recipes for intermittent fasting

Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy

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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 Asif Baloch who is now Following.

That’s not exactly how the children’s counting rhyme goes — apologies to John LeCarre — but wait for the story behind it. Freda MacDonald was born in St Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906. Her mother was unwed, and her father left soon after. Little Freda worked for a living cleaning houses before she was 12 years old. To earn extra money for her mother, she would make up routines and dance in the street. In her love of performing, Freda would put on shows with the neighborhood kids. When she was 15, she joined a troupe of vaudeville dancers, which lead to perfor-ming in New York. By 1925, she had married and divorced twice, taking her middle name ‘Josephine’ and her 2nd husband’s last name ‘Baker’ as her stage name. A tour to Paris in 1927, as part of La Revue Nègre, changed her life. France was not racially segregated, and Paris loved her as a performer, so Josephine Baker remained in France. Her shows were racy and funny and poked fun at France’s colonialist attitudes in Africa. The infamous ‘Banana Skirt’ dance was her way of spoofing the idea of ‘savages from the Dark Continent’. Singing became part of her act and her 1931 song  “J’ai deux amours” showed her love of Paris. Baker starred in films and the Offenbach opera La Créole. During World War II, she continued to perform and move about France. As she sang and hob-nobbed with the Nazis, she gathered intel for the Resistance, writing messages in code on her sheet music. After the war, de Gaulle gave her the Légion d’honneur. Visits to the United States often stoked her resentment of racism, turning her into an activist who spoke at the March on Washington, 1968. She maintained that she was not working for the “Negro Race” but for the Human Race. Her commitment to breaking down racial barriers caused her to adopt 12 children, each of a different ethnic background, which she dubbed her Rainbow Tribe. Financial troubles caused her to sell her beloved Chateau des Milandes, to move to Monaco [at the invitation of Prin-cess Grace], and to continue performing until her death in 1975. Quelle Femme!

But of course we will have bananas as part of breakfast, in honor of Josephine’s famous ‘Banana Skirt.’ Our dinner has tastes of southern France, where Baker lived and died.

Banana-Papanas: 241 calories… 8 g fat… 0.5 g fiber… 20 g protein… 25.5 g carbs… 161 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the main meal only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB  This recipe for Romanian papanas was shown on the French TV show Telematin , and it looked so easy and unusual that I had to try them….then I added bananas for a little word-play and a hint of the tropics.  HINT: The recipe makes enough for two [2] portions, so if only one person is being served today, cook only half of the batter and refrigerate the remainder to prepare later in the week. NB: the cooked papanas do not work as left-overs.

+++++4 Tbsp [63 g] part-skim ricotta ++++ 4 Tbsp [63 g] 2%-fat cottage cheese ++++ 1 egg, separated +++++ 30 g /3.5 Tbsp white whole wheat flour OR almond flour ++++ ½ tsp sugar ++++ 3/4 oz banana, sliced +++++ 1 tsp molasses ++++ 1 tsp water ++++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or  mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Separate the egg white from the yolk. Combine the yolk, cheeses, flour,and sugar in a bowl. Whip the egg white until stiff. Stir 1/3 of the egg white into the cheese mixture to lighten it, mixing until blended. Gently fold the remaining egg into the cheese mixture. Heat a non-stick pan and spray with non-stick spray. Using a scoop or a spoon [I made 4 using a 3 Tbsp scoop and then 4 using a 1.5 Tbsp scoop], place the batter into the pan in two batches. Cook until browned on one side and loose enough that they will slide if you shake the pan. Carefully flip to the other side. Remove to a plate. Slice the bananas thinly and strew on the papanas. Add the molasses to 1 tsp hot water and stir to combine. Pour the molasses over the bananas. As you sip your coffee, savor the tastes of the Caribbean…. via Romania….via France.

Brandade Plate:  266 calories… 3 g fat… 6 g fiber… 39 g protein… 21 g carbs… 139 mg Calcium…   PB GF  We find this meal to be very easy to plate, very easy on the eye, and very filling. HINT: Having the Brandade made ahead of time and in the refrigerator makes life so easy.

This plate is enough to serve two.

½ cup codfish brandade** ++++ 4 oz fresh tomatoes [no larger than 2” in diameter, but not ‘cherry or grape’] 2 Finn Crisp sourdough rye thins  ++++ ½ oz baby spinach leaves, cut as chiffonade

Slice tomatoes on the equator to get as many slices as you can. Arrange them on a plate. Using a scoop or spoon, place equal amounts of the brandade on each tomato slice. Sprinkle the chiffonade spinach over and around. Place the crackers alongside.

