16 recipes to keep you healthy through the holiday season

The year is almost over, which means the time for New Year's resolutions is almost upon us. If eating healthy is in your future, these 16 recipes can help you. And don't worry: Dessert is definitely not off the table.

1. Chia-pomegranate pudding

Work on bettering your eating habits even while you're asleep. Before you go to bed, stir chia seeds into an almond-milk mixture and place it in the refrigerator. Wake up, and you have pudding for breakfast.

2. Green juice

We can't talk clean eating without sneaking in a green juice somewhere. A glass of this in the morning (or any other colorful juice), and you'll be shining from the inside out.


3. Goji-poppy bran muffin

Greek yogurt takes the place of butter in these wholesome baked goods. The poppy seeds and turbinado sugar on top crisp up for a muffin top you'll actually be proud of.


4. Shiitake mushroom and herb broth

Don't let bone broth get all the attention. Mushrooms' meatiness makes them a fine alternative to an animal-based version of this versatile clean broth.


5. Ford Fry's nam prik pao sauce

One way to make healthy eating enjoyable is by adding a flavor-packed condiment to a plate of "bland" food. The head-clearing spiciness of 10 Thai chiles and a hefty cup of sweet chile paste are sure to perk up any vegetable dish you've been avoiding.


6. Pickled mushroom and miso brown rice salad

This is a salad that will actually fill you up — it has a hearty brown rice base mixed with all that kale. Top with adorable briny beech mushrooms that look like they came straight out of a game of Super Mario Bro., and you're good to go.



7. Sweet green pea and herb falafel

Even when it's winter, you can still make this portable Middle Eastern meal by using frozen peas and pulling the curtains down to hide the snow. We like the falafel in warm pita, but you could just as easily serve them over greens to make it gluten free.



8. Upside-down pineapple granola bars

Snacking is always important, which is why we're big fans of always having one of these granola bars on hand. Mix and match with different add-ins or follow our recipe for a treat that rivals its cake-shaped relative.



9. Spicy stir-fried pork

Eating healthy isn't synonymous with eschewing meat. Strips of lean garlic- and ginger-marinated pork shine in this one-pan meal.



10. The Tasting Table macro bowl

If we've learned one thing, it's that 85 percent of recipes that contain the word bowl in their name are net positive in health benefits. Follow the recipe as is or use our guideline to find your own ideal blend.


11. Green papaya salad

This salad was inspired by a severe noodle rut, so you, too, can put take-out noodles in the corner in favor of this bright textural wonder.


12. Amaranth "polenta" with Tuscan kale

Give cornmeal a time-out and use pint-size amaranth instead for this Italian side. It's also another way to sneak just a few more handfuls of greens into your life.



13. Chicken in whole spices

Creamy tikka masala can take its toll, so swap it for this braised Indian dish. It's worth investing in the various spices if you don't already have them — especially turmeric, which gives the chicken pieces their gilded glow.



14. Matcha gingerbread cookies

Desserts don't have to be gut busters. Balance the green juice in your left hand with a couple of green matcha-avocado cookies in your right.




15. Pink pepper pavlova with grilled cherries

Tracy Obolsky's pavlova is the most delicious tongue twister we've had. When good cherries are elusive, sub in your fruit of choice, a spoonful of jam or just enjoy the cumulus cloud of meringue on its own.




16. Spiced sweet potato bread

Eating your vegetables and calling it dessert is a no-brainer. To make it even healthier, leave out the turbinado sugar — or don't. Live a little.

Tasting Table is a website and newsletter for culinary enthusiasts. We eat high and low to bring you discerning dining, recipe, culinary events, gift guides, and food travel advice you can trust along with news you can use from the world of food and drink.

Let's cook something together.
Let's order another round.
Let's live deliciously.

Strategic Team Development - Dr Fazal Mahmood

A team is a group of people organised to work together. Teamwork is the ability to work together towards a common vision, goal or objective. All team members must share in that vision and work both independently and inter-dependently to achieve the goal. Modern managers must have the ability to harmonise individual accomplishment with organisational objectives.

