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. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

When I was a child, the expression “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” was known by many. Who was Dr Livingstone? He was the son of cotton mill workers in Lanarkshire, Scotland, raised in poverty with his parents’ fiercely religious views for spiritual comfort. David Livingstone, his six siblings, and their parents lived in one room of company housing at the mill. When he was 10 years old, little David went to work in the mill to help his family financially. Even then, he knew that he wanted an education and a life of travel, so he spent some of his wages on books. When Livingstone was 21 years old, he heard that medical missionaries were needed in China, so he put his efforts into training for that life. While still working part-time at the mill, David studied Greek, theology, and medicine for two years before being accepted into the London Missionary Society. The Opium War put the kibosh on going to China, but a meeting with the leading missionary to Africa, Robert Moffat, turned Livingstone’s thoughts to the “Dark Continent“. In 1840, he was ordained as a missionary and set sail for Cape Town. After a brief stay with Moffit at his missionary outpost on the coast, Dr David struck out for the interior. His plan was to convert members of the native population and thus have local people to help him to spread the Christian gospel. In addition, Livingstone wished to explore the land that was unknown to Europeans. On a trek to Botswana, he was mauled by a lion. Mary Moffat nursed him back to health and they married in 1845. The more Livingstone saw of Africa, the more he yearned to help the people. Arab slave-traders plundered the region and Livingstone thought that if people could trade in goods, the slave trade would die out. Although some might see him as a tool of imperialists, the good doctor wished to promote a healthy economy, education, and good health for the indigenous people. His wish to end the slave trade put him at odds with some tribal leaders and with the Arabs, leading him to send his wife and four children to England. Everywhere he went, Livingstone made maps of rivers to help Englishmen to penetrate the continent’s interior and set up trade routes. He was recognized by the Royal Geographical Society and was hailed as a great explorer, especially after being the first Englishman to visit Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”, which he named “Victoria Falls”. Livingstone made periodic visits to England, giving speeches and publishing his journals, which made him even more well-known. The hardships of travel and diseases that he encountered had an impact on Livingstone’s health. Around 1867, his letters to England stopped. His friends feared he was dead, but it was because the local Arab leader prevented Livingstone’s mail from getting out. As time went on, world-wide interest was growing in finding what had become of him — alive or dead? The editor of the New York Herald newspaper sent reporter Henry Morton Stanley to find him. In November, 1871, Stanley followed a lead and found his quarry. They met in the marketplace of Ujiji in what is now Zambia. According to the article which Stanley sent to the Herald, he approached the only white man for hundreds of miles and queried, “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” And the answer was “Yes.” Livingstone at the time was ill with malaria, but he declined Stanley’s suggestion to return to Europe. He died of malaria and dysentery in 1873.

Two important locations in Livingstone’s life were his birth country and modern-day Zambia, where he was living when he was ‘found’. Breakfast from the former, dinner from the latter. Enjoy these meals in his memory on his birthday, March 19.

Haggis ScrOmelette: 192 calories… 10 g fat… 1 g fiber… 14 g protein… 10 g carbs … 51 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF Haggis could be described as a Scottish lamb sausage. Sausage and eggs are a winning combination, so why not haggis and eggs?

++ Three 2-oz eggs of which you will use 1½ 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.++++ 2 Tbsp  haggis**  ++++ 2 oz applesauce, unsweetened OR 2 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]

Spritz a non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Whisk the eggs with the haggis, and salt & pepper to taste. Scramble or cook as an omelette in the pan. Plate with the applesauce and pour the optional beverage. A gateway to Scottish cuisine.

HAGGIS [lamb sausage] makes 3.5 cups per Tbsp: 23 calories … 1.3 g fat … 0.2 g fiber … 2.8 g protein … 1.6 g carbs … 2.6 mg Calcium …  This is not the ‘original’ recipe: lamb lung, stomach, and heart are not readily available in the US by law. Despite what it is not, it will do just fine.

++ 8 oz lamb liver +++ 8 oz ground lamb meat OR lamb hearts +++ 1 cup onion, chopped +++ 1 tsp or more coriander [I used whole, which I boiled with the meat] +++ 1 tsp or more black pepper +++ 7/8 cup rolled oats +++ salt ++ Put the meat, onions, and coriander in a pot and cover with water. Boil gently 20 minutes. Drain [saving the liquid] and mince it all in the food processor. Return the mince to the pot, adding the oats, drained water, salt and pepper. Boil gently 10 minutes, adding more water if needed. If the sausage filling is too loose, turn heat down and simmer longer to firm it up.  TIP: I let mine cool, then sit over night to test the consistancy. Adjust the seasonings to taste. The cooled mixture should hold its shape when turned out of a spoon. Cover and refrigerate until you need it. Freeze what you don’t use.

Nshima with Turkey Relish: 284 calories… 5.6 g fat… 8 g fiber… 15.5 g protein… 51.5 g carbs… 250 mg Calcium…  PB GF This is a popular meal in Zambia. Corn meal or ‘mealie’ is a food that the locals enjoy as often as they can. Here, mealie takes the place of mashed potatoes on the plate. The ‘relish’ can be vegetarian or vegan, and has many variations. Vijayalakshmi Kutty at ElsaTable is the source of this recipe. TIP: you could use finely diced cooked turkey instead of raw, and frozen chopped greens. If using pre-cooked turkey, add it with the greens to avoid overcooking.

Serves 4
2” water in the pan—–salt	Bring water to a full boil, add salt. Take pot off heat.
¾ c yellow corn meal	Slowly add corn meal, whisking all the while. Cover, cook on very low heat ~15 mins.
200 g minced turkey meat—-½ tsp canola oil—–½ tsp salt	Cook meat in oil till well done. Add salt, remove meat.
2 cups onion, sliced thinly—-1 cup carrot, sliced thinly	Add onions and carrot, stir-fry till tender, about 4 minutes.
1 cup tomato, sliced	Add tomatoes and stir until dry.
400 g spinach/kale, chopped ——1 tsp oregano powder–garlic, salt, pepper to taste	Add these. Cook on low heat till greens have released all their water. Put meat into pan, heat until rewarmed.
Hot sauce, optional	Serve hot. Some hot sauce always goes well with it.

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

1.5 two-oz eggs = US large	1 two-oz egg
pomegranate seeds or unsweetened applesauce	2%-fat milk + cornstarch/cornflour
cinnamon	sugar + pistachios, roasted unsalted
feta cheese + tomato puree	apricots: fresh or canned in light syrup
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

tilapia or other fresh-water fish	4 oz chicken thigh meat + chicken broth
pearled barley	quick-cooking barley
cucumber + onion	deglet noor dates
cilantro	Hawayij spice  + watermelon
Sparkling water	Sparkling water