While your January better eating resolutions are still active, consider this remake of a family favorite recipe, macaroni and cheese. This mac and cheese recipe is better for you in three ways. It uses:

 
RECIPE: BETTER-FOR-YOU MAC & CHEESE

Ingredients For 10 Servings

1. COOK the pasta in large saucepan as directed on the package for al dente pasta. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Keep warm. Meanwhile…

2. MIX the milk and flour in a medium saucepan with a wire whisk. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Add the cauliflower florets; cook 12 to 15 minutes or until fork-tender, stirring occasionally.

3. PURÉE the mixture in batches in blender on high speed until smooth, with the center part of the cover removed to let steam escape. Return the puréed mixture to the saucepan. (Alternatively, purée the mixture in a saucepan with an immersion blender.)

4. STIR in the remaining ingredients; whisk until smooth. Pour the cheese mixture over the hot cooked macaroni; mix well. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.
 
Variations

You can customize the recipe with some equally good for you ingredients that add flavor and color. Mix them in or use them as a garnish.

 
Idea: Set the options out in ramekins and let everyone customize his or her own recipe.
 
  

The wild chile was domesticated about 5200 B.C.E. and tomatoes by 3000 B.C.E., both in Central America. The two ingredients were combined into a condiment, incorporating other ingredients like squash seeds and even beans (the predecessor of one of our favorites, tomato, corn and bean salsa). The Spanish conquistadors, taking over in 1529, called it “salsa,” the Spanish word for sauce.

Salsa was not used as a dip for tortilla chips, which weren’t invented until the late 1940s in Los Angeles. It was a general sauce for meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. (Here are the history of salsa and the history of tortilla chips.)
So today’s tip is: Take salsa back to its origins and use it as a sauce for fish and poultry. Here’s the easiest way, from Jillipepper, a New Mexico-based salsa maker.

 
Preparation

1. BRUSH the fish liberally with the salsa.

Salsa-coated chicken. Photo courtesy McCormick.

When you use salsa with chicken or fish, it can be traditionally savory, or sweetened with fruit. (See the different types of salsa.)
 
SWEET SALSA

If you like things sweet—and easy—McCormick has a popular Salsa Chicken recipe that combines canned tomatoes with apricot preserves, and a Montreal Salsa Chicken that combines mild salsa with peach preserves.

Both of those combine tomatoes with fruit, but you can also make a pure fruit salsa with no tomatoes.

Peach salsa is the best-selling fruit salsa flavor in the U.S., beating mango and pineapple. While most bottled peach salsa is tomato-based salsa roja, you can make fresh peach salsa without tomatoes. Wait for peach season, though; then combine 2 cups peeled, finely diced peaches, 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion, 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper, 1 de-seeded and finely chopped jalapeño, juice of 1 lime, 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or basil leaves and 1 clove minced garlic. Add salt to taste.

Mango pineapple salsa is also easy to whip up. Combine 1 diced mango and 2 cups of diced pineapple with ½ medium onion, diced; ½ cup cilantro, diced; the juice of one lime, and salt and pepper to taste. You can also add minced jalapeño for heat.

Cherry salsa goes nicely with chicken or fish. You can use fresh cherries in season, but frozen cherries work fine. Here’s a salmon recipe with cherry mango salsa.

And when watermelon season returns, how about a watermelon, corn and black bean salsa?

SAVORY SALSA

We prefer a largely savory salsa with grilled fish, sometimes with diced fruit—mango, peach or pineapple tossed in for balance, but never, ever with added sugar.

While you can use salsa from a jar, making your own is easy and you can customize it with your favorite ingredients. You can also create your preferred texture, from chunky hand-diced to puréed in the blender.

The possible combinations are [almost] endless”

POSSIBLE SALSA INGREDIENTS

HOMEMADE SALSA RECIPE

Ingredients

Here’s a fun idea from RA Sushi in Orlando: sushi lollipops!

While you may not have the skill to roll your own, it’s easy enough to buy ready-made sushi rolls and add this special spin to enjoy with cocktails.

Just pick up some bamboo skewers and mix a dipping sauce. It could be as simple as soy sauce and wasabi or soy sauce, grated ginger, sesame seeds and minced chives (wasabi optional).

Depending on the rolls, you could use sweet chili sauce or citrussy ponzu sauce.

Here’s a recipe for homemade ponzu sauce—so much more delicious than store-bought (except for the deluxe ponzu sauce from Yakami Orchard).

As always, have fun with it!

Squeeze tubes of fruits and veggies are not just for kids. While they started out targeted to the junior set, moms and other adults started to enjoy the benefits of the easily portable, wholesome fruit and vegetable snacks.

So Plum Organics, which had been making products for kids, developed the Plum Vida line for grown-ups. The flavors are more complex and sophisticated, and the portions are larger. The five-ounce pouches can be kept in pockets, purses, lockers, glove compartments, desk drawers—pretty much anywhere.

Each pouch delivers a light, flavorful, refreshing and healthful snack, made entirely from organic fruits and vegetables with a hint of herbs and spices.

You can sip it from the pouch or mix it with hot tea or club soda. You can even use it as a sweet salad dressing (we added a splash of good vinegar). We eat it at room temperature, but on a hot summer day, you can chill it in the fridge.

 
Each pouch delivers:

 
The line is certified kosher by OU, certified USDA Organic and Non GMO verified. It is currently sold exclusively at target stores (in the beverage aisle), for $1.99 a pouch.

And there’s a $1.00 coupon on the Plum Vida website to make your first pouch even sweeter.
 
  

Last year we published a recipe for baked oatmeal with strawberries. It was a big hit.

Here’s a baked oatmeal dish with a different flavor profile: blueberry and almond, courtesy of the London-based blog, Pip & Little Blue. You’ll find many other delicious recipes on the website.

“Pip” created this recipe to be heart-healthy, child-friendly and easy to make. “It has to be both one of the yummiest and healthiest breakfasts in my repertoire,” she says.

“It may feel like you’re indulging and eating cake for breakfast, but this is jam-packed full of blueberries, oats, soy milk and almonds, all proven to be good for your heart and low in fat to boot. Way way better than [plain] porridge” [see note below].

You can reheat slices in the microwave at home or at work, for a nutritious breakfast every day in 30 seconds.
 
 
RECIPE: BLUEBERRY & ALMOND BAKED OATMEAL

Ingredients For 8 Servings

It may look like cake, but it’s baked oatmeal for breakfast! You can use an oblong pan, but doesn’t the oatmeal look prettier in a round one? Photo © Pip & Little Blue.

†For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free certified oats and gluten-free baking powder.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F/190°C and grease a deep 9-inch baking pan or deep dish.

2. CREAM together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the oats, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until all the ingredients are incorporated.

3. ARRANGE 1 cup of blueberries on the bottom of your baking dish. Spoon the oatmeal mixture on top, even the surface out and scatter the flaked almonds and remaining blueberries on top.

4. BAKE for 40-45 minutes, or until the oatmeal is springy and golden on top. Serve warm , with extra fruit or a splash of milk.
 
 
WHAT IS PORRIDGE?

Porridge is a dish made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped cereal grains in water or milk. Optional flavorings can be added, from spices to fruits or cheese.

Porridge is usually served hot for breakfast, in a bowl or dish. It may be sweetened with sugar or served as a savory dish (cheese grits is an example).