As a team matures, members gradually learn to cope with the emotional and group pressures they face. As a result, the team goes through fairly predictable stages:

Stage 1 Forming

When a team is forming, members cautiously explore the boundaries of acceptable group behaviour. Like hesitant swimmers, they stand by the pool, dabbling their toes in the water. This is a stage of transition from individual to member status, and of testing the leader's guidance both formally and informally.

Forming includes these feelings:

§  Excitement, anticipation and optimism

§  Pride in being chosen for the project

§  Initial, tentative attachment to the team

§  Suspicion, fear and anxiety about the job ahead

and these behaviours:

§  Attempts to define the task and decide how it will be accomplished

§  Attempts to determine acceptable group behaviour and how to deal with group problems

§  Decisions on what information needs to be gathered

§  Lofty, abstract discussions of concepts and issues; or, for some members, impatience with these discussions

§  Discussion of symptoms or problems not relevant to the task; difficulty in identifying problems

§  Complaints about the organisation and barriers to the task

Because there is so much going on to distract members' attention in the beginning, the team accomplishes little, if anything, that concerns it's project goals. This is perfectly normal.

Stage 2 Storming

Storming is probably the most difficult stage for the team. It is as if team members jump in the water, and thinking they are about to drown, start thrashing about. They begin to realise the task is different and more difficult than they imagined, becoming irritable, blameful or overzealous. Impatient about the lack of progress, but still too inexperienced to know much about decision making or the scientific approach, members argue about just what actions the team should take. They try to rely solely on their personal and professional experience, resisting any need for collaborating with other team members.

Storming includes these feelings:

§  Resistance to the task and to quality improvement approaches different from what each individual member is comfortable using

§  Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the team and the project's chance of success

and these behaviours:

§  Arguing among members even when they agree on the real issues

§  Defensiveness and competitive; factions start to form and members start to choose sides

§  Questioning the wisdom of those who selected this project and appointed the other members of the team

§  Establishing unrealistic goals; concern about excessive work

§  A perceived 'pecking order'; disunity, increased tension, and jealousy

Again, these many pressures mean team members have little energy to spend on progressing towards the team's goal. But they are beginning to understand one another.

Stage 3 Norming

During this stage, members reconcile competing loyalties and responsibilities. They accept the team, team ground rules (or 'norms'), their roles in the team, and the individuality of fellow members. Emotional conflict is reduced as previously competitive relationships become more co-operative. In other words, as team members realise they are not going to drown, they stop thrashing about and start helping each other stay afloat.

Norming includes these feelings:

§  A new ability to express criticism constructively

§  Acceptance of membership in the team

§  Relief that it seems everything is going to work out

and these behaviours:

§  An attempt to achieve harmony by avoiding conflict

§  More friendliness, confiding in each other, and sharing of personal problems; discussing the team's dynamics

§  A sense of team cohesion, a common spirit and goals

§  Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries (the 'norms')

As team members begin to work out their differences, they now have more time and energy to spend on the project. Thus they are able to at last start making significant progress.

Stage 4 Performing

By this stage the team has settled its relationships and expectations. They can begin performing - diagnosing and solving problems, and choosing and implementing changes. At last team members have discovered and accepted each other's strengths and weaknesses, and learned what their roles are. Now they can swim in concert.

Performing includes these feelings:

§  Members having insights into personal and group processes, and better understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses

§  Satisfaction at the team's progress

and these behaviours:

§  Constructive self-change

§  Ability to prevent or work through group problems

§  Close attachment to the team

The team is now an effective, cohesive unit. You can tell when your team has reached this stage because you start getting a lot of work done.

This article has been extracted from one of the Impression Training course books. All training materials are developed by experienced trainers and consultants.

Impression Training runs courses related to this topic.

Please click here to see the full list of courses