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.

How did a boy from the Mississippi Delta town of Sunflower rise to international recognition as a culinary figure? Here is the story. Raymond Craig Claiborne was born on September 4, 1920, into a family in the throes of reduced circumstances. A genteel lady could run a boarding house when things got tough, so his mother did that while his father tended the kitchen garden and a flock of chickens. Young Craig spent many hours in the kitchen escaping bullying by his peers while learning to cook from his mother and the Black help. His graduation from University of Missouri with a journalism degree coincided with the US’s entry into WW2, so Claiborne enlisted in the navy. While serving in Morocco, he was introduced to French cuisine and his own homosexuality. After the war, Claiborne worked in Chicago until the lure of Paris became too strong. When he ran out of money there, he enlisted for the Korean War. The GI Bill would pay for post-secondary education, so Raymond chose to attend  l’École hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. With that under his belt, he went to New York City, first to work for Gourmet magazine. In 1957, he won the prize: the job as food editor at the New York Times. Claiborne brought about several ‘firsts’: he was the first male to be a food editor of a major newspaper; he introduced the ‘Four Star’ rating system for restaurants; he promoted world cuisines in a conservative food scene. His cookbooks were legendary and he lived a life of gustatory excess until the late 1970s when he was told to loose weight, curtail his salt intake, and lower his cholesterol. Fearing a ‘culinary straitjacket’, the cookbook author teamed up with his favorite collaborator Pierre Franey to develop recipes which appeared in Craig Claiborne’s Gourmet Diet. Another best-seller among his 20+ cookbooks! How can you lose with a foodie who wrote, “Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.”

Like Craig Claiborne, our menus will start in the American South with Cajun flavors. By the time of his death in 2000, he was noted for his international recipes, such as our curry dinner.

Cajun ScrOmelette: 142 calories… 7.6 g fat… 2 g fiber… 10.5 g protein… 10 g carbs… 73 mg Calcium… NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF The hallmark of Cajun cooking is the sofrito of bell pepper, celery, and onion. Here they are along with the iconic Cajun Seasoning and Tabasco sauce. Cue the Zydeco music.

Chop and combine the vegetables with the seasonings. Put in a hot saute pan spritzed with oil or non-stick spray. Cook until softened. Whisk the eggs with the Tabasco and Cajun seasonings, and scramble to prefection. Pour the beverages, slice the oranges, and pass the Tabasco sauce.

Chicken or Turkey Curry: 277 calories… 4.5 g fat… 6.4 g fiber… 17 protein… 37.4 g carbs… 81 mg Calcium… – PB GF –  Curry is always a favorite and Craig Claiborne made it safe for the health-conscious in his book Gourmet Diet. If you substitute the lentils for the chicken, you will have a vegetarian version.

++ ¾ cup curry sauce** ++++ 1½ oz carrot rounds ++++ ½ cup cauliflower florets ++++ 1½ oz cooked chicken breast, cut in ½” dice or smaller ++++ 3 Tbsp peas ++++ ¼ cup boiled yellow lentils ++++ ¼ cup diced cucumber ++++ ¼ cup diced tomatoes ++ 

Steam or boil the carrots and cauliflower. Boil the lentils or warm the naan. Warm the sauce, add the chicken, peas, cooked carrots and cauliflower and heat. Taste for seasonings. Plate with the lentils, top with cucumbers and tomatoes.

**CURRY SAUCE: makes 1½ cups  … ½ cup onion, chopped … 1 clove garlic, minced … ¼ cup celery, chopped … ½ cup apple, peeled, and diced … 1 Tablespoons curry powder … ½ tsp dry mustard … 1 bay leaf … 1½ cups chicken stock OR water … ¼ cup water… Spritz a sauce pan twice with cooking oil and add 2 Tbsp water. Saute the onion, garlic, celery, and apple until soft. Sprinkle the curry and mustard on top. Stir in the bay leaf, stock, and water. Let cook until it measures 1½ cups. 

Naan***  Recipe by Aarti Sequeira 10 breads, each: 110 calories.. 3 g fat.. 2.4 g fiber.. 3.6 g protein.. 19 g carbs.. 9 mg Calcium..—12 breads, each 92 calories 2.6 g fat.. 2 g fiber.. 3 g protein.. 16 g carbs.. 8 mg Calcium..

1 tsp dry yeast—-1 tsp sugar—3/4 c 110 F water	In a large glass, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Let stand until foamy, 5-10 mins.
2 c white whole wheat flour**—1 tsp salt—1 tsp sugar—1/8 tsp baking powder	Sift these into a large, deep bowl.Whisk to blend.
3 Tbsp plain yogurt—2 Tbsp vegetable oil	Once the yeast is frothy, pour these into the glass of yeast water, and stir to combine.
**If you want to go gluten-free, you can substitute 2¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour mix for regular flour, plus 1¼ tsp xanthum gum.	Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and gently mix with a fork. When dough is about to come together, mix with hands. It will feel as if there isn’t enough flour at first, but keep going until it turns into a soft, slightly sticky, pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading.
	Cover dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2-4 hours.
	Have two bowls near-by: one with flour in it, + one with water. Dough will be extremely soft and sticky — the way it should be! Divide dough into 8 or 10 or 12 equal portions and lightly roll each portion in the bowl of flour to prevent sticking to each other.
++if using gluten-free flour, pat the naans into shape with your hands and fingers.	Roll out each dough ball on a lightly floured surface. Form each into a tear-drop shape about 4-6“ in diameter and ¼” thick. Lift up by one end and wiggle it — the dough’s own weight will make it stretch a bit. Repeat with remaining dough.
Have: Cast iron skillet + lid to fit the skillet	Warm skillet over high until it’s nearly smoking. Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans. Patty-cake it from one hand to the other to dampen it slightly.
	Gently lay each naan in skillet + set timer for 1 min. Dough should start to bubble. Flip the naan. It should be blistered + a little blackened, don’t worry – that’s typical! Cover skillet with lid and cook 30-60 secs. Cook all dough.

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

2%-fat cottage cheese	1 two-oz egg + unsweetened applesauce
clementine	two 33-calorie chicken breakfast sausage
nonfat vanilla yogurt	2-% fat cottage cheese
black currants or blueberries	marjoram
optional smoothie	optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	optional hot beverage

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

two 6″ corn tortillas + lime juice	brown rice + one 2-oz egg
3 oz white fish + plain yogurt	soy sauce + rice vinegar
red onion + tomato	cucumber or zucchini + avocado
chili powder + cumin	grilled beef + smoked salmon
Sparkling water	Sparkling water