2020 Food Goals

Oof, January is almost over, so it’s now or never for my 2020 food goals post! I don’t have as many goals as in past years, since with 2020 being the year of third trimester + new baby, I’ll be honest that “cook something and eat it” is as far as I can go for goals sometimes and I don’t feel bad about it either! Having said that, here are a few goals anyway. Will I stick to them this year? Who knows! 🙂

1. Bake more bread. I am completely OBSESSED with Aran Goyoaga’s new cookbook Cannelle et Vanille and the gluten-free recipes it features. I have already made the buckwheat loaf, which was incredible, and I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes. My new sourdough starter will be ready in a few days, so I’ll let you know how it goes. There are a few glutinous recipes I’d like to try as well, many from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. A beer bread with onion and walnuts, a bran bread with cinnamon and currants . . . mmm!
2. Steal ideas for lunch prep. I love salads from Sweetgreen, but at almost $15, they are not a realistic lunch choice for me. I’ve been making my own versions at home and plan to experiment more with this during the coming year. Not only are these salads MUCH cheaper, I get to select the ingredients, so I can use organic options for the items I choose. I’ve been making the curry cauliflower bowl using free-range chicken, organic quinoa, organic arugula, and organic raisins. And it’s still WAY cheaper + I don’t throw away a giant plastic bowl after my meal.
3. Prepare more savory snacks. I’m in my third trimester now, and all of a sudden I am HUNGRY all the time. I’m trying to have more savory snacks around so I have options available at any moment and am not grabbing whatever chocolate or cookie is nearby. I’ve been making a lot of bean dips and avocado toast as well as eating plain, unsweetened yogurt, but I want to expand my repertoire.
4. Make more complete “meals.” I realize that this was one of my 2019 goals, and while I did get a little better at this in 2019, I still have a ways to go! Many nights our dinner formula is still a roasted vegetable + big bowl of popcorn + freshly baked chocolate chip cookie (I keep a roll of homemade dough in the freezer for this purpose). This is great and fun, but probably not the kind of dinner we want to serve to our child when she’s eventually eating meals with us. I’d like to start slowly getting into the habit now of preparing more balanced meals so it won’t be a total shock to my system when the time comes!
5. Explore more restaurants in Boston and northeast. Now that we’re living in a new city, there are lots of new restaurants to explore. I usually prefer to cook at home, but it is fun to try new places, and I want to do more of that. Especially high on my list are New England-y things like clam shacks, Irish breakfasts, donuts, and local breweries (soon!!!), plus exploring nearby places like Providence, RI, Concord, Cape Cod, etc.