Cook the polenta portions until they begin to take on a little color and are heated through. Individually wrap pieces and freeze cooked or uncooked, until needed.