Fresh Start: A Handful of Healthy Recipes to Kick Off Spring

Every year when spring rolls around I find myself enjoying the process of making small changes:  pulling lighter clothes and footwear out of storage to wear, reorganizing areas of our home and adding some bright little touches to its decor, feeling more enthusiastic about getting exercise outdoors.  Do you sense it too?  In the same way that everything in nature begins to grow and bloom anew this time of year, spring can inspire all of us to turn over a new leaf, encouraging us to make changes in our lives that will improve our feelings of happiness and good health.

I often hear people talk about how they would like to change their eating habits in some way, and what better time of year than spring to take a leap in this area?  Spring is when I often start dreaming of vegetable gardens and farmer's markets and meals made with fresh foods in every colour of the rainbow; the wide variety of healthy edibles that will be available in abundance in the coming months provides a great source of inspiration.  It doesn't have to be a difficult process to move towards healthier eating, and it doesn't have to happen overnight.  Tulips and crocuses take time to grow from tiny green shoots pushing their way through cold spring soil into beautiful blooms, and adopting healthier eating habits can be a similar process of growth.  Starting with small, manageable changes (learning a delicious way to prepare a new-to-you vegetable, replacing one unhealthy packaged food you habitually eat with something homemade that's more nutritious, remembering to drink more water) can provide a feeling of accomplishment that may serve as a catalyst for further positive changes.

Today I thought I'd share a handful of healthy recipes from previous posts on Pocketfuls, foods that our family really enjoys.  I hope that if you're looking to make some changes to your eating habits that you might find inspiration in these recipes, too!  (Click on the highlighted food titles to be taken to the corresponding recipe.)

Baked Oatmeal

No pomegranates to be found this time of year?  No problem!  I recently made this oatmeal with bananas, blueberries, raspberries and walnuts instead of apples, pomegranate, and pecans.  It was naturally sweet and so delicious!

Homemade Granola and a Healthy Breakfast Parfait

Super Smoothies

Lemony Chickpeas and Fresh Veggies in a Brown Rice Wrap

Colourful Quinoa Salad

Kale Salad

Grilled Tilapia with Fresh Salads

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Zucchini

Grilled Salmon and Shrimp

Homemade Dips:  White Bean, Guacamole

Cranberry Coconut Granola Cookies

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Has the arrival of spring inspired you to make some changes to how and what you eat?  Have you got a delicious healthy recipe to share?  I'd love to hear from you!