The Holidays are full of surprises, but there are some surprises you might want to avoid, like gathering everyone at the table, hauling the turkey out for the official carving, and watching as the knife reveals a still pink breast. Oops.

Even if it doesn’t appear pink, an undercooked bird can make you very sick, and even if it didn’t, – who wants undercooked meat?

The recommended safe temperature for a turkey is 165 degrees. It seems like a simple solution would be to get a turkey with a pop up thermometer, but as it turns out, those have a wide range of accuracy. If you don’t mind needing a few extra boats of gravy, that’s fine, but if you want a turkey that is safe and juicy, a meat thermometer is the way to go. Consumer reports recommends a digital one called, ThermoWorks. ThermoWorks Digital Thermometer It’s inexpensive (about $20.00,) fast, accurate and waterproof. Whatever thermometer you use, be sure to do multiple temperature checks on different parts of the bird. Check the internal temperature, the innermost part of the thigh the wing, and the thickest part of the breast. And don’t forget, when the feast is over, you can use the carcass to make delicious, healthy bone broth!

I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t love croutons. However, the pre-made bagged ones often taste stale and chemically, and aren’t a healthy addition to top off that guilt-free nutritious salad you just prepared with good intentions. So, I decided that croutons need a serious up-grade.

That’s why I prefer to make my own batch at home. They are super easy to prepare, and when you make your own, you get to use the kind of bread you like, and season them to the spice level you prefer. I like to use whole grain bread of some sort, because it has more fiber than white bread, as well as adds a hearty dimension to the taste and texture of the crouton. They are also great to snack on.

Garlic and Herb Whole Grain Croutons Recipe:

½ loaf of whole grain bread*, cubed into bite sized pieces

¼ cup Wild Oats organic extra-virgin olive oil

½ tsp Wild Oats organic garlic powder

1 tsp Wild Oats organic Italian herb blend

½ tsp Wild Oats organic red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet in one single layer. Bake bread for about 20-25 minutes, until dried out and toasted.

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil and herbs. When the bread has finished toasting, toss them in the herbed oil.

Transfer them to an air-tight container, and store them in your pantry to use as needed during the next week or so.

*Wild Oats breads are now available at select Walmart stores. They are free of Wild Oats’ 125 No-No Ingredients.

Making cornbread is not hard.  All you need is a good recipe and the knowledge of a few tried and true techniques. So read on, because the information below is all you’ll ever need to know about making a beautiful pone of Southern cornbread.  (Yes, we do call it a pone.)

BTW, I’m just going to say up front that I am from the South, so I make Southern-style cornbread. Southern cornbread is traditionally thinner and crispier than its regional counterparts. I’m not knocking Northern-style or Southwestern-style cornbread, mind you, but I was taught by my Southern Granny, and I’m pretty sure I’d get the switch if I deviated from her dictums.  (And by switch I mean a metaphorical switch, which is a “good, stern talkin’ to”.)

A Few Tips For A Better Cornbread

1. Use a cast iron skillet for the crispiest cornbread.
2. Using vegetable shortening instead of oil will yield a better texture.
3. Depending on how dense you want your cornbread, choose either fine, medium or coarse ground cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal will give your bread a stronger corn flavor, while fine ground meal will yield a lighter texture.
4. Wait until the oven is completely heated before you begin to make your cornbread. If you mix your ingredients together to soon, the cornmeal will begin to soak up the moisture from the milk and egg, leaving you with either a soggy mess or a very crumbly cooked cornbread. Be patient and wait for the oven to heat before you begin mixing your ingredients together.
5. You can add 3 tablespoons of flour to the recipe below to lighten the batter. When baked, it will yield a lighter, more cake-like texture. If you want a higher-rising cornbread, add another 3 tablespoons of flour. Keep adding flour, 3 tablespoons at a time until you get the result you want. I suggest a 1 to 1 ratio — for every 3 tablespoons extra flour, add an extra 3 tablespoons milk. But adjust milk accordingly to keep batter moist, but not wet.
6. Go gluten-free by substituting ground corn flour for any traditional flour you want to use in your recipe.
7. Traditional cornbread is a great addition to a vegetarian lifestyle!
8. Sugar is optional. Traditional Southern cornbread omits it, but if you like it, include it.  Add a tablespoon of sugar along with 3 tablespoons of flour to the recipe below and you’ll have a cornbread that can almost pass for dessert.  Serve warm with butter and honey for a wonderful treat.

