In the last post I wrote about failing to stick to all but one of my 2013 resolutions. That, however, did not stop me from making a whole list of brand new resolutions for 2014. Which means that I am either very determined or that I never learn. Or both?
Actually, I don’t feel like last year was such a failure, since the one resolution I kept was a pretty big one and I kept most of the others at least partially. For example, the resolution I made concerning this blog here, I kept 72 % (yeah, I really did the math) which does not feel too bad. And most importantly: I did not abandon my resolutions after a month – even if I was not 100 % succesful, they helped me to keep on track.
Setting goals and motivating myself is a big theme for me since I am self-employed and working from home. If I get no work done all day, nobody will yell at me. So goals and resolutions are a way to hold myself accountable, to do more and do better.
Yesterday, during the seven hour drive from my sister’s back to the Netherlands, we talked about this a lot. Even the kids made resolutions, albeit reluctantly. Sebastiaan resolved to play badminton twice a week instead of just once and practice keyboard six times a week (parental applause). Esther decided to work more on her writing – she started a novel last summer and she also started writing for the school magazine (also applauded) and Remco wants to learn to play guitar and run at least twice a week.
I am still refining my (very long) list of resolutions and, most importantly, translating my general desires to concrete “action items” because it’s the only way to keep track of whether I am really working on them. Meanwhile, I am putting the first one to practice: eat salad more often.
In the middle of winter, it can be difficult to eat enough fresh vegetables while sticking to seasonal, locally grown produce. Cabbage is the one vegetable that we can always count on. I have several slaws in the archives, but this one makes a really fresh tasting salad. No heavy mayo laden dressing, but tangy yogurt and sharp ginger juice, slices of a juicy apple and pleasantly crunchy sunflower seeds. This salad is as fresh as the year 2014 and we are off to a good start!
Red cabbage slaw with ginger yogurt dressing
½ small red cabbage
1 juicy red apple
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
Dressing:
½ cup full-fat yogurt
a piece of ginger root
2 tablespoons cold pressed sunflower oil
juice of ½ lime
salt
Make the dressing:
Finely grate the ginger, then press the grated pulp to extract the juice. Measure about 1/2 tablespoon of fresh juice. Combine the ginger juice with the yogurt, sunflower oil and lime juice. Whisk the ingredients to combine and season with salt.
Finely slice the cabbage. Cut the apples in quarters and core them. Cut each quarter in half and slice thinly. If you wish, roast the sunflower seeds shortly in a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring frequently, until they smell “nutty”. In a large bowl, mix the cabbage and apple slices with the dressing. Scatter the sunflower seeds on top.