Emily Dickinson

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.                                                                                      Welcome to FoodStories who is now Following.

If you were to list New England poets, Emily Dickinson would be right up there. And yet, no one heard of her work until after she was dead.  The Belle of Amherst Massachusetts was born on 10 December, 1830, smack-dab in the middle of a cultural revolution. In religion there was the Second Great Awakening. In politics, there was the growing abolitionist movement. In literature, there was Emily Dickinson penning poems in obscurity as she baked [one poem written on a chocolate wrapper] or cleaned [one poem written on the label for silver polish]. She kept house for her lawyer father and brothers and, according to legend, hardly ever went further afield than the garden of the family home. Her correspondence took her far away as she wrote to distant friends. After her death, her sister had her poems published, leaving readers bemused and/or excited by her verse.  In 1955, her collected works and her letters were printed and Emily Dickinson were rediscovered by an enthusiastic audience.  The poem that haunts me the most is The Bustle in a House, one of her most approachable poems about death. Dickinson wrote that she thought in a ‘New-England-y’ way. So true.                                                                                                                        Emily Dickinson did the cooking in the household, and I approve of good food made from scratch.  When she wrote to her ‘mentor’ H.W. Higginson describing her cooking for the household, she said, “People must have puddings.” In that spirit, breakfast is based on a French pudding, the flameuse which Emily would have liked.  And dinner is an old New England favorite.

Cherry Flamusse:   291 calories     5.3 g fat    2.2 g fiber   15.4 g protein   46.7 g carbs [34 g Complex]  316 mg Calcium   GF – if using GF flour   This breakfast custard is borrowed from the dessert section of the cookbook, and it works very well either way! It is similar to a clafouti, but simpler. Served with cherries or any fresh fruit, it is sure to be a hit. HINT:This makes enough for 2 [two] servings: share with a a friend or save the rest for a future breakfast or dessert. [Without the morning beverages, the dessert has 177 calories.]Cherry Flamusse

2 two-oz eggs                                                                                                                                                                     6 oz milk                                                                                                                                                                   4 tsp flour OR tapioca flour                                                                                                                                    1.5 Tbsp sugar                                                                                                                                                         10 sweet cherries, pitted                                                                                                                                      ½ clementine                                                                                                                                                                                                              blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                  3 oz  green smoothie or fruit smoothie

Spritz 2 ramekins [or an oven-proof dish with 1.5 cup capacity] with non-stick spray. Cut the cherries in half and arrange on the bottom of the dish. Whisk eggs until foamy, then add flour and sugar, whisking until there are no lumps. Stir in the milk and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake at 375 F. for 20 minutes. Turn the flamusse out of the dish so that the cherries are on top. Plate with the clementine sections, serve with the beverages. You won’t believe this is a ‘diet.’

Red Flannel Hash:  249 calories   9.2 g fat   1.9 g fiber  12.6 g protein  17.8 g carbs [16 g Complex]  43 mg Calcium  PB GF   This is a venerable New England farm meal, with the recipe coming from Hayden Pearson’s Country Flavors Cookbook.Red Flannel Hash

1 cup cooked diced beets (1/3” dice)                                                                                                                 1/3 cup diced potatoes (1/3” dice)                                                                                                                        ¼ cup diced onions                                                                                                                                                      2 slices Canadian Bacon/back bacon, diced                                                                                                                                                                                              one 2-oz egg lots of salt and pepper to taste

Cook, peel, and dice the beets and set aside to cool. [HINT: do this the day before]  Peel and dice the potatoes. Put potatoes into a pan of tap water and put the pan on the burner. Turn on the heat and let the pan sit, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the water starts to boil around the edges. Take off the heat and leave potatoes to cool in the water. Then drain and set aside. Dice the onions and bacon. Spray a saute pan with non-stick spray and add the Canadian bacon. Cook it as crisp as you wish, or not so crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add the onions with 2-3 Tbsp water, and cook until the onions are transluscent and the water is mostly gone. Now put the potatoes in the pan with the onions, add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until the potatoes are cooked. Add the beets and bacon to the pan and continue to cook until heated through. Meanwhile, fry the egg: sunnyside-up or over easy as you prefer. Plate the hash and top with the egg. Country dining.

