New Year food resolutions to help start a fresh 2021 โ
We did it! ๐ We made it through 2020 and it is now time to look ahead to the New Year. ๐คฏ This also means that it's time for new resolutions, and we foodies aren't off the hook. ๐
Now, because 2020 has been hard on us all, we don't think everyone should be too hard on each other and rub the salt in if we see our friends slip up.
Spreading love should be everyone's first resolution. ๐
But we do think banana bread needs to be left behind, or to the professionals.
No more buying bananas with the intention of being healthy ๐
There are plenty of other fruits available. ๐ Let's face it, Karen, you bought that banana last week just to balance out your basket of cake, wine and chocolate. ๐โโ๏ธ
You had no intention of ever having that smoothie and had settled on making banana bread "when the time came". The time has comeโฆ to stop it. Happy New Year! ๐
Try as best as you can to always buy from your local veggie van ๐
This one is a given, you'd think. ๐ Helping out your local veggie man helps turn the local micro economy which in turn necessitates the need for conservation of our farmlands. ๐พ It's always best to buy in season, too.
But no one will care too much if you treat yourself to a punnet of strawberries in October. ๐
And don't even think about saying no to this one because it means carrying cash. It might be 2021 but admit it, cash is still king in some instances. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. ๐ถ
Let's all collectively work towards cutting down on dairy consumption ๐
I am the first person to admit to favouring a glass of milk at midnight. Water is justโฆ not there yet. ๐ But that doesn't give me carte blanche to not acknowledge the flaws within the dairy industry.
I also use a block of butter every time I cook a meal, you still won't see me saying it's "healthy". ๐คค
The dairy industry, along with the meat industry, is one of the largest contributing factors to global warming and climate change. That, and a lot of practices around the world carried out in the industry are still pretty indecent ๐
I'm not preaching the vegan voyage, instead I feel it's important for us all to understand the true impact we have here on the planet. We helped shaped the markets that are now showing us their true unsustainability, we can also do the same in reverse. Besides, rice milk is pretty rad. ๐
And on that same note, let's try an extended bout of omnivorous dining ๐
See, no one says you have to give up meat entirely. Just go easy on the butcher from here on out. ๐
There are plenty enough alternatives to carnivorous favourites; Beyond Meat, plant-based sausages, etc. Try weaning yourself gradually into one or two veggie meals a week. You'll also notice a stark improvement to your health. ๐ช
Tag yourself, you need to drink water ๐ฆ
Stop tagging your friends in silly memes - tag them in funny ones only. And make sure you're drinking enough water every day. ๐
Water helps keep everything flowing nicely on the inside. And after all that egg-nog over Christmas, you're gonna want to detox with something a little nicer to your gut. ๐จโโ๏ธ
Stop hating on the vegans ๐ค
We get it, sometimes an agenda is pushed too far. But that is why millennials coined the term "extremism". Veganism isn't for everyone, but that doesn't mean it's not for you. ๐
If you're the first to comment a picture of some crispy bacon on a vegan information board, it's time to stop the trolling. Haven't we all been through enough this year to see we should all just live and let live? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
Don't even think about fruitarianism ๐ โโ๏ธ
Steve Jobs did change the way we see technology, sure. But he's also, sadly, no longer with us and is said to have lived on a diet of only apples. ๐
Also, fruits are still high in sugar and while they are the natural, better, kinds usually it still ain't wise to binge on fruit. It ain't wise to binge, ever. ๐ โโ๏ธ
Okay, we've cleared the air of what we would expect to see as most of our own resolutions. But now we're asking you all (myself included) to take these constructive criticisms onboard:
If you add any kind of alcohol to a dish, cook it out ๐ท
Do you want your food to taste good? It's not hard, no extra effort and five minutes more of cooking time. โฐ
You'll thank yourself for cooking out red wine in your ragu, white wine in your fish sauce and any spirit you use to deglaze a pan.
Why? Cooking out the alcohol inside removes the bitter taste of whatever you're cooking and helps smoothen out the layers of flavours you've already built in your dish.
Cooking chocolate is only for cooking ๐ซ
I raised myself on the idea that any chocolate was good chocolate.
I then grew up and realised how wrong I was. Cooking chocolate might still taste nice, but it's usually higher in fat and lower in everything else you want from your cocoa nibs to help make things like sauces that much more decadent.
Store your foods correctly, but adapt them to your lifestyle ๐ฆ
Age old arguments need not be after 2020. If you find your bread stores longer in the fridge, forget what your mother taught you and store your spices in the bread bin instead.
Root veg can survive in your cupboard, granted that the cupboard receives minimal light and stays cool and dry.
And, if your food goes bad there are still ways to salvage them ๐
If your sack of spuds has grown eyes as long as Freddy Kruger's nails, chop them up and dig a hole in a plant pot, shove the bits into the soil and watch your plant babies flourish. ๐ผ
Egg shells, banana peels, all sorts of things can be used to help keep your leafy lovers perky in the New Year.
All in all, there's no need to pressure yourself into anything you don't want to do. ๐คซ
But it is always useful to check our own record every now and then. Good food will always be good food, but we will always have our own palette. ๐คช
Maybe you've already given yourself a head start in resolving things by making use of the time spent at home this year. The point here is that with food it is always good to have fun, but having fun becomes something so much better when you're informed and educated on the food you love to eat. ๐ค
Happy New Year, stay hungry and stay safe. โจ
What are your foodie resolutions for 2021?
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