I’m working on my resolutions for this new year. I know from many past failures that a diet won’t work for me. I never stick to them…not ever. Too many rules…too many restrictions. And really…I do not have time to read lables….getting in and out of the grocery store with four kids and remembering to pick up everything on my list…crazy enough! And sometimes the ingredients in healthy recipes are…different. Call me crazy or stubborn but I’ll never eat cinnamon on my chicken…not happening. This past couple of weeks I checked out several healthy cookbooks and only found two recipes that we might like to try…

I wanted to cry.

But maybe trying to change my family’s entire way of eating was too big a task to tackle at the moment. I did learn in the Made to Crave study that a goal needs to be broken down into small steps. Changing our entire diet is too overwhelming. So, instead I am going to work on making the meals we like a little healthier. Part of this goal will be to make as many dishes as possible homemade instead of store-bought. Starting with breakfast…

Homemade Granola

4&1/2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup sliced almonds (does the package say “slivered”?), 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup pecans, 1/4 cup wheat germ, 1/8 cup crushed flax-seed and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix all this up in a big bowl. Really you could mix in any nuts and seeds you like…this is just what I had on hand.

Simmer together 1/2 cup honey, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour this into the bowl of oats and work together. Try to get it all nice and moist then spread onto cookie sheets and bake until crisp and golden at 300F for about 45 minutes. You will need to stir it once or twice.

My kids liked it and ate it with milk. My husband ate it a handful at a time. WOW!

I like granola with yogurt and this week I am going to try my hand at making homemade yogurt…maybe greek yogurt. I did read some labels of the yogurt brands we like at the store the other day…not really as healthy as I thought yogurt should be…

I am also taking Elli’s advise over at her blog. Chewing my food slower and gradually increasing fiber in my diet. Small steps…

Linking up with Wellness Wednesday Blog Link-Up.