New Year, New You: How to Actually Stick to Your Resolution

This blog originally appeared on Maria Haymandou’s website here.

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How many of you have started a New Year’s resolution — and kept it all year long? Anyone? Resolutions always seem like they’re difficult to keep. Life can get in the way, things change, or sometimes you lose momentum. No wonder 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. In fact, with this statistic, it’s no surprise that many people don’t bother to make a resolution at all!

Don’t fall into the trap of failure. You want to be in the 20 percent of people who’s resolutions make it to February. But how do you do it? Read below for my tips to make your resolution last.

Make It Manageable

Have you heard the expression “don’t bite off more than you can chew?” This phrase applies here. If you want to have success with your New Year’s resolution, you need to take small, but manageable steps to achieve your goals.

For example, if your goal is to lose 50 pounds, it will be hard to keep your mind focused on a goal that will take quite a long time to achieve. Instead, tell yourself that you would like to lose 10 pounds. Once you’ve reached you’re smaller, more manageable goal, you’ll be able to up your momentum to 20, 30, 40, then finally 50 pounds. Not only is the goal more manageable, but you will gain more self-confidence along the way!

Forgive Yourself

Was your resolution last year to start your side-hustle? Did you achieve your goal? If not, did you forgive yourself? Sometimes life just gets in the way, and it will throw you for a loop. Don’t put yourself down too much if you don’t achieve your resolution. After all, you may want to pick it back up another time!

Find a Schedule that Works for You

One of the best ways to keep a resolution is to block out time each day (or every other day!) for your dedicated activity. However, you want to make sure it’s time that works for your lifestyle. If you’re not a morning person, don’t force yourself to wake up even earlier than you have to achieve your goal — vice versa if you’re not a night owl.

Are you ready to start 2018 off on the right track?

Eating Through Jackson Heights & Elmhurst

Even if I’m a Brooklyn girl at heart, Queens will always have a special place in my heart.  It’s easily one of the most fascinating and diverse neighborhoods in the city, even the country.  One of the most interesting neighborhoods is Jackson Heights, an immigrant-dominated neighborhood where Latin and Asian cultures collide.  That of course means that Jackson Heights and neighboring Elmhurst  is home to some of the most exciting food options in all of New York.  I recently came across an article that shared some of the best food spots in the neighborhood.  Here’s what they had to say:

Tibetan dumplings: The area off the Roosevelt Avenue subway hosts authentic Himalayan: try and get “momo” dumplings from places such as Phayul and Amdo Kitchen.  These are fat steamed dumplings, traditionally filled with beef wrapped in thicker skin than traditional Chinese dumplings.  Both Phayul and Amdo are extremely cheap spots, where you can get a big plate of dumplings for under $10.  

Arepas: Jackson Heights is home to one of the most legendary street food spots in the city: the Arepa Lady.  While the Arepa Lady was traditionally hard to find (which was part of the fun), she’s since built a brick-and-mortar restaurant to make the whole search easier.

Tortas: Mexican food is more known for its tacos, but Mexican sandwiches, or “tortas”, are arguably better, jam-packed with all sorts of ingredients that create an explosion of flavor.  Plenty of food trucks make great tortas, but my favorites are at Tortas Neza in nearby Corona, run by a rabid soccer fan who named every sandwich on the menu after soccer teams in his native Mexico.  

Thai: The Thai food in Elmhurst is a level of authentic that the pad thai in Greenwich Village will never reach.  As the center of the densest Thai community in New York, you’ll hear a lot more Thai than English in the restaurants of Elmhurst.  The best one is Khao Kang, where the food feels like true authentic home cooking.  

Dessert: If you’ve got a sweet tooth, then don’t worry, I got you covered.  The Sugar Club is a Thai grocery in Elmhurst that offers traditional Thai sweets such as sweet dried bananas.  There’s also “honey toast” made from thick slabs of white bread slathered with butter and condensed milk.  

Wunderbar! Best German Eats in NYC

With fall finally in the air and Oktoberfest in full swing, there is no better time to examine the best German restaurants in New York City. NYC has been home to German immigrants for centuries, all the way back to when New York was called New Amsterdam (Why they changed? I can’t say). In the late 20th century the East Village was known as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) and boasted scores of German beers halls. You can still see this influence at Tompkins Square today, where a monument was erected to commemorate the 1904 General Slocum Disaster. About a century later, the densest population of German immigrants was in Yorkville on the Upper East Side, and in neighborhoods all through Queens and Brooklyn. Prohibition did considerable damage to the legacy of German beer halls, but there are still scores of wonderful German restaurants and bars around today. Let’s examine just a few!

Let’s start in Glendale, Queens, where Zum Stammtisch has been serving hearty German beers in their twin quaint dining halls since 1972 (though their decor would suggest a much older establishment). Zum Stammtisch is known for their goulash soup and traditional German favorites. With massive portions and authentic flavors, you really can’t go wrong. Try their jägerschnitzel, a pork cutlet pounded into the shape of Austria and covered in butter mushroom gravy!

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Heidelberg | 1648 2nd Ave

Next up is Heidelberg, in Yorkville. Named after a town in the southwest of Germany, Heidelberg is the last remaining vestige of a time when Yorkville had a thriving German community. Starting with the Teutonic stucco exterior accented with dark stained timbers, Heidelberg offers an authentic German dining experience. Highlights from the menu include the cucumber salad topped with sour cream, the kase-spätzle (Germany’s answer to mac and cheese) and the sausages. German folks are known for their sausages and the Heidelberg is no exception.

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Now we head downtown, where there as been somewhat of a German revival. Zum Schneider leads that charge, serving up German cuisine since 2000. With outdoor seating, the restaurant harkens back to the city’s iconic history of German immigrants. Zum Schneider’s menu leans more to the unusual which contributes to its quirkiness and fun atmosphere. Check out their schweinswürst’l, a skinny pork sausage from Nuremberg, and the pfannkuchensuppe, a Greman pancake soup.

Zum Schneider’s interior | 107 Ave C @ E 7th St

Zum Schneider also has wonderful Oktoberfest events. Come during the celebration and you can be treated to live polka band! Recently, they also opened a sister location on Montauk. Bavaria on the beach!

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New York City has scores more German restaurants to explore! Which are your favorites?