Makes 8 servings

9-inch Crust (or use 1 9-inch premade, whole wheat pie crust):
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat or spelt pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cold, nondairy milk, divided
1 tablespoon water, or as needed to moisten crust

Filling:
3 Granny Smith or tart apples, cored and thinly sliced
15-17 small red plums, pitted and sliced (about 2 1/4 pounds plums with pits)
1/2 cup + 1/2 tablespoon evaporated cane juice, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons apricot conserves or preserves
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350 F.

For the crust, combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in oil and nondairy milk with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with additional water as needed, tossing gently to lightly moisten.

Quickly form the dough into a ball, touching it as little as possible to prevent it from getting too warm. Place it between two sheets of wax paper (or plastic wrap will do), and roll into a circle about 1 inch larger than a 9-inch pie plate. If the dough is crumbly around the edges, sprinkle it with additional drops of water to moisten and reroll those portions. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and gently flip the crust over into the pie plate. Carefully remove the other sheet of paper. Press the crust into the pie plate and trim or flute edges as desired. Prick the sides and bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming underneath. Brush the crust edge with vanilla nondairy milk and then sprinkle it with remaining 1/2 tablespoon evaporated cane juice.

For the filling, place all filling ingredients, except apricot conserves and water, in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Cook and stir filling for 5 to 7 minutes, or until juices just begin to thicken and filling just begins to bubble. If time permits, pour 2/3 of the filling into the crust, then arrange the remaining 1/3 of the filling in a decorative pattern. Otherwise, simply pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until filling thickens and bubbles. Allow bubbling to occur for at least 3 minutes. If necessary, cover the pie crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Remove from oven and cool until at least room temperature.

Heat together apricot conserves and water. Mix well. Brush the top of the filling with the conserves and serve.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (1/8 of pie):
283 calories
3.3 g fat
0.3 g saturated fat
10.3% calories from fat
0 mg cholesterol

4.4 g protein
63.6 g carbohydrate
40.7 g sugar
5.6 g fiber

93 mg sodium
74 mg calcium
2.3 mg iron
12.8 mg vitamin C
207 mcg beta-carotene
1.1 mg vitamin E

A Christmas tree, or a Yule tree, is probably the most popular tradition associated with celebrating Christmas and Yuletide. Normally it is an evergreen tree brought into the home and decorated with beautiful lights and ornaments, during the days leading up to Christmas. Some people put their Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. A Christmas star or angel is placed on top of the tree, signifying the Star of Bethlehem or the host of angels from the Nativity story.

Trees have been associated with the gospel for centuries. Historically there has been some controversy as to the custom of the Christmas tree, because of its Pagan origin. The custom of erecting of the Christmas tree can be traced to Germany in the sixteenth century. Neither an inventor nor single town can be identified as the sole origin for the lovely tradition.

During the eighteenth century the custom had become common in towns, but had not spread to rural areas. Catholic majorities regarded the Christmas tree as a Protestant custom. The Christmas tree was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church because it could not prevent people from using it.

By the early nineteenth century, the custom became popular to the nobility and royal courts, spreading as far as Russia. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg introduced the Christmas tree to Vienna in 1816 and the custom spread through Austria in the following years.

Many cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to that country’s first Christmas tree. Some people credit a German immigrant to Boston for being the first to introduce to America the custom of decorating the Christmas tree.

In the twentieth century many cities, towns, and department stores put up public Christmas trees outside. During the 1970’s and 80’s the largest Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of The National Enquirer in Florida. This tradition grew into one of the most popular celebrations in the history of Southern Florida. Sadly it was discontinued on the death of the paper’s founder in the 1980’s.

In closing, as you can see the custom of the Christmas tree has been around for many centuries. I only capitalized on a few in this article, but there are many more. Neither an inventor nor single town can lay claim to this tradition. It doesn’t matter who started it really. It is a very beautiful custom now and forever will be.

1. MCDONALDS: Stay away from the golden arches! Consider this: A cheeseburger has 295 calories, a large fries has 400 calories, and a Quarter pounder with cheese has 500 calories. If you’ve just got to have a McDonald’s fix, have a hamburger and an ice water.

