Second Fiddles

January 9, 2019July 9, 2019 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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.

What does it mean ‘to play or to be a second fiddle‘? It means to be the assistant to the leader or boss, which is a good role but it means that you may not get your full share of the glory or fame from what is accomplished. Originally, it referred to seating in an orchestra: the head honcho is the Conductor, of course. The next most important person is the First Violin [the one who plays the ‘1st Fiddle’], and below that is the Second Violin. That’s the 2nd Fiddle: close to the fame with important work to do, but often over-looked. Tomorrow will be the birthday of an over-looked man: Roy Disney. He was co-founder and partner in the Disney organization, playing second fiddle to his younger brother, Walt the cartoonist and media visionary. Despite the fact that Roy was a financial wizard who brought Disney World into fulfillment and put Orlando, Florida on the map, the only human who comes to mind when you say “Disney’ is Walt. Side dishes play second fiddle to the main meal. That’s too bad as they can tend to be an after-thought: boil up some peas for something green on the plate. Let’s up our game and serve some side dishes that really add some zest to the meal.

CORN-TOMATO SALSA makes 1.5 cups 87 calories per 3/4 cup serving 1 cup corn kernels 1 cup diced tomato 2 Tbsp minced red bell pepper 2 Tbsp diced red onion 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 1/4 tsp dry mustard 1/8 tsp tumeric ¼ tsp sugar 2 dashes ground cumin

CUCUMBER RAITA use as a side dish or in wraps 1 cup non-fat yogurt 1 Tbsp lime juice 1 clove garlic, pressed 1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced ½ tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground pepper 1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped Combine all ingredients and use immediately or chill up to 30 minutes.

FRESH POLENTA 1 serving = 1/3 cup = 80 calories 1.25 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen 1 tsp unsalted butter freshly-ground pepper + salt Puree the corn in a blender until smoother in texture [it won’t be like whipped cream, but you shouldn’t see whole kernels]. Put butter in a warm pan, then add the corn, pepper and salt. Cook about 30 seconds or until it becomes thicker. From Jacques Pepin, this is excellent served with a simply prepared fish.

SIDE SALAD Serves 1 = 36 calories, easily doubles or triples 1 cup lettuce, slice into <1/2” strips if leaves are large ½ oz grated carrots 1 oz tomato ½ tsp olive oil, plain or flavor-infused [ex: lime] ½ tsp flavorful vinegar salt and pepper to taste optional: 1/2 oz boiled, cubed beets [adds 6 calories]

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion

1 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
1 felafel patty [Stocking Up 4-I-2018]	salami, thinly-sliced
tomato puree or crushed tomatoes	pear
blueberries
Whatever you need for your smoothie	Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage	Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

6 felafel patties	pork tenderloin + honey + garlic
lettuce + tomatoes	fresh green beans + red bell pepper
carrot + beets + feta cheese	fresh ginger + soy sauce + canola oil
white wine vinegar + flavored olive oil	crushed red pepper + scallion
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

Fannie Farmer

January 6, 2019March 22, 2026 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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

On the shelf in the kitchen is a cookbook that used to have a gold-colored cover. The book’s binding is reinforced with packing tape and the pages are stained with the splatters of cooking. This is my Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 11th edition published in 1965. On January 6, 1896, the first edition was issued under the title The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. Miss Fannie Merritt Farmer, a woman with a disability who did not attend cooking school until the age of 30, had written a book which explained the chemistry of cooking and which established uniform measurement of ingredients that everyone could use. She became a media mogul and culinary icon, the Julia Child or Martha Stewart of her day. Miss Farmer was the director of the Boston Cooking School, as well as teaching classes. Her idea was to teach cooking skills to middle-class housewives, instead of to their cooks. Thus she democratized kitchen skills. The book was an instant success and became the classic of the American kitchen. My mother used it faithfully [I have her copy] and gave me my own when I became engaged. So many good recipes! My adaptations of several of them have already appeared in this blog, some recipes used as-is.

The breakfast for this anniversary is an old favorite of our’s, Shirred Egg [p 103 in my copy] and for dinner the thrifty housewife’s go-to: Swiss Steak [p 163]

Shirred Egg: 271 calories… 8.5 g fat… 3.5 g fiber… 16 g protein… 39 g carb… 275 mg Calcium… PB GF– if using GF bread or omitting I learned to prepare this dish when working on my Girl Scout ‘Cooking’ badge. We still eat it because it tastes so good. Easy to serve to guests, too.

++ One 2-oz egg ++++ 1 Tbsp half&half [Blend Cream, 10% milk fat] ++++ salt & pepper to taste ++++ 1/2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese ++++ half a slice of 70-calorie whole-grain bread, toasted ++++ 2 oz apple slices or 2 oz strawberries ++++ blackish coffee or blackish tea ++++ 5-6 oz fruit smoothie, green smoothie or natural apple cider ++

Heat the toaster oven to 325° F. Spritz a 1-cup ramekin with cooking oil or spray. Break the egg into the ramekin, and pour the half&half on top. Sprinkle with cheese, add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then let sit 2-3 mins while you toast the bread. Plate with the toast and fruit. Serve with your choice of beverages.

Swiss Steak: 267 calories… 6.5 g fat… 6.5 g fiber … 28 g protein… 27.5 g carbs … 105 mg Calcium… PB GF — if using GF flour This is a recipe from Fannie Farmer’s cookbook which I fondly remember from my childhood. HINT: This recipe makes enough for two [2], so save half of it for a future lunch or dinner.

++ ½ pound chuck steak, cut 1 to 1.5” thick ++++ 1.5 Tbsp white whole wheat flour ++++ salt + pepper ++++ 8 oz stewed tomatoes ++++ ¼ cup minced green bell peppers ++++ ¼ cup minced onion ++++ herbs to taste, such as rosemary or parsley ++++ per serving: ½ cup cut green beans ++++ ½ cup carrots sliced as coins ++

Leave the meat in one piece or cut into two parts. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper and dredge the meat in it. If you wish, pound the meat with a tenderizing tool or the edge of a sturdy plate. Combine the tomatoes with the vegetables and herbs. Heat a heavy skillet with a lid and spray it well with oil or cooking spray. Brown the meat on both sides and pour the tomatoes over it. Cover and cook very slowly for 2 hours until the meat is very tender, adding water if the tomatoes are in danger of sticking. This can be cooked on the cooktop at low or in the oven at 325 F. Steam or boil the beans and carrots to serve along-side the beef with its sauce.

Tolkien

January 2, 2019July 23, 2026 ~ me ~ 2 Comments

J.R.R. Tolkien did not set out to be a world-famous fantasy writer. Born in South Africa on January 2, 1892, he became a professor of linguistics at Oxford. There he dabbled in writing with a group called The Inklings. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis traded ideas and critiqued each other’s work. [This is why both their fantasy series feature talking trees, elves, and Christian allegory.] At heart, Tolkien was a lover of the linguistic roots of modern English and of old myths. He wanted to create an English mythology and produced The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Silmarillion, as well as many songs, poems, and short stories. Tolkien’s works are beloved the world over for their universal human insights set in a fantasy landscape. The Quest and Coming of Age themes are compelling and the characters are memorable. The works may not be the history of England and its language, but they are worth reading at any age.

Since Tolkien was such a devoted chronicler of all things English, today’s meals would please him as well as making sure that no Hobbits become fatter. The mushroom breakfast is based on the casserole given to Frodo by Farmer Maggot’s wife, and the dinner is a classic English meal from the 1700s.

FarmWife Mushroom Pudding: 127 calories… 2 g fat… 2 g fiber… 7 g protein… 33.5 g carbs… 83.6 mg Calcium… NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB Having heard this described in The Fellowship of the Ring, I searched and searched until I found an approximation: this recipe in Theodora FitzGibbon’s A Taste of England.

++ ½ oz [around one strip] American/streaky bacon ++++ ¾ cup assorted mushrooms, chopped ++++ 3 Tbsp chicken stock ++++ 1 tsp white whole wheat flour ++++ 1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce + salt & pepper ++++ ½ Arnold Multi-grain Sandwich Thin ++++ ½ oz pear ++++ 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] ++

Cook the bacon partially, blot off the fat, and cut in strips. Pour off the bacon fat but return 1 tsp to the pan. Saute the mushrooms in the fat with a pinch of salt, and remove them. Pour some of the chicken stock into the pan and sprinkle in the flour while whisking to prevent lumps as it thickens. Add the remaining stock and some pepper. Put the bacon and mushrooms into the sauce and cook over low heat. Pour into an oiled oven-proof dish and bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Warm or lightly toast the Sandwich Thin. Place the bread on top of the mushroom pudding prior to serving. NB: you can serve it out of the baking dish or turn it out on the bread on a plate. Enjoy with the pear and have a hearty day, even if you are not escaping from Black Riders.

