New Year, New List

Farmers market haul: purple cauliflower, Rio Valley citrus, cabbage, and more. And a yoga mat.

A list-maker by nature, you can imagine how many different resolutions I write at the beginning of each new year, each in a different journal or notepad. This one's just for me, I think. This one's for the house. I'll make one in InDesign so it'll be pretty. And while each of my lists has its own verbiage, they're all fairly similar. Here I'll make yet another list: my food-related resolutions.

Eat clean in 2013.
This means fresh foods (no processed junk!), whole grains, a vegetarian diet, and cutting back on the sugar. Basically anything that has more than five ingredients is out of my shopping cart. I feel like I'm starting this year out great; a few years ago, I never would have imagined my eating habits as they are now. This is the year that I fully embrace the Sustainable Diet.

Shop at the farmers market.
A new market has opened near our neighborhood on Sunday mornings, which means I can head to a yoga class, then stop by the market and run to the grocery store all before noon. Then I can use the afternoon to bake bread and settle in. My first try at this routine was a grand success.

Bake bread once a week.
This started a few weeks ago, and happily it's continued. We have been enjoying our toast and my recipe is remarkably fool-proof. Well, that and I'm learning when to add flour.

Use all my specialty ingredients before purchasing any more.
I'd say I waste more money than the average grocery shopper on specialty ingredients, mostly from the bulk bins. A pantry cleanse over the break convinced me that I had no need for any more flours, sugars, grains, or seeds until everything I have on hand is gone. Which is why we had buckwheat pancakes on New Year's Day.

Use all of the plant/Waste less.
Lately I have noticed that it's easy to chop off a little more than is necessary, thinking, "It's compost, that's ok." But there is more to cooking and eating than that—so I want to waste less. And that means I'll be eating more leftovers.

Overhaul the kitchen.
This is a big one. Ryan and I have been planning our little kitchen remodel since the day we bought our house, and we think this is the year it might happen. While this is no serious remodel—we toyed with the idea of doing it ourselves, but it's slightly too complex—it thrills me to no end, and it means I need to get serious about my budgeting (hence the crack-down on specialty ingredients!).

Replant the garden. Again.
This year's goal with the garden is to keep it going strong. The winter has been hard on our plants; I've been sad to see many of them go, but a lot of the loss is my fault. I got lazy. So it's time to rethink that and try again.

Cook from my cookbooks.
I have so many lovely cookbooks that sit unopened on my shelves, and I received two more this Christmas! The goal is to try a new cookbook recipe once a week, at least.

I think that about does it! What are your food-related resolutions for 2013?