People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically.
Here we are in early December with Christmas fast approaching — how can one fit everything in? Years ago we worked out a multi-tasking method for the day we trim the Christmas Tree, and it works so well that we still do it that way. We always decorate the tree on December 13. [Dear Husband grew up in a German family where the tree went up Christmas Eve and came down seven days later. He loves having the tree up longer. Me too.] Dinner consists of finger food which can be prepared ahead: salmon piroshki
, with cheeses, vegetables, and a dipping sauce [plain, fat-free yogurt + dill weed]. For dessert, the full array of our families’ cookies. And to add to the celebration, a glass of sparkling wine. The meal is for ‘grazing’ — nibble, hang an ornament, nibble, sip.
The salmon piroski are filled with cooked salmon mixed with enough Dijon mustard to make a moist pate. One tablespoon of the mixture is placed inside rounds of pie crust which are folded over and crimped, turn-over/empanada style. [Yes, I know this is very non-traditional, but that’s how Craig Claiborne made them.] Made a day ahead, they are kept cool until being baked at 400 F for 15 minutes. Each year we enjoy this very special little feast — and still get the tree decorated!
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
Bees, in the ancient world, achieved almost mythical status. The 7th century BC people of Rhodes had a Goddess Honeybee. The Celts thought that bees were messengers between this world and the next. Honey was a valuable commodity, so a hive of bees was prized. Seemingly without reason, bees swarm out of the hive and go away — a real calamity for a homestead. Thus, superstitions grew up around bees. One is ‘telling the bees’ about any changes in the household: births, marriages, departures, deaths. It was feared that if the bees weren’t told, they would up and leave. John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poignant poem, Telling the Bees, about the death of a young man’s girlfriend and how the bees were being informed.
My friend Hilda B., who kept bees with her husband David, died last week. I hope he told the bees. Or if there are no more hives at their house, I hope he told the garden that he and Hilda tended so faithfully and happily together.
There is a lot of buzz about cutting down on sugar in our food. People hear that and they think, “OK, I’ll put honey in my coffee instead.” Or agave juice or cane syrup or maple syrup. They must be better — they are all natural, right? Sure those sweeteners are naturally occurring, but sweet is sweet and our bodies use all sugars the same way. ALL sugars are bad for us in excess. If you could eat the recommended amount of added sugar [6 teaspoons per day], then you can have your sugar and eat it too. One teaspoon = 4 grams of sugar. 6 teaspoons = 24 grams. Try putting 6 teaspoons of sugar in a small dish. Use some of that sugar when you sweeten your coffee/tea. If you eat one medium chocolate chip cookie, take out another teaspoon. Check the cereal box to see how many teaspoons to remove for a bowl of cereal. The sugar in fruit? Don’t worry about that since it isn’t added to the fruit. See how far into your day you get before you run out of sugar. Then think about it: how much sugar do you reallyneed.
Here’s what Harvard School of Health says about sugar in the foods we eat: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/added-sugar-in-the-diet/ Below, find a recipe for a meal that could be for breakfast [with the coffee] or for dinner [with another felafel patty added and vegetables in lieu of fruit]. It shows how a meal can be good tasting and filling but low in added sugar.
Felafel Plate: 219 calories 5 g fat 4.8 g fiber 16.3 g protein 30 g carbs [25.7 g Complex] 165 mg Calcium NB: Food values given are for the main meal only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF A simple meal, yet full of nutrition and flavor.
4 felafel patties 4 oz canteloupe melon or pineapple 3.5 oz fat-free Greek-style yogurt ½ tsp mint leaves Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea
Warm the felafel patties or use at room temperature. Chop the mint leaves and combine with the yogurt. Prepare the beverage of choice and plate the food to please the eye.
Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ………………………………………… single portion for Thursday:
1 two-oz egg + pear
1.5 two-oz eggs
green bell pepper + celery
Danish bleu cheese
onion + cajun seasoning
herring marinated in wine
cottage cheese + Tabasco sauce
apple
Optional smoothie
optional smoothie
optional hot beverage
optional hot beverage
Dinner, single portion for Monday: ……………………………………… single portion for Thursday:
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
Catherine Cheynel Royaume was no doubt an unassuming woman. She had lived with her second husband Pierre in Lyon, France until 1572. At that time, the Protestant Huguenots were being persecuted by the Catholic majority, so the Royaumes and other families left France for Geneva. Pierre found work there as an engraver of coins and because of that, they had an apartment in the city wall above the Port de la Monnaie [Coin Gate] where taxes were collected on goods brought into the city. On December 11/12, 1602, when Catherine was 62, couldn’t sleep so she went to stir the soup that was always cooking over the coals of the fire. Hearing a noise outside the window, she looked out to see soldiers of an invading army from Savoie! As they began to scale the walls to take Geneva by surprise, Madame Royaume picked up her pot of hot soup and threw the contents on the soldiers. Then she sounded the alarm and hit an invader on the head with the pot. Other residents joined the fray, throwing furniture from windows to knock soldiers off their ladders. Eventually, the Savoyard army gave up and Geneva was saved. Catherine is remembered as “Mere Royaume” and tiny chocolate soup pots filled with marzipan vegetables are consumed every year in her honor.
The Royaume family was from Lyon, France, a rich agricultural area. Our breakfast features a French recipe using ripe cherries. Our dinner is one version of the soup that Mere Royaume used to save the day.
Cherry Flamusse: 194 calories 5 g fat 1.3 g fiber 11 g protein 27.6 g carbs [10 g Complex] 157 mg Calcium NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PBGF – if using GF flour This breakfast custard is borrowed from the dessert section of the cookbook, and it works very well either way! It is similar to a clafouti, but simpler. Served with cherries or any fresh fruit, it is sure to be a hit. HINT: This makes enough for 2 [two] servings: share with a friend or save the rest for a future breakfast or dessert. [As a dessert, one serving has 177 calories, since there would be no clementine.]
2 two-oz eggs 6 oz milk 4 tsp flour OR tapioca flour 1.5 Tbsp sugar 10 sweet cherries, pitted ½ clementine 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]
Spritz 2 ramekins or an oven-proof dish [1.5 cup capacity] with non-stick spray. Cut the cherries in half and arrange on the bottom of the dish. Whisk eggs until foamy, then add flour and sugar, whisking until there are no lumps. Stir in the milk and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake at 375 F. for 20 minutes. Turn the flamusse out of the dish so that the cherries are on top. Plate with the clementine sections, serve with the beverages. You won’t believe this is a ‘diet.’
Soup Royaume: 152 calories 0.3 g fat 6.3 g fiber 12.6 g protein 24.6 g carbs 84 mg Calcium PB GF A fine meal for winter, made hearty with autumn vegetables and lentils. Add as much seasoning as you wish. Any soup can be improved by preparing it ahead and letting it sit for 8-24 hours. HINT: The recipe makes four [4] servings.
2.5 oz pork loin, raw or cooked ½ cup onion, chopped 3.5 oz dry lentils, small green ones from France if possible 3 oz rutabega/turnip, cubed 2 oz carrot, diced 3 oz parsnip, diced 3 cups chopped cabbage mace + dry mustard + caraway seed [optional] salt + pepper ½ cup frozen spinach, chopped 3 cups water per serving: several leaves of fresh spinach
Put the pork, onions, and lentils in a heavy saucepan and cook until browned. Add the rutabega/turnip, carrot, parsnip, cabbage and seasonings. Cover with water, using more if needed. Cover and cook for about 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Taste for seasonings, add the frozen spinach, and heat through. Divide into 4 equal servings and freeze the servings you don’t need today. Roughly chop the fresh spinach and put it on top of the soup when serving.
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
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 favorites.
