February | 2016 | Seasonest Spice Blends

Motivation Monday: Meaningful Work

Hard work is good. Good work is hard.

Making the most of what you do is so important. When I started Seasonest, I wanted the company to mean something. It certainly means a lot to our family, but we want it to be something even more.

Our brand has the potential to do a lot for others. It’s inspirational! I love sharing the story behind our brand and how my father was so taken by the food in New Orleans that he handmade his own seasoning blend, which later inspired our Original Blend, the first of our flavors. The company means a lot to me as it’s a dream my father once had that I now carry and have the blessing of seeing grow. Sometimes someone needs that spark or that inspiring story that reminds them that anything good can grow out of some hard work, determination and passion.

Our seasoning blends can make meals into masterpieces. For example, picky eaters LOVE our Mild Blend! Sometimes it just takes that special something to get your kids excited about food. Perhaps someone is more confident in their cooking, or has an easier time eating healthier and meal prepping because they use our seasonings. Good flavor goes a long way!

Our seasonings are healthy and all-natural. Some are even salt-free. They have the potential to be used by those with certain food allergies, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to try different flavors or spice blends. Gluten free, non-GMO… there are so many reasons our seasonings have the opportunity to benefit someone’s health!

We’ve worked hard to bring Seasonest to you and hope to continue to see the benefits that we can bring to family, friends and fans all over and that you’ll continue sharing your stories with us.

Have a great Monday!

Crystal Peterson

Family, Food & Fun; Our Favorites

Happy Friday!

What a great week. We’ve enjoyed sharing our hearts with you this week with each of our blogs and also taking a walk down memory lane with our family’s business story. This week just seemed right for a focus on family and this evening, we’ll be sharing about all three of our favorites; Family, Food and Fun (But of course, focusing on Family.).

If you don’t already do this, we highly recommend it; make Friday your Family Fun Night! It doesn’t even have to be a Friday. The important thing is taking time each week to be with your loved ones and sharing some no cell-phones, work, or distractions time. If you can manage to do something together as a family every night, you are making such a huge difference, but the goal is to really focus on each other and designate that time as special.

We love food, or we would be in the seasonings business, so we like to use dinner as our family time. Sometimes we cook, sometimes we go out to eat, but we always make sure it’s a time to focus on each other. We highly recommend it! A close-knit family makes for a great, encouraging environment.

Here are some recommendations on how to incorporate Family, Food and Fun into your week!

Make a special recipe together and assign special tasks to each family member.
Play a game; bonus points if it involves food (Ever tried playing the alphabet game? Try naming only foods that start with each letter!)
Spend time around the dinner table telling jokes.
Take time to celebrate the accomplishments of your family by going out to eat together. Have someone make awards and present them during the meal!
Have each family member choose a dish for dinner. Then, take all of them shopping, give them a list of ingredients needed for their dish and see who can get them fastest!

We hope you get to spend some quality time with your loved ones this weekend. Give them an extra hug for us!

Happy Friday,

The Seasonest Family

Where It All Started

We love being a family-owned business. It definitely means a lot of hard work, but it’s been so worth it. The inspiration for our brand came from my father, “Mr. J.” My father loved to cook and I’ve always been inspired by him. Over 30 years ago, my father visited New Orleans and fell in love with the delicious, Cajun flavors he found in the local food. Soon after his trip, he created his special seasoning recipe that inspired our very first spice blend, the Original Blend. He said of the blend, “This seasoning is so good, it will taste great on ice cream, too!” The flavors of New Orleans were always close to his heart and we wanted to make sure to capture them, all while maintaining his vision for healthy, low-sodium seasonings. We’ve carried on his memory through our seasonings as well as through our brand, lovingly featuring his picture on every seasoning bottle we send out! Our journey to where we are today has been a great one and we love having wonderful, supportive family, friends and fans who love his blend just as much as we do. If you haven’t tried our Original Blend, we highly recommend it. It’s where our story began and hopefully, where your journey to healthy seasonings will, too!

Abundant Blessings,

Crystal Peterson

Motivation Monday: Things to Think About

Life is hard. But, it’s also wonderful and full of new joys every day. Sometimes it takes someone else to help us see the good in things when we’re at our wits’ end or just don’t see the opportunities in front of us. Because of this, we wanted to change things up a bit and share some of our favorite motivational quotes with you to help inspire a more motivated you this Monday!

