Happy 2012! Ready for another year of temptations? Well, if you have broken most or all of your resolutions by now, don't worry too much about that. After all, if they are gone by January 6, then they weren't meant to be.
Good news! You can take a plan of action where the resolutions aren't so ominous, and they can actually be fun.
Resolutions always struck me as a Lenten sacrifice, something you grudgingly do because the calendar calls for this. The Chinese New Year and the Jewish New Year come at different times on the calendar, so the January 1 date is arbitrary. "Plowed through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Now I have to be good." Ewwwww. With that approach, no wonder that most resolutions fail.
Instead of associating sacrifice for resolutions, resolve in 2012 to associate positive actions with resolutions.
-- Try a different vegetable every week.
-- Schedule a cooking class.
-- Walk 2 miles at a time where you don't want to move.
-- Cook fish in a steamer.
-- Reacquaint yourself with a long-lost kitchen tool.
-- Learn to cook a sauce.
-- Make a cole slaw different from the one you usually make.
-- Freeze a summertime fruit for fall and winter consumption.
-- Buy one thing at a farmers market that you've never had.
-- Pick a day of the work week to bring your homemade lunch.
-- Try a new ethnicity restaurant that you've never had before.
To show how good a sport I am, check out last week's look at my baking abilities. Don't be afraid to mess up a bit. As long as you can eat your messes, all will be good.
While positive resolutions are scarier and more challenging to contemplate, they are more likely to be kept. Imagine keeping a few resolutions in 2012.
Giving up things sounds like the easy way to go. "I'll go without chocolate" sounds great, but won't mean much if you celebrate the birthdays of Elvis Presley and David Bowie (January 8) with a candy bar.
If you are that unsure about positive resolutions, make 10 positive resolutions and make a goal to accomplish 6 of them. Even if you just barely make your goal, you will have done 6 new things in food in 2012. Those 6 things will likely be more than what you accomplish from a negative standpoint.
Comments