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

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

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

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

one 2-oz egg + apple or strawberries	Next week I will provide some favorite side dishes for Fast Days
whole-grain bread, 70 calories
blend cream/half&half
parmesan cheese	Find a new favorite in the Archives
Whatever you need for your smoothie	Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage	Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

Beef chuck steak + green pepper
stewed tomatoes + onion
white whole wheat flour
green beans + carrots	Find a new favorite in the Archives
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

Johannes Kepler

December 26, 2018February 15, 2025 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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.

Although there is a space telescope named after him, most people would be hard pressed to recognize the name of Johannes Kepler. Yet he revolutionized how we view the solar system and brought us out of the Middle Ages of astronomy once and for all. He was the assistant to the famous Tycho Brahe [cf 13 December 2017] in Bohemia and inherited the detailed written observations of his mentor. By applying his superior mathematical skills, Kepler developed his 3 Laws of Planetary Motion. Today’s breakfast illustrates those theories. 1] Planets move in elliptical [egg-shaped] paths around the sun. [In his time, the 1500-year old ideas of Ptolemy said that orbits were perfect circles.] 2] When planets reach the point of their orbit where they are farthest from the sun, they travel slower, but go faster closer to the sun. The two figs mark places where a planet would go faster or slower in its orbit. 3] The time it takes a planet to orbit the sun [many scientists in the 1500s held that the Earth was in the center of the Solar System] is proportional to its distance from the sun. In the photo, the ‘orbital path’ of the spinach leaves would be shorter if it were closer to the egg yolk [egg yolk = sun.] These ideas were huge in their day and yet they made few ripples in the scientific community, with no scandal of excommunication. The time was almost right for recognizing that the old ideas were based on opinion and that scientists could prove, by observation and calculation, that their theories were correct.

Since Kepler’s side hustle was as an astrologer [the magic side of star-gazing], dinner gives a nod to the recent Winter Solstice, a time of dread and disruption in the ancient Solar Calendar. Kepler’s birthday is tomorrow. He was a Capricorn.

Fig & Chèvre Plate: 294 calories 8.7 g fat 5.7 g fiber 17 g protein 43 g carbs [33 g Complex] 325 mg Calcium PB GF Simple, elegant, and much more filling than it looks.

½ hard-boiled egg 1 dried fig, mass = 0.65 oz or 16 g 1 oz chèvre cheese ¼ oz baby spinach 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]

Rehydrate the dried fig by covering with water and microwaving or heating for 1 minute. Let the fig sit in the water for another few minutes, then cut in half. Arrange the spinach leaves in an oval. Dab the leaves with crumbles of the goat cheese. Plate the egg half and the fig halves. HINT: I composed the plate the night before, covered it with a plastic bag, and kept it cool until breakfast. Instant breakfast!

Winter Solstice Pizza: 281 calories 10 g fat 2.8 g fiber 16 g protein 15.6 g carbs [7.8 g Complex] 223.4 mg Calcium PB On the solstice, we like to prepare a pizza with elements of the season past [mushrooms represent Fall] and of the season to come [cured meats stand in for Winter]. Fabulous flavors!

1 whole wheat tortilla [ex: Herdez 8” Fajita-style Tortilla], must be 170 calories or less 1.5 Tbsp crushed tomatoes + pinch granulated garlic 1 oz mozzerella cheese, grated 1 oz mushrooms, chopped 1/3 oz prosciutto 1 Tbsp onion, chopped generous sprinkling of Italian Herbs + crushed red peppers to taste

Heat the oven to 400 F. Spread the tortilla with the crushed tomato sauce and garlic. Chop the prosciutto roughly and combine it with the mushrooms, onion, and cheese. Distribute over the pizza shell. Sprinkle with herbs, crushed red pepper, or other seasonings to taste. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Light some candles and enjoy pizza on the longest night of the year.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion

Next week I will discuss options for	American bacon + mushrooms
New Year’s Eve entertaining	Cheddar cheese + chicken stock
choose a favorite from the Archives for breakfast	Yorkshire Pudding Batter [..Not by Bread…18-Feb-2018 OR Arnold Sandwich Thin [100 calories]
	white whole wheat flour
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

