recipes for 5:2 Intermittent Fasting

Saint Giles

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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.

 Αἰγίδιος was born in Greece, part of the Eastern Roman Empire, around 650 CE. His life may or may not have occurred, but his story is a good one. He joined the church as a young man and, according to the legend, he sought the life of a simple hermit. This was not possible for him in Greece, so he moved to Marseille, a former Greek port in Provence [France], then a part of the Frankish Empire. There his name turned into Giles/Gilles. Going farther from civilization, he lived in seclusion near what is now St-Gilles near the Rhone Estuary. He ate locally foraged foods and the milk of his friend, a doe [often referred to as a hind]. When the hind was pursued by the local headman [called Wamba in the legend] and his hunters, she ran to the safety of Giles’ hermitage. An arrow shot at the deer, struck Giles in the knee [and/or hand]. The headman met Giles and was so impressed by his patience and humility that he gave Giles land on which to build a monastery. The arrow wound left Giles with a limp, making him a Patron of the differently-abled. A chapel was built in the 7th century, but was not named for St. Giles until the 900s. It can be seen today with its 12th century exterior, although the interior was remodelled often. The saint is said to be buried in the crypt, although other churches claim that honor too. Giles became a popular saint after his death around 710 CE. He is considered to be one of the Holy Helpers, and his story is an excellent example of living gently with nature.

For his supposed Greek origin, a breakfast with cheese — in honor of the milk of the hind. For dinner, a meal without meat, befitting a Christian vegetarian like Giles. You can eat like a saint on his Feast Day, September 1st.

Greek ScrOmelette: 152 calories 9 g fat 0.6 g fiber 12.6 g protein 4 g carbs [3 g Complex] 88.5 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Feta cheese is such a lovely ingredient — we should use it more often.

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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, pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid, and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.  0.37 = 3/8 oz feta cheese, reduced fat 1 Tbsp tomato puree [not tomato paste] large pinch of cinnamon + of oregano 1 Tbsp pomegranate seeds –OR– 1¼ oz applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon -OR- 1¼ oz apple  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]

Cream the tomato puree with the feta cheese and seasonings, then whisk in the eggs. OR Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. As soon as the bottom of the eggs sets, spread the cheesse-tomato-seasonings on top of the egg. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Prepare the beverages and spoon out the pomegranate/apple for a real taste of Greece.

Galettes w/ Mediterranean Vegetables: 266 calories 7.6 g fat 6.5 g fiber 16 g protein 35 g carbs 282 mg Calcium  PB  This simple meal comes together in no time flat. [It does help if your have previously prepared galettes and Mediteranean Vegetables on hand, so keep some handy in the freezer.]

2 buckwheat galettes 1 cup Mediterranean Vegetables with chickpeas 1 oz mozzarella

Gently warm the galettes on a griddle. Warm the Vegetables in a sauce pan, then stir in the mozzarella, and heat briefly. Divide between the galettes and dinner is served.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs + pear1.5 two-oz eggs 
scallion + mushrooms reduced-fat ricotta
plain, low-fat yogurtapplesauce or apple
paprika + marjoramfreshest herbs possible
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

cooked brown rice + 1 two-oz egg 1 pound zucchini + paprika + dill weed
avocado + soy sauce + rice vinegar cooked chicken + Parmesan cheese
cucumber or zucchini + smoked salmonolive oil + onion + garlic
grilled beef or chicken1/2 cup cooked brown rice
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Dog Days End

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyleworks: 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.

What are the ‘Dog Days’? From late July to early August, newspapers love to show photos of dogs lying in the sun with their tongues lolling out, under the caption of “The Dog Days of Summer.” But the Dog Days have nothing to do with your dog. Rather, it is an astronomical reference from the ancient Romans. The winter constellation Orion the Hunter is accompanied in the sky by his two dogs

The principal star in the Big Dog/ Canis Major is Sirius, the brightest star in our sky after the Sun. From July into August, Sirius is seen in the sky next to the Sun at dawn and at dusk. Since that was also a very hot time in the Italian summer, the Romans surmised that the bright star Sirius was augmenting the Sun’s power, thus making the Earth hotter. And so they called those hottest days The Dog Days. Nothing to do with real dogs, everything to do with seeing the Dog Star in the sky. And, of course, the light from Sirius does not make the Earth warmer — the Sun does the job just fine. NB: never leave Fido in the car in the Summer.

For the hot days of Summer, some easy to prepare yet delicious meals. Lots of places around the world are experiencing extra hot weather this Summer, and Winters are warmer too. The climate is changing and not for the better. The Earth changes all the time, we just don’t have to make it worse.

Fish Taco ScrOmelette: 151 calories 8 g fat 1 g fiber 13.4 g protein 5.5 g carbs 59.4 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF Got some left-over fish and cabbage from your dinner tacos? Add ’em to the eggs for breakfast. Dear Husband was leery – too unusual — but he liked them!

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   0.6 oz cod, cooked 1 oz cabbage, shredded salsa verde a few leaves of arugula, chopped pinch cumin 1 oz applesauce  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]

Mash/flake the cod and stir it into the cabbage and arugula. Douse with a few shakes of salsa verde, sprinkle with a pinch of cumin. Spritz a saute pan with non-stick spray and heat it. Put the fish/vegetables into the hot saute pan to cook, then add the eggs. Scramble together [or cook like an omelette] until the way you like it. Portion the applesauce and prepare the optional beverages. All set for unusual things to come your way.

Pizza with Vegetable Topping:  300 calories 13 g fat 4 g fiber 14 g protein 19 g carbs 269 mg Calcium  PB  Another winner from the Fast Diet book. The pizza shells are either whole grain wraps or corn tortillas. NB: BE CAREFUL about the calorie and fat content when shopping! I get 8″ whole wheat “fajita-style” tortillas. Each has 170 cal and 5 gm protein. Each person gets ONE of these pizzas. OR you could get 6″ yellow corn tortillas. Each of those has 65 cal and each person gets TWO and ONE HALF pizzas.

1 whole wheat/grain tortilla at 170-cal [per person]  1 oz mozzerella, grated 1-2 Tbsp tomato puree  HINT: buy a can of puree and freeze in small portions  ½ oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced 1 ½ oz red pepper, cooked and chopped 1 oz spinach, steamed, squeezed and chopped 1 Tbsp red onion, chopped

Set the oven at 400F. Place the tortilla on an ungreased baking sheet. Put 1 dollop of tomato purée on each tortilla and spread it around. Toss together mozzarella, mushrooms, red pepper, spinach, and onion. HINT: Sometimes I cook and chop all the veg and put them in a bag in the freezer to save time on a FAST day. Divide the mixture among the tortillas and bake for 5-10 mins.

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

Felafel patties1.5 two-oz eggs  + pear
pineapple or cantaloupeturkey breast meat, cooked
greek yogurtcapers + shallot
mint leaveslower-fat cottage cheese
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

fresh tomato + garlic +onionturkey breast meat + cooked brown rice
bell pepper + cucumbershallot + olive oil + lemon juice
red wine vinegar + olive oilcapers + fresh tomato + garlic powder
tomato juice + shrimp + croutonswhite wine + chicken stock
Sparkling waterSparkling water

The Cat

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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.

Felines have been around for a long time. The ancestors of modern cats appeared in the Oligocene epoch and spread to all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Those cats developed into two groups: saber-toothed cats and conical-toothed cats. The saber-toothed cats died out along with their megafauna prey, while the other cats evolved into the wide array of animals we see today. Modern cats are members of Order Felidae and fall into two groups: Pantherinae [Big Cats which roar] and Felinae [Cheetahs and small cats which purr]. All are predators which fill an important niche in the food web by culling weaker members of the prey species and keeping their populations in check. Between 4000 and 7000 years ago, the Egyptians domesticated cats. Then they worshiped them in the form of the god Bast/Bastet, a female deity who can nurture and avenge. Around the world, as agrarian cultures increased, cats were revered for their ability to curb the rodent population. The pre-Incas had Ai-Apaec, with cat-like fangs. Chinese farmers made offerings to Li Shou to protect their crops from rodents. Ovinnik had to be placated on farms in old Poland, lest he burn down your barn. Pogumkp is a First Nations cat figure who protects the family. Hecate in Greece became a cat to escape danger. Because she was associated with spell-casting and magic, cats fell under suspicion. In the Middle Ages, cats were both useful and feared in a supposed link to witches. Kipling’s The Cat That Walks By Himself is a clever origin story of the cat’s personality. Poe’s The Black Cat is a sinister tale of madness and revenge. Dear Husband and I have been lucky in our Feline Companions. For 49 years our lives have been enriched by the affection, antics, and — dare I say it? — devotion of our dear cats. We have had dogs, but cats are our favourites. They have all been named after Tolkien characters: Gandalf, Merry & Pippin, Gimli, Tom Bombadil & Frodo, and Samwise. Intelligent, wise, affectionate, they are delightful examples of Felis catus.

Our cat likes egg mixed with milk, so our breakfast will combine those flavors in a way that is pleasing to the cat’s People. And do cats love tuna? Oh yes! Dinner contains tuna, providing an opportunity for the resident cat to lick the can. If you wish to have a cat in your life, find a friend who’s cat has kittens or go to the local cat/animal rescue group. Please do not get a ‘designer cat’ or one from a breeder. Please do not encourage the international trade in exotic cats or their by-products. Please get your animals spayed or neutered — they are better companions that way. August 8 is International Cat Day.

Buttermilk Baked Eggs: 163 calories 9 g fat 7 g fiber 9.5 g protein 14 g. carb [6.5 g Complex] 82 mg Calcium  NB: The food values shown are for the plated items, not for the optional beverages.  This recipe is from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book, all I added were the sides. Great book full of good recipes. 

1 slice 70-cal whole-grain bread one 2-oz egg 2 Tbsp buttermilk herbs to taste 2 oz mixed berries, fresh or thawed OR 4 oz strawberries   OR 2 oz pear 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] or lemon in hot water

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 recipes that call for fresh bread crumbs. 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 it. 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 refrigerate over night. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the fruit and the optional beverages. You have a terrific breakfast!