In the China Trillers by Peter May, the wonderful Mei Yuan prepares street food. Throughout the books, we learn of her difficult days during the Cultural Revolution and we marvel at her resilience in recreating herself as a seller of ‘jian bing’ aka: Chinese egg pancakes.
Jian Bing ‘Chinese Pancakes’: 154 calories 5 g fat 1.4 g fiber 9.3 g protein 19 g carbs [3 g Complex] 32.5 mg Calcium NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.PB This delicious treat is a popular Chinese street-food. And now it is popular in our household. Quick to cook and fun to eat. The crisp tart apple slices are a nice foil to the salty-spicy food. HINT: this recipe makes 4 pancakes, of which 2 will do for the breakfast. Save the remaining 2 to eat cold for lunch tomorrow.
1/3 cup all-purpose flour + 1.5 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 1 Tbsp semolina flour 2 two-oz eggs ½ cup water ¼ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts Kosher salt 2 tsp Sriracha sauce + 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce per person: 1 oz apple Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or lemon in hot water Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie[88 calories]
Whisk together the flours, water, and one egg until lumps are gone. Hint: this can be combined the night before. Whisk again in the morning. In a separate bowl, beat the other egg thoroughly. In a custard cup, combine the hot sauce and soy sauce. Using a good non-stick pan, add 2 brief puffs of non-stick spray, then wipe with a paper towel. [Keep the paper towel handy.] Heat the pan and add 3-4 Tbsp of batter, swirling the pan quickly to distribute the batter evenly to make a thin pancake that coats the bottom of the pan. Let cook for a minute or 2, then spoon some of the egg on top and smear it around. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and one tablespoon of the scallions. Cook until the egg on top is a bit set, then flip the pancake over. Brush the hot sauce mixture on top. Cook for 30 seconds, fold the pancake in 4ths with the hot sauce inside, and plate. Use the paper towel to wipe the pan and repeat the cooking process until all the batter and scallions are gone. NB: I had whisked egg left over. If your hot beverage is brewed, your apples are sliced, and the smoothie is ready, then you are set for a real good start to a new day.
In Louise Penny’s Three Pines Mysteries, the former fitness trainer Gabri has become the cheerful, chubby chef in the bistro he runs with his partner. He is always making food — to cheer someone up or to add to a pot-luck feast. In Still Life, he contributes a Cottage Pie.
Cottage Pie: 219 calories 7 g fat 1.8 g fiber 21.7 g protein 15 g carbs 35 mg Calcium GF Cottage Pie is the beef version of Shepherd’s Pie. The addition of mashed cauliflower is a great trick to lessen the calorie and carb count of mashed potatoes. Some people like this 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 beef, ground or minced 1 two-oz egg, separated ½ cup mashed potatoes + ½ cup mashed cauliflower ½ cup beef gravy, as fat free as you can make it per serving: 2 oz peas OR 1 cup lettuce + 1 oz tomatoes ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp lemon juice
Add the egg yolk and gravy to the beef, along with salt and pepper to taste. Whip the egg white until stiff and fold into the mashed vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Put the beef 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 egg
Next week’s topic is sugar in the diet.
milk + sugar
Choose a favorite or new favorite from Archives
flour + sweet cherries
clementine
Optional smoothie
optional smoothie
optional hot beverage
optional hot beverage
Dinner, single portion for Monday: …….. single portion for Thursday:
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini died on November 18 in 1680. He was the greatest Baroque-era sculpture and architect who ever lived!! I absolutely adore his work. He was the founder of the “Baroque” style of art. As opposed to the staid, calm, classical figures of the Renaissance, Bernini imbued his work with motion, and energy and passion. Compare his statue of David to the one by Michelangelo — it checks off all the boxes for a work that grabs your attention for all the right reasons. He was also an architect, or one might say, a ‘designer of space.’ The colonnade around Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City? He designed it. The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome? He did that. The Church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome, with its playful putti floating heavenward? Yup, Bernini did that. And his masterwork: the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa in the Cornaro Chapel. Wow. Amazing piece of devotion as theater. When I was in Rome, I went on a ‘Bernini pilgrimage’ to see as many of his works as I could, right down to his grave in Saint Peter’s Cathedral. I was never disappointed by his art.
