New Year Resolutions

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

I was compensated by Kroger to write this blog post and share my ideas for ‘Little Victories’. All opinions expressed are completely my own. 

Well friends, a new year is upon us! I can’t believe it. Cue the Auld Lang Syne. Orrrr if you like ABBA, this little gem. #omg

Looking back, it went by pretty fast. I feel like I just wrote this post about 50 Easy Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle last week. And by last week I mean last year?!  WHAT.THE.HECK.

Lots of you read that post and shared it on social media making it one of my most read posts of the year. I like to think its because I’m awesome but I’m pretty sure it was like, because I listed totally do-able things. Little baby steps that add up to fulfilling big goals.

Well, Kroger contacted me all about my 50 Easy Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle and was all like “Hey! We’re all about easy steps toward a healthy lifestyle too!” and then we held hands, sang kumbaya and drank hot chocolate by the fire.

Umm….

Ok, that never happened but, doesn’t it sound nice? Ithinkso.

ANYWAYS, Kroger is encouraging everyone to reach their goals and attain these ‘little victories’ in 2015 to help keep your healthy-lifestyle-healthy-eating New Year’s resolutions. Did you know that nearly 90% of people giving up on their goals well before the year is even really started? That’s because they make resolutions that are too lofty, too hard to keep up with, too hard to follow, or resolutions they never had any intent of keeping in the first place.

That’s why taking baby steps is the way to go! Little victories, ya’ll. It’ll change your life.

*My Little Victories*

What are my little victories going to be this year? Here are a few:

1. I’m not drinking any soda in 2015. I was never much of a sugary-soda kind of drinker. I am however a diet soda drinker. Like, I’ll have one if we go out to eat and will buy a case mayyyybe twice a year. But, did you know my husband gave up soda 5 years ago?! Five years he’s been soda-sober! {Cough cough….show off.} So, that’s something I feel like is attainable for me. Flavored water…here I come!

2. Exercise at least 4 times a week. This shouldn’t be too hard. I switched gyms. I have a friend to meet there weekday mornings. I take classes on certain days. The teachers now know my name {yikes}. I need accountability, so that’s what I tried to do for myself by meeting a friend and getting to know the instructors. Once I get to the gym, I really enjoy working out…its just getting there that’s hard. Right now I average 3 times a week, so adding 1 more day should be do-able.

3. If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I am a carbaholic. I love cheese and I love carbs. All carbs. It’s potentially a problem, but mostly just for my thunder thighs. Anyways, this year I’m going to try and incorporate more ‘good for you’ carbs/grains into my meals. Please note: I’m not talking about going on a low carb diet {pretty sure I would die}. I’m talking about substituting my usual staples with healthier options. More bread, waffles, pancakes, etc. made with whole wheat flour. More whole wheat pasta instead of regular. Cooking with brown rice instead of white. Incorporating more quinoa into my mexican dishes and salads. I found these products at Fred Meyer {a Kroger affiliate} and am so excited to try them in some new recipes! Long grain brown rice, tri-color quinoa, low calorie pasta and vegetable penne rigate {pastas not pictured}.

Some healthier recipes featuring quinoa would include Roasted Veggie Quinoa Salad {pictured at the top of this post} Southwest Sausage and Quinoa Lettuce Wraps and Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken over Quinoa Pilaf.

Some recipes featuring brown rice include but are not limited to Broccoli Cheddar Brown Rice Skillet  {as seen below}, Asian BBQ Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Fried Brown Rice and Orange & Hoisin Glazed Pork Medallions with Pineapple Fried Brown Rice.

This year, I’m hoping to post a lot recipes featuring these kinds of products. Woot!

Over the next month, I’ll be featuring lots of healthy {and delicious} products from Kroger with 9 other blogging friends to create a fun blog hop! I’ll be posting a lot more links to these sorts of posts on my Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to follow along and stay tuned! Also, head on over to your local Kroger store to get some of these items. I’ve tried them all and they truly taste awesome and are typically the cheapest brand on the shelf!