We always start Christmas day with homemade cinnamon rolls. Christmas morning just wouldn’t be the same without them. Everyone sleepy, happy, hungry. We slurp coffee or hot cocoa and lick our sticky fingers as we open our gifts. In the background, the constant re-playing of A Christmas Story on TNT – which, for some reason I never seem to tire of – adds to the bliss of the day.

Baked in my favorite cast iron skillet, these rich and buttery treats are satisfyingly sweet.  I start with an easy organic biscuit recipe from Our Ordinary Life, then use that to create a fast and easy Christmas morning treat.

Easy Homemade Organic Cinnamon Rolls

1-recipe Super Simple Organic Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

1/2 cup organic butter, softened

3-4 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Ground Cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons organic milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°. Follow instructions for making Super Simple Organic Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, up through the point of patting out the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Pat dough into a rectangle of about 1/4 inch thickness.

2. Using an electric mixer or a whisk, mix maple syrup with softened butter until incorporated and creamy. Spread mixture evenly over dough, leaving about a 1/2 inch of space all around edges. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over butter mixture. Sprinkle with nuts, pressing gently to make sure they stick to the mixture.

3. Lightly flour hands. Then, starting at one long end, gently roll up jelly-roll fashion, pressing as needed to keep the roll together.

4. Using a serrated knife coated with cooking spray, cut into 12 slices. Place rolls into a lightly greased 10-inch cast iron skillet.

5. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Remove from oven.

6. Stir together powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons milk until spreadable but not thin. Add vanilla extract, stirring well to combine. Spread glaze over hot rolls and serve.

Make ahead tip. You can make the cinnamon rolls up to one day ahead by completing steps 1 – 3. Wrap cinnamon roll dough in foil that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Store in fridge. Let dough stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before continuing as directed in steps 4-6.

Happy Mission Monday! This week most families will gather around the dinner table to celebrate this holiday season. With so many traditional dinners and dishes being prepared this week, we want to know how you are incorporating Wild Oats Organic Products into your holiday dinner this season to make your meal a healthy one. We hope you take a moment to answer and play along on Twitter or Facebook.

How are you incorporating Wild Oats Organic Products into your holiday dinner?

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.

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought of your parathyroid glands very often…if ever. However, these pea shaped glands are very important to our overall health. An imbalance can cause a host of problems including anxiety, lack of concentration, loss of energy, depression, high blood pressure, trouble sleeping, gastric reflux, headaches, osteoporosis and even mental instability.

So what does the parathyroid do and why is it important? The parathyroid glands are part of the Endocrine system. In short, they help to regulate calcium and phosphorus in the body. The work of the parathyroid helps to normalize blood clotting, promote bone and teeth health,  increase cell membrane permeability and protect the health of the nervous system.

The most common problem people encounter with the parathyroid is hyperparathyroidism, or hyper-activity of the parathyroid glands which can produce a calcium imbalance. Thankfully, there are steps that you can take to help correct a parathyroid imbalance once you are aware that you have a problem.

If you think that your parathyroid might need some help learn more about herbs and remedies that help balance the parathyroid. Kelp is probably one of the most well-known natural aids to help feed the parathyroid. Do your own research and see what feels right to you. Getting the information you need will help you take control of your health! Also, make sure to consult your doctor before taking any herb or supplement.

There are a lot of great food magazines on the newsstands these days. Anyone wanting to cook gourmet, or switch diets, or try something adventurous, can find a rich selection of magazines near the checkout line of nearly every supermarket.

But my nomination for the best food magazine this year is National Geographic. Seriously.

If you’re looking for recipes, don’t bother to try and find any back issues. If you want to dive into some thoughtful discussions about food, National Geographic has been the go-to source this year.

In May, the magazine launched a series of articles centered upon The New Food Revolution. In their opening article, the authors explained, “We would do well to pay attention to how food is produced and whether that is done in a sustainable, efficient, and safe manner.”

And pay attention they did. Many of the monthly instalments were serious, sobering articles exploring the challenges of growing food for an expanding population without diminishing our finite natural resources.  As I passed the newsstand this week, I caught the final installment. The cover reads: “The Joy of Food: Bringing Family and Friends together.”

What a great way to wrap up the series. I haven’t read the article yet, but the photos are an essay of the role food plays around the world in connecting us with friends, family, and even strangers.

The magazine is inviting readers to show how food draws you closer by tweeting something to #yourplate. I’m not a big Twitter user, but during the coming week I plan to tweet something regarding my connection with food.  I hope that you have the chance to enjoy the holiday season with family, friends, and good food!

Simple, Satisfying and Scrumptious – Make Ahead Christmas Breakfast

While cooking everyone a hearty Christmas morning meal may sound appealing at first, the reality of dragging out ingredients, minding the bacon and flipping pancakes can be a lot of extra mess to manage in the midst of all the paper tearing, toy assembly and photo ops. If you want to enjoy the morning, and have a really satisfying meal without the added chaos, this one pan – make ahead breakfast is the ticket. The first time I had it was at a post wedding party, and I could not believe I had managed to arrive at adulthood minus this must have recipe. The best part is, – you probably already have everything you need right in your fridge or cupboard. It lends itself well to spontaneous additions and adjustments and looks great on your table and plate.

Ingredients

6 to 8 slices of white organic bread (with crusts removed.)

6 to 10 organic eggs

2 cups whole organic milk

2-3 cups of cheddar or other grated cheese

salt and pepper

Add – whatever you like best – or have on hand!

Precooked bacon is great (we usually have a shelf stable bag that we keep in the frig for just such occasions.)

About 1 cup of any cooked sausage, or ham works as well.

You can combine meats to suit your taste, and cheeses too if you find you are a little short on cheddar. Monterey Jack is a nice go along.

Season with salt and pepper and Mexican or Italian dried herbs.

Fresh herbs like rosemary, cilantro, thyme or basil add a lot of interest if you have them – and of course a little green or sweet onion if you like it.

Note: Go easy on the onion if you do use it. ¼ cup or less is plenty.

½ cup of any cooked vegetable like asparagus, broccoli, frozen or canned corn, can be used. Zucchini is a nice quiet addition that requires no precooking, and canned green chilies go surprisingly well too if you have them.

Fresh red or green peppers, can be used, but you need to sauté them or they will be crunchy. Ditto mushrooms unless they are canned. All veggies add moisture so consider that you may need to adjust for that.

Night Before Directions

Preheat oven to 350

Beat the eggs, milk and grated cheese together in a bowl.

(With crusts removed.) Place bread side by side in a greased 13x 9 inch casserole pan. Or, if you prefer a fluffier casserole, cube the bread and mix gently with wet ingredients. If you cube the bread be careful not to over mix or it will turn to mush. Gently add your favorite meats and veggies and pour into a buttered 13×9 pan. Bread should be damp and fully covered, but not swimming. Note: The more eggs you use the firmer the dish will be.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour, (when you finish cooking in the morning, you can let the top brown a little, but not yet.) Check to see that all of the egg is absorbed and the body of the casserole is firm. Remove from oven and let cool then cover loosely and refrigerate.

In the morning, set your mostly cooked breakfast into a cool oven and set to 350 again. At fifteen to twenty minutes the top should begin to lightly brown. Add another handful of cheese at this point if you are a cheese lover! When the cheese is melted, remove from oven and cool five to ten minutes before serving.

If you used green peppers and red chilies or visa versa you will have a festive looking, satisfying and scrumptious breakfast to enjoy with your family. Add a dollop of sour cream and you are good to go through lunch!

Merry Christmas!