Feta-Tuna-Bean Salad: 306 calories 14.6 g fat 5 g fiber 19 g protein 24 g carbs [23 g Complex] 230 mg Calcium  PB GF This salad has a lot going for it. Perfect for a hot summer evening.

1 oz canned tuna, drained ¼ cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed 1 oz feta cheese, crumbled 2 oz tomatoes, cubed 1½ oz red bell pepper, cut as large dice  2 pitted ripe olives, sliced  ½ hardboiled egg, chopped 1½ cups baby greens 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp lemon juice + lots of herbes de Provence + pinch garlic powder

Prepare the vegetables as described above. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, herbs and garlic in a 2-cup bowl. Add the greens and toss gently but thoroughly. Place the greens in the serving bowl and nestle the tuna in the center. Arrange all the other ingredients on top in a manner that pleases you.

Beatrix Potter

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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.

July 28, 1862, was the birthdate of one of my favorite authors: [Helen] Beatrix Potter. Her family had been made wealthy from the calico trade in the early 1800s, and they lived in London. Beatrix and her brother were schooled at home, allowing her to develop a keen interest in nature and in drawing. Summers were spent away from London, first in Scotland, then in the Lake District. Potter’s eye for detail lead her to study fungi. She became a technical illustrator and wrote a scientific paper on the reproduction of mushrooms. As a young woman, Beatrix sold pictures for greeting cards and also wrote illustrated letters to the children of friends. One of those stories, telling the misadventures of a young rabbit, was self-published in 1901. Beatrix’ idea was to produce picture books for children, small enough for them to hold by themselves. Finally she found a publisher and in 1902, the Tale of Peter Rabbit was a best-seller. Potter was canny enough to license all the ‘merch’ to go with it: toys, wall paper, dishes. Other books followed, along with an agreement to marry her publisher’s brother. Her family disapproved but they never had to intervene since the fiance died of leukemia. By then, Beatrix Potter was a house-hold name and was independent financially. She began to buy properties in her beloved Lake District, first to have a writing retreat, then to protect the area from development by keeping the land in working farms. Beatrix loved the farming life and the countryside, and her interests were encouraged by a local solicitor William Heelis whom she married at age 47. Writing books [20 all together] and buying land [15 farms totaling 4000 acres] and raising Herdwick sheep became her great interests until her death in 1943. Her lands were left to the National Trust. Her Hill Top Farm is open to visitors and is like walking into one of her books. Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-duck, and Samuel Whiskers all were written into existence there.

For breakfast on Beatrix Potter’s birthday, a meal in honor of one of her most endearing characters, Mrs Tiggy-winkle, the hedgehog washer-woman. For dinner, the meal that Tom Thumb and Hunca-Munca, the Two Bad Mice, wished they had eaten.

Hedgehog Apple Breakfast: 198 calories 8 g fat 3 g fiber 10.5 g protein 21 g carbs 9 mg Calcium   PB GF  This is so cute that your can’t bear to eat it, yet you want to gobble it up! Audley End House and Gardens is the source of the recipe, via the Dear Lady at KoolKosherKitchen.com.

3 oz baking appleCut apples in half, then peel and core them.
Light syrupCook in light sugar syrup until tender. Do not overcook, about 5 minutes at a simmer, turning apples in the syrup.  
2 Tbsp thick applesaucePlace one ½ apple on a parchment-covered baking pan. Use a smaller apple piece to form a ‘head.’ Spread sauce over apples, to fill in gaps and hold apples together.  TIP: I did this the night before and put the pan in the ‘fridge overnight.
1 egg white = 1½ Tbsp
1 tsp sugar		Beat egg white with sugar until forming soft peaks. Spread meringue over apples to cover completely. Rake with a fork to form fur.
zante or black currents = eyes red currant or cherry = nose sliced/slivered almondsCreate a ‘face’ with black and red fruits. Set almonds in meringue in rows to form spikes. 
Bake at 350F until meringue sets and browns, about 8 minutes.
Canadian bacon OR chicken breakfast sausageServe with Canadian Bacon [20 cal] or chicken sausage [30 calories]

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] or lemon in hot water 

Ham Dinner: 297 calories 8 g fat 6 g fiber 19 g protein 40 g carbs 41.5 mg Calcium  PB GF This is a standard Easter Dinner in many homes, as well as being a popular diner order. From the succotash to the sweetened sweet potato to the pineapple garnish, this meal is a classic.

3 oz ham, sliced 3/8” thick ¼ c. lima beans + ¼ c corn kernels 1 oz sweet potato 1 tsp brown sugar ¼ c canned pineapple chunks

Cube the sweet potato and simmer in a small pan until tender, about 10 minutes. Heat the ham slice in a non-stick pan over medium, until ham begins to brown. Heat the vegetables together. When the ham is cooked and the sweet potato is tender, plate the ham and drain the potato. Put the potato in the ham’s pan, along with a bit of the potato water. Stir to incorporate the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Then stir in the brown sugar until the potato is covered with the sugar. Plate everything, putting a pinch of salt on the vegetables. Place the pinapple chunks on the ham and tuck into a meal fit for people or naughty mice.