Acores 2

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.                                                                       Welcome to Reshma B who is now Following.

We will remain on the beautiful island of Sao Miguel, Açores for another day to point out more about how we Fast whilst traveling.  We enjoy cooking and eating our own food at a self-catering accommodation [such as Pico do Refugio], but we do like to dine out too.  At any restaurant on Sao Miguel, the first thing you are offered is local cheese as a starter. The most simple version of this is “Queijo Fresco” [aka Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco or ‘farmer’s cheese’] which is always served with the hot sauce “Pimenta do Queijo.” Spicy “Choriço Paste” is also popular and available at the meat section of the supermarket. Those flavors together made for a fine dish of eggs for a Fast Day breakfast, along with the locally-grown pineapple.  Dinner at a favorite restaurant on a Slow Day would usually involve seafood, and then left-overs would make a another appearance on a Fast Day at home.  On Slow Days, we ‘went native’ and sampled local restaurants and wines and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. “And does this work?” you ask. “Can one enjoy a vacation and without a huge weight gain?” Yes. After 11 days of vacation, my weight was still at my Target Level. Travel should broaden the mind but it doesn’t have to broaden the waistline.

Azorean Queso Egg:  249 calories   10 g fat   0.8 g fiber   15.7 g protein   16.4 g carbs  [8 g Complex]  271.5 mg Calcium   PB GF  Two of the favorite flavors of the Azores combine for this egg dish, and the pineapple ices the cake.Azorean-flavor Eggs w: pineapple          1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                              1.5 tsp Queso Fresco                                                                                                                                                 1 tsp Chorizo Paste                                                                                                                                                               2 oz pineapple                                                                                                                                                 blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water

Whisk the egg, cheese, and chorizo paste, then bake in an oven-proof dish or cook in a saute pan. Slice the pineapple and sip some Brazilian coffee for a delicious, low-calorie meal.

Dinner at a Restaurant: Seafood is usually a safe choice  Azores Cod w: Veg @ Restaurant                                                                                     for a low-calorie meal in a restaurant, unless it is drowned in a fatty sauce. And since  the Açores are in the middle of the Atlantic, it wasn’t hard to find top-notch seafood.  Here, at the Restaurant of the Agricultural Association, cod was grilled and served with boiled vegetables. If you skip the potatoes, you are more virtuous.  [You can see the Queijo Fresco with Pimenta in the upper right corner.]

Cod w: Veg Left-over For another meal, what could be more easy than this food a second time around?  There is an ample amount of both the fish and the vegetables to be very satisfying on a Fast Day.  We liked the food at the Agricultural Association so well that we dined there twice. Their speciality is beef and it is not for a Fast Day!                                                                                                                                                              .

 

 

Roi Soleil

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to buildingtheloveshack who is now Following.

Louis XIV, Louis the Great, The Sun King [Roi Soleil] was the longest-reigning monarch in French or European history: 72 years. How did he achieve that? By being crowned king on May 14, 1643, when he was 4 years old.  If you watch the TV series Versailles, you get the sense of a monomaniac on the throne — being hailed as supreme ruler while a toddler might do that to you! Louis was the driving force of French culture of his era, gathering artists [Le Brun], architects [Mansart], landscapers [LeNôtre], musicians [Lully], and playwrites [Molière] to his court to create works which still dazzle us today. And Louis did not simply pay them to get on with it, he collaborated, suggested, and astonished his contemporaries with his range of knowledge and skill. He was a wonderful <touche à tout> but not the best of kings. The Château de Versailles is his masterpiece of French Baroque style.  In honor of Louis, our eggs are full of rich dainties and named after the church where French kings were traditionally crowned. The dinner features oysters, which Louis loved [wagon-loads of bivalves were moved from the coast to Versailles weekly] and sparkling wine. [A purist would say that Champagne as we know it had not been developed in the time of Le Roi Soleil, but Limoux from southern France had been around since 1531.]