Bernini was born in Naples, then spent most of his life in Rome. The pizzas of Napoli inspire the breakfast. The dinner is an American invention, named after an Italian opera star. What’s the connection? Grand opera, as we know it today, was developed in the Baroque period in Italy, just like Bernini’s art. Buon appetito.
Pizza ScrOmelette: 145 calories 8.5 g fat 0.7 g fiber 11 g protein 5.7 g carbs [5 g Complex] 77 mg Calcium NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Your favorite flavors at breakfast – cheesey and delicious. Sure beats a cold slice from a box….
1 ½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week 1 Tbsp crushed tomatoes [feel free to add hot pepper flakes if you like] one 2”-diameter slice pepperoni 1/8 oz mozzerella cheese, grated [add some ‘Italian herbs’ ad lib] ¼ oz bell pepper 1 oz applesauce or fresh 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]
Chop or dice the bell pepper and cook it in a pan spritzed with non-stick pan. Chop the pepperoni and stir it in with the cheese, tomatoes, and peppers. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper. Pour into a pan which has been sprayed briefly with cooking spray. When the bottom of the eggs have set, add the cheese mixture and scramble to your heart’s content or fold like an omelette. Portion the fruit, and plate. Truly a treat.
Chicken Tetrazzini: 281 calories 5.6 g fat 3.9 g fiber 26.6 g protein 23 g carbs 103 mg Calcium PB This well-known dish is infamously high in fat and calories…. Until now. Enjoy it without guilt.
3 oz chicken breast ¼ cup Bechamel sauce without cheese [see Sidekicks II, October 4, 2018] 1 tsp sherry wine, NOT ‘cooking sherry’ 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese 1 oz capelli d’angelli pasta [angel hair] 1 oz carrot + 2 oz broccoli
If the chicken is raw, slice it thinly and poach it in water until it is just cooked through. Reserve the chicken-poaching water for cooking the pasta. Start cooking the pasta and the vegetables. [TIP: if you have a boiling pot with a steamer insert, you could do it in the same pot at the same time.] Warm the Bechamel sauce and add the sherry, Parmesan, and chicken. Taste for seasonings. Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Plate with the vegetables. Delicious.
Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ……… single portion for Thursday:
1 two-oz egg
2 two-oz eggs + scallion
spinach, frozen + flour
white flour +/or white whole wheat flour
mushrooms + milk
semolina flour + Sriracha
feta cheese + garlic
soy sauce
Optional smoothie
optional smoothie
optional hot beverage
optional hot beverage
Dinner, single portion for Monday: …….. single portion for Thursday:
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
In May of 2016, I went for a hike with our cousin and her son. Nothing much…just walking the Hadrian’s Wall Path in northern England. [84 miles in 7 days] This was not an ‘all-inclusive holiday’ tour by bus with a guide and meals provided. Cousin Peggy found the places to stay and we figured out on the fly where we would have dinner each evening. Walking an average of 12 miles/day sounds arduous — but it wasn’t really, if you trained for it. You might think that this was no place for a Fasting Lifestyle. With all those calories being expended daily, surely one would need to chow down like a lumberjack every day. Again, not so. A Fast Breakfast can take you a long way into a busy, active day. The remainder is up to mind-set [like any diet plan]. And don’t forget — this was only two days out of the week — the rest of the time I could eat what I liked.
So what did I eat?
At Bistrot 34 in Brampton, I enjoyed this plate of legumes and goat cheese. It was really delicious and full of protein to fight hunger.
At the Gilsand Inn, the meat pie beckoned to me from the menu. The pie was small and tasty and the vegetables were abundant. Without the potatoes and gravy, it might almost be a Fast Meal. Ordering from the menu has limitations.
The take-aways? 1] With determination, one can Fast on vacation. 2] One will not perish by exercising on a Fast Day. 3] It is possible to order off the menu and still be true to the Fasting Lifestyle.
Did I eat salads while suffering from hunger all week? No way! The last day, we walked 21 miles from Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway. [The map says it is less, but taking the wrong turning adds miles!] We dined well that night at the King’s Arms. It was a Saturday so I could eat what I wanted. And I did.
The meal of fish & chips was delicious and I ate it all [I did share the chips with fellow diners]
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
Our elder son and I were in the Louvre together. He asked me to show him what I knew about pre-Renaissance art, since I had studied it and he hadn’t. At one point I leaned in toward a medieval work to see the details and the title. “Oh. Saint Barbara,” I said. “I should have known from the tower.” Curious, my son asked what that meant. He had never learned about the “iconography” of saints in art — that every saint has an “attribute,” a symbol to carry, to stand next to, or to wear so that we can recognize them when we see them: in a statue; on a window; in a painting. [Saint Barbara’s symbol is a tower. Saint Catherine’s is a wheel.] He was as intrigued as I had been, sitting in a dark lecture hall viewing slides during Freshman year in college: it was like a secret code book to a world of identification. Fascinating! Thus I became interested in saints [and knowing their iconography got me through many art history courses]. That’s how a “nice Protestant girl” got to know a lot about saints, and why I often choose saints for blog post topics. Some of the saints are old favorites, others are obscure yet interesting. I like their stories and how they fit into old customs and cultures. By their attributes shall ye know them.
Italy and France, respectively, have more native saints than any other countries [Spain is a close third] so our foods today will come from those nations. Breakfast is named after a French Saint and the dinner from Parma recalls their patron saint, Ilario.
St Denis ScrOmelette: 144 calories 8 g fat 2.2 g fiber 12.5 g protein 6.4 g carbs [5.3 g Complex] 57 mg Calcium NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. GF James Beard’s comprehensive volume American Cooking gives us the recipe for this breakfast. Delicious, and rich, and wonderful. Worth getting up for.
1 ½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. 1 Tbsp leek or scallion, minced ½ clove garlic, minced ¼ oz mushrooms ¼ oz ham [3% fat], minced 1 tsp chicken liver OR chicken liver pate parsley for garnish 1 oz watermelon OR 4 Bing cherries 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]
Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Add the leek, garlic, ham, and mushrooms and stir to cook. Whisk the eggs with the pate and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Cook as thoroughly as you like. The optional beverages are prepared and the fruit is plated. What a remarkable start to your day.
Chicken Parmesan: 238 calories 2.6 g fat 4.7 g fiber 31 g protein 11.4 g carbs 242.5 mg Calcium PG GF – if using GF bread At last! The restaurant classic made suitable for Fasters, with lots of protein and Calcium. And it is delicious.
3-½ oz raw chicken breast meat, boneless, skinless 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1 tsp dried oregano and/or thyme ¼ oz whole-grain breadcrumbs, fresh not dried 1 Tbsp milk ¼ cup marinara sauce, homemade or jarred ¾ oz mozzerella, grated 2 Tbsp low-fat cottage cheese 1 cup baby greens + ½ oz grated carrots ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp red wine vinegar
Heat the toaster oven to 350F. Spritz an oven-proof pan with non-stick spray or olive oil. Pour the milk onto a small plate. On another plate combine the Parmesan, herbs, and bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Cream the other two cheeses together until well-combined. Dip the chicken in the milk on both sides. Dredge the chicken in the crumb/cheese mixture to coat it completely. Place on the oven-proof pan and spray with olive oil. Bake the chicken about 10 minutes, until golden. Top the chicken with the marinara sauce, then mound the cheese over it. Broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. Prepare the salad ingredients and toss with dressing. For atmosphere, light a candle stuck in a wine bottle.
Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ……… single portion for Thursday:
Next week I will discuss actual menu choices made while on vacation.
1.5 two-oz eggs
Choose a new favorite from the Archives.
2″-diameter slice of pepperoni
mozzarella + bell pepper
crushed tomato + apple
Optional smoothie
optional smoothie
optional hot beverage
optional hot beverage
Dinner, single portion for Monday: …….. single portion for Thursday:
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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.
This week’s blog is dedicated to my friend Hilda B., who, being from Northern England, was probably named for St Hilda. Our Hilda is witty and wise, full of fun and a fellow bell-ringer. Be of good courage, Hilda.
In Whitby, Yorkshire in 657, there lived a remarkable women. She was born Hild or Hilda to a noble family in the days of a Christian Church so new that many of the ideas we have about the institution had not yet been thought of: clergy celibacy and the date of Easter and infant baptism, to name a few. Hilda moved to Whitby to start a new religious house, which invited men, women, and families to come together to live a godly life. In 664, she convened the Synod of Whitby which united Celtic believers with those who followed the rule of Rome, finally determining the date of Easter for everyone: first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Sounds complicated, but by using astronomical ‘signposts’ that anyone could observe, confusion was avoided. Hilda promoted learning and equality — of sexes and of classes. She was an able administrator who’s advice was sought by kings and clerics. Remarkable.
In honor of Saint Hild, we will eat the seafood for which Whitby is famous: Kippered Herring in Yorkshire Pudding for breakfast and a Whitby Fish Pie for dinner.
Kippered Yorkshire Pudding: 226 calories 5 g fat 5.8 g fiber 11 protein 33.5 g carbs [26 g Complex] 102 mg Calcium HINT: This recipe makes enough for two [2] servings. Nothing says Yorkshire like the iconic pudding and kippers. This is a meal to eat at home or to take on the road.
1 oz kippered herring ½ cup 1% milk one 2-oz egg ½ cup white whole wheat flour [or all-purpose, for lower protein and fiber] ½ tsp dry mustard + ¼ tsp salt 3 oz pear Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water
Soak the kippered herring in water for 30-45 minutes. Drain and mince. Whisk the milk, flour, egg, mustard and salt until combined, but do not over-mix. Spray a 7” pie plate with cooking-spray and sprinkle in some kippers. Carefully pour in the Yorkshire Pudding batter, then sprinkle with the remaining kippers. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Cut into 4 pieces. Plate two pieces per person along with the pear. What a flavor combination!
Whitby Fish Pie: 294 calories 15.4 g fat 1.7g fiber 17.5 g protein 15 g carbs [1.7 g Complex] 139 mg Calcium HINT: This recipe makes enough for two [2] servings. This fabulous recipe is from Paul Hollywood, of British Baking Show fame. It is simple and delicious. Dear Husband loved it.
This is a pie for TWO servings. We will serve this again!!
233 ml/1 cup skimmed milk ½ bay leaf ½ small onion 2 whole cloves [the spice]
Put the milk in a pan with the bay leaf and onion studded with cloves. Bring slowly to the boil, turn off the heat and let infuse for at least 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a small bowl.
20 g/3 Tbsp butter 20 g = 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 40 g/1.25 cup spinach, fresh or frozen 1 Tbsp chopped parsley salt & pepper
Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook gently for a few minutes, then gradually stir in the infused milk. Increase the heat a little, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the spinach, parsley and some salt and pepper.
133g/3.5 oz haddock 133g/3 oz smoked haddock 58 g/1.5 oz shrimp, cleaned [salt & pepper]
Skin the fish and remove any pin bones. Cut into bite-sized pieces and put into a 4”x6” dish with the prawns. Pour on enough sauce to cover, gently mix with the fish and check the seasoning.