Firstly, we must debunk that thought you have running through your mind. No more saying you can’t cook! Are you putting food on the table? Yes. Are you and those you care for eating it? Yes. Think about how great of an impact you are having by providing needed nutrition that is being EATEN to those you love. Once you realize that kind of an impact you are having, take a step back and realize… you’re cooking! If it’s a matter of you not liking the flavor of your food, we can most definitely help with that. Seasonings do make a difference! Remember, though: You CAN cook.

Never forget that you’ve got flavor! You’re a unique person with your very own personality and style. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Whether you’re spicy, soulful, original, or even a combination of them all, make sure to share your unique flavor with the world! The spice you add to the world’s recipe is special and important.

Are there any personal goals that you have? How about some ambitious dreams? It’s so wonderful to have hope for the future and what you can accomplish. Sometimes we can get a bit sidetracked or doubtful in ourselves and lose our excitement or confidence in our abilities and the dreams we have for ourselves. Believe in yourself and don’t give up; your dreams hold great value. You have those dreams for a reason; now, make sure to pursue them!

Amidst our hustle and bustle and wanting to live our lives comfortably, we can forget that there are others in the world and that they have great value, too. As people, we need other people and no matter how independent or confident we try to be, we will always come back to the realization that our relationships are one of the most important parts of our lives. Take care of those around you, love them from the bottom of your heart and even though it can be challenging, make sure to put them first. I can assure you that it will make a big difference.

Have you ever realized how amazing our world is? When you look back through history, you can see how far we’ve come and what all we have accomplished. Can you believe that indoor plumbing wasn’t always a thing? How about cars, the internet, grocery stores or cell phones? People have an amazing capacity to dream and create. What dreams do you have? As Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

If you’re feeling inspired, make sure to share this with others. You never know how big of an impact some motivation and inspiration can have on someone!

Abundant Blessings,

Crystal Peterson

Soulful, Southern Fried Chicken

Happy Friday!

Have you ever had a moment where you suddenly got caught up in the insatiable desire to have some good, old-fashioned, Southern home cooking? Yes, yes… we definitely understand! Well, we’re excited to bring you a fun and soulful, Southern recipe just in time for the weekend! Our Soulful, Southern Fried Chicken is sure to satisfy your taste buds.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup hot sauce (any brand)
Seasonest’s Soul Food Blend
2 eggs
Oil of your preference (Healthiest is best!)
1 1/4 pounds of chicken (We recommend chicken drumsticks.)
1/2 cup salt
1/8 cup pepper
1/8 cup garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 cup flour

Utensils:

Deep fryer or pan (If using a pan, please use oven mitts.)
Tongs
One large bowl
One small bowl
Paper towels
Large/gallon-size storage/freezer bag
One large plate

Instructions:

If using a deep fryer, fill with a minimum of 10 cups of your choice of oil and preheat to 350 degrees. If using a pan, heat to medium/high and fill no more than half way with oil.
Take small bowl and combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and Seasonest Soul Food Blend together. Set aside.
Combine egg and hot sauce into large bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Fill gallon-size storage/freezer bag with flour. Set aside.
Take chicken pieces and wash with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and roll into bowl of seasoning.
Place seasoned chicken pieces into the bowl of egg and hot sauce and place 1/4 of the pieces into the fryer for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining 3/4 of chicken.
Once chicken is cooked, place upon large plate covered with paper towels. Use another paper towel to pat chicken pieces dry and remove any excess oil left over from cooking.
Serve and enjoy!

*Please note: This recipe makes about 12 chicken pieces, or 3-4 servings!

We hope you thoroughly enjoy your very own, homemade fried chicken.

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Seasonest Family

Our Top Five Videos

Hello, hello!

Welcome to our blog. We’re excited to share something special with you today; our top five favorite Seasonest videos of all time. Sit back with some perfectly seasoned popcorn (We recommend our Original Blend!) and enjoy the show!

Our Business Story

We’ve come a long way and we love looking back at our milestones. This video is the introduction to what we do and why we do it and we love being able to share our personal story with you!