Saint Denis ScrOmelette:  295 calories  9 g fat   3.1 g fiber  18 g protein  35 g carbs   215.4 mg Calcium   GF   James Beard’s comprehensive volume American Cooking gives us the recipe for this breakfast. Delicious, and rich, and wonderful.  Worth getting up for.

St-Denis ScrOmelette w: cherries

1 ½ 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, crack three 2-oz eggs into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.                                                1 Tbsp leek or scallion, minced                                                                                                                              ½ clove garlic, minced                          ¼ oz mushrooms                              ¼ oz ham [3% fat], minced                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     1 tsp chicken liver OR chicken liver pate          parsley for garnish      4 Bing cherries                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                 5-6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the leek, garlic, and mushrooms and stir to cook. Whisk the eggs with the ham and pate and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Cook as thoroughly as you like. The hot beverage is brewed, the smoothie is shaken, and the fruit is plated.  Breakfast fit for a king.

oysters, chevre-stuffed
oysters w: beet-walnut salad

Oyster Feast with Bubbly:   272 calories   10 g fat   2 g fiber   12.5 g protein   16 g carbs 83 mg Calcium   PB   Got something BIG to celebrate: how about a plate of raw and baked oysters with a salad AND a glass of bubbly? This serves TWO, since a celebration deserves company.

 18 medium Eastern oysters, raw                                                                                                                           9 tsp chevre cheese                                                                                                                                                4 saltine crackers as medium-fine crumbs                                                                                                          3 cups lettuce                                                                                                                                                                   2 Tbsp raw herbs, [such as thyme, rosemary, chives], chopped                                                                 1 oz grated carrots                                                                                                                                               3  oz tomatoes, cherry or standard                                                                                                               1-1/2 tsp olive oil  + 1-1/2 tsp good vinegar  + pinch flavored salt                                                                            per person:  4 oz Sparkling Wine [such as Champagne]

Turn on the broiler. Shuck the oysters, discarding the upper shell, but keep the oyster in the bottom shell. Carefully put half oysters on an oven-proof pan. Sprinkle each of those oysters with a pinch of the cracker crumbs. Then put 1 tsp of the chevre on each oyster. Top with the rest of the crumbs. Slide under the broiler until the cheese begins to soften and brown just a bit. In a wide bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and herbs. Toss lettuce and carrots with the dressing, add a pinch of salt and top with tomatoes. Plate the raw and baked oysters with the salad, pour your bubbly. Salut!

For the Birds

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

John James Audubon: champion of wild birds; American defender of wildlife; founder of the Audubon Society.  Not so fast. He was a man of two worlds and of two personas. The famous bird artist was not an American by birth: he was born on the wrong side of the blanket in Haiti to a French ship owner and his housekeeper. His name at birth was ‘Jean Rabin.’  Ultimately adopted by his father and his father’s wife, Rabin’s name was changed to Jean-Jacques F. Audubon.  An education centered around art and dancing did not help when he was sent to Pennsylvania to escape Napoleonic conscription and to run the family lead mine.  [On the way to America on a false passport, he changed his name to John James.]  After marriage and the arrival of children, Audubon tried shop keeping in Kentucky and life as a miller, before working as a portrait painter and dance instructor. Earning praise for his paintings of birds, Audubon went on an extended hunting trip: he would shoot birds, wire them into lifelike poses, and paint them. Meanwhile, his wife supported the children by working as a governess. In 1836, publishers in Scotland and England agreed to publish his large-format book Birds of America, Audubon’s seminal work depicting more than 700 species. This work raised him from obscurity and secured him some financial stability.  He actually had nothing to do with the Audubon Society: that was founded by an admirer after Audubon died. One idea of Audubon’s persists in the study of birds: he developed the concept of ‘bird banding.’   Tomorrow, on Audubon’s birthday, we will eat the gizzards of birds he might have killed for breakfast [that’s <gésier> in French] and eat pheasant, a common game bird, for dinner. Bon apétit.

