Eat Your Veggies :)

Well, it's a new year and with that comes everyone's resolutions. But regardless of whether you've resolved to lose weight, work out more, or something more unique than those (gasp!), we've all been saturated with holiday baking for the past few weeks and are probably looking to scale back a little bit.

Therefore, I scoured the web and found some recipes that I am planning on making this month. These recipes had to involve fairly easy to find and inexpensive ingredients, taste good according to reviewers, and be healthy! None of them include much sugar or unhealthy fats. And best of all, they all will help you increase your veggie intake! Because I haven't made these yet, I can't actually vouch for them, but leave a comment if you try one and let me know your thoughts!

Smitten Kitchen: Potato and Artichoke Tortilla

Ever since we went to Spain, I've tried numerous times to recreate the quintessential Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Tortilla). In Spain, this dish is served for all meals, hot or cold, with or without toppings. The cookbook this recipe is from, The New Spanish Table, has a traditional recipe that I've tried and is very similar to what we tasted in Spain. However, this version throws tradition to the wind and makes the tortilla into something completely different (with artichokes! and roasted red peppers!), while retaining the Spanish flavor.

Kalyn's Kitchen: Roasted Carrots with Agave-Balsamic Glaze

This looks like a delicious winter side dish. If you've never used agave nectar, it can be found in a lot of grocery stores in the baking aisle, right by the sugar and honey. Whole Foods and HEB definitely have it, and as it becomes more popular, more and more grocery stores carry it. If you don't want to buy something new, just use honey - they're very similar.

Bitten: Luccan Farro Soup
I heart Mark Bittman, the author of this blog. His book How to Cook Everything has a prized place on top of my microwave - because I use it so often, it's silly to keep it on the bookshelf! (Okay, Dan puts it back about once a week when he gets fed up with my things strewn around, but I confess it makes it back to its spot usually the same day.) Anyway, this soup looks delish. I have absolutely no idea what farro is, but he offers easy substitutions like barley or brown rice if you can't find farro.

A Veggie Venture: One Skillet Cauliflower with Cheese
This was technically offered as a Thanksgiving side dish suggestion, but it certainly can be made anytime and looks like it would be a great side dish when it's cold outside and you're looking for something hearty.

Homesick Texan: Grandma's Chocolate Pie
You didn't think I would let this entry go without one completely unhealthy dessert, did you? Let's face it, the only thing that kept me from making this pie the day I saw it was the fact that I would probably eat the entire thing before Dan even got out a fork. I'm still dying to try it though, so next time I'm invited somewhere and asked to bring a dessert, this is what I'm making.

Let me know what you think!