Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to Active You!
As it happens at this time of year everyone is talking about resolutions and what one can do to improve oneselves and one’s life.
Most people make ominous declarations and swear they will follow a strictly healthy lifestyle for the following months – No fried foods, no alcohol, no processed foods, eat less meat, eat more veg, etc, etc.
Others top it up by forking out for expensive gym membership fees.
Most of these resolutions waver and fall 2 weeks into the new year. The more strong-willed manage the whole month, but at what cost?
You end up spending the most depressing month of the year depriving yourself of more things than mother nature cares for - it’s blinding cold, you have nothing to look forward to because you have ran out of money buying all those great Christmas presents for friends and family so you can’t afford a holiday, the days are becoming longer but at a second per day so it’s still far too dark far too early.
My conclusion? Resolutions should not be about what you will not do, but what you will do.
With a side of red wine where possible.
So here I am, first week into 2010 and in my opinion these are the 10 things a food lover should abide by for the next 12 months (if you don’t do already, that is)
1- Learn to debone a duck without cutting it into pieces. Be fierce like Julia Child I say!
2- Learn to fillet fish – More difficult than it seems, trust me!
3- Try to eat more of what’s in season and less of the tasteless produce grown in greenhouses
4- Bring your home-made sandwiches, soups, quiches and whatnot to work for lunch.
Canteen meals are never a good idea and that over-priced sandwich bar round the corner neither.
5- Grow your own tomatoes or any other vegetable you are particularly fond of.
Far tastier than the supermarket kind and cheaper.
Check out Jed Walters’ Home & Garden Blog for good tips on how to get started.
6- Use less salt and more spices and herbs.
Salt is there to be used of course, but in moderation! If you use too much of it all other flavours in your meal will be wiped off and forgotten down that big glass of water you will have to drink every other forkful.
7- Try one new recipe a week.
Wether it’s from a book, a website or something you have come up with – This is a great idea to test your cooking skills, learn new ones and justify your cookbook library.
8- Use an ingredient you have never used before once a month.
You never know what’s around the corner that you might like. For example, I have just discovered Kabocha squash which I have found to be far nicer than Butternut squash, but who knew?!
9- Cliche as it sounds, please think of those dying of starvation and make sure you go food shopping with a list and a clear idea of what is going to be consumed during the week ahead.
Love Food Hate Waste.
10- And last, but not least - Detox schmetox.
It doesn’t do anything for you apart from making you miserable. Have a good old glass of wine, sit back, relax and celebrate all those new things you would have done by the end of the year!