Gizzard ScrOmelette:  292 calories  10.7 g fat   2.4 g fiber  17.6 g protein  32 g carbs [29 g Complex]  212 mg Calcium  GF  Yes, really: gizzards. High in protein, low in fat . You could try this with the gizzard that is in the giblet package at Thanksgiving time.Gizzard ScrOmelette

Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1 ½ 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.                                                                                                                                                                                  1/2 oz gizzards, cleaned and simmered in seasoned stock for 1 ½ hours [HINT: cook up a bunch of gizzards at the same time for future use]                                                                                  1 clove garlic, minced                                                                                                                                   sage + salt + pepper                                                                                                                                                       1 oz applesauce                                                                                                                                        Blackish coffee or tea or lemon with hot water                                                                                               5-6 oz fruit smoothie or natural apple cider

Spritz a non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Slice the gizzards and cook them with the garlic and sage until warm. Whisk the eggs with salt & pepper to taste and scramble in the pan with the gizzards. Plate the applesauce and pour the beverages. Real farm food.

Pheasant Casserole:  250 calories  9.5 g fat   5.4 g fiber  22.5 g protein  21.6 g carbs [19 Complex]  86 mg Calcium   PB  This recipe is based on one from English Provincial Cooking by Elisabeth Ayrton and it dates back to the 18thcentury. Whole partridges were stewed with onion, carrot, and cabbage for 2.5 hours and served on thick slices of bread. Well, this is a modified version and it is delicious. This uses left over cooked pheasant meat and works well.Pheansant Casserole

2-1/2 oz cabbage, sliced 1-1.5” thick                                                                                                                   1.5 oz baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise                                                                                                     ¼ oz onion rings [which I forgot to put on the top in the photo]                                                                     2 Tbsp chicken or pheasant gravy                                                                                                                      2 oz pheasant meat, cooked and taken off the bone                                                                                                     ½ Arnold Multi-Grain Sandwich Thin

Prepare the carrots, cabbage, and onion and steam them for 25 minutes until the carrots are tender. If the cabbage is not yet done, leave it in the steamer with the lid on but off the heat until needed. Warm the pheasant in the gravy + 2 tsp of the water from the steaming liquid. Warm the Arnold Thins in the toaster oven. Plate the bread. Spoon a tablespoon of gravy on top. Place the meat atop the bread. Stir the warm vegetables into the warm gravy and plate them. Put the onion rings on top and pour any remaining gravy over the meat.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

1 two-oz egg 1.5 two-oz eggs
 chorizo sausage  fresh herbs
 chèvre  cheese  melon or strawberries
 herbes de Province  +  Dijon mustard
 pear
Whatever you need for your smoothie Whatever you need for your hot beverage
Whatever you need for your hot beverage Whatever you need for your smoothie

Dinner, single portion:

 firm-fleshed white fish  salad greens
 lime or lemon juice  clementine or tangerine sections
 flour  +  egg  hard-boiled egg  +  mango
 sweet potatoes   + canola or peanut oil  cold-water shrimp
 paprika  +  granulated garlic  asparagus
  asparagus  Srircha aioli + lemon juice
Sparkling water Sparkling water

the Rude Bridge

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,                                                                                                                                     Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,                                                                                                                                            Here once th’embattled farmers stood                                                                                                                                         and fired the shot heard ’round the world.

Thus Ralph Waldo Emerson’s  Concord Hymn commemorated the events of April 18-19, 1776 in Massachusetts.  The British had decided the night before to march on Lexington to seize weapons and capture Samuel Adams who was a local fire-brand. They marched all night to surprise the local militia.  But William Dawes and Paul Revere were tipped off and they were “Ready to ride and spread the alarm/ To every Middlesex village and farm.” [Paul Revere’s Ride by H. W. Longfellow]  Farmers in that area were members of the Minute Men, so called because at a minute’s notice they could grab their rifles and be ready to fight. As a result, the locals were prepared.  Forty militia had a tense standoff on the village green against 240 English in Lexington. A shot was fired [no one knows by whom], followed by volleys of bullets on both sides. Seven ‘Americans’ dead, the Redcoats then continued to Concord.  At the Old North Bridge over the Concord River, they were met by 400 enraged residents who forced the English to retreat back to Boston. Sniper fire from the Minute Men killed dozens more English and showed the potential for guerrilla warfare.  Thus began the American Revolution.

