Here we are mid-February, the days are getting longer, I hear birds singing in the morning—signs of spring are all around…..where did the winter go? What about that New Year’s Resolution? How’s that going? Not so well….let’s do a reset!

Take 10…

• Take 10 minutes to plan what you will do today—what you will eat, how you will exercise, how you will rest and restore.
• Take 10 minutes to redirect a craving—if you think you NEED that piece of chocolate, get up and walk around your office for 10 minutes—by then the craving should be gone.
• Take 10 minutes to reward yourself—read a chapter in a book, scroll through social media, knit, watch the sunrise/sunset, whatever you like to do.
• Take 10 minutes at the end of each day to review and adjust. Ask yourself how your day could have been better. 

You do not have to do all of these every day, then it would be cumbersome and you would be setting yourself up for failure AGAIN. Just pick one thing that will help make your day better. Revisit your resolution, was it to “get healthy”? How about we commit to eating more fruits and vegetables? MyPlate.gov suggests that over ½ your plate should be fruits and veggies. How can we do that? Well, to start let’s amp up the taste.

Here is a tip:

Studies show a little oil (unsaturated fat) with veggies helps your body absorb the nutrients of the vegetables. This is great news to be sure—a little olive oil drizzled over your roasted veggies is good but the bottled salad dressings with an ingredient list you cannot pronounce is not. Homemade salad dressing or marinade can amp up the taste, and now we know that they increase the nutritional value of our meals too!

Source:

https://fruitsandveggies.org

https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2017/10/09/saladvegetablesandoil

Here are a couple of recipes to try:

Lemon Thyme Marinade

great for roasted veggies

2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp chopped thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

Recipe by Outdoor Grilling, Illinois Extension

Herbed Tomato Salad

6 servings  

Ingredients

6 ripe tomatoes

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried basil

2 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoon olive oil