My New Year’s Resolutions
My food blog might seem like a strange place to post New Year’s resolutions. But it just so happens that a few of my resolutions are food related! Apparently when you think about food as much as I do, you can’t help but set goals π So just in case these are of any interest to anybody, here they are! (and in case they’re not, I promise a new (easy! healthy!) recipe is coming soon)
1. Have company for dinner once a month.
I would like to get better at hosting people in my home. Cooking for anybody other than Mike tends to stress me out, but I’m trying to get better at it. It is a Biblical command to be hospitable, and it’s something I’m trying to improve at. I’d love to be able to share my journey with all of you. I’m thinking of posting my menu plans, how it worked out, what the prep work was like, and how well I was able to make our guests feel welcome, as opposed to simply worrying about the food! Would anybody be interested in that?
2. Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
I set the same goal for myself last year, but with 4 servings. I did pretty well, and I think I can add in an extra fruit or vegetable each day. Hopefully you’ll see some more healthy recipes on here as a result.
3. Get better at cookie decorating.
I made the above cookies for my future sister-in-law while I was home in Pennsylvania for Christmas. I don’t think I mentioned it on here yet, but my brother is engaged and they’re getting married in July! I’m so excited, and of course I took the opportunity to try out some new cookie decorations. I think they turned out pretty well. I still have a ways to go before they look professional, but I’m pretty happy with my progress. Between Mike’s sister getting married soon, and my brother after that, I’ll have plenty of opportunity to practice decorating wedding cookies. π
I’ll let you know if I come up with any more, but these were the ones I’ve been thinking about over the past few weeks.
Feel free to share your New Year’s resolutions (food-related or not) in the comments!
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
I LOVE those cookies. They are so cute. Good luck with your resolutions.
I made the same resolution to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, it's pretty sad how difficult it can be, but I'm looking forward to seeing healthy recipes that will help me meet this resolution!
Love the idea of hosting dinner once a month, and think it would be interesting to read about your experiences with it! I'd love to actually know people to invite over for dinner, but maybe I can live vicariously through you?
Love the cookies! Those dresses are adorable! I just slather frosting on and call it good.
I would love to be better at cupcake decorating and cookies too!
Those are great resolutions, and the cookies look fantastic!
Some of my food related resolutions are to start making homemade ice cream and also to try my hand at sugar cookies and royal icing!
Thank you so much for making those cookies, Megan! They were beautiful!!!
wow, nice job with the cookies!
I'd totally be interested in tips and menus from your hostings! Happy New Year to you, and best of luck with your resolutions.
I am VERY bad at meeting my fruit/veggie goals, so I will start small at 3, bonus at 5. Can't wait to see what you come up with. π Your recipes are always so good.
Those are all really good resolutions! I like that they are all very attainable!
Great goals for the new year! Happy New Year!
I made a bunch of resolutions related to healthy eating. I hope you'll visit my blog to check them out! (www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com). To summarize:
– I'll eat what I enjoy!
– I'll enjoy what I eat!
– I'll load up on fruits and veggies and little else.
Besides for those goals, I have a food blogger goal: to take better photos. I'd be delighted if they were almost as good as yours, Megan!!! Thanks for a great post.
Great resolutions for 2011! I like the one about having company over for dinner once a month. That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!
I love your resolution idea to have company over for dinner at least once a month! When I have people over now, I tend to worry a lot about how the food will turn out. But this would be a great way for me to step out of my comfort zone. I'd love to see your menu plans and how things turn out. You're an amazing cook, and I love that your recipes don't require tons of weird ingredients. All the recipes of yours that I've tried have been super simple to make.
Great resolutions!
Here's one thought I have on feeding other's in your home. I don't know about you, but most of our friends that we would have over don't have a lot of home-cooked meals and so they really appreciate when they do get one. It really takes the stress out of it for me because there is a very high chance they are going to enjoy it.
Looking forward to hearing how you do!
~Jessica
#1 – Would be very interesting to hear about! Have you ever read the intro to the More With Less cookbook? It talks about that a little bit and is one of the first things that came to mind. Just a different perspective on entertaining (and a good cookbook too!)
