I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution. I guess I don’t see the need for a new year to make a change. But lots of change is happening coincidentally with the new year this year. And I have a few food related things I’ve been thinking about for a while that I want to change. I don’t know how successful I’ll be, but if I at least write them down maybe it will help. So, this isn’t so much a New Year’s resolution, it’s just a goal to start leading a healthier lifestyle.

1. I want to eat less sugar. I have a sweet tooth :p And being home with candy sitting out all day doesn’t help. It has nothing to do with weight loss…since I could stand to gain a few pounds 😛 But I know it’s healthier and will probably help my digestive issues.

2. I want to eat less processed food. It’s very discouraging to read more and more about all the chemicals and junk that goes into so much of our food. And if food companies aren’t going to be held responsible for putting quality products on the shelves the I guess I have to be more careful about what I buy. I want to do this for myself, but also for my family. I don’t need Rebecca growing up on chemicals, sugar and just plain old junk. This will be a tough one for me since I’ve lived on packaged food like graham crackers for years because it was about all my stomach could handle. But I’ll give it my best shot. And am hoping to start making my own crackers, etc.

3. I want to eat less meat. I told Justin I would like to start making vegetarian meals once in a while. I think I’ll shoot for once a month to start. We both grew up in meat and potato homes, so we’re used to meat being the center of the meal. I LOVE vegetarian food. So I’m sure I won’t mind. Hopefully Justin won’t mind the change either. And hopefully we can increase the frequency. Plus I think it will make us try lots of new foods and be more creative. I want Rebecca to grow up with a wide variety of foods and flavors.

4. I want to eat more natural/organic/local food. I’ll have to make a point of shopping at health food stores once in a while. My main concern is the cost. But I think a little extra money is worth it for our health. And I want to take full advantage of local markets. We are planning to buy another freezer (upright) for the basement. Once we have that I can really stock up in the summer at the farmer’s market. And I want to start buying locally grown meat. Every time I buy meat at the grocery store it grosses me out more and more. I feel like I’m buying meat pumped with chemicals.

5. I would like to eat more whole foods. This will be a tough one since Justin pretty much doesn’t like any raw veggies. He doesn’t even like them steamed…no crunch. So I’ll have to go slowly with this. I want to keep as much nutrients in the food we eat as possible. And hopefully use canned goods very minimally (aside from things like tomatoes).

6. I want to make more of our food instead of buying pre-made stuff. Like cooking beans instead of buying them canned. Making crackers instead of buying them. Things like that.

I know this is all very ambitious. But hopefully I can at least make some small steps towards a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family. If you have any tips of your own about how to do some of these let me know. Here’s to good health in the new year!