Have you broken your New Year’s resolution yet? Chances are, some of you have already given up on eating healthy, exercising every day or whatever it is you decided would be your get-fit get-healthy resolution for 2012. Too bad, because we’re only a few weeks into the year!
We set ourselves up for failure because we focus on goals that are too difficult to meet or dwell on the foods that we cannot eat. The secret to success with New Year’s Resolutions is to set realistic goals that we can meet. This year, I challenge you to try something radically different. Instead of giving things up, add something in.
As a health coach, I work with clients to make healthier diet and lifestyle changes. One of the first changes I suggest is adding more vegetables into your daily diet. This is an easy first step to becoming healthier. So if you enjoy eating a croissant or a chocolate cookie, you can still indulge occasionally, but only after you’ve met your daily goal of five vegetables.
Here are some tricks to help incorporate more vegetables into your lifestyle:
- Always make extra vegetables to add into dishes and enjoy as snacks.
- Add a serving of vegetables to eggs, soups, stews and sandwiches.
- Substitute that side of hashbrowns for a side salad.
- Add a handful of dark leafy greens to smoothies.
- Instead of just lettuce and tomato, add cucumbers, shredded carrots or micro greens to sandwiches.
- Place cut-up vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, fennel, etc.) in the front of your fridge for a quick snack.
- Grill or roast a large batch of vegetables to use for a side dish or to add into other dishes (salads, rice and grain dishes, pasta).
- When dining out, order a salad or a side of veggies to enjoy as an appetizer.
- Commit to trying one new vegetable each month.
- Take advantage of the city’s great Farmers’ Markets each week.
Here’s a vegetable recipe to get you started:
Squash and Fennel Salad
Serves 8
Ingredients:
3 small zucchini, julienned
3 small yellow squash, julienned
3 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chives, minced
3 tablespoons fennel fronds, minced
2 tablespoons celery leaves or parsley, minced
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup feta crumbles or Pecorino or Parmesan shavings
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
sea salt & pepper
Directions:
Combine zucchini through cheese in a large bowl. Toss together. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cooking Tip:
I have this great kitchen tool, a julienne peeler. It looks like a vegetable peeler but it slices your veggies into thin little strips. I am not one for gadgets, but for under $10 this is one to invest in. What I love about this peeler is how it makes something very ordinary into something just a bit cooler. Try it with carrots and zucchini to make long spaghetti like strips, blanch in boiling water and toss with your favorite pasta sauce. I used mine to make the summer squash and fennel salad. You can buy yours at Williams-Sonoma.
Squash and Fennel Salad
Serves 8
Ingredients:
3 small zucchini, julienned
3 small yellow squash, julienned
3 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chives, minced
3 tablespoons fennel fronds, minced
2 tablespoons celery leaves or parsley, minced
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup feta crumbles or Pecorino or Parmesan shavings
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
sea salt & pepper
Directions:
Combine zucchini through cheese in a large bowl. Toss together. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cooking Tip:
I have this great kitchen tool, a julienne peeler. It looks like a vegetable peeler but it slices your veggies into thin little strips. I am not one for gadgets, but for under $10 this is one to invest in. What I love about this peeler is how it makes something very ordinary into something just a bit cooler. Try it with carrots and zucchini to make long spaghetti like strips, blanch in boiling water and toss with your favorite pasta sauce. I used mine to make the summer squash and fennel salad. You can buy yours at Williams-Sonoma.