Those loyal Minute Men were backed up by wives and mothers who could keep a meal handy for a man who might leave or show up at all hours.  A pot of pork and beans could turn into a hearty breakfast.  Fish cakes could be made quickly to satisfy a hungry farmer or soldier. Read some Longfellow and be ready in a minute to change your life for better.

Pork ‘n’ Beans ScrOmelette:  297 calories   8 g fat   3.1 g fiber  17.4 g protein  36 g carbs   211 mg Calcium  GF  As for the inspiration for this combination, I thought, ‘Well, why not?’ And it tastes good, too – like a meal while camping.Pork n Bean Scromlette

1 ½ 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, crack 3 2-oz eggs into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week                                                        1 Tbsp baked beans, straight from the can                                                                                                                                  ¼ oz pork tenderloin, raw or cooked, left-over from a previous dinner                                                                 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce                                                                                                                                   ¼ tsp HP sauce                                                                                                                                                          1.5 oz strawberries, thawed or fresh                                                                                                                 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or pure apple cider                                                                                               blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water

If the pork is raw, mince it and combine with the beans and a little water. Put in microwave for 45 seconds.                                                                                                                                                             If the pork is cooked, mince it and combine with the beans. Pour pork & beans to warm into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with the two sauces and pour over the pork and beans. Scramble to taste, seasoning with salt and pepper. By now the beverage is hot, the smoothie is shaken, and the strawberries are looking wonderful. Sit, eat, enjoy your breakfast at camp.

Fish Cakes: NB: The Fish Cake recipe produces 6 cakes, each 1/3 cup in size.  Each cake = 92 calories   1.7 g fat   0.8 g fiber   8 g protein   11.8 g carbs   22 mg Calcium                                                                        NB: The Fish Cake recipe produces 8 cakes, each 1/4 cup in size.   Each cake = 69 calories   1.3 g fat 0.6 g fiber   5.3 g protein   8.8 g carbs   16 mg Calcium                                                                                                          212 calories  4.2 g fat  4.8 g fiber  9.6 g protein  34 g carbs   52 mg Calcium [food values for dinner using ONE 1/3 cup-size cake and side dishes. PB GF This recipe is from Legal Seafood Cookbook,  from the restaurant chain of the same name in Boston, Mass. Fish cakes have been popular where ever there are folk who want a little fish to go a long way.Fish Cake w: beets, salad

1/3 cup green or white onion, chopped                                                                                                                  1- 2/3 cup mashed potatoes [no milk, no butter]                                                                                         ¼ tsp dry mustard + salt + pepper                                                                                                                     1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                                2 Tbsp milk                                                                                                                                                                6 oz cooked fish [cod, haddock, flounder, tilapia, perch, salt cod, salmon or a mixture], flaked into small pieces 1 tsp butter ½ cup pickled beets 1 cup baby greens or sliced lettuce leaves + ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp vinegar + salt + pepper

Combine the onion, potatoes, egg, seasonings, and milk, stirring well. Stir in the fish, gently but thoroughly. Using a 1/3 cup measure as a mold, portion the fish/potato mixture into 6 cakes. Put on a plate or cookie sheet while the pan heats up. Heat a heavy fry pan, such as cast iron, and spray with non-stick spray. Cook the fish cakes on one side, flattening them slightly with a turner. Remove from the pan and add 1 tsp of butter to the pan. Spread the butter around, return the fish cakes, and cook them on the other side until they are browned. Serve while hot. What you don’t eat today, let cool completely, then freeze with waxed or parchment paper between the cakes.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

