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New Year Healthy Recipes and Tips to Welcome a New Season

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Welcoming a new year with healthy recipes and tips to help you keep your resolutions and goals. Plus, super easy tips on healthy habits to begin this January and simple ways to eat healthy all year long!

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New Year Healthy Recipes and Tips

When ringing in a new year, thoughts of fresh starts and healthy habits often dominate January. With renewed resolve, we determine to begin a new year with mindful and healthful intentions.

Perusing articles to fuel my own resolve to keep our family healthy, I came across a myriad of articles promising “Best New Year’s Resolutions,” or “How to Improve Your Life According to Science,” or “10 Healthy Choices to Make,” according to the World Health Organization, or even, “9 Ways to Get Healthier Without Trying Very Hard.”

All are insightful and helpful articles. I studied them all! In each, there are similarities and common themes. To save you time, here is a very brief summary:

5 Healthy Habits to Begin a New Year

Think about incorporating these simple healthy habits into your daily life.

1. Eat a healthy diet

I love the Mediterranean Diet, but there are many ways to get the nutrients you need and still love the food you eat. Follow healthy eating plans for meal ideas (check out our weekly healthy dinners post for meal plans I publish every Saturday morning).

2. Be active

According to the World Health Organization, adults should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate activity. This includes walks and even household chores, like sweeping floors or climbing stairs, to improve cardiovascular health. For additional health benefits, they recommend increasing moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week. For children and teens, they recommend 60 minutes of exercise per day.

3. Get enough sleep

The BBC says, “Research shows humans experience seasonal sleep, meaning they need more rest during the dark winter than they do during the summer. One German study found that people slept an hour longer in December than in June.” And, they recommend going to bed earlier and avoiding bright lights (like phones and tablets) in the 2 hours leading up to bedtime. They mention that “Recent research also found that having a consistent bedtime may help us to maintain a healthy gut.”

4. Be with people

Most articles stressed the importance of human-to-human interaction. In other words, be with people! The BBC said it well when they summarized, “Embrace life’s chaos.” If you don’t have an active social circle (like civic groups, church groups, or neighborhood groups), smiling at a stranger (see 5 Ways a Smile Can Change the World), chatting with a checker at the market, or even waving at your neighbors all count toward activating this healthy habit! You’ll be glad you did.

5. Get creative

This is a personal favorite. NPR writes, “Research shows that making art or even viewing it reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increases levels of the feel-good hormones, like endorphins and oxytocin.” If you don’t consider yourself to be a creative person, consider learning a new skill or trying a new hobby. Cooking delicious recipes comes to mind!

5 Healthy Eating Habits

Enjoying a healthy lifestyle also includes adding nourishing foods that fuel our bodies. Here are five easy ways to eat healthfully this year:

  1. Add fiber: Feeling hungry? Add more fiber to your diet. Studies show you can increase satiety hormones by eating more foods with fiber — especially fermentable fiber, which is found in foods like oats, rye, whole wheat, and many legumes. 
  2. 5 A Day: According to NHS, eat a variety of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily.
  3. Read food labels: Referencing food labels helps cut down on food additives like sodium, processed sugars, saturated fats, and trans-fatty acids.
  4. Increase water intake: Harvard Health recommends adult men drink 13 cups of water daily, 9 cups for adult women, teens (14-18 years) should drink 8-11 cups of water, and children 9-13 years should drink 7-8 cups.
  5. Eat a variety of foods: As you plan daily meals, try to eat a balanced and diversified diet, by incorporating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts daily.

55 New Year Healthy Recipes

These New Year Healthy Recipes are some of my favorites, from breakfast to lunch, dinner, and snacks, including some treats too.

55 Healthy Recipes for a New Year

Heathy Starts

Healthy Soup and Brunch Recipes

Snacks and Breads

Main Meals

My favorite healthy recipes at 31Daily

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