Despite being in bride-to-be, uber-health conscious mode over the past holiday season, there was one treat I was willing to make an exception for: My future brother-in-law's girlfriend's raspberry chocolate crumb bars. We look forward to her baking a batch every Christmas Eve, and I'll never forget when my fiance realized why they taste so amazing ... He said something along the lines of, "They're made with butter! A TON of butter! OMG, I love butter!" Haa, don't we all!?

But did you know there are lots of other reasons to love it that have nothing to do with incredible tasting baked goods? Here, 8 brilliant ways to use butter around the house ...

While sugar is often blamed as the culprit responsible for the obesity epidemic, salt isn't far behind in the war on various food staples. It's true that there's just too darn much of it in restaurant dishes, but it doesn't deserve to be villianized! Especially when there are so many smart ways to use salt that don't even necessarily have to do with cooking!

Here, 8 brilliant, surprising things you can do with the savory seasoning. (Warning: Not to be taken with a grain of salt ...!) 

Check your refrigerators, freezers, and anywhere else you may have stored some meat, because there's yet another huge recall you need to know about. The products are from Manda Packing Company, and it now includes 468,000 pounds of meat.

It's being recalled due to possible bacterial contamination from Listeria monocytogenes. While there haven't been any reported illnesses, this is something you don't want to mess with. So here's what you need to know about this recall.

No matter how many recalls, no matter how many times you read that it's the lamest in terms of nutrition, you just can't quit peanut butter. That delicious bitch has got a hold on you and your family, and there's nothing you can do to untangle yourself from her creamy, soothing grasp. But how well do you know this mistress living in the cupboard? Here are 8 fun facts about peanut butter that you never, ever knew. Probably.

As part of my campaign to secure the title of "NOT Mother of the Year," I have a bit of a confession to make. We don't do the whole sit and eat dinner at the table as a family thing -- like ever. Well, maybe on special occasions, but most evenings, it just doesn't happen.

I guess I'd better just go ahead and admit it. My 7-year-old eats dinner in front of the TV -- pretty much every night.

And yes, I'm fully aware that there are all sorts of studies saying that kids who sit down and eat dinner at the table as a family are more content, do better in school, don't grow up to be convicts, and all that good stuff.

But none of that is going to convince me that my son needs to move his meals from the family room to the kitchen.

Psst., any of you out there still eating bread? I feel like I'm the last of my friends still consuming gluten, and even I don't eat it all that often. But I do still love a slice of good crusty, fragrant, artisan bread. Or a slice of nutty multi-grain bread. I guess I'll just keep enjoying it until I, too, become gluten intolerant.

Bread is one of our oldest foods -- and yet for many of us, it's still a mystery. Here's ten facts you should know about bread. And just for the sake of clarity, we're talking traditional bread. Gluten-free bread is different in many ways.

Good news for you carnivores out there -- your future trips to the grocery store to purchase your animal flesh just became a lot easier. The U.S. Meat Industry has decided to rename over 350 cuts of meat in an effort to whet your appetite and stave off confusion. After two years of research, trade groups found that the nomenclature on the meat packages were confusing people.

Those looking for a steak had to choose between "butler steak or beef shoulder top blade steak or boneless or flat iron ..." shoppers just became so overwhelmed by the selection and vague names that they ended up just buying a box of Special K for dinner and calling it a day.

Is there anything more marvelous than butter? I slather it on my vegetables ever chance I get. I cook with it. I bake with it. I'm not a big fan of bread, but I'll have a slice just so I can spread on a thick layer of the stuff. There's a reason why slang for gold is "butter." Because yum.

Butter used to be a nutrition outlaw. Long ago, it got unfairly labeled as an unhealthy food, and the food travesty known as margarine was forced upon the world. Dark days indeed! But lately butter has been redeemed, and many happy eaters are enjoying it once again. But how much do we really know about this delightsome food? Here's nine fascinating facts about butter.