A New Year's Resolution...from the kitchen

I'm a big goal-setter. I like to make lists, accomplish things, cross things off. So naturally I am all about New Year's Resolutions. I usually have a goal for the new year in each of various categories of my life (spiritual life, family, finances, career..) and this year I am adding a new category:  the kitchen!

This is my New Year's resolution related to the kitchen: I want to be a better steward of what comes in and goes out of my kitchen. Lack of planning often results in poor stewardship. This is how it often goes for me:  I "don't have time" to sit down and make a grocery list, so I frantically race to the store in the 15 minutes of free time I have and grab whatever I can find to feed the family for a few meals. Or I go to the grocery store and buy more things that we "need" without finishing what is in the fridge already, and then end up throwing out bad/rotten food a few weeks later. Wastefulness. I am determined to be more responsible with my time, prioritizing the menu planning and grocery list planning that happens in my kitchen. Increasing my planning should decrease my wastefulness which should decrease my grocery bill. Sounds like good stewardship, right?

Also related to my resolution is monitoring the quality of food that comes into the house. As primary grocery shoppers, women have the responsibility (and privilege!) of controlling much of what our families eat. When my family moved this past summer and I was clearing out the pantry, I realized how much "snack food" we had: chips, crackers, popcorn, pretzels, gummi snacks, Chex mix. I always was buying more snacks. I started paying attention to how unhealthy they are and how unnecessary they are, and I  gained a new snack mentality. Healthy foods can be snack foods too. (What a novel thought). I started serving -and packing in lunches- things like cheese, fruit, yogurt, and nuts.  I made a point of buying and serving foods with fewer  preservatives, less salt, and more nutritional value. I felt a lot more responsible and surprisingly, no one complained. My husband lost weight without really trying, because there were less fatty foods around for his late-night munching. So our snack transition was a success, and I am planning to keep it up in the new year.  I still buy the occasional chips and junk food. But they don't fill our pantry on a regular basis. Obviously, we still have treats around here. A treat a day keeps the doctor away. But we give away as many (or more) treats than we eat.

It's a lot of fun to go down the snack aisle at the grocery store,  use coupons (ever notice how many coupons there are for snack foods--foods no one really NEEDS?) and buy things cutely prepackaged in "snack sizes", perfect for the kids' lunches. But it's a lot more fun knowing that I am feeding them healthy snacks. Plus, without all the chips hanging around the pantry, I don't sit down on the couch with a bag and nibble into the wee hours of the morning.

So there you have it--my New Year's resolution from the kitchen. In 2011 I will be a better steward of what God has given me. I will plan carefully, spend carefully, and prioritize providing healthy foods for my family.

And yes, we will still be eating classy treats in the new year.