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.

Mary Stuart was born to be a queen, and she became the Queen of Scots in 1542, when she was six days old. Her life was filled with failed love affairs and religious strife. She was raised as a Catholic and was engaged as an infant to Edward, son of Henry VIII, the Protestant king of England. The Scots Catholics put the kibosh on that, and Mary was engaged to the child Dauphin of France. She was sent to Paris at age five to be raised and groomed at Court. As teenagers, they married in 1558, with Mary wearing a non-traditional white wedding dress. Prince Francois became king, but a year and a half into marriage, he died. Meanwhile, in England, Edward was dead, Henry VIII was dead, and the crown went to Mary, Henry’s Catholic elder daughter. After her sister’s death, Protestant Elizabeth took the throne although some thought that Mary of Scotland had a claim, being the great-niece of Henry VIII. Mary returned to Scotland and tried to tread a line between the Catholic and Protestant factions, guided by her brother Lord James, a Protestant. She did not take well to guidance, it seems. Mary married Lord Darnley and bore him a son. But their marriage failed and he was found dead of strangulation. Within a few months, Mary was the wife of Lord Bothwell, prime suspect in the murder of Darnley. This hot mess lead the Scottish nobles to force her to turn over the crown to her baby son, James. Mary was imprisoned, but escaped and crossed into England, convinced that her cousin Elizabeth would be sympathetic to her. She wasn’t. Elizabeth feared that Mary would rouse the support of the closeted Catholics of England, so Mary went to house arrest again in 1568. For the next 17 years, Mary was shuttled from one secure location to another. Her supporters hatched plots to free her, to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, to put Mary of Scotland on the throne. All of this intrigue lead to Mary being put on trial for treason against the English Crown in October, 1586. It was a foregone conclusion that Mary would be found guilty. She was beheaded in February of 1587. Her son James became King of Scotland and England, something his mother only dreamed of.

For Mary, smoked meat at breakfast and haggis at dinner, two very Scottish foods for a queen who spoke mostly French. Although she reigned in Scotland for only six years, Mary’s life still captures the imagination 400+ years later.

Smoked Sausage ScrOmelette: 158 calories 10 g fat 1 g fiber 13.6 g protein 8 g carbs 45 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Having been gifted with Dakin Farms smoked chicken sausage,  we decided to make it a breakfast. The sausage adds a nice smokey Autumnal flavor to the eggs. NB: If substituting another brand of sausage, choose one that has 30 calories per ounce.

1½ 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.   ¾ oz Dakin Farm cob-smoked chicken sausage, diced 1.5 tsp each oregano and parsley, chopped 2 oz apple OR apple sauce, unsweetened  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 prepared sausage and stir to heat . Whisk the eggs with the herbs and a grind of pepper and pour into the pan, stirring to incorporate the sausage. Cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Plate the fruit, pour your beverages and off you go.

Haggis Spring Rolls: 262 calories 13 g fat 3 g fiber 23 g protein 26 g carbs 41 mg Calcium PB 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 Dear Husband’s approval.

4 six-inch rice spring roll wrappers/skins 8 Tbsp haggis filling  1 cup lettuce leaves sliced into <½” strips ½ oz carrot, grated 1 tsp flavored olive oil 1 tsp red wine vinegar finishing salt 1½ tsp Thai hot chili sauce ½ tsp single malt Scotch whisky [I used Craggenmore from Speyside]

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^st turn. 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, cue the bagpipes.

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

1 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
corned beef slices	2%-fat cottage cheese
catsup + sauerkraut	mushrooms
strawberries	chives or scallions
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

1 cup cooked salmon + 1 two-oz egg + fresh bread crumbs	3.5 oz chicken breast + Parmesan cheese
red onion + coriander or cilantro + sesame oil	¼ cup marinara sauce + Fresh bread crumbs
Chili-garlic sauce + soy sauce + 5-spice powder	Mozzarella cheese + cottage cheese
side salad or Corn-tomato salsa or coleslaw	Baby greens + carrot + vinaigrette
Sparkling water	Sparkling water