It’s the unavoidable, perpetual cycle. We all mean to start the new year with healthy meals and frequent gym visits in order to shed those love handles that grew on our sides during the holidays, but after a couple of weeks we all settle back into what’s easy: grabbing take-out and convincing ourselves we’ll deal with it next year. We’re tired, we had a long day, cooking takes too long…enough of the excuses. The recipe below is really quick, very tasty, and will make you want to eat healthy. Try serving it with roasted asparagus (toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for 12 minutes) and whole wheat cous cous.

Seared Sea Bass with Creamy Lemon-Herb Sauce
serves 4

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup low-fat mayo
1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons basil, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chives, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tarragon, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
water
extra light extra virgin olive oil
4 sea bass filets, about 4-6 ounces each

1. To make the dressing: combine sour cream, mayo, shallot, lemon juice, parsley, basil chives, tarragon, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until herbs are very finely chopped. It will be thick at this point so add about a tablespoon or so of water and blend. It should be thin enough to drizzle but not too watery.

2. Remove the fish from the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking it.

3. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and add oil. While the pan heats up, season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. When the oil begins to smoke add the fish to the pan. Let it sear about 4 minutes, then flip and continue cooking another 4-5 minutes. The fish should be flakey but not dried out.

4. Serve fish with a dollop of sauce on top.

With Spring’s arrival, I’m jonesing to plant my vegetable garden. However, space and time confine me (I live in San Francisco and have a back deck the size of my closet.) Therefore, I’ve decided to try my luck on the “Whiskey barrel” garden. I’ve found them on sale for around $28, so as not to break my pocketbook. I’m going to start with tomatoes as there’s nothing better than fresh tomatoes from the vine.

With the recession in full swing, it also has become somewhat of a savings measure as well — my 401k being down by almost 20%, all of the meals cooked at home will go right back into my retirement. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s taking her veggies into her own hands. Home Depot reported that seed packet sales in January 2009 were “up in the high double digits.”

The majority of people have already abandoned their New Year’s resolutions by the third week in January. Don’t let that be you…If your resolution this year is to lose weight, try adding protein to your breakfast. A recent study compared individuals eating a 340 calorie bagel to those eating a 340 calorie egg breakfast. Even though both groups were eating the same number of calories, those eating the protein filled breakfast (the eggs), had a 65% greater weight loss! What better way to start off ‘09.