Yes its that time again, everyone is deciding what resolutions they will be making for the New Year.

I’m jumping on the bandwagon and will be trying not to overbook myself which in turn should allow more time to do little and often in the garden.

A huge resolution list surely means setting yourself up for failure but perhaps a few achievable ones can be a good thing.

Gardening should be at the top of the list as it combines so many of the things we want to achieve, slowing down our hectic lives, living a simpler life, exercising and losing weight.

Achievable resolutions:

Not a gardener? Well become one! Even if you have a tiny patio you would be surprised how many flowers, herbs and small veg you can grow in pots.

It’s also calorie burning and so counts as exercise and I find it very therapeutic and so stress busting. The rewards definitely outweigh the effort.

Start a compost bin; with recycling and food waste management high on the agenda these days, you can easily turn kitchen scraps, leaves and garden waste into nutrient rich ‘black gold’.

Add a sustainable method into your gardening doing your bit to help the environment. Perhaps this could be eliminating chemical fertilisers or installing a water butt?

Incorporate some native plants into your garden, these adapt much easier to any periods of stressful weather (we seem to have a lot of them) also benefiting insects and birds.

Superfood Kick Start

Well if you are torn between finishing off the chocolates and starting a new healthy eating regime this could be the perfect recipe for you, using up any leftover cheese but also incorporating super healthy Kale.

Kale Salad with Bacon-Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (for 6)

450g New potatoes cut in half

3 tbsps. olive oil

½ tsp. dried thyme

6 handfuls of kale stems removed, torn into bite-sized pieces

3 tbsps. cider vinegar

3 tbsps. crumbled blue cheese

2 tbsps. shallots finely chopped

1 tbsp. wholegrain mustard

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsps parsley chopped

3 rashers back bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 endive lettuces cored and sliced

40g currants or dried cranberries

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Gas 6.

1) Toss potatoes in 1 tbsp oil, thyme and salt and pepper in a large bowl then spread them out on a large baking sheet (reserve the bowl). Roast the potatoes, stirring once or twice, until tender and browned, 15-20 mins.

2) Place kale in the large bowl, add the hot potatoes and let stand for several minutes, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are warm but not hot.

3) Meanwhile whisk the remaining 2 tbsps oil, vinegar, blue cheese, shallots, mustard, parsley, honey and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the warm salad. Add bacon, endive and currants (cranberries), toss to combine and serve.