By Cathy Wilson
Guest Columnist

I’m so ready to spring into spring!

Deciding first that half your dinner plate will be a raw salad is a healthy habit to create. The other side could be split with a cooked non-starchy vegetable and a starch.

I enjoy walking whether it’s in our subdivision or on trails, but my husband only likes trails, so when the weather was nice, we went trail walking. I would sometimes walk in my subdivision, but I seem to be a fair-weather walker and even with the mild winter, it was still cold. A habit broken.

It is a firm belief of mine that we should be eating a salad as a meal once a day. Load it up with a variety of raw vegetables and throw some beans in there. But, again it was cold and when it’s cold a salad isn’t as enticing as a bowl of hot vegetable soup. While soup is a healthy choice on any day, it is critical to get both cooked and raw vegetables into your daily habit. A habit broken.

We tend to be very selective with which restaurants we go to and already know what we are likely to order — it’s a habit.

Vacations though, you have to be diligent in the choice of restaurants; seafood or gastropub for instance. It is difficult to order healthy options in a gastropub. Stay strong and keep your healthy habits.

Welcome spring, it is time to renew our healthy habits.

Get moving — walk, swim, take a chair yoga class, or a million other things that keep you off the couch.

Keep healthy foods in the house. This is so important when changing habits. It has to be available as the first choice.

Choose whole foods. That is a complete sentence and way of eating. Pick a new fruit or vegetable to try every time you shop.

Get creative in the kitchen. The picture here shows the way to start a meal. Start with this and say, now what am I having with this.

Water, water, and more water. It fills your belly, improves your skin, makes your organs work better, along with a multitude of other benefits.

Get rid of Sugar — period.

Grains are a whole food — but, bread, buns, crackers, chips, and tortillas or not.

Recently, I ordered a root vegetable salad at a restaurant in Goshen and it was fabulous. I wasn’t sure about it because it listed beets, and I dislike beets because of the mess they make on a plate, but to my surprise, these were golden roasted beets, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some to have at home. Try new things.

Wishing you healthy new habits this spring and may they bring you good health in the future.