1 two-oz egg 1.5 two-oz eggs
 moussaka sauce: ground lamb, onion, Marinara Sauce [Spicy, Dec 6 ’18], eggplant  chicken or turkey gizzards
 feta cheese garlic
 applesauce
sage
Whatever you need for your smoothie Whatever you need for your hot beverage
Whatever you need for your hot beverage Whatever you need for your smoothie

Dinner, single portion:

 grilled sirloin steak  pheasant meat
 mushrooms  cabbage
 red wine  carrots
 creamed onion  Arnold Multi-grain Sandwich Thin
 peas    +   thyme  onion
 puff pastry [purchased sheet]  pheasant or chicken gravy
Sparkling water Sparkling water

Cajun

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.  There is no magic way to lose weight: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-weight-loss-tips-health-0503-20170502-story.html but Fasting along with some other life changes will work.

A ‘Cajun‘ is someone from Louisianna who is descended from the ‘Acadiens‘ of Canada who were deported by the English in the 1700s.  At the end of the so-called French and Indian War, victorious England claimed Canada as its own.  The Maritime areas had been settled by the French since the 1600s, but in 1763, it was decided to round them up and wipe them off the Canadian landscape. [ethnic cleansing] As told in Longfellow‘s romantic poem Evangeline, they were sent by river and by sea to Old France and to New France [Louisiana] where they took root in the bayous of the Gulf coast.  Their culture is rich with food, music, and tradition. The local patois is based on Acadian French, just as the word ‘cajun’ is:  in the same way ‘Indian’ became ‘Injun’, ‘Acadian’ became ‘Cajun.’  The cajuns may have to move again, as their coastal islands become drowned by the waters of the Gulf.   But in the meantime, ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler!’ [Let the good times roll!]

Cajun Bake:  269 calories  5.5 g fat  4.4 g fiber  14 g protein  42 g carbs [37 g Complex] 239 mg Calcium  PB GF   Green peppers, onions, and celery are three key ingredients in Cajun cooking, so naturally they find their way into this breakfast. Cajun Bake w: pear

1 tw0-oz egg                                                                                                                                                                2 Tbsp green pepper [3/4 oz], chopped                                                                                                            2 Tbsp celery, chopped                                                                                                                                         2 Tbsp onion, chopped                                                                                                                                                  2 pinches Cajun Seasoning                                                                                                                              dash of Tabasco sauce                                                                                                                                             1 Tbsp reduced-fat cottage cheese, drained                                                                                                    2 oz pear blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon juice & hot water                                                                5-6 oz fruit smoothie or natural apple cider

Drain the cottage cheese overnight to remove excess liquid. Chop the pepper, celery, and onion and cook them in a little water until they are softened. This can be done in the microwave or on the cooktop. The celery will still be less tender than the other vegetables, but I liked the texture it gives.  Drain the vegetables and put them in an oven-proof dish that has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Whisk the egg with the cottage cheese and Cajun Seasoning, and pour into the ramekin. Bake at 350 ° F. 12-15 minutes. Prepare beverages of your choice and plate the melon. Pass the Tabasco if you like extra heat.

Jambalaya:   275 calories  5 g fat  4 g fiber   14.8 g protein  39 g carbs  81 mg Calcium  PB GF What else would you eat for Mardi Gras? Or any other time you want delicious Cajun comfort food: jambalaya, of course. HINT: This recipe makes enough for 4 servings.Jambalaya w: broc

2/3 cup onion, chopped                                                                                                                                                     2 cloves garlic, chopped                                                                                                                                                                            2 tsp cajun seasoning                                                                                                                                            ½ cup green pepper, chopped                                                                                                                          1/3 cup celery, chopped                                                                                                                                                 2 oz andouille sausage [or sweet Italian], sliced                                                                                             3 oz chicken breast, cubed                                                                                                                                     2 oz [½ cup] ham, cubed                                                                                                                                        12 oz crushed tomatoes                                                                                                                                       1/3 tsp crushed red pepper   +  1/3 tsp black pepper  +   2/3 tsp salt    + ¾ tsp file powder                                                             ½ tsp Tabasco sauce   +  1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce                                                                                      ¾ cup brown rice                                                                                                                                                 1.5 cups chicken broth                                                                                                                                     per serving: 2 oz broccoli