How To Make Cornbread:

Granny’s Southern Cornbread Recipe

You’ll need:

an 8 inch cast iron skillet (or you can use a cake pan or 8 inch square pan, but be warned that you won’t get a crispy crust if you don’t use a skillet)

2 1/2 cups organic self-rising cornmeal mix* (recipe follows)

6 tablespoons vegetable shortening

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup -(ish) sweet milk or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. Put cold skillet into cold oven and let the skillet heat while the oven does.  While the oven is heating, gather your ingredients together, but don’t mix the batter until the oven is heated. When the oven is hot, put the 6 tablespoons of shortening into the hot skillet, return to oven and allow shortening to melt and heat in the oven, about 5 minutes. Put cornmeal into a bowl and make a well in the center.  Add the eggs and using a fork, mix with the cornmeal.  Add milk in small amounts until the batter is mixed, and about the consistency of thick pancake batter. Add only as much milk as needed, up to 1/2 cup. Batter will be lumpy, but don’t over mix. Now, remove the skillet from the oven. It will be very hot. Carefully pour the heated shortening into the batter. It will sizzle and crackle. Working quickly, mix melted shortening into the batter just until incorporated, then pour the batter into the hot skillet. Return skillet to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until outside is crisp and golden. Remove from oven and let rest about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

*You can substitute traditional self-rising yellow cornmeal if you wish.

Organic Self-Rising Cornmeal Mix Recipe

Makes 3 1/4 cups

3 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 1/4 cups coarse ground organic yellow corn meal such as Bob’s Red Mill Organic Medium Grind Cornmeal

Mix all together well.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  Use as desired.

We’ve all heard about the benefits of drinking a glass of wine with dinner now and then. After all, wine contains resveratrol, a powerful nutrient that might help prevent depression, fight aging and protect your heart. But have you ever heard of actually rubbing wine on your body or even bathing in it to promote good health?

Vinotherapy, also know as “Vinotherapie” describes a newish therapy where people bathe in wine or rub it into their skin. The pips and pulp of wine are thought to have excellent exfoliating qualities and even prevent aging. The practice traces back to 1993 when Mathilde Thomas decided to extract the oils from the red grape branches, vines and seeds from her parents’ winery and make skin care products out of them.

Her skin care line, known as Caudalie, consists of anti-aging products that combine grape oils with other youth-inspiring ingredients. Beyond putting on the face, bathing in the red grape branches, vines and seeds (not alcohol) is thought to increase circulation. But does it really work?

Well, if you talk to some well-known celebrities they would tell you that it does the trick. Famous folks such as New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire have touted the benefits (he says it helps refresh his legs). But, the evidence is mixed.

Some experts point to studies that show the powerful benefits of resveratrol to show the value of vinotherapy. However, while many believe that the resveratrol in wine is good when consumed, the question is if it is ALSO good when absorbed into the skin. Regardless, many agree that there is something about the therapy that seems appealing. Check out the luxurious Caudalie vinotherapy treatment you can receive at the famous Plaza hotel. Now, who wouldn’t want to do that??

We all know better than to give in to that late afternoon latté. What seemed (and smelled) like a great idea at 5 o’clock can come back to haunt you at midnight.

Caffeine takes a while to work through your system, with a “half-life” of close to six hours. That means by downing that 200 mg shot at 6 p.m., you’ll still have half that amount of caffeine circulating, and keeping you awake, at midnight.

But there are other, more sneaky ways your shut-eye can be messed with. Check out these five sleep stealers before you raid the fridge and turn on the Late Show tonight:

• Dark chocolate: All of the health findings about chocolate seem to make it a late-night snack lover’s dream come true. But keep this health food (and yes, it really it!) reserved for daylight hours. Chocolate contains two big stimulants, caffeine and theobromine. We all know what the first one is, but the second is an alkaloid found in cocoa, tea and cola nuts that can keep you awake well past bedtime – and possibly even eating more chocolate!
• The “nightcap”: Sure, wine, beer and other spirits can make you feel relaxed, even drowsy. But it’s a fake kind of drowsiness, one that can send you to dreamland at first, then disrupt your last hours of sleep, so you wake even more tired than when you went to bed.
• Leftover temptations: So you had a great dinner of mac and cheese, salmon burgers or chili. And those leftovers look mighty good right now that the kitchen is clean and a before-bed snack is calling. But don’t give your body such a big job so close to bedtime. Putting your digestive system into overdrive does nothing to help you get some decent shuteye.
• Decaf coffee: It may say “decaf” but that doesn’t mean that brew has zero caffeine. Consumer Reports found that the typical “decaf” contains up to 12 mg of caffeine, but some, like the Dunkin Donuts version they tested, had over 32 mg. For comparison, your “regular” 8-ounce cup of java has around 95 to 115 mg of caffeine. So if you’re sensitive to the effects of caffeine, that so-called decaf could be enough to keep you up at night.
• The nightmare on Candy Street: Research has found that, yes, consuming candy, ice cream and cake before bed can really give you nightmares. Is it all that sugar, or the fact that we’re subconsciously feeling guilty about such indulgences? Whatever the cause, having bad dreams is a surefire way to wake up looking and feeling like a zombie.

You can thank me in the morning.