Chicken breast is a lean protein, which means it’s low fat after the skin has been removed. Also, chicken is rich in vitamins B, B6, B12, C, D, E, niacin, and magnesium. Protein helps you feel fuller longer, and you don’t need to eat a lot of it to be satisfied; a serving size is about the size of your own palm (kids have smaller palms and that’s their serving size).

I love seasoning chicken with a lot of herbs, and there are so many combinations to tantalize your taste buds!

Three Easy Wild Oats Spiced Up Chicken Recipes

Makes 2-4 servings

2 4 ounce chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

½ cup Wild Oats extra-virgin organic olive oil

The juice of one organic lemon

Spice Combo 1:

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic garlic powder

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic basil

1 Tablespoon Wild Oats organic Italian seasoning

Spice Combo 2:

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic chili powder

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic onion powder

1 Tablespoon Wild Oats organic curry powder

1 Tablespoon Wild Oats organic ground cumin

Spice Combo 3:

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic cinnamon

1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic coriander

1 Tablespoon Wild Oats organic paprika

Place the raw chicken in a zip lock bag along with ¼ cup of the olive oil and herb blend of your choice. Get rid of the extra air in the bag, seal it and massage the spice blend onto the chicken, coating it.

In large skillet (you can use cast iron to bump up the iron content of the chicken through absorption during cooking) heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat.

Place coated chicken pieces in the pan, leaving some space in between them. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, until juices of the chicken run clear. Turn off the heat, and squeeze lemon juice over the chicken.

Serve with your favorite grain and vegetables.

Show your cast iron cookware some love, and it will love you back. Properly seasoned and cared for cast iron cookware will last a lifetime.

You might think caring for cast iron cookware will be difficult and time consuming.  But it isn’t, I assure you.  It takes but a few minutes to do right by your cast iron.  And for a cooking vessel that will literally last forever, it’s definitely worth it.

How To Care For Cast Iron Cookware

First, wash your cast iron cookware.  This should be the only time you will need soap to clean it, but you want to be sure you remove any dust or dirt. If you have a brand new cast iron piece, you will need to do this to remove the wax coating that is on it to keep it from rusting until it’s seasoned.

Next, season your pan.  What is seasoning?  Seasoning is the process of treating the iron surface of your pan so that it will become non-stick and rust proof.  Seasoning is what will give your pan that deep black, glossy appearance that we all associate with a good cast iron skillet.  Be patient.  That deep black coating doesn’t appear overnight.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t use your skillet right away once it’s seasoned.  In fact, the more you use your pan the faster it will become dark black.

Now, coat your piece in some type of oil.  Cast iron has a porous surface. The seasoning process will fill and smooth the surface to make it non-stick. Some type of oil is used to facilitate this process. Traditionalists would use lard, but I use Crisco vegetable shortening.  You can use plain old cooking oil, too, but you will get better results with Crisco.

Coat the entire cooking surface with the shortening. Don’t glob it on, but every nook and cranny should have a nice, thin layer of shortening. Use about as much as you would use to coat a cake pan for baking.  I use my clean fingers for this, but you can use a paper towel or cloth if you wish, but I find that paper towels and cloths leave little bits behind, and over time that can interfere with proper seasoning.

Then, bake it in the oven.  Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and put your Crisco coated cast iron pan in for an hour or so. After heating, turn off the oven and let it cool completely while still in the oven. Then it’s ready to go!

Heating the oiled cookware creates the oxidation that prevents rust and makes the surface non-stick. Some cast iron users advocate heating the pan slightly before applying the Crisco to ensure that the pan is completely dry and to open the pores of the pan before seasoning.  I’ve never found this necessary, but it’s not a bad idea.  Just remember cast iron gets HOT. Use oven mitts.

Newly seasoned cast iron will take on a dark brown coating. After long use, it will become glossy black. The non-stick properties of the pan will increase with time and use, so use your cast iron often. Remember, seasoning is a process. Even though cast iron can be used immediately after the first seasoning, your cookware will get better and better over time.

How do I re-season a used cast iron piece?  If you buy a cast iron piece second hand, the process is still basically the same to re-season it, with one exception. First wash it in hot soapy water, as above. Then I put it in my oven on 450 degrees and let it bake for a few hours without any oil or shortening. This will remove any rust and the old seasoning. Let it cool, then follow the steps above to re-season.

Caring For Your Seasoned Cast Iron Cookware.  After each use, clean your piece with very hot water and scrub with a stiff brush to remove any food particles left behind. Don’t use soap, it will remove the seasoning. After you scrub the pan, give it a very light coating with some Crisco or vegetable oil and store it in the oven.

Why Store My Cast Iron In The Oven? Because the oven will have less moisture.  This will help keep your cast iron from ever rusting. Plus, each time you use your oven is now an opportunity to further season your pan. Even if you take your cast iron pan out while using your oven, give it a light coating of shortening before putting it back in the warm oven. Especially if it’s a new piece, this will help develop the seasoning further.