Cook the onion in a little water and a dash of olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and cajun seasoning and cook until fragrant. Stir in the green pepper and celery and then add the meats. Pour in the tomatoes, seasonings and sauces, the rice, and broth. Cover and simmer for 25-40 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent sticking. The mixture will not be soupy, as the rice will have absorbed the liquids. Cook uncovered if too much liquid remains. Divide the jambalaya into 4 portions. TIP: Freeze what you don’t use today.  Serve 1/4 of the mixture per person along with the broccoli.

Jonas Salk

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Thursday, eat the meals that will be posted on Wednesday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.                                                                    Welcome to W.G.A. who is now Following.

If you don’t recognize the name Jonas Salk, then you were born well after the polio scares of the 1940-1950s. I remember swimming pools being shut down in the heat of summer for fear of transmitting the virus. Then came Jonas Salk with his ground-breaking vaccine.  Americans lined up in school gyms to be inoculated by the 1000s.  I remember that too.  Salk initially was destined for the law so we will have avocado in the breakfast, [the word <<avocat>> in French means both ‘lawyer’ and the fruit]. His mother urged him to go into medicine and Salk became interested in virology. Through work with the March of Dimes Foundation, the search for a polio vaccine was successful. The testing process for any new drug is arduous and lengthy. Salk was eager to prove the safety of vaccine quickly.  He took some of it home. After boiling the syringes in a pot of water on the stove [“like soup”], Salk injected himself, his wife, and their children with his dead-cell polio vaccine. None of them developed the dread disease. Eventually in March of 1953, the vaccine was deemed safe. The rest is history.  In lieu of boiling syringes, we will boil up a pot of Jewish Chicken Soup — which everyone knows to be healthy. Dr. Salk would approve of the soup, but would tell you to get your shots, as well.

Avocado-Ricotta Bake:  286 calories  7.2 g fat  4 g fiber  16.6 g protein   39 g carbs   230 mg Calcium  PB GF  When I thought that avocado and ricotta would make a nice bake, my Dear Husband had one suggestion: add lobster! Why, of course! Avocado -Ricotta Bake

1 two-oz egg                                                                                                                                                              ¼ oz avocado                                                                                                                                                          ¾ Tbsp ricotta                                                                                                                                                      3/4 oz lobster meat OR crab                                                                                                                                     2 oz pear                                                                                                                                                                  blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                                  5-6 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Set the toaster oven to 350° F. Spritz a ramekin or other oven-proof dish with cooking spray and put the lobster meat on the bottom. Mash the avocado with the ricotta, then whisk in the egg. Pour over the lobster, season as you wish. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Slice the fruit and prepare the beverages. Sumptuous.

Therapeutic Chicken Soup:  278 calories   3.4 g fat   5 g fiber  18.5 g protein  36 g carbs [26 g Complex Carbs]  78 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF noodles  The recipe is from It’s All American Food by David Rosengarten. Simple, filling, and Granma says it is good for you. TIP: One serving = 2 cups of soup! Almost too much to eat.Therapeutic Chicken Soup

1-1/2 cups excellent chicken broth, homemade or purchased                                                                                                 2 oz [½ cup] parsnips, diced                                                                                                                                  1 oz [¼ cup] carrots, in coins                                                                                                                               ¼ cup celery                                                                                                                                                              2 oz cooked chicken breast, cut in 1/2” cubes                                                                                                   1 oz Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles [you could use less if your wanted to]                                                   3 Tbsp parsley  + Kosher salt + pepper to taste

Prepare the vegetables. Cook the noodles in water until just underdone. Heat the stock to a simmer and add 3-4 Tbsp water, which will boil away as you cook. I added the parsnips first and cooked for about 5 minutes, then added the carrots. After another 5 minutes, I put the celery in the soup. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, then adjust the seasoning of the broth. You will want extra flavor now since the pasta will need it.  Add the pasta and chicken. Add the parsley and cook about 5 minutes longer, until it is all hot.