Purchased puff pastry, 1/6 of a sheet
Heat the oven to 200°C/400 F/Gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a 4×6” rectangle. Cut into 6 strips and use to form a lattice atop the pie. Bake 20-25 mins until pastry is golden brown.
People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically.
This is one of my favorite meals. Restaurants will call it a bread & cheese board or a charcuterie platter and we call it a ‘French Lunch.’ I don’t care what you call it — it is easy to prepare and it is good to eat. “Charcuterie” is the French word for the meats you don’t get from a butcher [boucher] — such as pates and sausages. Cheeses come from a ‘fromagier’ or sometimes from a ‘charcuterier.’ Then there is good bread — very important! We add fresh fruit, chutney, and/or mustard to the board. Pair that with a nice wine, settle down, and enjoy a very nice repast without having to cook/prepare anything.
Here we have two artisanal breads, some salad, a variety of cheeses, two jars of chutney, and four spreads: chorizo paste, chicken liver pate, salmon pate, and mushroom pate. [The pates store very well in the freezer if you don’t eat them all now.]
Here’s another version of the idea, with three cheeses, olives, a duck liver mousse, a country pate, and an artichoke spread — all served with a salad and lovely bread. Washed down with cidre from apples.
How this Fast DietLifestyle 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 Feast of Saint Martin used to be a really big thing. Fairs were held; it was the end of the grape harvest in France; and it was the start of the standard pre-Christmas Fasting period. What? You knew about Lent: 40 days of fasting prior to Easter. In olden times, there was a similar time of penance, reflection, and preparation prior to Christmas, beginning at Saint Martin’s day. Saint Martin followed his father as an officer in the Roman army, and was posted to Amiens, France. One cold winter day, he met a half-naked beggar man. Martin took off his cloak, cut it in half, and gave it to the man. His friends scoffed that all anyone got out of that was half a ruined cloak. That evening, Martin had a dream: Christ himself walked into his room — wearing half a cloak. Whew. That would change your life. Martin then converted to Christianity and left the army as a conscientious objector. Although he wished to be a hermit, he was pressured into being the bishop of Tours. Until the end of his life he served the church in France and Italy with great vigor. Martin died in 397 and was buried at Tours on November 11.
Martinsdag [a Northern European name for Martin’s Day] is the time to lay in supplies for winter. This included slaughtering animals to salt or smoke. Thus St Martin’s day is associated with meat-eating all over Europe. From Scotland’s sheep, we have haggis at breakfast and and from cattle pastures the world over, we have beef for dinner. Eat meat and give clothing to the poor on November 11.
Haggis ScrOmelette: 156 calories 9.2 g fat 0.9 g fiber 13 g protein 6 g carbs [3.9 g Complex] 74.4 mg Calcium NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. GF Haggis could be described as a Scottish lamb sausage. Some of the variety meats in the original recipe are not readily available, so this is an updated/simplified version.
Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1-½ eggs per person HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week. 1 Tbsp haggis [see SPICY II 12-Sept-2018 for recipe] 1/2 tsp HP Sauce 1 oz pear slices Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]
Spritz a non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Whisk the eggs with the haggis, cheese, salt & pepper to taste and scramble or cook as an omelette in the pan. Plate with the applesauce and pour the optional beverages. A gateway to Scottish cuisine.
Beef BBQ Sliders: 269 calories 5.6 g fat 4.9 g fiber 22.6 g protein 30.7 g carbs 162.6 mg Calcium When a gift box of Corky’s Memphis BarBQue arrived, sliders seemed like a wonderful idea. Such fun to eat and easy to prepare, especially when the filling has been made for you. HINT: This serves TWO. Share with a friend or save half for lunch tomorrow.
Warm the slider buns while the beef and sauce are heating. Assemble the sliders and cut each in half. Each serving is three halves of slider. Plate with the vegetables.
Eating well, with creative recipes, to follow the Fasting Lifestyle according to Michael Mosley's "Fast Diet." 
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