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

1 two-oz egg + olive oil1.5 two-oz eggs 
corn + canned black beanschèvre [goat cheese]
tomato + red onion + basilmixed, cooked vegetables
red wine vinegar + berriesstrawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Barramundi fish fillet + fresh spinach + garliccurry sauce  + carrot + peas
puttanesca sauce + Camargue red rice Yellow lentils or Naan bread, 92-calorie
black olives + Dijon mustard + olive oilCauliflower/broccoli florets + Tomato
red wine vinegar  + lemon zest + green beansCooked chicken breast + Cucumber 
Sparkling waterSparkling water

William of Ockham

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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. 

Have you heard of ‘Occam’s Razor‘? It is often referenced in movies — the idea that the most simple answer is probably correct. William was born c.1287 in Occam/Ockham, Surrey, England. Some time before age 13, he was schooled at a Franciscan monastery in London. At age 23, he studied theology, either in London or at Oxford, but he did not complete the program. He returned to London where he began to write about theology and philosophy. His views were not well-received. First, he was called to explain his ideas to the Franciscans’ regional meeting, then he was accused of heresy and journeyed to Avignon, France to face Pope John XXII. [Remember that at this time the Papal Court was not in Rome, the Papacy having been hijacked by the French king in 1309.] Also at Avignon was the head of the Franciscans, Michael of Cesna. As a follower of Saint Francis, Michael believed that religious men and women should live lives of poverty. This put him at odds with the Pope who lived lavishly. [The famous vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape were owned by the French popes.] Michael asked William to review the scriptures and the writings of John XXII to see who had the correct idea. William declared that not only was Michael backed up by the Bible, but that the pope was a heretic. You can imagine how that went over. On May 26, 1328, William, Michael, and some companions sneaked out of the papal compound and fled to the protection of Louis of Bavaria who was at odds with the pope. William continued to write. He was never convicted of heresy, but the church never forgave him for criticizing the pope. Most of that is forgotten, but William’s way of ‘cutting away’ competing ideas has had a long life.

For the rich life in the Papal Court at Avignon, eggs served with truffle cream. For Occam’s stay in Bavaria, pork for dinner.

Truffled Omelette: 146 calories 9.4 g fat 1 g fiber 9.5 g protein 6 g carbs 43.5 mg Calcium  PB GF  Truffle cream adds amazing flavor to food and just a little gives a big kick. This is a simple meal with a complex taste.

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 Tbsp truffle cream  1¼ oz apple   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]

Whisk the eggs and pour into an oil-spritzed saute pan. Cook, undisturbed, until the eggs begin to set. Spread the truffle cream over half of the egg, fold the omelette, and cook further to your liking. Plate with the apple.  TIP: there will be lots of truffle cream left in the jar. Portion it into smaller containers, label and freeze.

Pork Schnitzel:  233 calories 10 g fat 3 g fiber 14.4 g protein 23 g carbs [10 g Complex] 31 mg Calcium  PB  If you find breaded pork loin cutlets at the butcher shop, snap them up for this easy, yet low calorie meal. Have the butcher verify that the cutlet is indeed 3-3.5 oz in mass. [Each ounce = 62 calories 3 g Fat  0.3 g fiber 4 g Protein  4.4 g carbs  6 mg Calcium]

3-3.5 oz breaded pork loin cutlets 2 oz beets 1 oz roasted red potatoes ½ oz mushrooms

Set the oven for 425F. Slice the red potatoes in half and place in an oven-proof pan. Spray liberally with non-stick spray, sprinkle on sakt and pepper, and place in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes. [Check the potatoes for done-ness at 15 minutes. They may need another few minutes – your call.] While the potatoes cook and the beets warm up in a pan, spray a heavy non-stick skillet with non-stick spray. When it is hot, begin to cook the pork schnitzel. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip it over and put the mushrooms in the pan as well. Cook both for another 3 minutes. Plate the pork and vegetables. Pour the mushrooms on top of the schnitzel along with any pan juices. Very simple and satisfying.

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

1 two-oz egg + strawberries next week, I will present ways to prepare rhubarb
uncured American baconin beverages and in breakfast dishes.
whole milk + Swiss cheeseFind a new breakfast favorite in the Archive.
cayenne pepper + nutmeg
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

Ahi tuna + Laughing Cow CheeseFind a new favorite dinner in the Archive.
Bechamel without cheese  + fish stock 
2 buckwheat galettes
Cauliflower + carrot + zucchini
Sparkling waterSparkling water

C.W. Post

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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. Welcome to DiEdwards who is now Following.