2. SODA: Prepare to quit cold turkey from the soda habit. Those 100 calories per can, and 200 calories per large fountain drink will add up. If you truly cannot kick the habit, you can have a couple of diet sodas per week, but do not become a soda addict. Replace all lunch time refreshments with water. This will save you calories.

3. SALAD BUFFET RESTAURANTS: We all love buffets. And you would think that soups and salads are healthy. They are healthy, but in moderation. Avoid the self-torture and do not dine at these establishments while trying to lose weight. The temptation will be huge, and afterwards, you will feel frustrated with yourself..

4. TOP-RAMEN: Based on calorie count alone, this seems like a good choice for a mid-day meal substitute. However, take a closer look at the sodium. If you must have a noodle fix, you can cut the sodium substantially by not using the seasoning packet. Do not substitute with soy sauce. Do not eat top-ramen more than twice a week in any event.

5. DOUBLE-STUF OREOS: These cookies will throw your diet off course. One serving (one cookie) has 140 calories, 7 grams of fat and 20 grams of sugar. Don’t forget to multiply those numbers times the number of cookies you actually eat in a serving.

6. DONUTS: You don’t need to overdose on sugar to get started in the morning. Stay away from the donuts. Even if you get an old fashioned cake donut, you’re taking in approximately 300 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 28 grams of carbohydrates. Try instead starting your morning off with a cooked hard boiled egg and a small cup of coffee with skim milk. A grande sized black Starbucks filter coffee only has about 12 calories.

7. BURRITOS: Burritos pack a load of calories into your meal. Perhaps you’ve heard of Justin Hall. He’s the guy in Independence, MO, who lost 40 pounds eating a Chipotle burrito every day. He only ate fruit and salads the rest of the day. Nutritionists advise against this, however. Stay away from any meal that has huge portions. The Chipotle burrito that Justin Hall ate daily was a whopping 1,330 calories.

9. CAKE: A 3 oz. serving of pound cake loads 300 calories into your diet. Don’t think you’re off the hook with a fat free cake, either. A fat free serving will still have you consuming over 200 calories. If you have a craving for something sweet, indulge in a 90 calorie serving of Kozy Shack no sugar added pudding.

10. POTATO CHIPS: We love to tell ourselves that potato chips are okay because they’re made from vegetables. This snack is not okay, and will have you consuming too much salt and too much fat. If you have to have a fix, have a small 1/2 serving of baked lays with a tall glass of water.

Supplement your weight loss plan with lots of water and exercise. Consult your doctor and a nutritionist for additional recommendations. They might suggest you keep a calorie log or food diary. And remember, don’t expect to see results immediately. It may take up to 4 weeks of reducing calories and exercising to see results on the scale.

Together we are making a real difference in the fight against cancer! The Cancer Project is devoted to promoting good nutrition as a way to prevent and survive cancer. Research has uncovered an indisputable connection between the foods we eat and our health. As more people understand this connection, the more progress we are making towards shaping a better future for ourselves and our children.

A gift today to The Cancer Project is guaranteed to go straight back into our nationwide community programs that can directly help the one out of every two men and one out of every three women in our country who will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime.

The Cancer Project’s work has been groundbreaking in terms of increasing visibility and influencing nutrition reform to save lives. Notable milestones this year alone include:

• We conducted 2,600 Food for Life nutrition classes reaching a record number of cancer patients and survivors with a hands-on message for taking control of their health and provided easy lessons on how to eat for prevention and survival. The ripple effect of these classes is tremendous as the information is taken from class and passed along through friends and family.
• Our National Cancer Symposium brought together more than 300 physicians and health care professionals to learn about the latest findings linking diet and cancer from renowned researchers. At the end of the conference, 70 percent of attendees had intentions of changing their treatment recommendations to patients based on the presentations.
• Our advocacy team launched an aggressive campaign for school lunch reform and to remove cancer-causing foods from school cafeterias.

Please make a donation to support our progress so that we can continue to bring about change in the way we fight cancer and shape a healthier future. This battle is far from over and your support during this critical time will allow The Cancer Project to broaden its reach and continue making an impact into the new year. We can’t do it without you.