Resolutions for Foodies Meet 2009 Gourmet Food Trends
Can we satisfy our desire to set goals and also our desire to eat more healthful foods? What about going green and choosing eco-friendly foods? Is there a way to reconcile all these competing goods? Yes.
Gourmets and Resolutions
Many readers of this column simply love good food. Chances are you also enjoy cocktails, wine. You probably love to cook or at least to eat. You're eager to learn more, read more, eat more. Folks like us tend to see New Year's Resolutions as thinly veiled diets. Diets = deprivation. Diets are no fun. We gourmets are all about fun. Diets or "resolutions" will send you directly to the bag of chips or pint of ice cream.
The Problem with Resolutions
Here is the problem with resolutions: we make bad ones, with good intentions. Then we can't keep them. Then, we feel bad. We are hard-wired against change it seems (see the New York Times' New Year. New You. Nice Try.) Even if you don't buy into the science behind this observation, doesn't your experience bear it out?
Instead of vague statements of intent such as "I will eat better this year" you have to make that a more concrete, actionable goal. Read here about SMART Goals for Gourmets. An example of a SMART goal that has the same intent would be: "I will eat two more vegetarian meals per month." See the difference? You can actually measure whether you've done the second healthy eating goal. Did you eat two vegetarian meals each month? You can calendar the meals now, get the recipes out and put the plan in action right now.
Ten Trend Predictions to Guide your Goal-Setting
Let's look at some of the gourmet food trends as compiled by Star Chefs, Food & Wine, US News & World Report, and more.
- Sustainable food
- Local food
- Comfort food
- Organic food
- Reducing, Reusing, Recycling
- Ethnic foods
- Gourmet chocolates
- Lower food costs, eating out less
- Artisanal cocktails, liquors and classic cocktails
- Cooking and baking at home
5 Ways to set SMART Gourmet Food Goals Now
Here are some options to incorporate into your goal-setting for the new year - options which anticipate some or all of these trends holding value for you.
- S/O/L/E - Find your local farmer's market or CSA. The Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment will send you a free wallet card that lists, by month, which produce is local for New England and Mid-Atlantic. Try to incorporate the Low Carbon Diet (see Mo-o-ove Over South Beach) into one of your new recipes.
- Sustainable seafood - Choose 3-6 recipes from the 37 compiled in the Teach a Man to Fish Sustainable Seafood round up. Add them to your repertoire this year. Put a Seafood Watch wallet card in your reusable shopping bag.
- Sign up for King Arthur Flour's Baking blog emails or subscribe to their free newsletter. You can bake homemade bread or pie crusts for pennies on the dollar you'd spend for store bought bread. Pennies. Their pie crust recipe is superior to any other.
- Buy or borrow Fish Without a Doubt by Rick Moonen, or 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. Both will help you incorporate dishes that are healthier for your family and for the planet. Choose Casserole Crazy and revel in one dish comfort food, like Tuna Noodle Casserole. (All three books are reviewed in this column.)
- Consider Biodynamic Wines. They beat conventional wines in 8 of 10 pairs in a blind tasting. No pesticides in the ground, no chemicals on your grapes. Good wine, cleaner conscience. Organic spirits are more widely available each day.
Measuring Progress, Holding Ourselves Accountable
Part of SMART goals is making sure we can measure our success. Make a note in your calendar for December 30, 2009. The note should read:
- Send Jacqueline Church a Happy Birthday wish and,
- Review success of 2009 Resolutions or Goals - Check!
- Make new SMART Gourmet Goals for 2010.
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