Happy New Year! In the new year, many of us optimistically strive for a “New Year, New You,” which is a wonderful aspiration. But this most often leads to disappointment. Instead, I suggest setting an intention to eat just a bit better, as I and others shared with the fabulous Ellie Krieger. All of us can accomplish this, and every bite counts. And if you cook the things you enjoy eating (foods from your family, your culture, or just what you like!), with healthier substitutions, and make it delicious, you’ll be more likely to stick with these improvements.

What do I recommend?

• First– cook. Simply eating more homecooked food (whether you’re the cook or lucky to have someone cooking for you) is a great start towards reducing excess sugar, salt, and fat in your diet.
• Second– eat more plants. Or even better, mostly plants. Innumerable studies support this approach for improving both personal and planetary health, and it doesn’t need to be all-or-nothing. (I do not think all-or-nothing is a good approach to life in any way, and tends to lead to failure, as with New Year’s resolutions.)
• Third- focus on flavor! None of us will eat food that is good for us if we don’t like it. So learn to cook with flavor, with spices, herbs, and the best quality of ingredients you can. Learn some cooking techniques. Knife skills and basic cooking techiniques like sautéeing and roasting can transform not great cooking into delicious results! Consider checking out some of my videos on YouTube or on the Healthy Cooking website, or even take a Thrive Kitchen class with me. Or if you don’t already have it, please take a look at my cookbook, Spicebox Kitchen. This article on How to Season Like a Chef also has some great tips.

To get you started, check out my three weeks of meal plans:

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Share your healthy eating and cooking intentions in comments, and please share this post with anyone you think might be interested!

Wishing you a healthy a delicious New Year!