New Year, New You: 3 Simple Steps to Start the Year Right
Healthy eating will top many New Year’s resolution lists. And it’s often the one most likely to be broken. How do you sustain your commitment to eat better? All it takes is three simple steps:
1. Try One New Food Each Week
Saying you’re going to “eat healthily” is broad and overwhelming. Try a simple plan that is tangible and actionable: Commit to one new food each week. Don’t worry about how you’re going to get through all 52 weeks. Start with one and let the seasons be your guide. Remember that “new” can mean a familiar food prepared in a new way, like tangy Satsuma mandarin oranges blended into a refreshing granita.
2. Cook Together
The key to changing the way you eat is to cook at home. But busy lives can get in the way—as a nation, nearly 50% of our food is eaten away from home. To shift the balance, commit to cook your new food at home. Together with your kids, your spouse, your partner or a close friend, savor the experience of cooking something simple and delicious. When life gets hectic, spend 15 minutes washing and prepping vegetables for the week ahead. Define cooking broadly to relieve pressure and stress—another key to staying on track.
3. Focus on Fun
It’s important to focus on the fun of the adventure each week. Long-lasting change in the way that your family eats comes from a series of small, positive experiences cooking and exploring new foods together. Your family will benefit from the experience, even if (at first) they don’t taste what they make. There’s learning, just maybe not the learning you planned. So instead of focusing on getting everyone to eat their vegetables, focus on the experience and make it fun. That’s healthy.
Cook Up Family Fun At Williams-Sonoma!
A limited edition of The 52 New Foods Challenge is available exclusively at Williams-Sonoma. Pick up a copy and join Jennifer in-store for fun (and free) family cooking classes designed to inspire creativity and curiosity in the kitchen. Check Williams-Sonoma.com for the class schedule.
