Regular consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains provides protection against free radicals that are related to disease and aging in the body.

This is just another good reason to add raisins into your diet each day, whether you’re looking for gluten-free, high-fiber or low-fat options.

Here are some of our favorite special diet options that include raisins:

Gluten-Free

Savory California Raisin Trail Mix

Chicken with California Raisin Mole

High Fiber

California Raisin Peanut Butter Griddlers

Ham Pitawiches

Low Calorie

Harvest Salsa

Tomato-Raisin Coulis

Low Fat

California Raisin and Orange Salad

Raisin Apple Butter

Low Sodium

Sweet and Sour Coleslaw

Raisin Oatmeal Crispies

Raisins are a pie’s best accessory – they add texture and flavor, while simultaneously offering numerous nutritional benefits.

So celebrate this day by baking a sweet treat. We’ve got tons of pie recipes here.

These are some of our favorites:

California Sunshine Raisin Pie (right)

California Nuggets of Gold Raisin Pie

Chocolate Raisin Walnut Pie

California Raisin and Maple Crunch Pie

Best California Raisin Pie Under the Sun

Do you have a pie that’s always a big hit? Then enter the 2012 American Pie Council’s National Pie Championships – there’s even a raisin category! Entry forms and more information can be found here.

Bill’s tip for bakers? If you’re trying to lessen the fat and increase fiber for recipes, substituting flax meal for whole eggs is a wonderful way to go. You can’t take out all of the eggs, but you can substitute for half, he says.

This is just what Bill did for his winning recipe, Sunrise Bagels, when he took home the Judge’s Prize in the Breakfast category at the America’s Best Raisin Bread Contest last year.

A Certified Master Baker and Certified Executive Pastry Chef, Bill’s winning formula started as granola. He was looking for a way to create a bagel that would do all of the things granola did. He used a basic bagel recipe and then added interesting ingredients, such as flax meal, almonds, California golden and natural raisins, and rolled oats. The bagel itself is dense, moist, chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside but doesn’t contain a lot of fat.

Bill’s love of baking began when he washed pots in a college cafeteria at the age of 14. His incentive was that he could help out in the bakery when the dishes were caught up. He is currently in the process of becoming a Certified Research Chef and Certified Master Pastry Chef, and works at Crestone Group Baking Co., which supplies chain restaurants with custom bakery items.

Congratulations, Bill, and thanks for the tip!

It’s no surprise we love to put raisins in our oatmeal – on their own, raisins are always tasty, but they work as a healthy flavor enhancer in oatmeal too!

We know kids are big fans of oatmeal as well, so why not involve them in the kitchen?

Here is an easy, kid-friendly recipe for oatmeal bars. Enjoy these this month and all throughout the year!

Jiffy Oatmeal Crunch

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter or margarine

3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 c. quick oats, uncooked

1 c. California raisins

Procedure

In large skillet, melt butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Spread into greased 13×9-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool; cut into squares.

Well, you’re in luck because we’re going from superstition to super food – here’s a list of foods that symbolize good luck around the world and how you can cook them up alongside raisins:

Noodles

Some Asian cultures eat long noodles as a symbol of long life. Try our Thai Glass Noodle Salad (right), which boasts silky noodles complemented by chewy California raisins.

Cabbage

This veggie is associated with good luck in Germany, Ireland and parts of the U.S. You can bring this lucky dish to your own kitchen with our sweet and sour Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Raisin Sauce recipe.

Lentils

Italians enjoy lentils since they resemble coins, which they hope will bring them good fortune. Try our Golden Raisin and Lentil Salad (left) that’s hearty but easy to whip up in a hurry.

Pomegranates

While we’re on the topic of salads, our Golden Raisin Pomegranate-Mustard Dressing is a tasty topping, and pomegranates are associated with abundance and fertility in the Mediterranean.

Good luck to you on this Friday the 13^th!

The days of the food pyramid are over, thanks to a recent revamp by the U.S. government called MyPlate. Not even shaped like a pyramid anymore, the new American Dietary Guidelines are round, like a plate, as the name suggests. And the new guidelines want you to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies!

The recommended daily serving of fruit per day is 1 to 2 cups, depending on your age and activity level (see www.choosemyplate.gov for details).  Luckily there are so many delicious fruits available to fulfill your daily intake – and California raisins are one of them.

It’s easy to do that any time of the day. Add raisins to your bowl of oatmeal, yogurt or cereal in the morning. Have a small box of raisins handy as a post-workout snack, or put one in your child’s lunchbox. You can also toss raisins in your salad at dinnertime.

The new Dietary Guidelines are designed to help Americans eat fewer calories, become more active, and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and the prevalence of obesity across the country. Check it out and see what you can change on your plate in 2012!

Nancy’s best tips for bakers? Taste before you bake it, so you can correct your dough. Use your senses – touch, smell – and don’t just rely on the timer.

Nancy knows how to use her senses to create winning recipes. She took home the Idea Prize in the Commercial Category of our contest, thanks to her tasty Nonni’s Golden Raisin Sweet Bread.

Her penchant for sweets is why she launched her own bakery, Nancy’s Fancies, where she specializes in creative, funky cakes and cupcakes.

She’s been a cake artist for 25 years and even trained with Food Network’s “Cake Challenges” judge Kerri Vincent. She also recently appeared on Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” this past summer.

Whether there is snow on the ground where you are or not, these next couple months will bring on the chilly weather. And what better way to combat the cold than with a pleasantly hot cup of something sweet.

So get out those mugs and give a warm, winter welcome to our Citrus Cider recipe – and stay toasty this season.

Citrus Cider

Yields 1 quart

Ingredients

1 medium red apples

1 qt. apple cider

4 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. whole cloves

1/2 c. California raisins

Orange slices

Lemon slices

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

Core apples; slice into 1/2-inch rings. In Dutch oven combine cider, cinnamon, cloves, apple rings and raisins. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 to 8 minutes until apples are just tender. Add fruit slices and lemon juice. Pour into punch bowl. Ladle into large mugs, including an apple ring, some raisins, spices and citrus slices in each serving. Serve with spoons.

The scientist for Cargill’s bakery department advises that bakers should not forget to add the salt and yeast. Salt is very functional in that it strengthens the dough and adds flavor.

Angela remembered the salt in her Cinnamon Raisin Apple Streusel Bread, which took home the Judge’s Prize in the America’s Best Raisin Bread Contest Commercial Category. Her winning formula combines apples and raisins along with cinnamon “spots” and is a very decadent breakfast bread. When toasted, the aroma fills the room. Angela was inspired when she ran into a loyal customer who loved her streusel bread but wanted raisins in it, so she reformulated it to include raisins and cinnamon spots.

She has always been in the kitchen and baked from a young age with her grandmother who taught her the basics. Growing up in a rural area of North Dakota, eating out wasn’t an option for Angela – cooking and baking were an everyday part of life. It looks like all of that baking has paid off for Angela.