When it comes to starting a plan for the "new you" each time a new year rolls around, making better choices about food and overall wellness seem to be our top priority. With our Healthy Living Guide: Healthy Habits and Skinny Recipes, you'll find tips and recipes to help you with your goals. You've likely heard a lot of these before, but they do bear repeating because they really are true. From drinking more water to making sure not to skip breakfast, this guide will remind you of some of the most basic healthy habits you can integrate into your lifestyle that really aren't terribly hard to stick to. Further, we'll provide you with some of our best-tasting skinny recipes, so that dinner doesn't become something you dread, but something that you actually look forward to each night.

Tips for Becoming a Better You in the New Year

Stay Hydrated! 

Water is your best friend. You've heard it before and this definitely won't be the last time. Water makes up 60% of the human body, as we know, so it's good to replenish as often as possible. Carry a water bottle with you to work and make sure to fill it up multiple times a day. It helps regulate body temperature, kickstarts your digestive system, promotes healthy skin, prevents fatigue, cleanses your body of toxins, and even improves your immune system. All of that awesomeness and zero calories? It's like winning the lottery for your body. All reward without any cost? Sign me up.

Implement a Weekly Meal Plan

You've all seen the posts on Facebook or Instagram of your health-conscious friends doing their "Sunday meal prep" for the rest of the week. Besides making the rest of us look bad, they really are on to something with this healthy habit. Don't hesitate to jump onboard this healthy, cost-effective and time-saving train. Find a day (Sunday is probably a good option for most), to plan and prep your meals for the week, and you and your body will thank you. Our bodies like routine, and when we don't nourish them regularly, they aren't shy about letting us know. Feeling sluggish or fatigued? It's likely because you haven't been eating a well-balanced diet. It's so simple to implement this healthy eating habit, so why wouldn't you do your body this favor?

Break the Fast

Of all the healthy habits out there, this might be the most important. It's a tale as old as time, but breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. It not only gets your metabolism up and running, but a healthy and protein-packed breakfast will nourish you and keep you full for the better part of the day. Breakfast should be your biggest meal, and meals should decrease in size from there. If you have a substantial breakfast, you may only feel hungry for a light to medium-sized snack in the afternoon, which might tide you over until dinner. Make sure to eat a variety of breakfasts in any given week instead of just pouring a bowl of the same cereal day after day. Fruits and veggies, grains and oats, proteins and carbs -- they all make up a well-balanced breakfast you'll look forward to eating. Avocado toast with an egg on top is a personal favorite.

Break Up with Fast Food

If you're a regular at the drive-thru window, this is one healthy eating habit that will really help you get back on track. Your body will quite literally thank you from the inside out when you discontinue your intake of french fries and chicken nuggets. Overly processed food has percentages of fat, saturated fat, sugar, carbohydrates, sodium, and cholesterol, that are off the charts. Consuming food like this regularly can really mess with your body in a negative way. Things like headaches, spikes in your blood sugar, clogged arteries, acne and bloating only scratch the surface when it comes to the negative side effects of continuous fast food consumption. Convenience is great, but not at the expense of your health. Try swapping out a meal you usually order at the drive thru for one you can make at home. Being in control of the ingredients is a game changer. Healthy habit status: achieved.

Skinny Recipes for a Healthier Life

Below we've listed some recipes that will help you transition into a healthier you. These skinny recipes won't leave you hungry at the end of the meal, which is the first step in maintaining healthy eating habits. Plus, with recipes like Chicken Parmesan, Seafood Alfredo and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sundae, you won't be missing out on anything but extra calories. Happy healthier eating!

• Skinny Mexican Breakfast Casserole (shown)
• Dump and Bake Skinny Chicken Parm 
• Skinny Baker's Lemon Blueberry Donuts 
• Better-for-You Egg Salad Sliders 
• Guilt-Free Lemon Meringue Cakes 
• One-Skillet Skinny Seafood Alfredo 
• Apple Peanut Butter Mini-Muffins 
• Your New Favorite Salad 
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sundae - trust us, it's healthy!
• Waist-Watcher's Stuffed Pumpkin French Toast