A healthy start: 4 recipes to help you keep those 2024 resolutions

Many of us start a new year by promising ourselves we’ll do better — save more money, perhaps, or lose those extra pounds by starting an exercise program.

During the festive holiday season, eating healthier is also typically high on the list of New Year’s resolutions.

Giving up alcohol after the excesses of December — a popular trend known as Dry or Damp January — is often a simple first step since it’s easy to find other ways to hydrate. (Really!) It’s everything else you put on the table at mealtime that can be vexing.

We all know we should eat more vegetables, for example, but it often can be difficult to work the four or five portions a day the USDA recommends for adults into a daily diet if you’re not a huge salad eater. Two to three servings of fish a week can also seem challenging if you don’t count frozen fish sticks, which when breaded and fried are high in both sodium and calories.

Occasionally eating more plant-based protein and fewer animal products is also better for both our and our planet’s health, and after all the sweets America as a whole consumes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, goodness knows a little less sugar wouldn’t hurt.

To give you a gentle push in the right direction, we’ve assembled two good-for-you recipes to add to your weekly rotation. They are easy and inexpensive to prepare and will appeal to kids as well as adults: a vegetable lasagna packed with pepper, zucchini and fresh spinach and a foolproof baked salmon burger that gets a bright and zesty punch of flavor from fresh ginger, miso and pineapple.

Vegetable Lasagna

PG tested

This baked pasty dish is both wonderfully cheesy and extremely fresh tasting. The original recipe calls for roasting the veggies before layering them with ricotta and marinara sauce, but I hurried the process along by browning them in a pan with a little olive oil.

For lasagna

Extra-virgin olive oil, for pan

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups green or yellow zucchini squash (or mixed), cut into chunks

1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 lasagna noodles

24-ounce jar marinara sauce

6 ounce fresh spinach leaves, washed and destemmed

For filling

15-ounce container milk ricotta cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For topping

2 cups grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese

Fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a 9- by- 13-inch baking dish.

In large saute pan, heat a generous tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini and onion to pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender and browned around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil according to the package instructions, cooking until al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.

Make the ricotta filling: In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, garlic, lemon zest, salt and several grinds of pepper.

Assemble the lasagna. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce at the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles, followed by half the ricotta mixture. Spread the ricotta in an even layer, then arrange half the spinach leaves evenly on top. Top with half the vegetables and dot with 2/3 cup of the remaining marinara sauce.

Repeat with another layer of noodles, followed by the remaining ricotta, spinach, vegetables and another 2/3 cup sauce. Top with the remaining noodles.

Spread the remaining 2/3 cup marinara over the pasta, then evenly sprinkle with the mozzarella and pecorino cheeses. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.

Let stand for 20 minutes before garnishing with fresh basil or parsley, slicing, and serving. Serves 8.

Ginger Pineapple Salmon Burger

Everyone knows they should eat more fish on a weekly basis, and one of the healthiest choices is salmon. This fairly simple preparation involves turning fresh fillets into patties that work just as well on top of a salad as they do tucked into a bun or sandwich.

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup roughly chopped green onions (light and green parts)

3 garlic cloves

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons peach jam

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon miso paste

1 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup pineapple, diced small

1/2 cup cooked short-grain brown rice, cooled

Sea salt to taste

Vegetable cooking spray

For sauce

2 tablespoons miso paste

Juice and zest of 1 lime

1/4 cup warm water

Handful of mixed greens, for serving

6 toasted buns, for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In bowl of food processor, pulse cilantro, green onions, garlic, ginger, mustard, peach jam, hot sauce, chili powder and miso paste until finely chopped and almost like a paste.

Add salmon and pulse until roughly chopped (be sure the fish isn’t too finely ground).

Transfer salmon mixture to large bowl and gently fold in flaxseed, pineapple and brown rice. Season with salt. Form into six patties, place on prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the patties from fridge and spray tops with vegetable oil, Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown, opaque and cooked through.

Make sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso paste, sesame oil, lime juice and zest and warm water until smooth.

Place a salmon patty on top of each bun, drizzle with sauce and serve immediately. Serves 6.