**Codfish Brandade:  ½ cup = 203 calories… 3 g fat… 1 g fiber… 38 g protein… 6 g carbs… 120 mg Calcium…  PB GF  Since salt cod is so popular all over southern France, it follows that Brandade is a favorite meal there. The garlic, olive oil, and fennel mark this version as Provencal. [HINT: This batch makes four half-cup servings. Either invite friends or use what you need and freeze the remainder.] The recipe is from Jacques Pepin and it has a very traditional flavor. 1 Tbsp =25 cal… 0.3 g fat… 0 g fiber… 12.6 g protein… 0.7 g carbs… 15 mg Calcium 

8 oz salt cod Soak the cod in water for 8 hours. Drain it.
Put in a sauce pan covered with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, cook gently 5 mins. Drain.
Pick over the fish, removing bones, skin. Cut it into 1” pieces. 
¼ c potatoes in ½” cubes +++1 cup cauliflower puree ½ cup milk+++ 4 cloves garlic +++¼ tsp fennel seed Put fish in a pan with vegetables and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and gently simmer uncovered 20-25 minutesuntil vegetables are tender. 
¼ tsp pepper, more to taste Pour it all into a food processor and process until smoother, about 10 seconds. Add pepper.
1 tsp olive oil Add oil with machine running. Mixture should be smooth and thick, yet spreadable. Adjust seasonings
Divide brandade into four ½-cup portions. Freeze or refrigerate the portions you are not serving today.

Blue

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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.

The word ‘blue’ in English is derived from the French ‘bleu’ and is very close to the German ‘blau.’ The three words describe one of the primary colors. Visible light is made up of seven colors, each traveling in waves of differing lengths. Blue light has wavelengths between about 450 and 495 nanometers. Our eyes see the color blue because certain surfaces absorb all the other wavelengths of visible light but reflect the blue. Weird, but true. In English, ‘blue’ has various meanings besides color identification. ‘To make the air blue’ implies that a lot of profanity is being spoken. ‘To feel blue’ means feeling sad or depressed. In the USA, at election time, if a state ‘goes blue’ it means that a candidate from the Democratic Party was elected. If someone ‘looks blue’ in the Winter, he/she/they might be very cold and need to come inside. If an automobile comes ‘out of the blue,’ then you won’t see it until it hits you. A ‘blue blood‘ is someone born to privilege and maybe that person owns a lot of ‘blue chip stocks.’ “Blue Laws” prevented people from doing business on Sundays in Boston and Philadelphia, and prohibited Sunday liquor sales in many places. A “Blue Stocking” is a woman who is intelligent and well-read, an expression going back to the 1700s. “Code Blue” in a hospital means that someone is experiencing a medical emergency. In the diner, you might opt for the ‘blue plate special.’ And the “Blue Zone” in nutrition refers to several areas around the world where people live particularly long and healthy lives — presumably because of their dietary choices. I could go on until I am ‘blue in the face,’ but then I might ‘cross the blue line’ and that might earn a penalty.

Whether azure, or cobalt, or cerulean, or powder, or peacock — we are surrounded by the color blue. From the sky at noon to the waves of the ocean, our planet sees blue. So we will enjoy blue berries and blue fish for our meals, and nothing will cause us to feel blue.

Blueberry Flameusse: 206 calories 5.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 14 g protein 24.5 g carbs 143.5 mg Calcium  NB: the food values given are for the plated items only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF  Fruit + eggy batter = flameusse. This meal is very simple and very good. I urge you to try it since I am sure you will like it.  HINT: this serves 2 [two]

One serving of flameusse with fruit.

2 two-oz eggs 6 oz skimmed milk 1 oz [by mass] = 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp white whole wheat flour 1.5 Tbsp sugar ½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 chicken breakfast sausage @ 33 calories each 1/2 clementine Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]

Spritz 2 ramekins or an oven-proof dish [1.5 cup capacity] with non-stick spray. Distribute the blueberries over 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 berries. Bake at 375 F. for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a shake of powdered sugar. Cook the sausage. Serve with a hot beverage for a delicious start to your day.

Bluefish:  289 calories 10 g fat 4 g fiber 25 g protein 17 g carbs 45 mg Calcium   PB GF Bluefish is a sport fish of the East Coast of North America. As a youth, Dear Husband used to fish for them in New York’s Great South Bay with his father and uncles. When we are lucky, we can find them at a local market in Autumn. This is a delicious combination of flavors.

You will notice that this is served on a blue plate….

4 oz bluefish fillet 1½ Tbsp reduced-fat mayonnaise 1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard 3 oz green beans 1/4 c cooked brown rice

Start cooking the brown rice, which can take 35 minutes. Whisk together the mayonnaise and mustard. Put the fish on an oven-proof dish that has been lightly oiled. Spread the mayo-mustard sauce on the fish and bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes. Bluefish is dense-fleshed and takes longer than most fishes to cook. Plate with the green beans and rice for a delicious meal which is based on a recipe served by Legal Sea Foods in Boston.

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

apple + melon + deglet noor date1 two-oz egg + one egg white 
plain or low-fat French Vanilla yogurtcottage cheese + Manchego cheese
plum, canned or fresh garlic powder + cooked spinach
cinnamon + Cider syrupnutmeg + strawberries
almond mealoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

egg + ricotta + mozzarellaquick-cooking barley
Jarlsberg cheese + broccoliwhole wheat orzo + broccoli
onion + fresh tomato150-calorie sausage
asparagus + herbs of choiceputtanesca sauce
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Luther Burbank

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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.

