Is there something you want to change about your life?  Have you made a New Year’s Resolution?  Did you plan it before New Year with a view to starting on 1st January?

If you have celebrated Christmas in the traditional way like our ancestors did with a huge feast – or three or four, then you might be feeling somewhat jaded – not unsurprisingly.  From a nutritional standpoint, all that rich food, alcohol, sugar and indulgence is highly acidifying and makes us feel tired, lethargic with the odd headache throw in too, so it makes sense that many people vow to eat a healthier diet over the coming months, to rebalance.  The foods we really need plenty of, are the same ones we are always being nagged to eat – vegetables!  This is the ideal time to increase your veg intake with some good winter warming root veg and hardy greens.  Carrots, parsnips, celeriac, swede, turnips, and beetroots are warming and nourishing.  Cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli and kale are cruciferous vegetables and have anti-cancer properties (indole-3-carbinole) which means they also support the immune system.  Then onions, garlic and leeks help with liver metabolism and getting rid of the by-products of all that self indulgence.

And forget the ‘5-a-day’ slogans.  Did you know that before that slogan for healthy eating was chosen, researchers found that actually people really needed to eat nearer 8 or 9 portions of veg a day?  However, they knew they wouldn’t be able to persuade people to do that but thought that 5 was acceptable as a minimum to aim for for!  So dig out your recipe books, visit your local organic farm/market/supermarket to buy lovely fresh veg and pile them in to all our dishes.

Root vegetables taste great when they are roasted, and hardy green vegetables a lovely stir-fried with a good oil like coconut oil or goose fat or butter.

Eating 8 or 9 portions of veg a day will chase away the winter blues and get your feeling full of vitality again!

So maybe a New Year Resolution of intent to eat 7 plus portions of vegetables a day would be a really good way to start the year and a healthier new you!