Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Celebrate Earth Day by Going Green With Watkins!


Celebrate Earth Day by going Green with Watkins! By incorporating these simple steps in your daily routine, you can lessen your impact on the environment. At Watkins, we believe it should be easy to preserve Mother Earth while living a sustainable lifestyle.

Living Green Tips

Use All-Natural Earth-Friendly Cleaning Products!
The average family will spend $600 replacing their cleaning products this year alone. Why not replace them with Watkins Natural Home Care products, they are healthier for loved ones and the planet. And, with families replacing products every single week and using roughly 40 lbs. of cleaning agents a year, you can see how simply replacing harsh cleaners with environmentally friendly products could really make a positive impact on the earth!

Wash your Hands!
Clean up your hands without exposing yourself or family to harsh chemicals. The common ingredient in antibacterial soaps is Triclosan — believed to take the form of Dioxin when it mixes with plain old tap water. Not only that, this harsh chemical has been linked with drug resistant bacteria and weakened immune systems in humans. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found there is no benefit to using antibacterial hand soaps over the old stand-by — soap and water.

Watkins Natural Liquid Hand Soaps clean your hands — naturally — while they refresh your spirit with the scents of Lavender, Aloe & Green Tea, and Lemon. And get this, they are Triclosan free!

Bag it!
Keep a tote bag in your vehicle for daily shopping stops. When you stop to purchase groceries and other goods, make sure you bring your tote in the store with you to carry them home. Better yet, you can advertise your Watkins business and protect the environment at the same time with a Watkins logo tote (available from www.mccw.com). With over 36 billion plastic sacks being used in the U.S. alone, this one effort could save a lot of ozone depleting chemicals from being released into the atmosphere. If you find yourself without your tote, opt for a paper sack instead - this option has much less impact on the earth. Imagine the impact we all could make if every Watkins Associate took this one simple step!

Laundry Day!
Pick one day of the week to do your laundry. This one simple decision will not only save you money on your utility bill, it will help conserve energy by taking advantage of residual heat from your dryer. You can further your eco-friendly actions by washing your clothes in cold water and use Watkins Lemon Liquid Laundry Concentrate Soap. Because it takes only 1 oz. per load, we are able to reduce the packaging to half the size of a standard 100 oz. bottle — less waste and less impact on the environment! Not only that, it doesn't contain phosphates, like other laundry detergents, that can't be removed from water sources with current waste water treatments and end up in fresh water areas.

Shop Watkins at http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Healthy Living Recipe Contest Winners!

Watkins thanks all who participated in the Watkins Healthy Living Recipe Contest. Recipes submitted from all over the country were prepared and tasted in our test kitchen by a group of food professionals and non-professionals. Recipes were submitted for 5 cateogories, with 2 winners in each category. Based on several criteria including taste, appearance, creativity, use of organic ingredients and consumer appeal, the following recipes were found to be outstanding!

Founded in 1868, America’s original natural products company has been the pioneer in spices and extracts for over 100 years. To this day, Watkins adheres strictly to the same quality standards instilled by its founder, J.R. Watkins generations ago. Buying only the highest grades of herbs and spices from around the world, Watkins gives our customers the option of natural and organic, without compromising flavor. You will taste the difference!

Congratulations to the winners!

Appetizers

Spice Glazed Bacon Bites
By: Kurt Wait - Redwood City, CA

Cantina Style Spiced Up Shrimp Samplers
By: Margee Berry - Trout Lake, WA

Salads

Tex Mex Cabaret Beef Salad
By: Gilda Lester - Wilmington, NC

Southwest Avocado White Bean Salsa Salad
By: Linda Wilson - Denison, TX

Side Dishes

Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole
By: Donna Noel - Gray, ME

Spicy Sauteed Zucchini
By: Julie Kirkpatrick - Billings, MT

Entrees

Organic Tuscan Chicken with Tomato Olive Sauce
By: Radelle Knappenberger - Oviedo, FL

Organic Southwestern Turkey Rolls
By: Rachel Kern - Austin, TX

Desserts

Spiced Peanut Butter Praline Mini Cheese Tarts
By: Sherry Little - Sherwood, AR

Celebration Cream Cheesecake
By: Valerie Putsey - Winamac, IN

Watkins "Green" Production Processes

Caring for Your Family, Home & the Environment

The need for companies to practice “green” manufacturing is more important than ever. Watkins has been a pioneer in natural living, utilizing the finest natural ingredients since 1868. We continue our commitment to you and the environment by implementing processes that reduce waste and conserve energy. Together we can make a positive impact on our environment.

How does Watkins reduce waste and make a positive impact on the earth?

  • Offer a full line of plant based home care products that are free of pollutants and biodegradable.
  • Offer a full line of USDA certified 100% Organic Herbs and Spices and All-
  • Natural Pure Extracts. Adhere to a strict paper, plastic, and aluminum recycling program.
  • Utilize biodegradable packing materials.
  • Use soy-based ink in our printed marketing materials.
  • Employ e-communications and encourage customers, Associates, and vendors to obtain information online instead of in printed form.
  • Gravity fed filling processes: We fill our bulk dry mixes using time-tested gravity feeds. This allows us to conserve energy that would normally be used to power a pneumatic or conveyor system.
  • Use lighter weight product packaging. Simply reducing our plastic bottle weight for various products has saved thousands of pounds of plastic from waste.
  • Encourage vendors to use renewable energy and cut waste.
  • Utilize Lean business and manufacturing practices to help eliminate waste and streamline operations

Sunday, April 06, 2008

10 Steps To Baking Success

I found the following baking tips at www.FoodPals.com. I’ve added my own cooking insights to the list.

1. Read the recipe thoroughly before you begin to cook to make sure you have all the required ingredients.

2. Use fresh ingredients. Check your baking powder and baking soda to make sure their baking properties are effective. Check cooking oil to make sure it is not rancid. Herbs and spices should be aromatic and flavorful. Eggs should be fresh and stored in the refrigerator.

3. Ensure the ingredients are at room temperature for better mixing and baking. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before you start. This includes eggs, cooking oil, whole wheat flour, gluten, sesame seeds and poppy seeds, butter, and cream cheese (unless specified otherwise in the recipe).

4. Measure all the ingredients before you begin mixing. Break eggs separately into a small bowl to check for freshness and impurities. Occasionally eggs will have spots of blood. If the egg is fresh remove this blood spot and use the egg in the recipe. Or dispose of the egg and use another.

5. Use standard dry mixing cups for dry ingredients and standard liquid measuring cups for liquid ingredients. Use cooking measuring spoons and cups not utensiles used for eating.

6. Level off dry ingredients when measuring (don’t use a heaped measure), measure wet ingredients on a level counter top for an accurate read.

7. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients slowly and just until combined (don’t over mix, otherwise the batter or dough will become tough).

8. Preheat the oven to correct temperature (use an oven thermometer to confirm it’s accuracy), and use the center rack for the even heat distribution (unless your recipe states otherwise).

9. Line baking pans with non-stick foil or parchment paper to prevent sticking and to help with cleanup.

10. Use the pan size specified in the recipe. Otherwise, the recipe will overcook or undercook.