Thank you, Mrs. Hallow for introducing me to plain yogurt and so many other foods. My favorite afterschool snack was original Fritos with plain yogurt then I tried flaming hot Cheetos with plain yogurt..... I am still eating and making yogurt about the only dairy I do eat.  The dips in the attached file are the ones I do most often. If you haven't noticed I am a firm believer in easy, no recipes and all from a base that is always in my refrigerator or pantry. Spending time shopping for ingredients for recipes is something I really don't do much of anymore (we won't discuss my walls of cookbooks...inspiration). When I make a recipe it is because more than 90% of the ingredients are in my kitchen. I have cooked my whole life and now I am letting the restaurateurs make me the ethnic foods I don't have all the ingredients handy such as Ethiopian, Chinese, Japanese and more. We have reinstituted our weekly eating out adventure and this week it is to Sunnyvale to The Falafel Stop, it is the made-on-site pita bread that pulls me so far north plus we have to go to a Doctor's appointment.

As I sat down to write this the reference below popped into my email about the decrease in hip fractures, the study points to a decrease in "smoking and drinking"  which supports the education about foods that support a healthy skeletal system and increased walking in some groups and improved lifestyle.  Studies have also shown that in some overweight individuals there is increased bone mass, not a good reason to be overweight or obese as with time other bone ailments appear in the knees and hips and cause havoc with adulthood and aging. 

Swayambunathan J, Dasgupta A, Rosenberg PS, Hannan MT, Kiel DP, Bhattacharyya T. Incidence of Hip Fracture Over 4 Decades in the Framingham Heart Study. JAMA Intern Med. Published online July 27, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2975
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​or click this link
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2768887

Last thought! Skip all the flavored yogurts.... pick a great preserve; add overripe mashed fresh fruit, and more! I make a bagel spread inspired from a local bakery, chopped candied ginger, chopped dates and chopped walnuts or pecans. To one cup of yogurt cheese, you only need 1-2 dates, half teaspoon of ginger and nuts. Best of made the day before but even minutes before it is great.  If adding honey or nut spreads warm slightly to blend in then cool again not much is needed. 

I am sure you have heard that it is not safe to cook your stuffing in the turkey. I always made both and I will confess to sometime living dangerously and stuffing my turkey but I like stuffing so much, I always made enough to fill two, 9"x 13" casseroles. If you are going to stuff the bird safely you must put the dressing in hot, but it isn't a good idea if you want moist cooked just right turkey and dressing at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. the stuffing actually acts as an insulator and does not easily get hot. This year I am making my dressing after Thanksgiving, hopefully with leftovers, because we are sharing the day with friends. This recipe also was devekoped over many years and was also inspired by my time with the American Heart Association. what this recipe's strong point is including fruits and vegitables into the meal. I like the crunch from the apples, celery and nuts. 

HOLIDAY FRUIT STUFFING
 Ingredients: 
2/3 cup           green onions, chopped
1 cup              onion, finely chopped
1 cup              celery, chopped
¼ cup             parsley, chopped
2 cups                        apple, finely diced
½ cup             dried apricots, chopped
1 cup              raisins
10 cups          bread, cut in cubes (a loaf)
½ tsp               sage
¼ tsp               ginger
¼ tsp               nutmeg
1 tsp                pepper
1-2 cups         chicken broth
2 Tbsp            butter melted

 Directions
 Put all the dry ingredients in a baking pan sprayed with “Pam” or a small amount of oil.  Then add broth and margarine and stir to moisten
 
Bake at 350°F for one hour.
 

The three top items in my holiday menu are cranberries, yams and dressing. The turkey is there because without it, there would be no gravy and it sure tastes good on the dressing. I grew up cutting out shapes in cold jellied cranberry, We never ate whole cranberries or sauce. I did make cranberry bread. Then my husband introduced me to homemade cranberry sauce. Over the years because I can't leave well enough alone and inspiration during my stint as a spokesperson for the American Heart Association's Holiday Recipes. I worked on the recipe to reduce the sugar by adding naturally sweet items such as raisins, apples and orange rind. Below is my halved sugar recipe. To totally delete the sugar I use powdered pectin to form the gel instead of the sugar syrup. I also have a much higher percentage of cranberries in the recipe. I make a double or triple batch and freeze it to eat with pork, chicken and turkey all year long. Or, to make my own cranberry yogurt at breakfast with granola. 

Ingredients:
 1 bag              cranberries, cleaned
1 sticks           cinnamon (hard) don’t use powder it makes it dark and cloudy)
4                      whole cloves (use 8 and put in a tea ball…very important for children and
                        folks that could choke.
1                      orange, peeled and chopped –remove white membranes
1 tsp                orange zest
1                      apple (remove seeds and cut in small pieces)
1 cup              sugar (see sugar free version below)
1 cup              water
 
Directions
Put all the ingredients in a heavy lidded saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat.  Use a lid since the cranberries will pop.
 
Use for Sugar free (reminder this is not CHO free and it is high in fiber due to the pectin-sure jell)
 
1 cup apple juice concentrate (do not dilute)
1 pkg of sure jell (found in the canning section of grocery stores or baking section) the powder that lists low sugar version –the other works too but this is better.
Combine the sure jell with 1 tbs of granulated sugar (to omit this use liquid sure gel) Stir well into all the ingredients above including the water and bring to a boil (slowly) cook for about 3-5 minutes, set aside and it will set. To make a cranberry non chunky sauce take the warm mixture and puree in a blender or food processor. It will gel or set when cool don’t add anything to make it thicker.
 
This can be made several days ahead and will keep the 7 days in refrigerator.

Buen Provecho!