The details from this excerpt support the idea that Elizabethans’ attitude toward eating meat was becoming more relaxed given the fact that wealthy people increased the comsuption of meat in their diets, including during Lent, which is a period of time when people fast as a matter of religious belief; and also since the law that forbade meat intake was repealed, many of the households introduced meat diets to suit the demands.
Mean-kind nice caring generous
friendly-unfriendly unkind horrible
strong-feeble weak powerless
For "He lived a year in a minute" I think it means that all of a sudden he looks very old, is tired, or maybe time went by really fast? Like I said I am not 100% sure so don't take my word for it. Heck I am not 10% sure, more like I am 5% sure, 20% at the most. Sorry if I am wrong.