You have heard of the Post Cereal brand, right? Now you will hear about the eponymous Mr. Post. He was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1854, and grew up there. After a couple of years at the Industrial University, C.W. went off to run a store in Kansas. Back in Springfield, he sold farm implements and invented a few, too. It was all too much for him and he had a mental break at age 31. Depression followed and another breakdown, which took Post to Battle Creek, Michigan to the sanitarium of Dr. Kellogg. Kellogg thought that better nutrition would cure anything and to that end he developed grain-based vegan foods. C.W. agreed and, believing himself cured, he developed some new foods for breakfast: Postum, a coffee substitute; Grape-Nuts cereal, with neither grapes nor nuts; and Post Toasties, a corn flake originally called Elijah’s Manna — a name that was banned in the UK. The Kellogg organization always said that Post stole their recipes, but Post’s Postum Company revolutionized breakfast in America. Post spent his new wealth on real estate, buying huge tracts of land in Texas to establish a model town of ranchers and farmers. At the same time, his marriage was going down hill as was his health. His depression was ongoing, not helped by chronic stomach pains. Great wealth and remarriage did not improve his condition and he shot himself in 1914. His daughter, Marjory Merriweather Post, gave her estate to Long Island University, which they turned into C.W. Post College.

While being treated at the Kellogg Sanitarium, Post was fed a vegetarian diet. Our breakfast fits into that category. The dinner is pescatarian, heavy on the veggies. Both are good and good for you.

Banana Tofu Smoothie: 182 calories 2 g fat 1.5 g fiber 9 g protein 32 g carbs 250 mg Calcium  PB GF  A smoothie for breakfast? Sure thing. This is what I always took for lunch when I was teaching. HINT: This serves two. 

1¼ cups fat-free milk ½ cup firm tofu 6” banana   2 Tbsp sugar  4 ice cubes grated nutmeg Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Put everything in the blender and wizz it on “Low” until it is all chopped up. Then run it at a higher speed until it is smooth. Top with grated nutmeg.

Tuna-Bean-Garlic Patties: 270 cal 6 g fat 7 g fiber 31.6 g protein 23 g carb [22.4 g Complex] 110 mg Calcium PB GF The recipe is from the Fast Diet book, where it appears as a salad. This is my warm weather version, since the patties are served warm.  HINT: recipe serves 2 [two], each serving = two patties

1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed one 5-oz can light tuna in water, drained and flaked 4 oz tomato: 2 oz cubed, 2 oz left whole if bite-sized or sliced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated salt + pepper + thyme + parsley 3½ oz spinach or mixed greens 1 tsp lemon juice + 1 tsp white wine vinegar + 1 tsp olive oil

Set oven at 350 F. Combine beans, tuna, cubed tomato, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Process until smooth/not chunky. Add salt, pepper, and herbs to taste. Shape the mixture into 4 patties, using a 1/3-cup measure as a mold. Turn out onto a lightly-spritzed baking sheet or silicon baking mat. Bake at 375 F until heated through. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil in a wide, shallow bowl. Add the greens and the remaining tomato. Toss lightly. Plate the salad decoratively with the tuna-bean patties.

Paul Revere

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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. Welcome to unclearer who is now Following.

Apollos Rivoire was born in south-western France in 1702. His family were Huguenots, followers of the reformer Calvin, and Huguenots were not welcome in Roman Catholic France. Life became so difficult that the family left for the British Isle of Guernsey. In 1712, Apollos arrived in Boston, Massachusetts where there was a Huguenot population. He apprenticed as a goldsmith at age 18 and when his master died two years later, Apollos changed his name to Paul [1] Revere, bought out his contract, and set up shop on his own. He married and together he and his wife produced eight children, the 3rd of whom was named Paul [2] Revere [b. 1734/5]. Paul the son learned the gold-smithing trade from his father, inheriting the business when his father died. Paul [2] was drafted into the Massachusetts Colony militia for a stint in up-state New York to fight the French, then returned to Boston to establish his own name in his trade. In addition to making gold and silver pieces, Revere was a copper-plate engraver and had a side hustle as a dentist. [He did not make George Washington’s false teeth.] He became involved in local political groups as an intelligence gatherer and a courier. And so we get to the famous Midnight Ride. The Boston patriots [not the American football team] learned that the British were going to land troops in Boston, then march all night to Lexington to capture rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Both Revere and William Dawes set out, but Revere made it to Lexington first. Neither man warned Concord, that was done by Samuel Prescott. Henry Longfellow’s poem makes it sound as if the whole thing was Revere’s idea and that he alone rode “to spread the alarm to every Middlesex village and farm.” More likely, it is difficult to find words to rhyme with ‘dawes.’ After service in the Revolutionary War, Paul Revere expanded his metals business: a hardware store in addition to the gold smithery; casting church bells [New England is peppered with them]; running America’s first mill for rolling copper [Old Ironsides and the Massachusetts State House are clad in his copper]. “Revere Ware,” a brand of copper-bottomed cook pans, was originated by him. After the War, Revere wrote an account of his ride on April 18, 1775, which held him in memory until Longfellow hit it out of the park with his poem in 1860, immortalizing Paul Revere for the ages. Ever since 1894, Massachusetts has celebrated Patriot’s Day on the day following Paul Revere and William Dawes’ ride. Before that, it was an official state Fasting Day.