Next week I will discuss options for	cooked pheasant meat
New Year’s Eve entertaining	carrots + cabbage + onion
choose a favorite from the Archives	pheasant or chicken gravy
for dinner	Arnold Sandwich Thin [100 calories]
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

Adam & Eve

December 23, 2018December 23, 2018 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow will be the Feast Day of St Adam and St Eve. Bet you didn’t know they were saints, did you? Me neither. Medieval and Renaissance artists loved to depict the once- happy pair — after all, they were naked!! So we see them being created in sculpture by Lorenzo Maitani; succumbing to temptation in painting by Lucas Cranach and in engraving by Albrecht Dürer; and being expelled from Eden in fresco by Masaccio; One of my favorites* is from bronze doors of Bishop Bernwald in Hildesheim, Germany begun in 1015. It shows God pointing accusingly to Adam, who fairly writhes in embarrassment over his nakedness. Adam points to Eve to blame her for their mistake. And Eve points to the Devil [a small dragon at her feet] to blame him, as if to say ‘the dog did it’! A wonderful examination of human nature. *[thanks, Pflug] Going from the sublime to the ridiculous: in old diner parlance, if the waitress yelled at the cook, “Adam and Eve on a Raft” it meant an order of poached eggs on toast. We will extend the ‘raft’ simile a bit to include the toast that is served under any food. At breakfast, the toast will hold the trendy avocado as well as the Adam/Eve egg, while at dinner it will be bread with Vietnamese toppings.

Avocado Toast: 273 calories 10.4 g fat 5 g fiber 14.4 g protein 32.5 g carbs 210 mg Calcium PB GF – if using GF bread Avocado Toast has been all the rage in celebrity diets, so we decided to try it. Very nice with the egg on top and a hearty whole-grain bread underneath.

1 two-oz egg o.8 oz avocado 1 slice 70-calorie whole-grain bread blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water ¼ cup unpasturized apple cider or 3 oz fruit smothie or green smoothie

Lightly toast the bread while you fry or poach the egg. Spread the avocado over the bread and top with the egg. Pour the beverages and you are all set for a healthy day.

Banh Mi: 300 calories 7 g fat 4.8 g fiber 20 g protein 36.7 g carbs 47 mg Calcium PB The recipe for this popular Thai/Viet street sandwich came in the mail from Eating Well’s Shape magazine. Just a few tweeks and it worked splendidly for a Fast Day. Dear Husband is fan. Bahn Mi

3 oz pork tenderloin, previously cooked or raw 1 tsp Asian sweet chili sauce + ½ tsp soy sauce 1.5 oz cucumber, cut in 2-3” strips 1.5 oz red sweet pepper, cut in 2-3” strips 2 oz carrot, shredded 2 Tbsp pickle brine [juice from a jar of pickles] + ½ tsp sesame oil + ¼ tsp ground ginger + ¼ tsp ground garlic + pinch sesame seeds 1-1/2 oz baguette slices, cut 1/4” thick

Slice the pork thinly and brush with Asian chili + soy sauce mixture. If meat is uncooked, briefly sauté until just pink. Combine the pickle brine with the sesame-ginger -garlic-sesame to make a dressing, and set aside in a small bowl. Slice and grate the vegetables and toss in the sesame-ginger dressing. Slice the bread and arrange it on the serving plate. Top with pork, then with vegetables. Serve remaining vegetables on the side. Done! We ate everything with our fingers.

Slow Days: Sister’s Pasta Sauce

December 22, 2018January 7, 2020 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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. Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum which show that is true. But once in a while your can splurge, as long as it isn’t every day. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

When our parents were alive and still hosting Christmas at their house, my sister would prepare her special pasta for Christmas Eve. It is the tradition in many cultures to eat a meatless dinner on December 24, and this recipe from Bon Appétit magazine fills the bill. It is a lot easier if you start several days before to prepare the sauce. I like to make the sauce much earlier in December and freeze it.

Sukey Pasta, mise 1 — Ingredients in a *mise en place*, ready to go.