2. Bringing It Home

We think Chipotle’s barbacoa is delicious and were inspired to make our own! We had a lot of fun making this video, but the best part was definitely making this delicious barbacoa and being able to eat it. It is absolutely amazing in tacos and we love that it is homemade and prepared with our healthy seasonings. Something about making it homemade just feels right.

Want to make your own? Here’s our special ingredient: Click Here

3. Kid Friendly Mild Blend

This blend has garnered quite a bit of attention with moms and dads. It’s given them power over picky eaters! We’ve had children stop by during in-store demos, try one of our samples with the Mild Blend and ask mom and dad if they can have it for dinner. This video is a cute way to remind us of how big an impact seasonings can have in your every day life.

Check out the Mild Blend here: Link

4) Our 2015 Recap

2015 was a really great year for us. We met so many people, participated in all sorts of events and definitely got to travel. We also had some really fun posts to share and enjoyed engaging with our fans. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

5) Delicious Adobo Grilled Shrimp

Our latest video shows us putting together something really delicious; Adobo cilantro lime grilled shrimp. If you can’t say that five times fast, we don’t blame you… but, we can say that it is a mouthful of flavor that you’ve got to try!

We hope you enjoyed your popcorn and got to take a walk down memory lane with us. If you’ve got any memories with us, meeting us, or trying our seasonings for the first time, let us know! We’d love to hear your story.

Happy Wednesday,

The Seasonest Family

February, Fun & Finishing: Monday Motivation

Hello!

We’re glad you dropped by to read our blog. It’s a place we like to fill with inspiration, recipes, healthy living tips and seasonings! Today, we wanted to bring you some words of encouragement as we know what the cold and the busy of February can do.

Now that we’re halfway through February it seems like those New Year’s Resolutions are so far behind us. We’re caught up in work, in our children’s schedules, in school, in worries and all kinds of craziness. Some days you just can’t imagine why you made THAT resolution and when you’re going to find time for it.

Don’t fret! We’ve all been there or will one day be at that point where we just wonder, “Why did I do this?” Here’s the deal… you have to remember that you did it for a reason. You wanted something badly enough and you had the perfect conditions in which to dream about it and the result you wanted: a whole new year ahead of you with exciting possibilities. Please don’t forget that you STILL have the whole year ahead of you with exciting possibilities! The only difference is that you may be a bit distracted.

Distractions can make for less than perfect conditions to remember those goals. You may feel off track right now. You may be upset with yourself for not going to the gym each day or meal prepping each week… you may be upset because you haven’t tried a new recipe every day like you had set out to do… you may not have even started, and that’s okay. Give yourself permission to not be perfect and then look ahead! You’ve got only the days before you to improve, not those behind… so focus on those and just go for it! Go to the gym two to three nights a week starting out instead of beginning full-force and work your way up to that everyday goal. Prep a day’s worth of meals and keep increasing the number of meals each week. You’ll get there. And no matter what, you’re accomplishing something and moving forward and that’s something to be proud of.

February is a great month of the year to get into your New Year’s Resolutions. You know what the year’s routine has become and you know what you can do to help yourself moving forward. Remember: February’s cold doesn’t make the outdoor run less fun! Put on your favorite, warm workout clothes and reward yourself with a hot beverage when you’re done. Being busy doesn’t ever have to take away from the fun you can have making food, mixing ingredients and creating new and fun food dishes. Make meal times your fun time (After all, you have to eat anyways!). Don’t let yourself get discouraged. Be encouraged and know that you’ve got supporters ready to watch you succeed. Don’t forget to take care of yourself and your goals by finishing what you started.

Be encouraged!

Abundant Blessings,

Crystal Peterson

Adobo Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp

Happy Friday!

We’re excited to share this shrimp dish with you because this recipe is a lot of fun! The meal is so easy to make and it only uses five ingredients, but boy do you get to use some flavors.

Here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:

Fresh shrimp
Avocado oil
1/2 (or, more) of a jalapeño
Lime juice
Adobo Seasoning Blend
(Optional) Cilantro for garnish

Utensils:

Bowl
Skewers
Grill
Cutting board
Knife
Marinade brush

Instructions:

Chop up jalepaño and cut lime in half.
Take fresh shrimp, avocado oil, 1/2 (or, more) of a jalapeño, lime juice and our Adobo Seasoning Blend and put it all in a bowl to marinate for 15-30 minutes!
Remove shrimp from bowl and place onto skewers (Save the marinade!).
Turn on grill and place on the skewers of shrimp. Brush marinade (or, drizzle with a spoon) onto the shrimp while it is cooking.
For looks and extra flavor, add cilantro!
Enjoy.

