User blog:Asnow89/Guided Tour: New Year's Resolutions

A New Year's resolution is when a person promises to do an act of self improvement, do something good, or to stop doing something bad on the first day of the year. This rejuvinating tradition originated 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon.

Originally, on the first day of the year, a new king was crowned or large religious festivals commenced. The Babylonians would make certain promises on this day to earn the favor of the gods and to start the year off on the right foot. [1]

Today, the most popular New Year's resolutions are losing weight, paying off debt, drinking less alcohol, getting fit, saving money, among many others. To help you achieve your resolutions, we are highlighting a few key healthy living wikias.

It's time to get "freekah". Freekah is an ancient grain, but it is only now starting to get some buzz in the health world. This grain surpasses quinoa in the protein, fiber, and vitamin departments. Give this fresh Freekah Salad with Feta and Dried Cranberries a try.

What if there was a way you could eat spaghetti without the carbs? This is now a possibility with the latest trend- zucchini spaghetti. Shave a zucchini with a mandolin or a spiralizer to create "noodles". Serve the zucchini noodles with tomato sauce and you will barely taste the difference! Check out our favorite zucchini pasta recipe here.

Another one of our favorite healthy recipes for the new year is Slow-Cooker Butternut Squash Soup. The slow cooker is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets and it can make delicious vegetable soup in only a few hours!

Sings-With-Spirits is the resident Cocktail Wikia admin. She does not drink alcohol herself, but she still appreciates the fine craft of well made cocktails. Her best advice for New Year's resolutions is "Try not... DO, or do not... there is no try."

We had the opportunity to catch up with the founder of Altar at the 2014 SF Fancy Foods Show. Jagatjoti Khalsa, the founder, does not drink alcohol himself so he decided to create upscale non-alcoholic alternatives that people can enjoy with dinner or at a party, just like they would with a fine wine. Read more about their story here...