#2 – That's a good goal… I've tried it before with minimal success, but I guess that's what discipline is all about right? :o)
#3 – Those cookies look pretty amazing to me!
Happy cooking adventures!
Normally I don't make New Years resolutions, but I had my first baby on December 14, so I have some weight to lose! I'm aiming for my pre-pregnancy weight, which means I have about 10 pounds yet to lose. I will definitely be checking out any healthy recipes you post! π
Last Jan. I had the goal of entertaining more often, and it didn't work out. Thanks for reminding me, I think I will will try again, but like you, I get stressed out when it's for others besides family.
In addition, my plan was to take a group picture, and note the date, and menu and keep a journal of our entertaining for the year. It would not only serve as a nice memento, but as a reference so I wouldn't serve the same meal twice to the same guests!~
I actually have some food goals too– and some personal ones– but the food goals included a list of 30 things I wanted to try to make before I turned 30– I haven't started on it and I turn 30 in 23 weeks! So it will be fun to get going on it!
This is the first year in a long time that I've made a resolution… I want to be happier and more content with what we have, versus wanting what we don't. It's been my lifelong dream to be a mother, and I figured that my husband and I would have a baby by now. I spent a lot of time obsessing ovet that last year. I need to just be patient and know that it will happen in God's time.
Lovely! Happy New Year! ~
I'll come over for dinner! π
I don't really do resolutions, but I suppose I am looking forward to some better eating and getting in better shape!
Excellent resolutions! I, for one, would really really like to be better at decorating cookies too!
I like your resolutions, especially #1. I'm a little bit like you. I get nervous if I have to cook for more than the two of us or the closest friends. I really would like to get more relaxed at hosting. You gave me a great inspiration. happy new year!
Yummy cookies..and they are so cute! Beautiful photos over all!
BTW, I left the comment about leftover phyllo dough at my blog, just to let you know!
These are great, balanced resolutions! I would like to have people over for dinner more often as well.
The other advantage of inviting guests regularly, I've found (not that I do it much myself anymore!) is that it's good incentive to clean my house. Although knowing you and Mike, I'm guessing yours is pretty spic and span all the time!
Happy New Year Megan! Nice resolutions :-). Your cookies are already phenomenal. I can't imagine what they will look like as you get better.
You've been tagged.
http://delectalicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/whittle-in-the-middle-broiled-salmon-plus.html
Can't wait to see your answers!
Wow I love your New Year's resolutions! I just wrote mine last night. It's a great idea to have 5 servings of vegetables or fruits a day. I've been baking up a storm lately and I feel like I'm neglecting healthier foods more and more… I've just called my b/f and asked him to buy some fruit :))
Oh and of course those cookies are beautiful! To me they look absolutely professional!
Those are pretty solid resolutions. I really like the part about having company for dinner, I enjoy entertaining and cooking and there's nothing more fun than sharing an evening with friends. I think I'm okay with fruits and veggies, but one of my resolutions is to get in more water! I don't think I make 8 cups most days, so that's something I'm aiming for now.
Also, your cookies look fantastic!! I especially loved the detail on the cakes and dresses. Happy New Year!
great resolutions, thanks for sharing! i find it hard to have 5 servings of fruit/veges a day sometimes so it's def a goal for me this year!
haha i also tend to stress a bit when i cook for ppl outside my family…it seems like whenever i cook for those ppl i end up stuffing up π
Hi Megan —
(Sorry, 3rd try at a comment, don't know why I'm having difficulties this time!)
I found a green bean recipe very similar to the one I told you about. In fact it probably came from epicurious.com as I love their recipe search.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Beans-with-Bacon-and-Red-Bell-Pepper-104723
As I mentioned, I added slices of a small yellow summer squash for added color.
— Sharon
To get those fruits and veggies in, I made a resolution to not eat any meal or snack unless I had produce as part of it.
It has worked pretty well so far. Smoothies also help.
Those cookies are amazing!!! I love having people over. I really need to do the whole fruits & veggies thing too…
I'd love to hear about your dinner-hosting experiences! It's something I have trouble with, too, because I expect it to be more difficult than it is and sometimes make it harder for myself with unrealistic expectations.