To say that Luther Burbank was a plant-breeder would be an understatement. In his career, he developed 800 different plant varieties!! He was born on a farm in Massachusetts on March 7, 1849. As a child, he enjoyed working with his mother in the garden. He bought a small farm where he began to cross-breed plants. This means taking the pollen from one plant and using it to fertilize another plant. If one can control and limit this fertilization, then one can control the characteristics of the resultant plants. Several generations of cross-breeding can lead to plants that are quite different from the originals. Early on, a new plants was the Burbank Potato. One of its virtues was that it was resistant to the Blight which had caused the Irish Potato Famine. He sold the rights to it and moved to land in Santa Rosa, California. There he began breeding in earnest. Vegetables, flowers, grains, grasses, fruits, cactus — all were subjects for investigation. He was not a scientific man, being a bit loosey-goosey about record-keeping. Burbank was about the what-ifs and the results. And he got results: His most famous flower is the Shasta Daisy. His most famous fruit is the plumcot. And his most successful vegetable of all is the Russet Burbank Potato which is the chosen variety for McDonald’s french fries. Don’t blame Luther Burbank if they cause you to gain weight — that one is on you!

What better to eat to celebrate Luther Burbank than plants?! Eat them at breakfast, eat them at dinner — good to eat and good for you.

Ratatouille-Egg Toast:  301 cal 6 g fat 4 g fiber 17 g protein 31.4 g carbs 212.4 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF – if using GF bread  Ratatouille, the French vegetable stew, is great with eggs for breakfast. And you can prepare it year-round.

1 piece 70-cal multi-grain bread [Dave’s Killer Bread is great] ¼ cup Mediterranean Vegetables, drained through a sieve  one 2-oz egg Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]   

Toast the bread. Warm the vegetables briefly and spoon onto the toast. Fry the egg using a non-stick or cast iron pan and put the egg on top of the vegetables on the toast. Pour the beverages and you have a fine breakfast as well as a head-start on your 5 servings of vegetables for the day.

Zucchini Fritatta: 280 cal 13 g fat 3.5 g fiber 20.5 g protein 14.6 g carb 296 mg Calcium  GF PB  Inspired by a recipe in Fresh Ways with Vegetables, part of a Time-Life series. This is really delicious and can be prepared any time of year.  HINT: serves two, so save half for lunches or dine with a friend. 

2 two-oz eggs + 2 egg whites ¼ cup low-fat ricotta chesse thyme, salt, pepper to taste 3 oz mushrooms, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed ¼ c. onion, chopped ½ pound zucchini, grated 1 tsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1½ oz mozzerella cheese, grated

Whisk eggs, ricotta, salt, pepper, and thyme together. Heat the broiler. Cook the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in an oven-safe pan for 2-3 minutes. Add zucchini and lemon juice and cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft and all the liquid has evaporated. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the Parmesan. Smooth the surface of the vegetables in the pan and pour in the egg/ricotta mixture. [OR: spritz two 8” cast iron pans with non-stick spray. Divide the zucchini mixture between the 2 pans, spreading it out and smoothing it down. Pour 100 ml of the egg mixture into each pan, tilting it to distribute the egg evenly.] Cook on the stove-top for 1 minute. Sprinkle with mozzerella and put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Cut in half, if cooking in one pan. Save that half for tomorrow or serve proudly to your dinner companion.

Bunsen Burner

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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 mrinspire and Diets & Weight Loss Plans who are now Following.

The Bunsen burner is the work-horse of the laboratory. Except for a beaker or flask, no piece of equipment is as universally recognized. It was invented in 1855 by the German Chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. He had been investigating the fact that different elements [Copper, Strontium, Potassium] gave off distinctive colors [blue-green, hot pink, lilac] when heated, known now as the Flame Test. To pursue this study, he needed a reliable source of flame that would burn with no color of its own. With the assistance of the mechanic Peter Desaga, he developed the method for delivering a controllable, compact, safe jet of flame. Perhaps his quest for a safe lab flame grew from an early science experiment that exploded, blinding him in one eye. Bunsen went on from there to analyze sunlight, drawing the accurate conclusion that the sun was made of Hydrogen and Helium gasses. With Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, Professor Bunsen invented the spectroscope. They were co-discoverers of the elements Cesium [Cs] and Rubidium [Rb].

Our German Breakfast might have been familiar to the professors and mechanics at the University of Heidelberg. When I was a young teacher, I often would rush to work in the morning with a raw egg in my pocket. During the class prior to lunch, I would boil it in a beaker of water over the Bunsen Burner on the lab bench. However you cook your eggs, you will need one for our dinner.

German Breakfast: 136 calories 3 g fat 4.4 g fiber 9 g protein 15 g carbs [3.5 g Complex] 104.4 mg Calcium Sturdy whole-grain bread, some curd cheese with chives and a slice of ham or turkey will get you going in the morning, just as it does for the Germans.