Zucchini Days

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

It’s that time of year again: when you can’t leave the window down on a parked car for fear of someone leaving 10 pounds of zucchini in the back seat.  But there are so many good things for the Faster to do with zucchini! We will celebrate Zucchini Days at breakfast and dinner. Leave the car window down today.

Zucchini-Herb ScrOmelette: 293 calories   PB GF   Summer squashes were made to be combined with lots of herbs. Then add cheese: bliss! Zucchini ScrOmelette w: peach1 ½ 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.                                                                                     ¼ cup zucchini, grated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs or more!                                                                                                              2 Tbsp grated Jarlsberg cheese                                                                                                                        1.5 oz peaches                                                                                                                                                    blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                 5-6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpastureized apple cider

Put the zucchini and herbs into a lightly-spritzed non-stick saute pan. Cook until softened and most of the liquid is evaporated. Whisk the eggs with the cheese and pour into the pan. Sprinkle with the cheese and scramble it or cook as an omelette, hence ScrOmelette. Prepare the beverages and plate the peaches. Ahhhh. The taste of Summer.

Zucchini Quiche:   293 calories   13 g fat   1.9 g fiber   11.8 g protein   22 g carbs   118 mg Calcium   PB  My Aunt Betty introduced this recipe to our family years ago.  Since then, I have reduced the fat and increased the protein. HINT: The recipe makes 8 [eight!] servings, so it works well for entertaining. It will also freeze, so you could have 7 meals for the future! If freezer space is limited, cut the recipe and make only 1/3 of it, baking in a loaf pan. Then cut into 3 servings.Zucchini Quiche w: salad

To prepare Quiche: 3 cups zucchini, grated                                                                                                      2 Tbsp minced onion                                                                                                                                             1 clove garlic, minced – nothing wrong with more, if you wish                                                              1.5 cups ‘bisquick’ **                                                                                                                                                ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese                                                                                                                             2 wedges Vâche qui Rit [Laughing Cow] cheese, cut into small pieces                                                     2 tsp marjoram or oregano                                                                                                                                   2 Tbsp parsley, minced                                                                                                                                      salt and pepper                                                                                                                                                             2 oz chicken/turkey breast, cooked and finely minced                                                                              ¼ cup olive oil                                                                                                                                                          3 eggs                                                                                                                                                                              2 Tbsp milk

Mix everything together and pour into a 9×13” pan which has been lined with parchment paper or spritzed with oil or non-stick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until beginning to brown on top. Cut into 8 pieces.

**bisquick, makes 2 cups                                                                                                                                              2 cups white whole wheat flour           pinch of salt                             2 tsp baking powder                                           2 tbsp butter                     cut the butter into the dry ingredients

To prepare Meal: 1/8th of the baked quiche                                                                                                       1 cup lettuce in bite-sized pieces                                                                                                                          1 oz tomato                                                                                                                                                                ½ tsp olive oil                                                                                                                                                           ½ tsp Balsamic vinegar

Whisk the oil and vinegar, toss with lettuce and tomato. Plate with the quiche. How easy was that?!

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

1 two-oz egg  + lots of herbs 1.5 two-oz eggs 1 oz apple or pear
 Crushed tomatoes  1 Tbsp catsup, without cornsyrup
 Anchovy + Pear  Green pepper
 Low-fat cottage cheese  Bing cherries
 Tiny bit of cooked chicken
Whatever you need for your smoothie Whatever you need for your hot beverage
Whatever you need for your hot beverage Whatever you need for your smoothie

Dinner, single portion:

 1 Hebrew National reduced-fat hot dog  1 oz ground lamb [leftover from a roast?]
 1 hard-boiled egg + yellow mustard  1 cup Mediterranean vegetables
 4-bean salad  ¼ c cooked brown rice [left-over or fresh]
 Tomato for slicing  ½ oz Gruyere cheese
 Parmesan cheese
Sparkling water Sparkling water