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.                                                                      Welcome to Byunga who is now Following.

On April 16, 1746, the Scots army was defeated by the English at the Battle of Culloden, ending the Jacobite Rising.  Since 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie [Charles Stuart] had been raising an army and razing towns held by the English.  The goal was to put a Catholic Stuart back on the throne of England and Scotland. Often depicted as a fight between the rag-tag kilted Highlanders vs the might of the German king of England [George II], the sides were more evenly matched than that.  The end came due to lack of supplies, poor battlefield conditions, and some good soldiering by the English: it was a slaughter.  The romance of the doomed Young Pretender was perpetuated and Scots clung to it with a wish for independence [Braveheart revisited].  It has brought us “The Skye Boat Song,”  the novels and TV series Outlander, and Drambuie liqueur.  We will start our day eating Scottish bannocks [in honor of the 1314 battle at Bannockburn] and end with the quintessential Scottish comfort food, Cullen Skink.  Alas for the ‘King over the Water’.

Bannock & Bacon:  284 calories   3.8 g fat   3.2 g fiber   18.7 g protein   43.6 g carbs [33 g from fruits/vegetables]  176.5 mg Calcium  PB   For years we have enjoyed this on Slow Days, only to find that it fits for Fasting, too.

3 two-inch bannock [see …not by Bread… 7 feb 2018]                                                                                   2 slices Canadian Bacon — Jones brand   [‘back bacon’ of 60-70 calories]                                                           ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened                                                                                                               blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or natural cider

Prepare the bannock according to the recipe and bake. HINT: if you prepare and bake extra bannock, they freeze well or can be used for a meal later in the week. Warm and lightly brown the Canadian bacon. Plate the applesauce and pour the optional beverages. Simple and delicious.

Cullen Skink:  228 calories  4.5 g fat  2.9 g fiber   26 g protein   20 g carbs   161 mg Calcium PB GF  We found this old Scottish favorite to be divine!!  Despite the low calorie count, it is very satisfying.  Comfort Food with a Scottish dialect.

3 oz finnen haddie [smoked haddock]                                                                                                              3 oz milk                                                                                                                                                                 small pinch ground cloves  +   bay leaf                                                                                                                 ¼ cup onion, chopped                                                                                                                                          2 oz potato, diced                                                                                                                                                          2 oz asparagus in 1- 2” slices                                                                                                                       parsley                                                                                                                                                                optional: 1 tsp butter

Skin the fish and put it in a small pan with the milk and bay leaf. Cook gently until the fish is warm. Remove the fish from the milk and break it into large pieces. Add the onions, potatoes, and cloves to the milk along with a little water. Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf. Run the milk and vegetables through the blender [or use immersion blender] to a fine puree. Cook the asparagus. Return the fish to the pan with butter and the puree, and heat the mixture. Add pepper to taste. Plate the fish and ‘soup’, sprinkle with parsley, and arrange the asparagus around the sides. You will want to eat this again!