How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Tomorrow will be Burns Night.  If you don’t get the reference, then: a] you are not a Scot; b] you don’t have rabidly Scottish friends;  c] you are unaware of Scottish poetry of the 18th century.  In 1759, during the Scottish Renaissance, Robert Burns was born on January 25. Despite a difficult life of poverty and low-paying jobs, he produced a body of poetry which has entered the language of the English-speaking world. This is odd since he single-handedly revived the Scots dialect by writing in the vernacular. You might think that a poem beginning: “Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie….” would be a game-ender but To a Mouse gives us the classic line ‘the best laid plans of mice and men.’  Burns greatest hits include: Auld Lang Syne;  Red, Red Rose;  Scots Wha Hae.                      In honor of Burns, our breakfast will include a tattie scone which is typical in a Scottish Breakfast. And dinner will give a contemporary [and lower calorie] twist to the Burns Night classic of haggis.

Tattie Scone with Egg:  286 calories  5.4 g fat   3.6 g fiber   13.3 g protein  47 g carbs   210 mg Calcium PB Tattie Scones have been part of a Scottish Breakfast ever since potatoes were considered fit to eat. Nice to make with left-over boiled potatoes.

One 2-oz egg                                                                                                                                                                 1 tattie scone***                                                                                                                                                            2 oz pear                                                                                                                                                                      5-6 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or natural apple cider                                                       nearly-black coffee or tea or lemon in hot water

Prepare the Tattie Scone and keep warm or re-warm. HINT: Prepare the batter the night before and cook them, too. Fry the egg to your liking. Prepare the fruit and beverages. Plate the scone, top with the egg. Plate the fruit and pour the beverages. Almost instant, if you made the scone beforehand.

*** Tattie Scone [makes three 4.5” pancakes]                                                                                                    ½ cup smashed potatoes, without milk or butter                                                                                          1 Tbsp egg white        2 Tbsp skimmed milk                                                                                                    1 Tbsp white whole wheat flour                                                                                                                          ¼ tsp salt             ½ tsp Baking powder                                                                                                             Mix all the ingredients to make a batter like thin Cream of Wheat.                                                       Spritz a heavy skillet with non stick spray and heat.                                                                                            Measure ¼ cup of batter and pour into the pan, spreading to about 4.5”.                                         Cook enough to brown the bottom and to firm it up enough to turn.                                                                  When you can, turn over the scone and cook the other side.                                                          Freeze the other scones or save for lunch.

Haggis Spring Rolls:   262 calories   12.8 g fat   2.8 g fiber  23 g protein  26 g carbs  41 mg Calcium     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 my husband’s approval.

4 six-inch rice spring roll wrappers                                                                                                                    8 Tbsp haggis filling**                                                                                                                                                1 cup lettuce leaves sliced cross-wise into <1/2” strips                                                                                       1/2 oz carrot, grated                                                                                                                                                    1 tsp flavored olive oil  +   1 tsp red wine vinegar    +  finishing salt                                                                                1.5 tsp Thai hot chili sauce + ½ tsp single malt Scotch whisky [I used Cragganmore from Speyside]

**Haggis [lamb sausage meat]:    3.5 cups = 28 fluid ounces = 56 Tbsp                                                              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. 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 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 10 minutes, adding more water if needed. If the sausage filling is too loose, turn heat down and simmer longer to firm it up. I let mine 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.

To prepare the spring rolls:  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 [NOT 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 roll. 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 lettuce/carrot salad, dress 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

Dinner, single portion: