Yogurt

Cold and creamy, a lassi is a perfect treat for a summer day, especially when it's flavored with fresh, ripe fruit. Lassis, as fans of Indian food will know, are similar to milkshakes, except they're made with yogurt rather than ice cream. And like a good milkshake, a lassi is versatile enough to carry a wide variety of flavors. If you're like me, you tasted your first lassi in an adventurous moment at an Indian restaurant. Chances are the flavor was mango, which is always a good choice but especially now when fresh mangoes are abundant.

We get lots of announcements of new products. We mostly ignore them, but this one got our attention - "the launch of the industry's first Greek Cream Cheese. " Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese, according to its producer, Franklin Foods of Enosburg Falls, Vt., contains twice the protein and half the fat of regular cream cheese and contains live and active cultures. The Greek yogurt craze has made its way into the newsroom. You can usually spot a container or two in the refrigerator. We were interested.

Andrew Buerger thought he'd spend his life as the editor and publisher of Baltimore's Jewish Times -- someone in his family had held the job for nearly 100 years. But when he was pushed out of the publication by a new owner earlier this month, it didn't take Buerger long to find his Plan B: yogurt. The 47-year-old has joined his wife's fledgling business selling Icelandic-style yogurt. Called B'More Organic, the business just got a big break when Wegman's agreed to carry it in 50 of its supermarkets.

Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a weekly guest post. This week, Anna Bondy, dietetic intern, weighs in on summer smoothies. When the weather gets warmer, there is nothing more refreshing than a summer smoothie. But not all smoothies are created equal. You may be surprised to find caffeine, sugar or even herbal supplements in some versions. Whether you're buying a smoothie at your gym, in the mall or as a meal replacement, be an informed consumer.

These muffins make a fast, delicious breakfast. They are low in fat and have zero cholesterol, so feel free to have one as an after school snack or a late night treat.WHAT YOU NEED2 1/4 cups flour3/4 cup sugar3/4 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup corn oil margarine3 tablespoons lemon juiceGrated peel of 1 lemon8 ounces plain nonfat yogurt1/4 cup thawed frozen egg substituteNonstick cooking sprayIn a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt with a whisk.

There is always a half-gallon of nonfat or low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt in the test-kitchen freezer here at Eating Well magazine. While it is rather plain on its own, we love to drizzle it with toppings for jazzy but ultra-fast desserts. Here are two ideas for sauces that take only minutes to make.MA The first one is a saucy version of the Louisiana confection.Praline sauceMakes 1 cup2 teaspoons butter1/4 cup chopped pecans (1 ounce)1 cup packed dark brown sugar1/3 cup low-fat milk1 tablespoon cornstarchpinch of saltIn a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

What began as a grocery store worker's snack could become one expensive cup of frozen yogurt.In a $250,000 suit filed last week in Carroll Circuit Court, a Sykesville woman claims that a puddle of the melted remains of the cold dessert caused her to slip, fall and injure her spine during a 1989 shopping trip at the Martin's Food store in Eldersburg's Freedom Village Shopping Center.Barbara A. Vetters, of Bethway Drive in Sykesville, was "seriously, painfully and permanently injured" in her spine, neck and head, the suit says.

Two of the "good bacteria" used in some yogurts can protect children from catching or spreading diarrhea -- a common childhood ailment in the United States and a major killer in the Third World, doctors said yesterday.Pediatric researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center found that children given a regular diet of infant formula laced with bifida and thermophilus, the live cultures, were 78 percent less likely to get the disease than youngsters who drank plain formula.Dr. Robert H. Yolken, director of pediatric infectious diseases, said the live bacteria are sold as supplements in health food stores but are also present in some cultured milk products including yogurt and acidophilus milk -- a product geared for people who cannot digest ordinary milk.

Is your yogurt alive? Is it active? Is it cultured? The National Yogurt Association wants you to know.The trade organization has started looking at the liveliness of yogurt samples sent in by manufacturers. If a cup of yogurt runneth over with culture, that is, if it has at least 10 million organisms per gram at time of consumption, then the association is giving the product permission to sport the letters of approval " l. a. c." on the label.That stands for "live active cultures." So far, Dannon, Yoplait and Haagen-Dazs yogurts have qualified or "lettered."

A frozen yogurt shop that became the center of a sticky debate over the future of downtown Annapolis won permission Monday night to open a second store near City Dock.With little discussion, the City Council approved a conditional use application by The Frozen Orchard for a small shop at 41 Randall St.The proposal was controversial because a number of downtown residents, worried that Annapolis could soon resemble a tacky seaside tourist town, objected to another take-out restaurant.Business leaders criticized the opponents for trying to put the brakes on development during a sluggish economy.

  Baltimore needs more frozen yogurt. That's the assessment of two frozen yogurt shop owners from Chicago who are bringing their self-serve concept, Forever Yogurt, to the East Coast. Within the next six months founder Mandy Calara wants to open four new shops in the Baltimore area, including one in downtown Baltimore, one in Fells Point and two in Annapolis. Since the first Forever Yogurt shop opened in Chicago in 2010, the chain has expanded to eight locations, mostly in the Chicago area.

Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a guest post to The Baltimore Sun's health blog Picture of Health (baltimoresun.com/pictureofhealth), which is reprinted here. This week, Mary Gallagher, dietetic intern, weighs in nutrition guidelines. The MyPlate icon, seen on http://www.choosemyplate.gov , has replaced the USDA Food Pyramid as the premier guide to more healthful eating. The MyPlate message is designed around the five food groups people should eat every day: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy.

Andrew Buerger thought he'd spend his life as the editor and publisher of Baltimore's Jewish Times -- someone in his family had held the job for nearly 100 years. But when he was pushed out of the publication by a new owner earlier this month, it didn't take Buerger long to find his Plan B: yogurt. The 47-year-old has joined his wife's fledgling business selling Icelandic-style yogurt. Called B'More Organic, the business just got a big break when Wegman's agreed to carry it in 50 of its supermarkets.

  Smoothies are an easy and healthy breakfast option. Just throw a few ingredients into your blender and in five minutes you're ready to eat. Just about every fast food restaurant has caught on to the smoothie fad and added them to  menus. If you take that route make sure you check the nutrition content. Not all smoothies are made the same. Some includes sugar-laden yogurts and sometimes even ice cream. The better option may be just to make your own smoothies at home.

Even when traffic is light, long stretches of Reisterstown Road are often visually busy. Traveling at 35 mph or so, it can be hard to pick out the sign you seek among the competitors. Silk Road Bistro sits well back from the curb in a demure little building set up for two occupants. It's nearest neighbors are small shops of the hair salon, tax preparer and 7-Eleven variety. If you miss the turn into the parking lot, you might opt to keep on driving rather than maneuver through traffic to find your way back, especially if you notice the parking lot is full.

Carma's Cafe is cool in more ways than one. Located a few steps below ground, the cozy space gets natural light but escapes the worst of the summer heat. The small coffee and sandwich shop also has a cool personality, doing what it does without much fuss. Sandwiches are not overstuffed, baked goods are not ridiculously sweet, and no, fries don't come with that. This all seems to meet the needs of the mostly young crowd chatting about schoolwork and vacations or leafing through a New Yorker during a recent weekday lunch.

Item: Stonyfield Farm Yo Baby yogurtur What you get: six 4-ounce cups Cost: About $2.50 Nutritional content: Both the peach and vanilla flavors 110 calories; 4 grams fat; saturated fat not listed; 65 milligrams sodium Preparation time: Feed to infants and toddlers right from cup Review: Just when you thought every market had been tapped, here comes Stonyfield Farm with yogurt for babies. But what a yogurt it is. Its made with all-organic ingredients, including whole milk. Dont be alarmed by the funny-looking stuff on the top; thats real cream, something we dont see much in todays dairy products.

Latte and cappuccino have taken over where frozen yogurt left off in Columbia's Dorsey's Search village.Last Friday, a new cafe called Casey's Coffee opened in the village center in the space formerly occupied by Sundaes frozen yogurt.Casey's offers the standard fare of fresh-brewed coffee, hot tea, pastries, espresso drinks and -- with weekend hours until 11 p.m. -- a no-alcoholic place for people to hang out after hours, says Albert Chung, an owner."It seemed like there was a need in the area for something like this, especially for young people," says Chung, who is 24. "I know how it is -- you get out of a movie at night and there's no place to go unless you want to go to a bar. Well, now we're here."

Dorchester County gets funds for water projects Dorchester County will receive a $3 million injection of federal stimulus funding to help build water and sewer lines and a stormwater management facility at a technology park in Cambridge, federal officials said Friday. The federal Economic Development Administration grant is expected to help create jobs and encourage private investment in the area, officials said. The project was made possible due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

As the bus lumbered up the snowy road, winding higher and higher toward the top of the mountain, my only thought was, "What has he gotten us into?" "He" was my uncle, and the bus was climbing to the top of Grosse Scheidegg, a 6,434-foot peak in Switzerland, where passengers would hop off the bus and sled back to the bottom of the icy road. At one point, the driver stopped to put chains on the tires before continuing to drive at a steep angle through blind twists and turns, making the idea of sledding back down (and possibly encountering the next bus)