The sauce involves sautéing 1.5 cups onion and 1 clove garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil for 5 minutes, then adding basil, red pepper flakes, and 3 cans [28-oz cans] of whole or crushed tomatoes in their juice. Cook uncovered on low for 2 hours, then add 2 cups chicken stock. Continue to simmer for another 2 hours until the amount of sauce is reduced to 6-8 cups. The resultant rich, flavorful sauce is mostly used in the Christmas Pasta, but it will grace a more humble dish as well.

To complete the pasta dish for four people, cook 12 oz of penne pasta until it is just under-done. [NB: Ordinarily I use 2 oz pasta per serving so 12 oz pasta should serve 6 people. The remainders from this meal can be served as lunch.] Gently heat 20 fl oz Sister’s Pasta Sauce, adding 1/3 cup of quartered wrinkly black olives or Kalamata olives and 2 cups grated Havarti cheese. Combine with the drained pasta and put in a lightly-oiled casserole dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350° F for 20-30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese begins to brown slightly. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve with Italian Green Beans or Green Salad and a crusty loaf.

I’m always sure to save out enough sauce to prepare the pasta again before Easter, to give a culinary link to the two holidays.

Very Grimm

December 19, 2018May 10, 2024 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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

Children’s and Household Tales were first published on December 20, 1812. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm did not intend their work as happy bed-time stories for children. Their intent was to collect German folktales before they disappeared in an increasingly industrial society. The stories were to re-educate the German public about their cultural past and to earn money for their impoverished brothers and sister. [Food or a lack thereof is a constant theme in their stories.] The book was a best-seller, partly due to the fact that it fit well with the Romanticism of the era: stories set in the wild forest; tales that harked back to a simpler if not a kinder time. Popular in our own time, ‘fairy tales’ show us the darker sides of human nature, but in the end things usually work out. That’s reassuring.

In the theme of Grimm’s tales, we will eat porridge for breakfast — but not cook it to excess as in the story Sweet Porridge. We will know when to stop. Many of the stories take a truly gruesome turn as in The Juniper Tree [a film Disney will never make!], so we will have organ meats in the form of haggis spring rolls for dinner. Re-read some of the works of the Brothers Grimm today.

10-Grain Porridge: 300 calories 1.5 g fat 5.1 g fiber 16 g protein 50 g carbs [39 g Complex] 215 mg Calcium PB Delicious hot cereal for any day of the week.

1/4 cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal 2 Tbsp cottage cheese 1 tsp maple syrup 1.5 Tbsp applesauce, unsweetened pinch of nutmeg + pinch of cinnamon blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water 3 oz fruit smoothie, green smoothie or natural apple cider

Put the cereal in 3/4 of a cup of boiling water, turn down to a simmer and cook, covered, for 8 minutes. HINT: Do this the night before. Cool the cereal, then mix in the cottage cheese, maple syrup, applesauce, and spices until well-combined. Put into a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 45 to 60 seconds [if cold from last night] OR for 30 seconds until hot through. Pour the beverages and you will have a warm, filling start to your day.

Haggis Spring Rolls: 262 calories 12.8 g fat 2.8 g fiber 23 g protein 26 g carbs 41 mg Calcium The first time I enjoyed these was at the Whiski Rooms in Edinburgh, along with a wee dram of single malt. Today, the whisky is in the dipping sauce to complete the fusion of Asian-Scottish flavors. This meal has my husband’s approval. Haggis Spring Rolls

4 six-inch rice spring roll wrappers/skins ++++ 8 Tbsp haggis filling see Spicy 12-September-2018 ++++ 1 cup lettuce leaves sliced into <1/2” strips ++++ 1/2 oz carrot, grated ++++ cherry tomatoes ++++ 1 tsp flavored olive oil ++++ 1 tsp red wine vinegar finishing salt ++++ 1.5 tsp Thai hot chili sauce ++++ ½ tsp single malt Scotch whisky

Put water into a wide, shallow dish such as a pie plate. Lay a tea towel on the counter. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water. Initially, the wrapper will look like a piece of thin, stiff, whitish plastic. Soon it will become more transparent, colorless, and pliable. Remove it from the water while still a little stiff [do NOT let it become limp] and lay it on the tea towel. Place 2 Tbsp haggis filling on the lower 1/3 of the wrapper, arranged as a little log. Roll it up, folding the sides in after the 1^stturn. Move finished roll to the side as you repeat the steps. Heat a 10” cast-iron skillet over medium flame and spray with non-stick spray. Place the spring rolls in the pan with room between them. Cook slowly on one side, then roll onto another side. Continue until all the rolls are browned on each side. Prepare the salad and plate it. Combine the chili sauce and the whisky in a dipping cup. Plate the haggis, and try not to read Grimm’s Fairy Tales while you dine.

