Love in the Kitchen - Resolutions for 2013

For as long as we've been married, M and I have sat down during our lunch of lentil soup to write and share our resolutions. A and C join us as well, although C's resolutions so far have been ones we all work together in writing as we hope he, too, has a prosperous year filled with new challenges. This year, I've also decided to add a few resolutions here, to ensure an even more prosperous year in the belly - a year full of wonderful recipes and special memories. Here they are:

1. Eat more, waste less

I'm not talking about adding additional calories here. I'm taking about eliminating as much food waste as possible. The one downside to my love of cooking and trying new recipes is that I often pack my shopping cart full of exciting ingredients, but if I don't use them all up, they end up in the trash. When I think about the sheer amount of waste that I'm contributing to, I feel embarrassed, to say the very least. As a result, I'm going to plan out two full weeks (rather than just one) of menus to make sure that every herb, vegetable, and block of cheese is used to the fulled. If you don't pre-plan your meals already, I suggest you consider it, even if you only plan out the weekdays. I've been using this template from Real Simple magazine for years.

2. More meatless meals

I'm sure you've heard the idea that you should go meatless for at least one day a week. Not only is it healthier, but it's also more carbon footprint-friendly. It's time to make a conscious effort to find more fish and vegetarian recipes to ensure the kids are getting the protein and nutrients they need, the taste they'll enjoy, and reducing their carbon footprint along the way.

3. Love my crockpot

Our schedule has gotten a bit crazy. A has a pretty busy week of after school activities, and as a result, some nights are a struggle to get meals on the table. However, my list of crock pot recipes is few and far between, mostly because the recipes I seem to find remind me of the fat and calorie laden recipes of the 1950s, with little taste and boring ingredients. I recently stumbled upon this blog, and I plan on trying at least two of these recipes a week.

That's it for now. Let's see if I can do it!