Let us be a little better today than yesterday

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends! Hope y’all are enjoying 2026 so far (if you aren’t, I encourage you to stay strong because we are only on our second week of 2026). I’ve been writing this VegUP blog for 8+ years now, can you believe that? I’ve just realized that over the last 8 years, I preached something similar on our January topic, like: new year, new resolutions or new year, new you. I don’t know about you, but I think I am getting tired of this statement and we really need something NEW this January! Agreed? I don’t think all of us need a brand new New Year resolution every year, WHAT we need the MOST is to build a better us from yesterday (2025 or older version of us)! Meaning, we focus on what we failed to achieve last year and we try to use better and smart strategies to meet our goals this year. How do we feel about this plan? Less overwhelming?

OKAY, let’s talk about the core of our VegUp here, which is to consume a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day (at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits daily). My role here is to help you achieve this goal by sharing with you some easy delicious recipes to prepare at home. I wish all of us, in the year 2026, will be able to meet our little goal of learning to incorporate fruits and vegetables in our daily life!

Cooking at home can be as easy as 1-2-3, just don’t overthink the process, it does however, depend on what recipes you pick! If you try the recipes I share with you here, you will have a higher chance of success and maybe find yourself some confidence and passion in cooking. FYI, I don’t just search for recipes that are only healthy, I also make sure the recipes are easy, tasty, and appealing! Alright, I think I need to stop talking now, and show you the January recommended recipes! Happy cooking, my friends!

Creamy Tuscan White Beans Lemon Soup: It is kinda chilly these days, a bowl of warm soup sounds good! For this recipe, I really suggest cutting the amount of sun-dried tomatoes into half. The sun-dried tomatoes taste good, but are saltier than the regular canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, so make sure you go easy on the salt when you season the soup. I serve my soup with some toasted sourdough rosemary bread. The recipe adapted from Half-baked Harvest.

Creamy Lentil Sun-dried Tomato Soup: This is not just a regular tomato soup, it is also a more filling and nutritious creamy tomato soup with the addition of lentils (I used red lentil when preparing this soup)! Lentils are known for their excellent source of protein, fiber, as well as rich in iron, folate, and potassium (Tone, 2015). Same like the creamy Tuscan white beans lemon soup, I suggest going really easy on salt when you season the soup as sun-dried tomatoes are used in the recipe. The soup may feel a little grainy, if you like to have a smooth texture, I suggest you blend in a higher-powered blender. I serve my soup with lightly toasted rosemary bread. The recipe adapted from Half-baked Harvest.

*NOTE: I throw in a pinch a little of granulated sugar when seasoning the soup to tone down the tartness from the tomatoes.

Cilantro Orange Chicken with Yellow Rice and Beans: This is a very tasty but super easy weekday meal recipe. The presentation of the food is incredibly appealing; I could not help myself but to steal a bit of everything while cooking them! I made my own yellow rice with turmeric and cooked my own black beans from scratch (instead of refried beans). I also serve the dish with some fresh pineapple salsa. I give this dish a 10/10! I highly recommend you to try this recipe! This recipe is adapted from Pinch of Yum.

*NOTE: you can really cut corners with this recipe by getting the store-bought ready-to-eat yellow rice and refried beans/beans. I did mine from scratch coz I was too lazy to make another trip to the grocery store.

Korean Tofu Rice Bowl: Korean-inspired dish is always my go-to choice! If the recipe is easy and delicious, I will always try them! So, allow me to introduce you to this flavorful Korean tofu rice recipe. My rice bowl are made with some steamy red rice (just happened to have it at home), crispy sweet spicy crispy tofu (it will not be crispy if to serve as leftover), spicy cucumber salad, refreshing cabbage kimchi,  stir-fried garlicky spinach, cooked shredded carrots, and an fried egg. NOTE: The gochujiang sauce is quite salty, so you really don’t want to overseason the tofu with salt.  The recipe adapted from Feasting at Home.

Reference

Tone, C. (2015). Fiber: Lentils’ health benefits-an ancient seed finds its rightful place at the modern table. Today’s Dietitian, 17 (9). Retrieved from https://www.todaysdietitian.com/fiber-lentils-health-benefits-an-ancient-seed-finds-its-rightful-place-at-the-modern-table/