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion

1 two-oz egg	1 two-oz egg, hard-boiled
avocado	baby spinach
whole-grain bread	chèvre cheese [goat cheese]
	fig, dried or fresh
Whatever you need for your smoothie	Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage	Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

pork tenderloin, roasted or raw + sesame oil + pickle juice	whole-wheat tortillas, 170 calories each
ground ginger + soy sauce + ground garlic	crushed tomatoes + onion
cucumber + carrot + red bell pepper	mozzarella cheese
baguette + Asian sweet chili sauce	mushrooms + prosciutto
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

Saint Lucy’s Day

December 12, 2018July 9, 2019 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

December 13 is one of our favorite days. I read the Swedish legend of Saint Lucy when I was in 6th grade and was charmed by the idea of a daughter taking breakfast in bed to her parents while wearing a wreath of candles in her hair. So I made a white robe [my mother never asked where that sheet went], and a pine-cone wreath, and wrote some new words to the tune of “Santa Lucia” — and the rest was history. Saint Lucy visited our house annually when our sons were little [a new song was written then], and she will make an appearance this year too. We devote the evening to decorating the Christmas Tree while enjoying an easy-to-eat dinner. It is possible to have a family celebration and still remain on the Fast Diet — try these menus. Or, change your Fast Day to the day before the festival day or the day after. Since the original Lucy/Lucia was born in Sicily, we’ll prepare eggs with the flavors of that island. For dinner we move to the Baltic region with a meal that followers of her northern version would recognize.

Sicilian ScrOmelette: 298 calories 11 g fat 2.4 g fiber 19 g protein 31 g carbs 290 mg Calcium PB GF A protein-packed salad meets eggs for breakfast.

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. ¼ oz salami sausage ¼ oz mozzerella 2 Tbsp chopped wild greens [ex: dandelion] or arugula optional: blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water optional: 5-6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpasturized apple cider

Chop the sausage, the cheese, and the greens, and combine them gently. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper, then pour into the heated pan. As the eggs set, sprinkle the sausage mixture over the eggs. Scramble or fold as an omelette and enjoy with the beverages of choice.

Herring Salad: 278 calories 6 g fat 6.8 g fiber 16 g protein 24 g carbs 103 mg Calcium PB GF Luchöw’s Restaurant will live in memory as long as a certain generation still 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 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. 1 -1/2 oz herring marinated in wine, drained 1/4 cup beets, cooked, cooled and diced 1 -1/2 oz apple, peeled and diced 1/4 cup white beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 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

Whisk the vinegar and sugar in a bowl 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.

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion

Search the Archives for a new	Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal
favorite breakfast.	cottage cheese + nutmeg
	maple syrup + cinnamon
	blueberries or raspberries
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

Search the Archives for a new	Haggis filling [Spicy II, 12-Sept-2018]
favorite dinner.	rice spring-roll wrappers
	lettuce + carrot + cherry tomatoes
	flavorful oil + good vinegar
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

Slow Days: Apple-Chicken Crepes

December 8, 2018December 5, 2018 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

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. Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum which tell the tale. But once in a while your can splurge, as long as it isn’t every day. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Remember those crêpes we made last month? [November 10, 2018] Here’s a delicious way to use some of them. The recipe is from Brittany Gastronomique by Kate Whiteman. Apple-Chicken Crepe recipe

Having had on hand some chicken meat, some apples, and some crêpes — we couldn’t resist having a go at this recipe. It was our 2nd time of cooking it. Apple-Chicken Crepes, mise As you can see, the chicken was already cooked, so this was extra easy to prepare. The chicken/apple/cream/honey/cidre were combined as per the recipe. The crêpes, previously prepared and thawed, were gently heated before using. Fill the crêpes and serve! Apple-Chicken Crepes, plated êServed with a simple salad, the meal is excellent. Add a honeyed cidre called Chouchenn from the Iles de la Madelaine and it is ambrosial.