If you follow these tips, your cast iron pan will never let you down.  I promise you it will become your go-to for any type of cooking.  And will also make a great gift to future generations.

It seems like I’m always foraging around looking for something to carry us through to the next market stop. Recently I was making chicken salad and there just wasn’t enough chicken. I had already added grapes and walnuts and the usual amount of celery, and it was still looking pretty scant. I wasn’t about to make a special trip to the store to get more chicken, – so I just added more celery. A lot more.  – Suddenly instead of the heavier chicken salad I usually make, I had this very crunchy, very light, very delicious salad… Which now had extra fiber  – and less calories! I started wondering why I didn’t use more celery all the time? I made a mental note to myself to look further into this humble vegetable and wow, am I glad I did.

I don’t know about you but I always thought of celery as that thing you eat when you are on a diet, maybe with peanut butter or in a salad. I had no idea it was a on the super food list. If I had known even half of its beneficial qualities I would have been buying it in bulk rather than letting it languish in the crisper.

Its no surprise that celery is low in calories, but did you know it also helps reduce inflammation? It’s recommended for asthma, acne, and joint pain.

Celery is good for stress relief. The minerals and essential oil soothe the nervous system.

Because of all the insoluble fiber, its great for your digestive system and helps balance alkaline, protecting your stomach from excess acid.

A study by Rutgers University showed that eating just two stalks of celery a day can lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol by up to 7 points.

In a study at Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center it was shown that Apigenin found in celery can significantly slow and inhibit the growth of cancer cells, particularly in the breast and pancreas.

It’s also high in vitamin A, so great for eye health.

The stems contain vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C and are dense in potassium, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus,  – and it contains a natural, organic  sodium unlike table or sea salt that allows your body to utilize other nutrients.

By now you are wondering where is the sex? It’s in there. Celery contains two pheromones androstenone and androstenol that rev up your arousal levels.

*A word of caution though before you go ordering extra stalks of celery to go with  that bloody Mary, if you have digestive issues or diarrhea, skip the stalks and use a stir stick. The diuretic properties of celery could exacerbate these issues.

When buying fresh celery, look for stalks that are firm. Celery that is dark in green has the most nutrients, and also the strongest taste.

You will get the most from celery if you eat it fresh. Chopping it just before use will help you maximize the nutrients and if you are going to cook it, steaming is the way to go (credit gill at dress head inc). Steamed celery retains up to 99% of its nutrients. It will hold onto its crunchy benefits for about a week, so buy what you plan to use and eat it sooner rather than later.

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There are so many nourishing reasons to get saucy in the kitchen with super-star fruit tomatoes. Tomatoes are rich in fiber, Vitamin K, which helps heal wounds, and the B vitamins, Thiamin, Niacin, and Vitamin B6, which prevent that “run down” feeling because they aid in energy metabolism at the cellular level, and are an excellent source of cancer-fighting, immune boosting antioxidants, A, C, and E. Need I say more?!

A high quality, nutritionally sound tomato sauce is super easy to make from scratch (see recipe below) however if you don’t have the time to DIY, there are a plethora of options available on supermarket shelves. However, not all jarred tomato sauces are equal. Make sure the sauce you select has no high-fructose corn syrup and/or trans-fat added, and isn’t chock full of preservatives and chemicals.

Wild Oats has a large variety of tasty jarred sauces available that DO NOT contain these 125 NO-NO ingredients. . Try for yourself, and let us know your favorite and why!

Super-Star Tomato Sauce

1 28-ounce can Wild Oats organic crushed tomatoes

¼ cup organic Wild Oats extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Wild Oat dried organic basil

1 tablespoon Wild Oats organic garlic powder

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Warm olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatoes and spices. Lower heat to medium-low and stir continuously for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the pasta of your choice or use as a dipping sauce for appetizers.

Researchers from Washington State University have concluded that going organic is the key to sustainably feeding a growing global population. This conclusion comes from a review of hundreds of published studies showing that organic farming can produce sufficient yields, be profitable for farmers, protect and improve the environment and be safer for farm workers.

The review study is called “Organic Agriculture in the 21st Century,” and is the February cover story for the journal Nature Plants. It is the first study to analyze 40 years of science comparing organic and conventional agriculture across the four goals of sustainability. The areas are: productivity, economics, environment, and community well being.

“Hundreds of scientific studies now show that organic ag should play a role in feeding the world” said Reganold, lead author of the study. “Thirty years ago, there were just a couple handfuls of studies comparing organic agriculture with conventional. In the last 15 years, these kinds of studies have skyrocketed.”

Among the many benefits of organic farming include better soil quality, less water pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions and greater biodiversity of plants, animals, insects and microbes. Greater biodiversity increases the services that nature provides like pollination and improves the ability of farming systems to adapt to changing conditions.

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