We will observe National Poetry Month by providing a meal from one poem protagonist, Porphyro from Eve of Saint Agnes, to salute the protagonist of Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow. And as a nod to the American hero’s French ancestors, a French-inspired dinner.

Porphyro’s Picnic:  252 calories 6 g fat 6 g fiber 6.5 g protein 53 g carbs [43 g Complex] 128 mg Calcium   PB GF  This is based on the foods described by Keats in his romantic poemThe Eve of St Agnes. The meal is rather sweet [key to a teenage girl’s heart?] despite its low calorie count – it needs some other taste to cut it. A cup of black coffee? Full of fiber, this meal is sure to kick-start your tally of fruits/vegetables for the day.

2 Tbsp low-fat French Vanilla yogurt + 2 Tbsp almond meal 2 oz apple, diced 2 oz melon, cubed ¼ cup pitted plums [I used canned plums in light syrup, drained and rinsed], use fresh if in season 2 tsp cider syrup [or use 2 tsp syrup from the plums] + ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ oz Deglet Noor date, cut in 4 pieces. NO smoothie coffee or tea ONLY if it is black/blackish or lemon in hot water

Stir the yogurt and almond meal together and spoon onto the center of the plate. Chop the apple, cube the melon, and arrange them around the almond cream, along with the plums. Place the pieces of date at random. Combine the cider syrup with the cinnamon and drizzle it over the apple and melon. All set to eat and you still have 48 calories left over. Not responsible for what happens if you eat this by moonlight on January 20.

Mini-Quiche Dinner: 241 calories 11 g fat 3 g fiber 17 g protein 11 g carbs 315 mg Calcium  PG FG   A light, delicious, and nutritious dinner. If the the quiches were prepared previously, this is quick as a flash to prepare.

oops! Forgot to plate the asparagus!

3 slices of tomato, each 1 oz 5 oz asparagus spears or 1 cup cut asparagus 3 mini-quiches, just baked or re-warmed

Plate the tomato slices and salt them with a flavorful finishing salt. Cook the asparagus and plate it around the tomato slices Place the warmed quiches on top of the tomato slices. Isn’t that a treat for the eye? Now taste it!

Winslow Homer

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Who was the pre-eminent painter of seascapes in the 1800s? Winslow Homer, of course. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 24, 1836. His mother taught him the basics of watercolors, considered in those days to be an art for mere hobbyists. Apprenticed as a teenager to a lithographer, Homer learned the print-makers’ skills: drawing and color use. During the American Civil War, he was sent to the front lines to produce sketches that Harper’s Weekly would turn into illustrations for its news stories. His scenes of camp life were interesting to the folks at home, but the engraving of The Sharpshooter brought the fighting into peoples’ living rooms. That’s how it was done before Matthew Brady began to photograph the war. Several of the sketches were later turned into oil paintings, a medium which he had just learned. After the War, Homer devoted himself to painting scenes of peace and innocence. Pictures of children: Snap the Whip and Breezing Up and of country life: The Dinner Horn and The Blue Boat, gave way to depictions of people who are affected by the ocean, whether sailors [Eight Bells], fishermen [Fog Warning], their families [Dad’s Coming!] or victims of a cruel sea [The Gulf Stream]. One summer, Homer picked up his watercolors again, launching a new phase to his career which brought him a steady income. He became more drawn to small coastal communities, filled with working men and women instead of frivolous, richer city people. Even on a trip to Europe, he went to the seaside villages to sketch the common people. Back in the USA, he moved to his family’s Maine property, setting up his studio right on the shore. There he painted his brooding seascapes and settled into a prosperous living. He died at his studio in 1910, leaving 147 paintings as his legacy.

Since Homer painted seascapes, our breakfast is typical of coastal residents near his Prout’s Neck studio. For dinner, another meal of the common people of the coastal Atlantic.

Fish Cake Breakfast: 145 calories 2.5 g fat 2 g fiber 9.5 g protein 18.5 g carbs 42 mg Calcium PB GF Fish cakes have been a filling meal in North-Eastern North America centuries. In her 1832 cookbook, Lydia Maria Child promoted them for breakfast food. Great idea!  HINT: Prepare the fish-potato mixture the night before. This breakfast deserves a revival.

1 slice uncured American streaky bacon 6 Tbsp/rounded 1/3 cup Fish Cake mixture** 2 oz tomato slices ¼ oz fresh spinach 1 oz sliced strawberries or 2 Tbsp blueberries  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]

Slice the tomato and sprinkle with salt. Plate spinach leaves and top with tomatoes and fruit. Cook the bacon and plate it. Pour most of the bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to a low heat. Using either a 1 Tbsp or 2 Tbsp measure, scoop out some of the fish cake mixture and put it in the pan. Flatten it slightly to form a disk and cook until browned and crisp on one side. Cook until crisp on the other side and plate.

** Fish Cake Mixture  makes 2 cups 1/3 cup green or white onion, chopped 1-2/3 cup mashed potatoes [no milk, no butter] ¼ tsp dry mustard lots of salt + pepper 1 two-oz egg 2 Tbsp milk 6 oz cooked fish [cod, haddock, salt cod, salmon or a mixture], flaked into small pieces Combine the onion, potatoes, egg, seasonings, and milk, stirring well. Stir in the fish, gently but thoroughly. Portion the mixture and cook in a sauce pan with some bacon grease.