1 slice whole-grain bread [we like Dave’s ‘Good Seed‘] 2 Tbsp small-curd cottage cheese, reduced fat [similar to ‘quark cheese’ in Germany] 1-2 Tbsp chopped chives ½ oz slice of 3%-fat ham** from the deli, thinly-sliced 1 oz pear   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [85 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories] **you could substitute 1 oz turkey breast from the deli, thinly sliced

Toast the bread lightly or not. Spread with the cheese and sprinkle with chives. Top the cheese with the ham and plate with the pear. So nice. This would be a fine lunch for a Slow Day.

Herring Salad:  278 calories 6 g fat 7 g fiber 16 g protein 24 g carbs 103 mg Calcium   PB GF  Luchöw’s Restaurant in New York will live in memory as long as a certain generation yet breathes. And there was a lot to remember about it: the decor, the old-world service, the menu. Not a hokey tourist trap – it was the genuine German article. This is one of their fine Old World recipes. NB: if you take a MOIA anti-depressent, be aware that herring has high amounts of tyramine. 

1½ oz herring marinated in wine, drained ¼ cup beets, cooked, cooled and diced 1½ oz apple, peeled and diced ¼ cup white beans, drained and rinsed ½ hard-boiled egg, sliced 2 Tbsp onion, minced 1/2 oz dill pickle, chopped pinch sugar 2 tsp vinegar, or more 1 cup lettuce, shredded

Put the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently until everything is well-incorporated. Taste to see if it needs more sugar or more vinegar. A herring-lover’s delight.

Rhubarb Festival!

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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. 

The Pandemic of 2020 meant that a lot of events were cancelled, including our town’s annual Rhubarb Festival on the first Saturday in June. We all stayed home last year and most of us got through it safely. This year the Festival is on! Musical groups, rhubarb pie contests, rhubarb flower arrangements, bake sale, farm animal petting zoo, food vendors, craft vendors, a ‘hollering contest,’ rhubarb wine and beer to sample — it is lots of fun for our tiny town of <1500 residents. Rhubarb is the ‘first fruit of the season,’ giving us good things to eat before the strawberries ever think of ripening. The plant, not a fruit but a vegetable, is native to central Asia and the roots were considered to be valuable for medicinal use 5000 years ago. It first arrived in North America when Benjamin Franklin sent a box of roots, for medicine, to his friend John Bartram. Finally, in the 1800s, people in the US got around to eating the stalks. Pie and jam are the first things that comes to mind, but for Slow Days, I make muffins and coffee-cakes from rhubarb as well. From May to September, fresh rhubarb is on the menu in our house. If you can grow it, you should.

Because rhubarb is so low in calories, it can be an ingredient on a Fast Day, as long as there isn’t too much sugar with it. Here it appears in a splendid breakfast and in a relish which is served on fish, chicken, or meat. Very delicious. NB: If you are new to rhubarb, one eats only the stalks. The leaves should never be eaten as they contain oxalic acid/oxalate.

Yogurt Creme Brulee: 208 calories… 2 g fat… 2.5 g fiber… 19 g protein… 28 g carbs… 115.6 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB GF  Let’s have dessert for breakfast! A Bobby Flay dessert was the inspiration for this breakfast recipe.  This is delicious! HINT: This makes enough for 2 [two] servings.

You will need a small blowtorch to caramelize the sugar. DO NOT use the broiler, lest you melt the yogurt.
8 oz plain Greek** yogurt, fat-free -OR- ‘yogurt cheese’ [see below]
½ tsp vanilla 		Stir yogurt and vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate 30+ mins to allow the flavors to meld.
1 cup chopped rhubarb
2 Tbsp water + 1 tsp sugar		Put fruit in a small saucepan and add water. Simmer until just softened, ~5 mins. Add sugar and stir. Let cool slightly.
two 8-oz ramekins
¼ c rolled oats, toasted		Divide fruit between ramekins. Toast oats in a dry skillet and sprinkle on the fruit. Fill the ramekins with yogurt. Cover and freeze 5 mins.
2 tsp turbinado sugar per ramekinSprinkle sugar over each ramekin. Caramelize by slowly sweeping the blowtorch flame back and forth. Let sugar harden, ~2 mins.
**Or put 2 cups plain, fat-free yogurt in a sieve lined with paper toweling. Let sit for 30 minutes as the whey drips out. The concentrated yogurt is call ‘yogurt cheese’ and is the same as ‘Greek Yogurt.’

In addition: 1 oz 3%-fat ham slice  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

While the ramekins are in the freezer, cut the ham slice into ribbons and quickly cook in a dry skillet. Plate the ramekin with a wreath of ham around it. A fine mix of opposite flavors, temperatures, and textures.

Halibut with Fruit Relish: 182 calories 5.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 25 g protein 6.4 g carbs 82 mg Calcium  PB GF Whether you bake or broil or grill the fish, a fruit relish makes for a splendid topping.