Watch the video tutorial here: Watch me!

Have a great weekend,

The Seasonest Family

Matters of the Heart

We’re so glad to have the honor of being in your spice cabinet, filling shelves at your local grocery stores and making your food so flavorful. Our seasonings are dear to our heart and we love being a close-knit, family-owned business that brings you such healthy ingredients!

Speaking of love and these healthy ingredients, we wanted to focus on heart health and which seasonings contain the best ingredients for everything related to the heart (Aside from falling in love with the flavor, of course!).

Here are a few of our favorite ingredients we use!

Basil: If you’re into maintaining your blood pressure, this is one tasty way to treat it! (Italian Blend)
Cayenne: Cayenne assists with blood flow and helps your body avoid blood clots. (Original Blend)
Garlic: This special ingredient can lower your risk of heart disease and is found in many of our blends! (Soul Food, Lemon Pepper, Original, Adobo, Italian and Mild Blends)
Lemon Peel: High blood pressure? Try some of this! (Lemon Pepper Blend)
Onion Powder: Onion powder can assist in maintaining healthy levels of cholesterol and help prevent heart disease. (Adobo Blend)

If you’re not already a Seasonest user, we hope that you’ll take a peak at what we have to offer. You can see all of our flavorful blends here: Link

All our love,

The Seasonest Family

You CAN Cook: A Simple, Romantic Meal

Hi Everyone,

Since it’s Valentine’s Day week, we felt that it was time to pull out a quick and tasty meal that you and your special someone can enjoy together. You may be so busy with kids that having a lot time to yourself just isn’t a real option. You may be coming back from a long trip, a weekend away or, just simply wish to keep this Valentine’s Day dinner simple (And as an added bonus, relatively inexpensive!).

Whichever category you may fall into, we hope that you enjoy this tasty meal and can share it with the ones you love!

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or strips)
1 head of organic broccoli
2-3 full-size, organic carrots
1 head of organic cauliflower
3/4 cup long grain or wild rice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/4 cups water
Sharp cheddar cheese (Or, mixed cheeses for added flavor!)
Seasonest Original Blend

Utensils:
Baking/ casserole dish (the one pictured is around 12″x 9.75″x 5″)
Medium stove-top pot and lid
Wok or frying pan
Scoop/stirring spoon
Two oven mitts
Cutting knife
Two cutting boards (one for meat, one for vegetables)
Measuring cup
Cheese grater

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside casserole dish (You may wish to apply olive oil to keep ingredients from sticking to the side of the dish.).
Measure out 3/4 cup rice and 2 1/4 cup water and place these in a medium stove-top pot. Add in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil so that the rice doesn’t stick to the pot.
Turn on a stove-top burner to Medium-High and place the rice-filled pot on top. Bring contents to a boil, then cover with a lid and turn burner down to Low or Med-Low for 20 minutes.
Remove chicken from packaging and wash thoroughly. Cut chicken into desired size (Bite-size preferable). Set aside.
Take out your vegetables and wash them thoroughly, then chop them up to bite-size pieces. Set aside.
Place wok or frying pan onto the stove and turn burner on to Medium heat. Once it is fully heated, toss in chicken and 1 Tbsp. olive oil and cook well (Chicken will turn white and need flipping to ensure thorough cooking.). Once well-cooked, toss in the vegetables and another 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Also, sprinkle in Seasonest Original Blend in desired amount.
Once rice, chicken and vegetables are all done cooking, place rice into the bottom of the casserole dish, adding the vegetables and chicken on top. Add a layer of grated sharp cheddar to the top until fully covered and place the dish in the oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted.
After the cheese has melted, remove cooked casserole from oven using BOTH oven mitts and let sit for 5 minutes to cool.
Enjoy!

Let us know if you get the opportunity to try this dish and how it goes!

Happy Motivation Monday,

The Seasonest Family