St Nick

December 5, 2018November 23, 2021 ~ me ~ Leave a comment

In art, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas has evolved physically over the many years since he was born in the 3rd century in what was then Greece but is now Turkey. As early as the 4th century, he was shown as a normally-sized, generic bishop. And it was the same in the 1600s in England, where celebrating Christmas was frowned upon. When we get to the 1800s the Good Saint, as depicted by Thomas Nast in 1881, looks like a man who should try the Fast Diet. So does the Coke-swilling Santa of the ads beginning in the 1930s. “Miracle on 34th Street” in 1947 had him slimmer. Have you seen the ‘picture’ of Saint Nicholas, as determined by a forensic pathologist? He looks a little healthier. Santa today is still depicted as chubby, if not fat. If you don’t want to look like the ‘Nast Santa’ or the ‘Coca-Cola Santa’, with all the health problems that come with that physique, then it might be time to start Fasting. Just saying… Our breakfast reflects the Asia Minor origins of the real Nicholas. And for dinner we have the classic beef stew of Hungary where the saint distributes gifts to children on December 6. In our household, we enjoy the gulyàs every Saint Nicholas Day.

Mediterranean Bake: 288 calories 8 g fat 2.4 g fiber 14.6 g protein 38.5 g carbs 234 mg Calcium PB GF Oh! Those sunny flavors!

one 2-oz egg 3 Tbsp Mediterranean Vegetables 1 Tbsp chèvre cheese salt + pepper + large pinch of Herbes de Province 2 oz applesauce or melon 6 oz green smoothie or fruit smoothie or unpasteurized apple cider blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water

Set the toaster oven at at 350° F. Spritz a ramekin with oil or non-stick spray and spoon in the Med. Veg. Pop the ramekin in the warming toaster oven for 30 seconds to warm the vegetables. Whisk the egg with the cheese and seasonings. Pour in the egg mixture over the vegetables and bake in the toaster oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Brew your warm beverage; shake and pour the smoothie; plate the fruit. A fine way to anticipate the joys of Summer.

Gulyàs: 283 calories 9.5 g fat 2.9 g fiber 40.4 g protein 8 g carbs [7.6 g Complex] 42.6 mg Calcium GF This version of the famous Hungarian stew is from Craig Claiborne’s International Cookbook. HINT: The recipe makes 8 servings, so make it once and freeze in serving sizes.

2 pounds beef chuck [shoulder], cut in 1” cubes 1 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1.5 cups beef stock per serving: 1 oz green beans optional per serving: ¼ oz egg noodles which add 27 calories 1 g fiber 2 g carbs [simple]

Heat the oven to 300 F. Toss the beef chunks with the paprika, salt, and pepper. On the cook-top, heat the oil in a Dutch oven [large, heavy, heat-proof, covered pot] and brown the beef in batches. Move the beef around in the pan to prevent it from sticking. Add non-stick spray or a little water if necessary. Remove the beef to a plate. Add some water to the pan and saute the onions until they are transluscent. Return the beef to the pan and pour in 1.5 cups beef stock. Stir thoroughly, scraping brown bits off the bottom. Cover the pot and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours. Every hour, check the pot and stir, adding more water as needed. Taste for salt at the end. Divide into 8 portions, reserving the remainder for future meals. TIP: Freezes very well. Plate with the green beans and optional noodles. A real Winter treat.

Ingredients for next week:

Breakfast, single portion

2 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
fat-free milk + 10 sweet cherries	salami sausage
flour	mozzarella cheese
sugar + clementine	wild greens or arugula
Whatever you need for your smoothie	Whatever you need for your smoothie
Whatever you need for your hot beverage	Whatever you need for your hot beverage

Dinner, single portion:

beets	Herring marinated in wine + vinegar
potato	beets, canned or fresh cooked
Canadian or back bacon	Apple + lettuce + onion
onion + one 2-oz egg	white beans + hard-boiled egg + pickle
Sparkling water	Sparkling water

	me on Let Me Entertain You… Di…
	Mya on Let Me Entertain You… Di…
	Peter Eppig on Robert Gould Shaw
	me on 10 Years of FASTing
	Karen Loudon on 10 Years of FASTing

Eating well, with creative recipes, to follow the Fasting Lifestyle according to Michael Mosley's "Fast Diet."

Join me in following the Fasting Lifestyle, with recipes & tips

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Johannes Kepler

Adam & Eve

Slow Days: Sister’s Pasta Sauce

Very Grimm

Saint Lucy’s Day

Slow Days: Apple-Chicken Crepes

St Nick

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