4 oz halibut filet 5 oz asparagus -OR- side salad   2 Tbsp rhubarb-onion relish**

Rhubarb-Onion Relish:  makes 1 cup  From Marion Cunningham’s Supper Book.    2 Tbsp [1 fluid ounce] = 26 calories  0 g fat 0.1 g fiber 0.1 g protein 1.5 g carbs 8 mg Calcium

1/3 cup chopped rhubarb
1/3 cup chopped onions
2 ¾ Tbsp vinegar
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup light brown sugar, not packed
pinch each of ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon 		Mix everything together in a heavy pot and bring to a boil.
Simmer 45 minutes until quite thick.
You could make a bigger batch and preserve by canning in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

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

1 two-oz egg + blueberries1 two-oz egg 
kale + cayenne + sage70-calorie whole grain bread
quinoa + garlic powder + turmericParmesan cheese
reduced-fat cottage cheeseblueberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4 oz wild-caught Pacific salmonpork tenderloin + apples
4 oz broccolichicken stock + broccoli
bechamel sauce
carrot + thyme + sage
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Mary Goes Over The Mountain. Again

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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 Health Resolved who is now Following.

The Pennsylvania Dutch or Plain People have many ways of predicting the weather, which they have made into oft-repeated maxims. One of the best known is that “If Mary goes over the mountain dry, she’ll come home wet.” This refers to the Biblical story of the young Virgin Mary, newly pregnant by Divine intervention, going to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is about to give birth. The date given for the visit is May 31, when Mary goes over, to August 18 when she returned to her family in Nazareth. According to the weather lore, if the weather is dry at the end of May, one can expect rain in mid- August. Since there was no National Weather Service until 100 years ago, farmers were always looking for ways to make long-range forecasts. Frequently patterns would be observed: “A green Christmas means a brown July.” Wishing to have some control over the weather doesn’t make it so. The weather will do what it wants. Make your own observations and see if you can detect any patterns as our climate changes.

The Plain People brought a rich culture of foods to the New World. Today’s breakfast is made with the famous scrapple of South-Eastern Pennsylvania, and the dinner is a popular meal from the same region. Both are delicious. Mark your calendar with the weather on May 31, then note the atmospheric conditions on August 18 to see if the maxim is valid.

Scrapple Bake: 290 calories 7.4 g fat 6 g fiber 14 g protein 39 g carbs 220 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  GF  Scrapple is one of the specialty foods of the “Pennsylvania Dutch” people of South-Eastern Pennyslvania. Excellent for breakfast, served as a side dish like sausage or combined with eggs in this bake.

1 two-oz eggs ½ oz scrapple, sliced and baked until cooked ½ oz scallion, chopped ½ cup raspberries + 1 Tbsp fat-free vanilla yogurt  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]

The night before, bake the scrapple in the oven until firm. Dice it and combine with the scallion.  In the morning, set the toaster oven at 350 F. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray. Scatter the scrapple and scallion in the ramekin. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the scrapple. Bake 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, portion the berries and dollop the yogurt on top. Brew the hot beverage and pour the smoothie. A fine, homey breakfast.

Chicken & Dumplings: 293 calories 7 g fat 4.6 g fiber 38 g protein 30 g carbs 67 mg Calcium  PB This was a real hit in my parents’ Central Pennsylvania home and it is still a favorite with us. Be aware that it is best made over 2 days, but it basically cooks by itself with a few busy bouts by you. Worth the time and effort. AND this recipe serves 4 [four] people, so have a party serving this great make-ahead meal. If you serve one or two, make the whole thing anyhow, then package and freeze the remainder.

3 pound whole chicken, preferably a fowl although you will get more meat from a fryer ½ cup onion, chopped 1/3 cup carrots cut as coins ½ cup celery, chopped bay leaf 3 peppercorns 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 4 dumplings   per person:  ¼ cup green peas 

Cut up a 3 pound chicken into leg quarters, breast quarters, back, wings. In a large pcast iron pan or Dutch oven, brown the chicken in a little oil on all sides. Add the vegetables, bay leaf, pepper, and water to cover. Simmer on the cooktop for 45 minutes. Add 2 tsp salt, cover, and simmer for another 45 minutes. Strain off the stock and let the fat rise to the surface to cool. Discard the fat. Reserve the vegetables. Cool the chicken and remove the skin. Pull off the meat in chunks: you will use 17 oz meat by volume. You could stop here.

Measure ¼ cup of stock and whisk in the 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour to form a paste. Measure 1.5 cups stock and pour into a stovetop-safe serving dish along with the Worcestershire sauce. HINT: save any remaining stock and chicken for excellent soup. You could stop here. Add the flour water paste and stir to incorporate. Put the vegetables and chicken meat into the dish and adjust seasonings to taste.  You could stop here. When ready to serve, prepare the dough for the dumplings. Heat the chicken mixture and place 4 dollops of dumpling dough on the chicken and vegetables but not so that it is in liquid only. Let it all bubble gently for 15-20 minutes, then cover the dish and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes. Steam the peas and pour over the top of the dish before bringing to the table. Serve this simple classic proudly.

Industrial Revolution

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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.

