It’s January 5, 2012. While I hear the gyms are packed (like they are every year in January) and every show on the Food Network seems to be about healthy recipes (btw, although olive oil is deemed a healthy fat, its use still appears to be a little too liberal in those healthy recipes), for me – 2012 so far has just been a number I’m not used to typing 
I’m still on track with my P90X workouts (at home, away from crowds – LOVE) and I am no stranger to healthy cooking. Those chocolate cravings, which need constant “attending to” (read: feeding)? Yup those are still there too.
I wonder how many people really wake up on January 1 and find themselves with a list of resolutions that require immediate action. Do they have a clear plan? Are they overwhelmed? Do they have a good support system to help them? I hope so!
I’m the kind of person that attacks goals with intensity. I research, I plan, I write out mile-long to-do lists and schedules and then I go at it. This is how I’m approaching my new business (I promise to share the details with you – very soon!) and it’s been exhilarating (so exhilarating in fact that I am having trouble falling asleep thinking of a million different things I could offer and cute little touches that would make me unique). The best part? I get to eat my “research.” 
[Ok some of it, unfortunately my extensive research in the logo design process has been inedible, and more expensive than originally anticipated. If only I could pay designers in cookies… or mussels. Ha!]
Coconut and basil steamed mussels is a Cooking Light recipe I’ve had bookmarked since June 2009. Mussels are such a fun protein to make and healthy to boot! It’s high in protein, low in fat and calories and when made right – so juicy, plump and delicious. I also love how these little guys absorb whatever broth you cook them in. They turn into little sponges of flavor. Yum!!
I doubled the amount of mussels the recipe called for (they normally come in 2lb bags – why not cook the whole thing?) and added a few good handfuls of fresh baby spinach (together with the basil) for good measure. Adding baby spinach to pretty much everything is one of my favorite ways to sneak extra veggies in! The spinach soaked up some of the yummy broth as well. Awesome!
This broth was creamy and slightly spicy and had a bit of Thai flare. We loved it with big hunks of bread to soak up more broth. A quick, restaurant-worthy, healthy meal right at home! 
Those white dots, by the way, are salt. I guess I got really up close and personal with the mussels 
Do you feel the effects of the new year? Are you overwhelmed, excited or just indifferent?
cookbook – I made the flaky pie dough recipe using 100% butter (shortening freaks me out) and “Apple Pie II” recipe to be able to do a lattice top. I just think it looks prettier and it gives the apples a chance to steam through the holes. Oh and since I made this pie last week as well I learned that I didn’t like their recommendation of refrigerating the strips first. They became too hard to maneuver. Just cut them up right before topping the pie. Worked for me!
). I hope I can’t do this! 