Seafood Chowder:  275 calories 11 g fat 1 g fiber 15 g protein 16 g carb 117 mg Calcium GF Dear Husband found the recipe in Yankee magazine. He prepares this every year and we think it is wonderful. It freezes nicely and easily serves a group. The directions look long and involved but the results are worth it.

Makes 10 one-cup servings
4 strips thick-cut American streaky baconDice bacon. In a medium skillet cook it until crisp and brown. Remove bacon and put into a big bowl. 
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced ~1 cupPour off all but 1 Tbsp fat and add onions. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring, until translucent – 10 mins?. Set aside with bacon in the bowl.
1 pound baking potatoes, peeled + cut in ½” cubesIn another saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water and boil until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and add potatoes to the bacon/onions. [Save water for baking]
2 pounds steamer clams in their shells 1 Qt waterPut clams in a large pot with water. Heat to boiling, cover, and cook until clams open, about 3 minutes. Take out clams leaving liquid in the pot. Strain liquid through a sieve lined with toweling to remove debris. Take clams from shells and cut into smaller pieces if necessary. Add to potatoes, onion, and bacon.
one 1½ pound lobsterPut strained broth back into empty pot and bring to a boil. Put lobster head-first into boiling broth. Cover and cook 20 minutes. Remove lobster and let cool. Crack shell, remove the meat. Cut into ½” chunks and add to potatoes.
1 pound scallops, trimmed 1 pound shrimp, peeled Heat broth until boiling. Add scallops, shrimp. Reduce heat to low. Simmer about 3 minutes, until scallops + shrimp are just cooked through.
1 quart whole milk 4 Tbsp butter 2 sprigs parsley
¼ tsp paprika salt + pepper to taste		Finely chop the parsley. Add all the previously cooked ingredients, along with the milk, butter, parsley and seasonings. Heat until steaming but not boiling. Take off heat.
Cover and cool. Let soup sit in the ‘fridge or on a cool back porch for 12-24 hours. This really enhances the flavors.
When ready to serve, heat to steaming hot but do not boil.
Freeze what is left over in serving-size containers.

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

whipped cream cheese1.5 two-oz eggs 
Finn Crisp crackerscrabmeat
herring marinated in white wineleek + sugar
cherries or strawberriessoy sauce + strawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

salami + white beans + red wine vinegarchicken breast + flour + olive oil
chicken breast + rosemary + sagechicken stock + garlic + anchovy fillet
mozzarella + radish + celerykalamata black olives + white wine
garlic + lettuce or wild greensfresh tomatoes + broccoli florets
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Who dunit? Who ate it? Chapter VII

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Lisa who is now Following.

Dear Husband and I love to read ‘whodunits.’ Crime literature in English harks back to Edgar Allen Poe’s Murders on Rue Morgue in 1841. As the genre took off, a sub-genre developed: culinary crime. These books are read as much for the procedural as for the vicarious thrills of the meals that are described along the way. There are many authors who tantalize our tastebuds while they challenge our little grey cells and today, I will feature foods from two widely different sources.

Two authors from the British Isles and their detectives are featured today. Breakfast is based on a very unhealthy snack food, often craved by Frank Phillips, a homicide detective in Northumbria. I took some liberties and made it a bit healthier. Dinner is a very healthy meal prepared by Enzo Macleod, a forensics specialist in Haute-Garonne. I took some liberties and used Camargue rice, from southern France, to add some complex carbs.

Frank Phillips, the older, plumper, rumpled, rougher side-kick of the young, slim, polished, elegant, handsome DCI Ryan loves to stop at the Pie Van to fuel up on Bacon Butties. Frank is a ‘Geordie‘ through and through, and not the sort of person to go on a diet. Despite his love of Butties, his devotion to his younger wife and their adopted daughter has him minding his heath. If he had this version throughout the series by L.J. Ross, Phillips might not have had to diet in middle-age.

Bacon Butty: 193 calories 4 g fat 6 g fiber 5 g protein 30 g carbs 62.4 mg Calcium This is such a widely popular sandwich in England and the Republic of Ireland that there are some 700 varieties. Some call it a ‘sarnie.’ If you add an egg, it becomes a ‘breggy.’ It seems to have originated in Ireland.

1 Arnold multi-grain Sandwich Thin, top and bottom 2 slices uncured American bacon, cut in half 2 oz applesauce 1 packet ketchup, for fast-food authenticity   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Lightly toast the bun while the bacon cooks until crispy. Portion the applesauce, construct the sandwich, and serve with ketchup. ‘Fast Food’ for a Fast Day.

Enzo Macleod is a Scottish-Italian forensic expert transplanted to the University of Toulouse where he teaches. His private life is complicated, but on the job he is straightforward. On a dare, he determines to solve seven famous cold cases. Ordinarily he does his eating out of our sight, but in the final book of The Enzo Files, The Night Gate, by Peter May, we find Enzo preparing a simple dish of roasted fish for his [3rd] wife and his son.

