I have never been one to make huge New Year’s resolutions but I’ve always thought about some goals that I would like to achieve. 2020 taught us to take nothing for granted. You really can’t predict what the world will look like in even just a few months. But we can work on our own little habits that will eventually change a lot in our lives.

Dinnertime can be the most hectic time of the day. Hangry has become a word for a reason and there are few people less forgiving than hungry toddlers. I have found some systems that help make the evenings less stressful. I wrote down the main ones. These are just small, logical food-related guidelines but they would make my life so much easier and more productive if followed more consistently.

Apparently if you write your goals down you are 10 times more likely to achieve them and sharing your goals increases the probability even more. Well I hope it works😉

Here are my food-related goals for 2021:

1. Plan your meals (or at least the dinners) in advance! It makes life so much easier in the evenings to know exactly what’s for dinner. It frees up lots of time and reduces the mental load enormously.
2. Always make a grocery list! Even if you write down the main things at the last minute in the car right before entering the supermarket, it still makes you think through your needs and limits just-in-case purchases that often go to waste.
3. “Shop” at your own home first. This means that you take in account everything you already have so that you don’t end up buying too much or getting more of the things you already had at the back of the pantry shelves.
4. Make your freezer work for you! When cooking family favorites, always make double or triple batches to have a stash of meals ready to go whenever you want. Cook from your pantry/fridge first. Review regularly what you already have at home. Use the FIFO rule: first in, first out – older items have to be used up first.
5. Make room for leftovers in the menu plan. Have at least one meal of the week be dedicated to the leftovers. There are always these ridiculous little containers with different leftovers that accumulate in the refrigerator. Jn our house they will eventually still go to the trash bin if I don’t make it a point to empty up the refrigerator from time to time.

So there you have it. Nothing revolutionary, but my goal is to integrate all of these into my everyday life and become consistent in my efforts. When mealtime goes smoothly, everything else follows. I wish you all serene meals that will make handling everything else life throws at us more manageable!

If you made any food-related resolutions this year, I would love it if you shared them in the comments!

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In case you would like some snacking inspiration go check out my list of 30 Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids so that you never run out of healthy snacks to serve!