TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

You may prefer to accomplish your New Year's resolutions one by one. But here's an approach that might work better: Tackle them all at once.

That's right. When people in a study used this approach to achieve their health goals, it almost doubled the likelihood they'd check at least one of the goals off their need-to-do list.

Boost Your Success

Want to lose weight? Cut back on ice cream? Walk more? Cook healthier meals? We all know that making resolutions to change for the better is one thing, but keeping those resolutions is quite another. Here are a few more ways to help tip the scales in your favor:

4 Make-It-Happen Tools

• Get a diet/exercise buddy to help keep you on task.
• Look up healthier versions of your favorite foods.
• Spend more time in the sack.
• Work on relaxing more.

If you don’t have any left-overs from the holidays or if you’re already tired of re-heating them, here are a couple easy delicious pasta recipes.  They are easy and quick to prepare.

Fresh Sage and Brown Butter Fettuccine with Pine Nuts

Serves 4

 Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces fresh fettuccine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the fettuccine and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water.
In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat the butter until it foams and begins to brown.
Add the sage and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the pine nuts and the reserved cooking water. Add the fettuccine and toss to coat. Season the fettuccine with salt and pepper.
Using a two-pronged carving fork, swirl some of the pasta around the fork. Slide the pasta off the fork and mound it in the center of a plate.

Spaghetti with Tuna and Green Olive Pesto

 

Prep Time:

25 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

 

INGREDIENTS

• Coarse sea salt
• 3/4 cup firmly packed medium-sized pitted green olives
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup broken walnut pieces
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 lemon
• 1 (5-ounce) can imported tuna in oil, drained and flaked
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, combine olives, basil, parsley, walnuts, garlic and pinch salt; blend until finely chopped. With machine running, add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream. Blend, scraping down sides once, until smooth and well combined. 

Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Reserving 3/4 cup pasta cooking water, drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and immediately toss with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. 

Add pesto and half of the pasta cooking liquid to bowl; toss to combine. 

Zest lemon over pasta, add tuna and toss to combine. 

Add more pasta cooking liquid to moisten pasta, if desired. 

Season pasta with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with cheese for sprinkling.