These days, when people discuss climate change or atmospheric pollution, the Industrial Revolution is often mentioned. Before that time, factories were a cottage industry. Literally. A woman might make hats or butter to sell from home. A man might be a weaver, right in the front room of his cottage. In the 1760s, textile making was speeded up by the invention of spinning and weaving machines in Northern England. Larger manufacturing spaces were built and people were lured from subsistence farming by higher wages. At the start, machines were run by water power on dammed rivers; now steam engines, perfected by James Watt of Scotland, powered factories by burning coal. Some people decried smoke-stacks belching black coal smoke into the once-pristine country air, but locals said, “It smelled like money.” Now instead of being made one-by-one, items were mass-produced. Improvements in steel-making lead to railroads, their trains speeding goods to market. Factories became larger as manufac-turing became mechanized. Cities grew in population as the countryside emptied. Fortunes were made, and work life ran by the clock instead of the sun. Modern life as we know it began with the Industrial Revolution, and our use of fossil fuels has grown over the years because of it. Early on, the new factories were seen as a blessing to areas with marginal farmland. Young men and women could work for a few years in a factory, then return to the farm with modest wealth. Were there benefits from mechanization? Yes. Did it create problems that are still with us? Decidedly. Now we must deal with the unintended consequences of industrial expansion and the use of fossil fuels. We must balance production of goods with quality of life for humans and other life on our planet. We can do it.

Our meals go back to pre-Industrial days, when most people lived on and from the land, even if they lived in a small town. Oatmeal and shepherd’s pie would have been very familiar foods to an agricultural family in Northern England.

Oatmeal Pudding:  258 calories 4 g fat 5 g fiber 14 g protein 36 g carb [34 g Complex] 55.6 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the pudding only, and do not include the optional beverage.  GF PB  A riff on a recipe found in Marion Cunningham’s Breakfast Book, this can easily be prepared the night before. HINT: MAKES ENOUGH FOR TWO [2] SERVINGS.  Make them both, since two are as easy as one, and freeze the other.

½ cup rolled oats, cooked in 1 cup water 2 tsp maple syrup ½ cup fat-free cottage cheese pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon 4 Tbsp. blueberries [fresh or frozen]   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea  

Cook the oatmeal in the water. Take off the heat, stir in the maple syrup and nutmeg. While it is still a little warm, stir in the cottage cheese. Let sit to cool.  HINT: I did this part the night before while cleaning up after dinner.  If cooking for one, pour half of the pudding into a freezer container and top with 2 Tbsp blueberries. Freeze it. HINT: make the entire batch, eat half of it today and freeze the rest for a really simple-to-prepare breakfast for another day. With the remainder, stir in 2 Tbsp blueberries and pour the pudding into a ramekin. Nuke it for a minute to heat through – longer than that and it will bubble over. Serve with the hot beverage of your choice for a hearty, healthy meal.

Shepherd’s Pie:  276 calories 12 g fat 2 g fiber 21.6 g protein 21.6 g carbs 53 mg Calcium  PB GF  The addition of mashed cauliflower is a great trick to lessen the carb count of mashed potatoes. Some people like to top this pie with mashed cauliflower only, but I enjoy the combo for a more authentic taste.  HINT: serves 2. Freeze leftovers for another dinner or invite a guest.

1 cup roast lamb, ground or minced 1 two-oz egg, separated ½ cup mashed potatoes ½ cup mashed cauliflower ½ cup lamb gravy, as fat free as you can make it 1 cup lettuce ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp lemon juice OR cider vinegar 1 oz tomatoes

Add the egg yolk and gravy to the roast lamb, along with salt and pepper to taste. Whip the eggwhite until stiff and fold into the mashed vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Put the lamb mixture into an oil-spritzed oven-proof dish [2-3 cup capacity] and spread it out evenly. Smooth the mashed vegetables on top and ruffle it with a fork or spoon. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until the top begins to brown a bit and the inside is hot. Whisk the oil and lemon juice in a wide bowl, add the lettuce and tomatoes, and toss gently.

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

1 two-oz egg1 cup plain fat-free Greek-style yogurt 
scrapple + scallionrolled oats + vanilla extract
raspberriesrhubarb + turbinado sugar
fat-free French-vanilla yogurtslice of 3%-fat ham
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

3# chicken + onion + celery4 oz halibut per person + side salad
carrot + Worcestershire saucerhubarb + onion
white whole wheat flour + peascider vinegar + brown sugar
dumplingsground cloves + allspice + cinnamon
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Peasants

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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.

OLD JOKE: The agitated servant, singed and battered, runs pell-mell into the presence of the Lord of the Manor. “Sire,” he pants, “the peasants are revolting!” His master, looking bored and missing his meaning, lifts a perfumed handkerchief to his nose and sighs, “Of course they are.” People [read: the privileged classes] have been making disparaging comments about the ‘lower classes’ for so many centuries that we have a mental picture: loutish, stupid, unwashed. But what is a peasant, really? The word is from the latin, meaning ‘from a canton,’ thus: someone from the provinces far from the sophistication of the city. Called ‘serfs’ in Russia and medieval Europe; ‘contadino’ in Italy; ‘paysan’ in France; ‘subsistence farmers’ in the US, they have gotten a bad rap. Until the rise of Big Agra, peasants grew all the food that fed the world — in many places, they still do. Their lives were difficult but sometimes their close-to-the-land lifestyle had appeal: Marie Antoinette would retire to her ‘petit hameau’ on the grounds of Versaille to live a simpler life. Breugal painted peasants at work and play while the Limbourg Brothers often showed the turn of the seasons via the work of peasants.

