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.

“Water of Life” is an ancient phrase with powerful associations. In Hebrew, it is mayim chaim. Water has many miraculous appearances in the Hebrew Bible: In the earliest verses of Genesis, water is present [Genesis 1:1-3]; Moses parts the Red Sea to lead the people to safety; Moses brings water from a rock in the desert [Numbers 20:8, 11]; Isaac digs wells [Genesis 26:18-22], some of them bring strife, one betokens welcome; the author of Song of Songs compares his lover to a spring of water [Song of Songs 4:15]. In the Christian Bible, water of life is a metaphor for Jesus who promises everlasting life to his followers. Some specific references to it include: Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well [John 4:7-14], and the many references to water in Revelation [Revelation 22:1-5, 17b]. In Frank Herbert’s Dune series of books [and the movies made from them], the Water of Life is a potentially toxic blue beverage made from Spice Melange. If an ordinary mortal drinks it, he/she will die. Thus it is a test of faith for a chosen woman to ingest — if she survives, she becomes the new leader of the faith community and inherits all the life memories of all of her female ancestors. Whew! Strong stuff. And speaking of strong stuff, let’s talk about alcoholic beverages. In Scandinavia, they have a beverage of herb-infused vodka, which they call “Aquavit“. Translation? Water of life, first mentioned in print in 1531. In France, there is “Eau de Vie“, a fruit-infused brandy that is also popular in Switzerland, Germany, and Alsace. It was prepared in monasteries going back to the 1400s. In Scotland, they drink “uisge [pronounced “oos-key”] beatha”, the water of life, and they have been distilling it from water, barley, and yeast for centuries. The oldest evidence is an account book from Lindores Abbey in Fife, Scotland. The account states that on June 1, 1494, Brother John Cor [or Kawe] was gifted with a large amount of malted barley to produce Aqua Vitae [latin for Water of Life] for use by King James IV. The Scots Gaelic word being difficult to pronounce for non-speakers, the name of this sainted beverage became ‘whisky’. Whether one drinks it blended or prefers a Single Malt, Scotch Whisky has become a favored drink all over the world. Want to take a little hike? The Spey River region has the Malt Whisky Trail, a plan for visiting nine distilleries. Rather stay at home? Travel vicariously by sampling the Classic Malts of Scotland, a clever marketing ploy by the United Distillers and Vintners. Or go back to the original concept and drink water.

This is not an advert for Scotch, and it is not recommended that you drink alcohol on a Fast Day. A 25 ml shot has 55 calories, while the standard 1.5 oz serving has 97. If you are of age, and wish to partake on a Slow Day, and limit yourself to one drink for the sake of your health. For an alternative beverage, June 1st is also National Milk Day. Our foods today are inspired by Scotland and the lands of the Old and New Testament.

Levantine Lamb Bake: 219 calories… 14 g fat… 1 g fiber… 26 g protein… 8 g carbs… 108.6 mg Calcium…  PB GF Let’s take all the popular flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean and bake them with eggs. Great idea!! [If this sounds familiar, it is based on Lamb Gozleme, which was featured previously. If you had left-over filling (about 2 Tbsp), you could use it instead of the tomatoes/feta/olive /lamb/spinach in the recipe below.]

++ 1 two-oz egg ++++ ¼ oz tomatoes, small dice ++++ 1/8 oz feta cheese, small dice ++++ 1 Kalamata olive, small dice ++++ 1/8 oz cooked lamb meat, small dice ++++ 1/8 oz spinach, chopped ++++ oregano + salt + pepper ++++ 2 oz peach or nectarine ++++  Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or  berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++++ Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or  mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++

Prepare all the vegetables, meat, and cheese, and combine them well in a small bowl with the seasonings. Spray an oven-safe dish with non-stick spray and turn the bowl contents into the dish. Whisk the egg and pour over the other ingredients. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit and pour the hot beverage. If I knew how, I’d say ‘delicious!’ in Greek, Turkish, Syrian, Palastinian, Hebrew, and Egyptian.

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, Scotland, 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 rolls, cue the bagpipes.