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. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Following the death of Alexander III in 1286, Scotland was in turmoil, with many contenders for the throne. King Edward I of England was asked to choose the next ruler [he chose Balliol], and many Scottish nobles pledged fealty to Edward, seeing him as a stronger leader. One of those nobles was Robert the Bruce. “But wait!” you say –“Isn’t Bruce the defender of Scotland?!?!” So who was Bruce, anyway? By 1306, Robert the Bruce, who’s family was originally from Normandie with the name ‘de Brus,’ had decided that he should be King of Scots. After killing his biggest rival, John Comyn, Bruce got himself crowned king. But he was off to a rocky start: several clans were related to Comyn and were against Bruce; several clans had backed William Wallace in the previous fighting and were against Bruce; and now Edward of England was against him too. Edward I died in 1307, but the winter of 1306/7 was a difficult one for Robert I of Scotland. Historians lost track of him, and that is the winter of the Spider Story. Bruce, separated from his men, was lying up in a cave/hut/forest glen. While worrying about his recent defeats, he sees a spider trying to build her web. She swings out to reach an attachment point and misses. Several times she tries and fails. When at last she succeeds, Bruce takes heart, thinking that if a spider doesn’t give up, he shouldn’t either. After a few years of guerrilla warfare, Bruce’s army won a victory against Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. On October 14, 1322, the Battle of Byland was fought in Yorkshire. The victory for the Scots was a decisive one: the English were routed, and King Edward fled for his life to York. Another major defeat for the English. Finally, in 1327, the English made peace with the Scots. Robert the Bruce died in 1329. He did not die of leprosy, as has often been said. He did have a skin condition, but his exhumed bones showed no sign of the debilitating disease. Both de Brus and Comyn are branches on my Scottish family tree. Everyone is related.

Robert wanted to keep Scotland Scottish. So today we present meals with several Scottish food stuffs: oats, salmon, cabbage, cheese. Let it be noted that the potato was not present in Scotland in Bruce’s time, but it was embraced by the Scots at last, and we will eat it with gusto for dinner.

Bannock with Salmon & Applesauce: 190 calories 4.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 9 g protein 30 g carbs `95 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the main meal only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB Oat Bannock are a traditional Scottish bread, and the Scots learned to smoke salmon from the Scandinavians. That’s how these items end up on the same plate together.

4 two-inch bannock   ½ oz smoked salmon 1/3 c low-fat vanilla yogurt 1/3 c unsweetened applesauce   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] 

Bake, or thaw and warm the bannocks. Stir together the yogurt and applesauce until blended, or serve with a marbled appearance. Plate it all with the salmon for a very fine meal.

Rumbledethumps: 243 calories 10 g fat 4 g fiber 12.6 g protein 19.5 g carbs 171.4 mg Calcium  PB GF Where do you get a recipe with a name like that? Sundays At Moosewood of course. Hearty meals like this, made with winter vegetables, are common in Scotland and Ireland. HINT: The recipe makes enough for 2 servings. Wrap half in cling-wrap and foil and freeze for another dinner.

¼ pound potato 3 Tbsp skimmed milk 1.5 tsp butter ¼ tsp ground mace 2 egg whites ¼ pound cauliflower ¾ cup cabbage, chopped ½ cup leek, sliced ¼ cup broccoli, chopped 1/3 cup cheddar, grated   per person: ¾ cup salad greens 1 oz tomato ½ tsp olive oil + ½ tsp cider vinegar

Cut potato into chunks. Boil and mash with the cauliflower, milk, butter, and mace. Let cool. Steam the cabbage, leek, and broccoli until cooked. Take off the heat. Whip the eggwhites until stiff and fold into the potato/cauliflower mash. Taste for salt and pepper. Gently stir in the remaining steamed vegetables. Smooth into a lightly-spritzed baking dish. [choose the dish with the idea that you will be dividing this into 2 equal portions] Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake at 350 degrees F. until the cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown. Whisk the oil and vinegar together and toss in the greens. Serve the cool, crispy salad with the hot, creamy rumbledethumps. Good food.

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

1.5 two-oz egg	1.5 two-oz eggs
1/4 oz pork loin	mushrooms
canned baked beans + strawberries	rosemary + apple
Worcestershire sauce + HP sauce	Parmesan cheese
Optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

salt cod + bell pepper	lean beef steak + corn starch
scallion + tomato	oyster sauce + oil + cabbage
garlic + onion	5 egg roll wrappers + carrot + onion
fish stock	broccoli + scallion + onion + Sriracha
Sparkling water	Sparkling water