The adage “Eat breakfast like a king and dine like a peasant” is often given as a formula for a healthy diet. This implies eating fewer calories at night. In addition, ‘peasant’ foods were home-grown and/or foraged, low in animal protein, unprocessed and unadulterated. And in small portions. To eat like a peasant also means eating at a lower trophic level. Our breakfast of fruit and grains and our dinner of grains and beans fit the requirements of wholesome, inexpensive, simple food.

Fruited Porridge:  183 calories 1.4 g fat 9 g fiber 7 g protein 38 g carbs [38 g Complex] 36 mg Calcium  PB Here is a delicious way to get your superfoods in one meal. Berries and whole-grain cereal are unbeateble together and easy to prepare as well.

¼ cup Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal ¾ cup water ¼ cup diced strawberries ¼ cup blueberries ¼ cup raspberries   Optional: a few tablespoonsful of milk   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [85 calories]  or lemon in hot water

If the fruit is frozen, as mine was: place in a sieve over a small bowl the night before to thaw. Save the juice to add to a smoothie. Cook the cereal in the water for 8 minutes, stiring twice. Take off heat and add the fruit. Stir gently and serve with a little milk, if you wish.

Red Beans & Rice:  295 calories 1 g fat 13 g protein 57.5 g carb   PB GF  This is the old classic recipe for the ‘perfect protein’. Once we were afraid that we wouldn’t like it, since it sounds bland, but we do like it. Yeah, you’re right, the carbs are way out of control, but these complex carbs are really good for you. HINT: This is enough for 4 servings! Either have a gathering or cut the recipe or freeze for later.

1¾ cups brown rice, cooked ½ cup celery, chopped ½ cup sweet yellow or other color pepper, diced 1 cup onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced ¾ cup crushed tomato oregano + black pepper 1¾ cups red beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup green beans or peas

Cook the rice. Saute the celery, pepper, and onions for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 minutes more. Add the tomato sauce and seasonings. Stir in the red beans and heat through. When the rice is done, add 1 and 3/4 cups to the mixture.  HINT: if there is extra rice, it freezes well. Serve with the cooked green vegetable. 

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

1 two-oz egg + soy sauce1.5 two-oz eggs 
ginger + bean sproutsapple or unsweetened applesauce
crab meat + scallionscooked spinach
garlic powder +pear chèvre
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

4-oz bison burger + mushroomstilapia fish + sweet potato
curried catsupegg + white whole wheat flour
choices from a variety of vegetablescanola oil + garlic powder
asparagus + paprika + lime juice
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Flora, Goddess of Flowers

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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 Health Specialist who is now Following.

The Romans were pantheistic. There was a diety for everything in the natural world and the political, since deceased emperors were made into gods. One of my favorites is Flora, the goddess of flowers and flowering plants. She was originally a goddess of the Sabine People, who introduced her to Roman culture. In the Greek legend, the nymph Chloris attracted the love of Zehpyrus, the Springtime wind. He married her and granted her dominion over all blooming things: plants, nubile teenagers, and pregnant women. In 238 BCE, a festival called Floralia was instituted in her honor. Today, towns and cities throughout southern France there are floral festivals in early May and it is traditional to give a nosegay of Lily of the Valley/Muguet du Bois to someone to express your love or wish good luck. I like the idea of celebrating the blooms of Spring, so early in May I honor Flora with food and flowers.

The famous Roman Cato the Elder, 234–149 BC, in his agriculture book tried to promote traditional practices of farming and eating. He describes the tradition of baking Libum to leave in the household shrine to the gods. It is made with honey, which Flora is said to have given to the world. There’s our breakfast. Dinner is a modern salad with all sorts of Springtime ingredients: eggs, asparagus, young greens, and flowers. Food for the gods.

Cato’s Breakfast:  235 calories 4 g fat 2 g fiber 13 g protein 47 g carbs 89 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB  Cato, the Roman orator and senator, included Libum in his book de Agricultura. The other elements of the meal were popular foods in ancient Rome.

225 g/1 cup light ricotta cheese
113 g/1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 oz = ½ egg
2 Tbsp honey		Combine these ingredients to a Play-Doh consistency.
0.2 oz pine nuts, about 45 pinonsForm dough into 11 balls, each made with 2 Tbsp dough [33-g]. Top each ball with 4-5 pine nuts.
11 bay leaves TIP: you can do all this the night before and bake in the morning.Lightly spritz a baking pan with non-stick spray and lay the bay leaves on it. Place one dough ball on each leaf.
Warm honeyBake at 350 F for 20 minutes. While still warm, brush with honey.

2 Libum [33-grams of dough each] 2 oz pear 1 deglet noor date 1 oz chicken breast meat  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  

Bake the Libum and plate with the other ingredients. Although Cato probably would have served wine with breakfast, that would not be a good option.

Springtime Shrimp Salad: 192 calories 7 g fat 3.6 g fiber 17 g protein 17 g carbs 114 mg Calcium   PB GF  In Spring, the clementines are decreasing in the markets and the asparagus is increasing. A salad with shrimp is delightfully delicious.

2 cups mesclun OR baby greens 2.5 oz small shrimp 8-9 sections clementine 1¾ oz asparagus edible flowers for garnish ¾ oz mango ½ hard-boiled egg 2 tsp Spicy Aioli Dressing 

Prepare all the ingredients, cutting or cooking as necessary. Combine the Dressing and measure 2 tsp into a large bowl. Toss the salad greens with the dressing and a pinch of salt. Turn onto the serving plate and arrange the other ingredients atop the greens. Enjoy the colors and flavors of Spring.

The real “OK Boomer”

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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.

At noon on April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began with the firing of a gun. That was the signal for the thousands of people — on horse-back, in wagons, whole families, or single people — to charge across the prairie in what is now Oklahoma to find a plot of land and claim it. The land was part of the enormous Louisianna Purchase of 1803, but had remained “undeveloped” and was considered “unassigned” and “unpopulated.” [No one asked the Plains Indians about that. Neighboring lands were already the home of Indigenous Peoples who had been deported there from Eastern States]. Ever since the end of the Civil War in 1864, people had clambered to be able to settle the Oklahoma land. Their noisy lobbying earned them the name ‘boomers.’ The Unassigned Lands had been divided into 160 acre parcels. Towns and rail lines had been sited and partially developed. The people who did that work, who were already inside the territory, along with cheaters who sneaked in early, were called ‘sooners.’ When the signal went off, the 50,000 people who had waited on the Kansas border streamed in. Among them were 23 young women from Illinois, mentioned in the article above. By the end of the day, 11,000 homesteads had been claimed. Towns sprang up overnight, since some boomers wanted house lots and shop locations. Land Rush or Land Grab? African-Americans were put at the back of the line for the Rush. Law suits went on for years as sooners were sued and removed from their property. In August of 2020, the US Supreme Court settled a suit that determined where the “Indians” had jurisdiction in certain locations, an outshoot of the Oklahoma Land Rush. The nickname of Oklahoma is The Sooner State — no longer a slur, the word now embodies the spirit of the state. The abbreviation is ‘OK’ and the state was settled by boomers, so I guess they all were OK Boomers, weren’t they?  

A breakfast of sausage and eggs might have been just the thing to eat on that exciting day, so we will enjoy it too. I’m sure that none of the participants of the land rush would ever have imagined that someday there would be great modern cities on the prairie — cities famous for bar-be-que! But that’s how it is, and dinner focuses on that flavor in an up-dated meal.

Sausage Bake: 302 calories 10 g fat 1.4 g fiber 21.5 g protein 27 g carbs 289 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF Quick and yummy, can’t beat that.

1 two-oz egg 2 cooked chicken breakfast sausage @ 33 calories/link [I used Applegate sausages] 1 Tbsp cottage cheese + pinch marjoram + salt + pepper 1 oz unsweetened applesauce  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]

With the back of a spoon, mash the cottage cheese through a sieve to break up the lumps and make it smooth. Whisk the cheese with the egg and seasonings. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray. Dice the sausage and put it into the ramekin. Pour the egg mixture on top and bake in the toaster oven at 350 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Brew your optional beverage, shake and pour the optional smoothie, dish that lovely applesauce. Nice start to your day.

Chicken BBQ Sliders: 281 calories 4 g fat 5 g fiber 27 g protein 35 g carbs [25 g Complex] 166 mg Calcium Such a simple meal to prepare. Such a fun meal to eat.  HINT: This recipe makes 2 [two] servings. Invite a friend or save the rest for lunch another day.

3 whole wheat slider buns @ 90 calories each [we prefer Martin’s brand]  5 oz cooked chicken breast, sliced and shredded  2 Tbsp Corky’s BBQ Sauce  per serving: 1/2 cup coleslaw OR 2 oz cherry tomatoes + ¾ oz carrot sticks

Warm the chicken and the sauce together over low heat. Open the slider buns and toast them lightly on an ungreased heavy skillet. Spoon the filling into the slider buns and cut each one in half. One serving = 3 halves. Plate with the vegetables for an absurdly easy dinner.

ngredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ………………………. single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg1.5 two-oz eggs 
mushroomsgizzard from chicken or turkey
galette/crepegarlic + sage
Mediterranean Vegetablesunsweetened applesauce
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

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

mussels, removed from shellscanola oil + watercress + celery
mussel broth + 2 oystersonion + garlic + good stock
Gruyere cheesepotato + sweet potato
curry powder + flour + green beanschèvre cheese optional: mozzarella + tomato
Sparkling waterSparkling water