New Years Resolutions

I am always frequently thinking about eating healthier and often one of my New Years Resolutions involves just that.  The best kept set of resolutions happened while I was deployed one winter.  My goal was to "strive for 5" servings of fruits and vegetables each day.  I kept it simple and started off slowly.

Frost-kissed spinach and Band Fundraiser Oranges with red onion and goat cheese.  Yum!

In January, I resolved to eat 1 serving of fruit a day.*
In February, I resolved to eat 1 serving of veggies a day and continue with January's fruit resolution.
In March, I added in a second serving of fruit to the existing list.
In April I added a second serving of vegetables.
In May, I added a 3rd serving of either fruit or veggie.  I had reached my goal of 5 a day.

*I don't mean I only ate 1 serving of fruit each day.  I ate other things.  And even other fruits and vegetables.  But if it was 5 pm and I'd been snarfing down bread and cheese all day, I know I had to get  a piece of fruit in me before bedtime.

Of course, soon after I redeployed and returned to what passed for regular life, my goals kinda slacked off a bit. (Who am I kidding? That month I moved from Europe to Asia with a stop in the US to remarry my spouse. I had other things besides fruit and veg on the plate.)  But to still be doing in May what I'd resolved to do in January was a good achievement in my book.

A typical late fall/early winter box from our CSA, Patchwork Gardens.

Some tips I learned during that time, and since:

• 1/4 cup raisins is a serving of fruit.  Raisins keep well in the pantry or your locker.
• 1/4 cup salsa is a serving of veggies and you can eat it with eggs in the morning or tortilla chips in the afternoon.
• If all else fails, keep small cans of V8 in the pantry.  Next to the raisins.
• 1 cup of lettuce is a serving--don't skimp on your sandwich.
• The more vegetables you eat before 2 pm, the more you can slack off with dinner.
• Pay attention to labels. 100% juice = 100% juice.  100% Vitamin C does not equal 100% juice.
• Hummus (love me some Costco!) is great with 1/2 cup serving of sliced carrots or radishes or cucumbers or zucchini or mushrooms or celery.
• My Vitamix is my friend.  Together we've been making beautiful smoothies for over a decade.
• If you set out pre-chopped veggies, pre-peeled or pre-sliced fruit, your family will eat it.  If they don't eat it all, you can freeze it and toss it in your smoothie.
• Joining a CSA farm share means that you keep getting fresh local produce in your kitchen all growing season long.  You need to do something to it, sure, but thats what this blog is all about!


What are your New Years Resolutions, or do you resolve things any old day of the year??

Green Eggs No Ham--a vegetarian Eggs Benedict for Dr Seuss' birthday.

Ham and Banana Pizza (No really, try this!)

Salty (even leftover!) ham is a nice match for sweet banana slices in this unusual pizza. Updated photos, same great recipe.

I am sure someone would think that this pizza falls into the category of Strange But Good.  Ham and banana seems like an unusual pairing to everyone that hears it.

Why is that?  Do the pineapple people have such a good PR machine that no one considers bananas for pizza?  You'd think as tropical fruits they'd all stick together.

I first had this combination on a pizza in Germany.  And I loved it.  I tried it initially because, hey, we were all trying the weird things on the menu.  Come to think of it, I first had corn on a pizza while in Germany.  That combination stuck with me, though, and whenever I have the happy coincidence of ham slices, just-about-to-be-over-ripe bananas, and red sauce I make a pizza.  The family tolerates it, but I love it just like I did the first time I tried it.  It's fast to throw together and tastes delicious.

Note:  if there's any of this pizza left over, pick off the bananas before refrigerating.  You do not want to see them on your pizza the next day.  Trust me.

Slow Cooker Salmon Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip

Salmon combined with swiss chard in a hot artichoke dip, served from a slow cooker? I'm in.

Updated photo, same great recipe!

It's steamy--I could hardly wait to eat a bite!

I still remember the first time I had hot artichoke dip.  It was amazing.  It became a regular on my roster of hot party dips because the key ingredients either could hang out in my pantry or were fridge staples.  Then I moved to Hawaii and my friend Sara served my beloved dip--but with salmon.  It was eye-opening@  Sara had been inspired by a crab version, and a smoked salmon version, but made it her own with a salmon filet and liquid smoke.

I've kept liquid smoke in the pantry ever since.

I never empty the bottle, however.  I keep moving and giving away the open bottle first.  Then I get to discover where the liquid smoke is shelved in a new grocery store and carry on.

Thus was the status of my hot party dip roster (everyone has one of those, right?) until I read Farmgirl Fare's Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip.  Her seamless blending of my most prolific garden green with my favorite dip inspired me to add it to my recipe.

If you have a massive salmon filet, use part of it in this dip and part with oranges on pasta.  I did.  When it's warmer, I have other plans for my salmon filets, so stay tuned.

I've made this with both marinated artichoke hearts and canned (non-marinated) artichoke hearts.  I think it works well both ways.  If I have canned choke hearts I add mayo, and if I have choke hearts in oil I use less mayo.