Food-Related New Year’s Resolutions
Food does more than just sustain us. It is also the fiber of our histories, and is present as placemarkers in countless places along the timeline of humanity. How will we make our culinary and dietary marks on the timeline this year?
Here is a list of food-related New Year’s resolutions to add to your list of resolutions, if they are not on there already, for 2010:
Slow down. With the rise of the slow food movement in the past few years, more and more people are thinking about where their food comes from and how it is produced. The movement has been instrumental in highlighting numerous problems with the food industry, and is making a strong case for local, sustainable agriculture. Buying locally, and in season, yields healthier tasty products that do not require preservatives or other chemicals to keep them fresh during transit, or growing in seasons that the crop is not used to growing in. Buying locally and in season also cuts down on energy use and energy cost, which is better for the planet and your pocketbook. One question to ask yourself while you’re buying groceries in 2010 is, “Would I rather buy an organic strawberry from New Zealand in the middle of January, or would I rather wait until June, when I can get them fresh from a locally owned fruit stand 5 miles from where the strawberries grew?”
Get started on this resolution with these recipes with seasonal ingredients:
Winter: Potato-Parsnip Casserole
Spring: Spring Asparagus Quiche
Fall: Fall Bratwurst with Apples and Onions
Summer: Summer Slaw Salad
Eat out less. Restaurants are great. They have fun atmospheres, and fantastic chefs that know what they’re doing. On the other hand, you have less control over the ingredients that go into your favorite dishes. Cooking at home gives you direct control over the quality and types of ingredients that you put into your meals, and is vastly cheaper than getting into a car, using gas to go to a restaurant, paying the bill and tipping the waiter. Certainly, cooking at home can be daunting, though cooking is like anything else. With practice comes improvement, and it can be extremely satisfying to put a dish on a table for you and your loved ones that you created yourself. If you do want to eat out, and by all means do so once in a while, try and eat out at local restaurants, as opposed to local franchises of chains. The smaller businesses generally care more about where they purchase their food from, giving you a better product. Also, your support of the local business supports your community better than eating at the chain.
Get started on this resolution with these recipes:
Dry-Rub Marinated Rib-Eye Steaks with Grilled Onions and Sweet-and-Spicy Dipping Sauce
Compost. When you have potato peels, carrot peels or apple cores, don’t throw them into the garbage bin, or down the garbage disposal. Rather, put them in a compost bin. Compost bins can be just about anything, so long as they are covered and waterproof. A Rubbermaid® bin can do just fine. Disposing of non-meat and non-dairy food waste in a compost bin lets the food break down organically, and can give you a great, all natural fertilizer for your spring flower and vegetable gardens.
Get started on this resolution with these recipes (they all contain raw veggies that you can compost the excess of):
Eat Healthier. Avoiding foods that are highly processed is not only going give you tastier foods, but also more nutrient rich ones. Whole foods always have more vitamins and minerals than processed ones, and are more versatile in cooking.
Get started on this resolution with these recipes:
Save money on food. While these other resolutions will certainly help your budget, being thourough when finding items on sale is a great way to cut back on food costs. Remember that items on clearance shelves are almost always perfectly fine to eat, even if they've been on the shelf for a while, they have not expired, and can give you a delicious bang for your buck.
Get started on this resolution with these recipes:
Easy Crockpot Stuffed Bell Peppers
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
