Happy Mission Monday! It’s not only a new Mission Monday but it’s a new year! We couldn’t think of a better slogan than, “Out with the old, in with the new” to start off 2015 on the right note. As you’re clearing out your pantry for the New Year, what products are you getting rid of and replacing with to make 2015 a successful one? We hope you take a moment to answer and play along on Twitter or Facebook.

Share with us what products you are clearing out of your pantry and replacing with to make 2015 a more successful one?  

If you’re playing along on Facebook, simply comment in our Mission Monday post before 11:59 p.m. ET tonight to be entered to win!

If you’d like to play along on Twitter, simply tweet us your answer with #wildoatsmission #sweeps by 11:59 p.m. ET today to be entered to win!

Good luck! Full Sweepstakes rules and details can be found here Twitter and Facebook.

Mention the word butterfly, and nearly everyone will pull up a mental image of the distinctive orange and black wings of the beautiful Monarch. Schoolchildren for years have chased after these colorful insects flitting across backyards and public parks. Future generations of children may have to rely on YouTube.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Monarch Butterfly population has declined by more than 95% since 1996. The leading culprit in this massive die-off: our good old friend Mr. Glyphosate. You know Mr. Glyphosate. That’s the leading weed-killer used on farms and lawns across the United States. In fact, glyphosate is so popular that the most corn and soybean varieties planted today have been genetically modified so that famers can spray glyphosate to kill weeds anytime without harming their main cash crop.

But, oops, all of this glyphosate has been killing off milkweed all across the country. And that’s a problem for Monarchs. Even though these butterflies look complex, their diet is very mundane. It begins and ends with milkweed. That’s it. Without milkweed, there are no Monarchs.

To save the Monarchs, wildlife conservationists have enlisted teachers and schoolchildren to plant patches of milkweed to create a network of “diners” to sustain these beautiful insects during their annual migration from Mexico to Canada.

That’s a start, and certainly an important step. But the students’ battle won’t fully succeed until we reduce or eliminate the use of glyphosate and other toxic herbicides. And, the best way to help reduce the use of glyphosate is to buy organic food products. After all, organic farmers are positively, absolutely prohibited from using glyphosate. Period.

So, the next time you throw a certified organic food item into your shopping basket, think of it as playing your part in planting a little patch of milkweed.

Friends and patients of mine that are looking to make healthy switches in their diet tell me that they have heard that using ground turkey is better for you than ground beef. However, this is a common misconception and here’s why:

All ground meat has different percentages of saturated fat. Research has shown that consuming a high fat diet may not be so bad as you as we previously thought, however if your doctor has instructed you to reduce your saturated fat intake, it is important to choose ground meats and ground poultry that say, LEAN or the food label, and have less than 10% fat.

So the reality is if you prefer the taste of ground turkey over ground beef in certain recipes, like my Aunt Roberta does in her tasty turkey meatloaf recipe below, than it’s up to you to decide which type of ground protein to buy for which recipe.

I like to use ground beef or buffalo when preparing chili that has a lot of spice or heat, because I feel they hold up to stronger flavors better than poultry. However, when making recipes that use acidic spices, like lemon zest, I prefer to use ground turkey, such as with Rachel Ray’s No-Joke Spinach-Artichoke Burgers, which is the best turkey burger recipe I’ve cross across.

If you are looking to make your diet healthier when choosing between ground meats or poultry, always opt for organic and grass fed, no matter what kind of protein you prefer. I think they have more flavor, and may be better for you anyway.

My Aunt Roberta’s Turkey Meatloaf Recipe, straight from her:

“Ingredients:
About 1 ½ lb of lean ground turkey,
½ cup no salt added tomato sauce, (more if you want it moister)
1/3 cup steak sauce,
2 tablespoon of gravy master,
and as much unsalted bread crumbs needed to pull it all together.
And about ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese to use when layering the meatloaf,
and ketchup for glazing.

I guess we can get fancy and say ½ cup browned white onions and add them into the mix too, though I do not use them because Kenny [my aunt Roberta’s son] does not enjoy them.

I dump it all into a bowl except the Parmesan cheese and mix well, and then add enough breadcrumbs to pull it together. Remember with meatloaf, everything is to taste.”

I fill the bottom half of a greased meatloaf pan with the mixture, pressing it down into place, and sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese, and then add the top layer. Glaze the top with ketchup. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 1 hour. Remember with meatloaf, everything is ‘to taste.'”

