5 Healthy and Nourishing Meals to Start 2026 & What I Cooked Last Week
My favorite dishes to make in January, healthy rice paper egg wrap with Thai peanut slaw, chicken kofta with tzatziki and lemon dill
Hi everyone,
Hope you’re having a wonderful start to 2026! Doug and I enjoyed some downtime in LA after Christmas and ended up creating our own little Asian food tour after we canceled our Hong Kong trip. We tried a handful of new restaurants and definitely found some favorites. I’ll share more details in our next newsletter!
For New Year’s, we headed to Ojai, where my brother lives, about an hour north of LA. He hosted a party with around 30 friends, and it felt like such a fun, special way to ring in the new year. I helped with the cooking, and Doug DJ’d for part of the night :)
This week, I’m sharing 5 healthy recipes I love making around this time of year. After indulging in all the cookies and other holiday treats, it feels nice to reset a bit and focus on cooking nourishing meals at home. Below are my go-tos, including my favorite healthy fish tacos, my aunt Susan’s shrimp and veggie stir fry, and two really fantastic bowls.
First, here’s a recipe for chicken kofta with rice and tzatziki. I used to make this all the time when Doug and I first started dating, and it’s still one of our favorite dishes to this day. The kofta are packed with herbs and spices and pair perfectly with the crunchy vegetables and lemon-dill rice. I hope you’ll give it a try!
What I Cooked Last Week! ↓
Chicken Kofta with Tzatziki & Lemon Dill Rice
The chicken kofta are made with tons of delicious herbs and spices, and go so well with the tzatziki, lemon dill rice, and fresh veggies.
You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)
I also made a delicious rice paper egg wrap with a Thai peanut cabbage slaw. It has an amazing range of textures and flavors, and is such a quick and healthy meal for one. (I love making it for lunch!) The recipe is in my cookbook, which comes out on March 3rd.
5 Healthy and Nourishing Meals to Start 2026
Italian Wedding Soup
I really love this soup. It’s packed with veggies like carrots, celery, and escarole, which you add at the end so the leaves wilt in the broth but still keep a little crunch. And there’s something so comforting about meatballs in soup. Pro tip: if you think you’ll have leftovers, cook the orzo separately and add it to each bowl as you’re serving. That way you can store the soup and orzo in separate containers and avoid soggy pasta.
Find the recipe here.
Healthy Fish Tacos
I’ve been making these tacos for years, and they always feel light, nourishing, and so fun to eat. The flavors are similar to a shrimp taco recipe in my cookbook. I make them with tilapia here, but any white fish you love will work. The fish is seasoned with a punchy spice blend and topped with a tangy cilantro-lime yogurt slaw, slices of avocado, and homemade pickled red onion. I like using Siete Foods cassava tortillas, toasting them in a skillet for about 15 to 30 seconds per side, then assembling the tacos right away so everything stays warm and fresh.
Find the recipe here.
Aunt Susan’s Healthy Shrimp Stir Fry
Doug and I spent the early days of the pandemic quarantining with my aunt Susan, my cousin Abby, and her husband Drew. My aunt and I cooked a lot together, and this stir fry is one of the many recipes I learned from her. Stir fries are such an easy way to load up on veggies and they come together quickly. The key is prepping everything ahead of time so all your aromatics and vegetables are chopped and the sauce is mixed before you start cooking. You can also make it with chicken breast (sliced into bite-sized pieces) instead of shrimp.
Find the recipe here.
Korean BBQ Bowl
This dish is incredibly easy and comes together in about 20 minutes. It’s nicely balanced with flavorful beef and onions inspired by Korean BBQ, plus kimchi, which is always great for gut health. I serve it with broccoli cooked in the microwave to keep things extra simple. Everything gets spooned over white rice to soak up the delicious marinade.
Find the recipe here.
Greek Chicken Bowl
By now you probably know that Doug loves anything with tzatziki, so this is a meal I make often. The bowl comes together with lemon-dill rice, a fresh crunchy salad, and chicken marinated in lemon, garlic, oregano, and spices. I love how all the components work together and can be mixed and matched. It’s a fun, satisfying meal that hits all the right notes.
Find the recipe here.
Wishing you a relaxing, wonderful weekend, and sending lots of love.
Love,
Maxine
Your recipes look approachable and delicious.
I had fish tacos at a local place, but they were pretty plain. Yours look wonderful.