Enzo’s Broiled Fish w/ Grapes: For a side dish, Enzo serves boiled potatoes, but you could substitute Camargue red rice.  with potatoes: 216 calories 1 g fat 2 g fiber 23.5 g protein 32 g carbs 53 mg Calcium –-OR- with Camargue rice: 279 calories 2 g fat 2.5 g fiber 24 g protein 45.4 g carbs 53 mg Calcium   PB GF   Enzo MacLeod, Peter May’s Scottish-expat forensic expert who lives in France, prepared this meal for a family dinner at home.

4 oz thin filets of white fish 2 Tbsp lime juice 2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced 4 oz white/green grapes 2 oz potatoes, either small ‘new’ potatoes OR cubed red potato OR 1 oz/2 Tbsp uncooked Camargue rice

Stir together the juice and ginger and pour into a shallow dish such as a glass pie plate. Lay the fish in the marinade and let sit 30-60 minutes, turning the fish half-way through. Start cooking the rice, if using. Put the rice in a cook-pan with three times its volume in boiling water. Simmer for 35 minutes, until water is absorbed. OR Boil the potatoes until tender, drain. Season them and keep warm. Put the grapes around the sides of the fish in the baking dish. Broil 5-6 minutes, until the fish is cooked and grapes start to blacken. Plate with the starch of your choice and consume with pleasure.

Zane Grey

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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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to hamzeh5479 who is now Following.

Pearl is not usually a name for a male child, but that is what Josephine Alice Zane Grey named her son. It is said that she liked the ‘pearl grey’ color of Queen Victoria’s wedding gown. Small wonder that the boy preferred his middle name, Zane. The Zane family had been ‘pioneers’ in the American West in the 1800s — that’s when the ‘West’ meant the Ohio Territory. Young Pearl loved tales of his ancestors’ exploits in founding Zanesville, Ohio. The boy was supposed to become a dentist like his father and was sent to the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship. Reluctantly, Grey became a dentist. Part time, he became a semi-pro baseball player. Full time, he yearned to be a printed author. His father tried to bully him into abandoning writing, but Grey persevered. He moved to New York to set up a dental practice and to have access to publishers. His wife, Dolly Roth, supported him — using her inheritance to pay the bills and editing his work. A few hunting trips to Arizona gave Grey an enduring love of the Western landscape, people, and culture. Despite many publishers’ rejections, he penned The Heritage of the Desert in 1910, and it was a hit. Riders of the Purple Sage followed in 1912, and his career was launched. Of the 89 books he published, 56 were about the Old West. With wealth assured, Grey could pursue his other passion: fishing. [OK, his third passion was for women, which his wife tolerated.] He fished all around the world, fresh water and salt water. Being out in nature helped him to deal with his bouts of depression, he said. Five film versions were made of Riders of the Purple Sage and his work inspired the television series called Zane Grey Theater. Thanks to Pearl Zane Gray the entire literary and cinematic genre of ‘Westerns’ captured the public imagination — then and still today.

Of course there must be some sort of ‘western’ food for Zane Grey’s birthday on January 31, so we will have eggs inspired by a ‘Western Sandwich.’ For dinner, a meal that the author would have relished: pan-fried trout.

Western Bake: 270 calories 5.4 g fat 4 g fiber 12.4 g protein 45 g carbs [43.7 g Complex Carbs] 199 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  My father taught me to love a good Western Sandwich. Thus it seemed natural to incorporate that flavor combination in a breakfast. And its a winner.

1 two-oz egg 1 oz green pepper 2 tsp ketchup 1 oz onions 2 oz pear  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Chop the pepper and onions and cook: either in the microwave or by poaching in water. Drain and combine with the ketchup. Whisk with the eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin or other dish with non-stick spray. Pour in the egg mixture and bake at 350 F. for 12-15 minutes. Plate the fruit and pour the beverages. Yee-haaw, that’s a breakfast!

Trout with Hazelnuts: 267 calories 18 g fat 3 g fiber 21 g protein 6 g carbs 75 mg Calcium  PB GF From Savoie, France comes this recipe, via Anne Willem’s French Regional Cooking  Hannibal is supposed to have dined on local trout as he crossed the Alps with his elephants. Very easy to prepare [the trout, not the elephants] and absolutely delicious. 

3 oz trout 1 tsp butter ½ oz hazelnuts 2 oz French green beans [haricots]

Bone the fish and trim off the fins. Cut the fish in half to create two fillets. TIP: if serving one person, wrap one of the fillets in cling film, put it in a plastic bag and freeze it for another day. Chop the nuts so that there are some halves and the rest are in large pieces. Start cooking the beans. Heat a heavy saute pan and spray with non-stick spray. Put in the trout and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slowly cook the trout on one side for about 3 minutes. Turn the fish over. Add the butter to the pan along with the nuts. Continue cooking everything slowly until the fish is done, roughly another 3 minutes. Drain and season the beans, plate them with the trout, and top the fish with the nuts in butter. Enjoy your culinary visit to the French Alps.