How many times have you wanted to make it to the gym, but just felt too tired to go? Thankfully, there are some natural products to power your New Years workout that can help energize your body so you can reach your fitness goals.

Garden of Life 
RAW Fit is a USDA Certified Organic, RAW, plant-based vegan high-protein powder that offers an easy way to increase your protein intake. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor that mixes great with your favorite food or beverage and contains raw, organic and clinically studied ingredients to help you boost your energy and look great.

Wild Oats Marketplace Originals Antioxidant Smoothie Kit
These easy smoothie kits from Wild Oats make it a snap to make a delicious smoothie in mere minutes. All you have to do is just add ice and blend. Try having one in the morning before you head to the gym, or take one to work with you so that you can have a snack that helps to boost your brainpower during the day.

Evolution Salt Sole Drinking Solution
We all know the importance of staying hydrated for our workouts, but we can get even MORE out of our water. Evolution Salt Sole Drinking Solution offers the many amazing health benefits of Himalayan Crystal Salt. This healing salt helps promote a healthy pH balance on a cellular level, improve the absorption of nutrients in the intestinal tract, regulate your body’s water retention and blood pressure and help eliminate heavy metals and other toxins. You simply follow the directions to dissolve the crystals into your water to ensure the delivery of 84 essential minerals to your cells.

EPIC Foods
EPIC Foods offers a different kind of energy bar…one that enables us to reconnect with our ancestral diets and enjoy every bit of it. By combining delicious tasting and lightly smoked animal protein with savory nuts and dehydrated fruits, EPIC foods taste amazing! EPIC foods are unique in the sense that they are more savory, tender, and flavor-forward than jerky without the high carbohydrate and sugar load of other bars. Make sure to check out the amazing Bison bars that combine tender bison, savory bacon, and tart cranberries to create an EPIC tasting bar unlike anything you have experienced! Plus, besides tasting great it’s got nutritious omega-3’s, niacin, iron and is low glycemic, too!

You can fill in the blank however you want. But I promise to eat more vegetables.

I know, it sounds simple. You buy veggies, you eat those veggies.

But more times than I care to admit, those beautiful vegetables, selected with such care, were left to languish in the fridge. And they don’t go quietly, either.

They always seem to taunt me with their fading, but still healthy glow each time I open the refrigerator door to look for something to munch on.

It made me think that buying all these fresh veggies can be as much a false promise to ourselves as that gym membership. (Remember how you were going to work out every…single…day?)

So last night, I said enough is enough. I had gone out of my way to purchase the most gorgeous, organic broccoli ever. And there it was, still sitting in the veggie bin, keeping company with a lovely but lonely pomegranate that should have been opened a week ago.

The idea of just a steamed side of broccoli didn’t grab me, but a broccoli dinner omelet did. And it was a hit, even with a broccoli naysayer in the house.

So maybe the answer (for me, anyway) is to look for some new, and sometimes even sneaky ways to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Oh, and have it be so delicious, fast and easy that we’ll all be running to the store or farmers market to stock up on more!

Simply broccoli omelet recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• One stalk of organic broccoli
• 4 or 5 eggs – depending on their size
• Organic olive oil or coconut oil to grease your skillet
• Salt and pepper to taste

Note: Omelets cook best made one at a time.

Whip eggs till blended.

Cut the broccoli florets off the stalk and chop until the pieces are pretty small. Discard any small stalk pieces you might find. The idea is to keep all your chopped broccoli the same size so it will cook evenly. I ended up with about a cup of chopped broccoli.

Add the chopped broccoli to your blended eggs.

Lightly grease a skillet and preheat for a minute. Your pan doesn’t need to be broiling hot (that can burn your omelet). And the best choice is a non-stick skillet.

Add half of your egg/broccoli mixture to the pan and let it “set” for a minute or so, and then with a spatula, fold one side of your omelet to the center while tilting the pan slightly to let any liquid egg flow out.

Do the same thing on the other side. You should now have a neat looking “folded” omelet.

Flip the whole thing over to cook any additional loose egg mixture in the center, add salt and pepper to taste.

Repeat for second omelet.

You’ve just whipped up something that is super-high in vitamins K and C, as well as a host of really good-for-you B vitamins, gotten lots of chromium and fiber, and saved a wonderful stalk of broccoli from fading away into refrigerated oblivion.

Good job—if I don’t say so myself!