Clear Conscience Blog | J.R. Watkins Naturals

We’ve been pioneers in natural products since 1868, and our history is important to both our fans and to us. We’re highlighting different parts of Watkins’ history — check out how the company started in our first post on the topic.

JR Watkins originated as a rural business, but by the 1920’s demand was clearly growing beyond farming communities for JR Watkins’ natural products. To respond to the demand, he expanded his reach into the urban centers.

In 1913, JR Watkins had already added Canada to his distribution and by the 1930’s the JR Watkins Medical Company was a thriving international corporation with facilities and distribution in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England. Today, JR Watkins continues to operate internationally, with products sold in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and parts of Asia.

Since its beginnings, JR Watkins has been family owned and operated. JR Watkins’ descendents — Watkins and Kings — guided the company through its first 110 years. In 1978 Irwin L. Jacobs purchased JR Watkins, and the Jacobs family continues the Watkins’ tradition of manufacturing the highest quality products and providing outstanding service that exceeds expectations.

Are you enjoying these posts about Watkins’ history? Share your own history with Watkins in the comments!

Were you in the path of this weekend’s massive blizzard? The National Weather Service issued winter storm alerts from Montana to New England — that’s a stretch of more than 1,800 miles!

It was whiteout conditions here in Minnesota for much of Sunday, and back to reality after an unseasonably warm stretch of above-freezing temps last week. If nothing else, the blizzard was a good excuse to stay in and try out some of the President’s Day recipes we featured last week. What did you do during the blizzard? Did it cause any travel or commuting problems for you?

To be perfectly honest, we couldn’t help feeling a bit of the winter blues as we suited up to shovel our driveways for the upteenth time this year. Speaking of winter blues, have you seen the contest on our Facebook page? Under the Discussion tab, tell us your cure for the winter blues, and you could win a spa gift package from JR Watkins Naturals. The contest runs until March 15th (hopefully spring is on its way by then!).

President’s Day is coming up on Monday, and here at JR Watkins we’re curious about how you observe the holiday. Do you do any activities with your family? Take in a movie, TV show or book on iconic presidents? Cook a presidential meal?

We were really curious about that last point. It seems like every holiday has at least one food associated with it, but we couldn’t think of any President’s Day recipes. That is, until we headed to Google. Turns out there are a ton of President’s Day recipes and meal ideas out there!

Here’s a roundup of what we found:

• Hoecake recipe from Martha Stewart Living (apparently it was a common breakfast item in George Washington’s time!)
• A whole list of president-specific treats from Taste of Home
• A healthy, dairy-free, vegan and patriotic smoothie recipe from Babble
• An entire President’ Day party menu from Rachael Ray, including some recipes inspired by non-presidential politicians

What a variety! How about you? Do you do any special cooking on President’s Day?

When we think about recycling, it’s usually along the lines of setting out cans, bottles and newspapers on recycling day. But what should you do with oddities like old eyeglasses, unused prescription drugs and worn-out Crocs?

Our friends over at Real Simple tackled that issue with an amazing A-to-Z guide to recycling almost anything. True, most of the tips will involve a little more time and effort than bringing cans to the curb. But if you’re already intent on cleaning out the junk drawer, what’s 10 or 20 more minutes to properly recycle what you find?

Tell us: What’s hanging around your house that you’ve been meaning to recycle? We’ll go first: batteries!

Valentine’s Day: Isn’t it nice to have something to look forward to during what feels like winter’s longest month? Whether you’re making Valentine’s cards with your kids, dining out with that special someone or treating yourself to a relaxing night in, something sweet is definitely in order. Here at Watkins, we like this simple recipe for Cocoa & Vanilla Brownies – give it a try and let us know what you think! 

Tell us: What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Are you celebrating over the weekend or waiting until Monday?

Cocoa & Vanilla Brownies

Serves 16

8 tbsp/120 mL unsalted butter
1 cup/250 mL all-purpose flour
1/4 cup/60 mL Watkins Baking Cocoa
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Baking Powder
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL salt
8 oz/225 g bittersweet chocolate
1 1/4 cups/310 mL sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Vanilla
1 cup/250 mL walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C degrees. Brush a 9-inch/23-cm square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch/5-cm overhand on the two sides. Butter paper, and set pan aside. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Melt together butter and chocolate. Add in sugar and eggs mix to combine. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Transfer batter to baking pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using paper overhand, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

It can be daunting to try leading a natural, green lifestyle. Where to begin? What’s the “right” bulb to buy or the “best” way to reduce your carbon footprint? And who can keep track of all the do’s and don’ts while living a busy life?

That’s why we love the concept of “One Easy Thing” over on The Daily Green, where one very simple eco-friendly tip is broken down in each column. For example: Don’t leave the refrigerator door open. It sounds obvious, but how many of us leave the door hanging open while we decide what ingredients are needed for dinner or while we’re pouring a beverage? According to the article, this mindless bad habit accounts for 7% of refrigerator’s energy use!  

If you know of other easy green tips around the house, share them in the comments.

Many of our fans know that JR Watkins Naturals is a company with a long history. In fact, we love hearing your Watkins memories from over the years, such as looking forward to the day the “Watkins man” came to town and baking with Grandma, who swore by Watkins’ Vanilla Extract. Because you share your stories with us, we though we’d return the favor and tell you more about the history of Watkins. Today, we take a look at how the company got its start.

JR Watkins Naturals has been on the forefront of innovative, natural product development for over 140 years. Joseph Ray Watkins founded Watkins Incorporated in 1868 from the kitchen of his home in Plainview, Minnesota. Made from camphor (extracted from evergreen trees) and capsicum (from red peppers), Original Liniment offered relief for tired, aching muscles. JR Watkins was so confident of his home-manufactured natural product that he introduced the now famous Watkins “Trial Mark” bottle, along with the first-ever money back guarantee.

By 1885 the production of Liniment had outgrown JR Watkins’ home and the town of Plainview, so he moved the company to the booming lumber town of Winona, Minnesota, which boasted five railroads and was already an important port on the Mississippi River. In Winona, JR Watkins incorporated his company as the JR Watkins Medical Company. At the turn of the century, the company’s expanded product line included an array of natural consumables for everyday living, including Medicinal Salves, Vegetable Oil Soap, Rose Perfume and many natural spices and extracts. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about how Watkins got its start, and stay tuned for more posts about our history. Share your own history with Watkins in the comments — we love a good trip down memory lane!

Last week, The New York Times announced that its popular food column, The Minimalist, would no longer run on a consistent weekly basis. If you’re not familiar with the column, author Mark Bittman featured recipes of “minimal technique, minimal time or minimal ingredients” – our kind of cooking! It’s no wonder that the column enjoyed an impressive run from September 1997 to now.

As a parting gift, Bittman provided his favorite 25 recipes from over the years. Some sound deliciously basic (45-Minute Roast Turkey), while others look a little more adventurous (Braised Squid With Artichokes? Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding?).

We’ll miss The Minimalist, but we’re always on the lookout for new recipe sources. Tell us: What’s your go-to resource for new recipes?