Happy 2012! I’ve been enjoying our holiday break and am just now getting my blogging juices flowing. Plus, I have been super busy these last few days doing some serious decluttering and reorganizing around the house! And frankly, I just haven’t felt like blogging. Yep, I’m like you, sometimes I just want to do NOTHING.
But I’m starting to get myself into gear and even though I know we’re already a few days into the new year, it’s never to late to think about resolutions and making a change for yourself, right? For as long as I can remember I’ve made a list of resolutions at the start of the new year. I like the idea of a fresh start, even if it’s really just in our minds. I think you can never stop improving and changing so resolutions help provide the focus for who you want to become (and yes, no matter your age, you CAN always make changes to fit your lifestyle). A few weeks ago, my pilates instructor asked us to think about what goals we would be setting for the new year. I love the point that she made that even though most people tend to think of fitness goals in terms of losing weight or exercising more often, it’s not always about what things seem like they should be. She suggested that maybe we make a point to make five new friends at the gym this year. Or maybe come one more day than usual–even if it’s not to her class. It’s about the connections we make in the journey that help us along that journey.
So I hope you’ll think a little bit outside the box when making your meal planning or food related resolutions this year. I hope that we can create a sense of community that supports each other along our journey to feed our famlies well.
Last year I had quite a list of meal planning related resolutions and I’d say I was hit or miss for regularity but I did do a bit of just about every one of them. This year there’s not too much that’s new but I do have a few to share:
Reduce food waste. This is a biggie for me. A few weeks ago we got a new refrigerator (our other one was 18 years old and having some “issues”) It’s great because these new refrigerators are well lit inside and because the shelves are clear you can more easily see what’s lurking in the back of the fridge. And because I want to keep the new one shiny and clean I’ll be trying to keep better track of our leftovers and using them up. I’m hoping to document more Food Waste Fridays because I figure that way I’ll be more accountable. I’m still working on ways to get the whole family on board.
Learn to make MORE “convenience” foods from scratch and find a way to make it quick and easy. I’ll be expanding on bread making, salad dressings, homemade chicken pot pie, spaghetti sacue, coffee creamers, biscuts & crescent rolls and more. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to find a homemade version for and I’ll be on the task!
Focus on the sides—and make them healthy. I’m pretty good at getting dinner on the table every night but it’s the sides that hold me up. I’m not sure if it’s because I focus on the main meal and the sides are an afterthought or what but this year I’m planning to emphasize more healthy (and more veggie) sides for our dinners. And other meals too! Part of this will include trying NEW fruits and vegetables too!
Get the kids more involved in cooking meals. While they do like to help in the kitchen, they prefer to do mostly baking. I want to get them into the kitchen preparing other things too!
Test many more recipes to see if they freeze well. I’m all about making things ahead so this is an area where I’d like to experiment more.
And blog-wise, I’ve got a few goals too:
–I’m hoping to document more recipes that I test and improve my photography so it tells the story more colorfully.
–Oh! And I’m hoping to do more cookbook reviews and also meal planning service reviews (there are TONS so one may be right for you!)
–And I really want to make the Tasty Books Book Club much more regular. I have SO many books I want to tell you all about I really have no excuse other than my lack of planning (ironic, huh?)
Do you have any meal planning related resolutions this year? What can I do to help you with your goals? Let me hear from you!
Happy new year! My resolutions with food are to try and not taste test my baking so much, too much for me:) And I would love to cook more, I hate cooking, but I really need to focus on it more than I do now. not blog wise, because if I do cook, it would not be blog worth.
Sounds like some good resolutions to me!