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We're almost into the third week of the new year. Are you sticking to your healthy resolutions? The cold weather has been testing my determination to eat more salads, but I've come up with a couple of ways to make them more appetizing this winter, and I share them below.

Gingery Carrot and Tomato Soup

This week a huge bag of organic carrots had me scrambling for ways to use carrots. I'm not normally a big fan of carrot soup, but I absolutely love this gingery blend of carrots and tomatoes. It's a great way to warm up your lunchtime sandwich. Get the recipe here.

On Slow-Motion Miracle and Fatfree Vegan Recipes

Maria shared two recipes on her blog this week: Decadent Kale and Pomegranate Breakfast Salad, which has a combination of ingredients that will surprise you, and Cold Snap Millet and Lentil Stew, a comforting blend of ingredients that she (and maybe you?) already had on-hand.

Kale and Pomegranate Breakfast Salad

Millet and Lentil Stew

Garden Harvest Cake

On FFVR, contributor Judy Fine's Vegan Garden Harvest Cake combined fruits and vegetables to create a moist and tender cake that tastes even better the next day.

Black-Bean-Salad-with-Mango-Cucumber-Salsa

Layered Salad with Black Beans

The new year got off to a cold start for most of us in the U.S. Even here in Jackson, Mississippi, the low was 14°F last week, so cold that I didn't want to consider eating anything that wasn't at least room temperature. But I know that raw vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, so I turned to my own Tips for Eating Salads When You Really Don’t Want To.

In the winter, I find that the best way to enjoy a salad is to top it with something hot. It's easy to throw a few seasonings into some cooked black beans to create my Layered Salad with Black Beans (with or without the Mango-Cucumber Salsa). Another of my favorite hot-cold combos is Taco Salad: Salad greens topped with either homemade or packaged chili beans (those cans of fat-free refried beans work too). And for a super-simple hot salad, just pour your soup over it. I find that a curried split-pea soup spices up a salad and doubles as a dressing.

Whether you eat your salads hot or cold, a good dressing is essential. Here are a few of my favorites:

Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing

Fat-Free Balsamic Raisin Dressing

Tahini-Chickpea Dressing

Lite Goddess Dressing

For more salad ideas, be sure to check out my master lists of Salads and Dressings.

For creating silky-smooth dressings, soups, smoothies, desserts, and hummus, I've come to rely on my Vitamix. I know, that sounds like an infomercial! I never thought I'd need an expensive blender, but after years of burning out one blender after another, I bought a reconditioned Standard Vitamix 5 years ago, and I've been using it constantly ever since. I even became a Vitamix affiliate so that I could pass on free shipping to my readers and earn a commission in the process.

This month and next, Vitamix has all of their reconditioned models on sale for $30 off. (I apologize to all my international readers but this offer is available only in the U.S.) If you buy any one priced $299 or above through my affiliate link, you'll receive free shipping and I'll earn a commission that goes toward keeping fatfreevegan.com going. If you've ever been tempted to invest in a high-powered blender, now's the time!

Keep warm and eat well!