New Year’s Food Resolutions

Ah yes. The end of the year. The beginning of a new one. Time to take stock in your life and figure out how to better yourself. Time to make promises to yourself that you will most likely break within a week. Nevertheless, here are a few food resolutions that I’m going to try to stick to this year

- I will only eat McDonalds a total of 10 times this year. A long, long time ago… in a suburb far far away (like 10 miles from where I live now), a friend of mine got dirty stinking drunk on his 20th birthday. We ended up having to leave him passed out on the bathroom floor of a friend’s apartment whle the rest of us hunted down late night diner food (fries and gravy wait for no man). After our early morning greasey drunk food fix, I headed back to said apartment to find my friend hugging the toilet bowl. Between his drunken slurs, I found a gem of wisdom. He said “I’m never drinking again… no… wait…  I mean I’m not….. going….. to drink …..for a long time”. I always admired this honest and pragmatic declaration. So, I say to you: “I will never eat McDonalds again… no… wait… I mean I’m not going to have it more than 10 times this year”. I mean, no man can resist the mystery that is the McRib.

- I will cook (and master) something that frightens me. I am a pretty good cook when in my comfort zone. I can do Italian with my eyes closed, and can cook a steak or a roast with ease. I am totally intimidated by Indian food. I mean, I can sprinkle curry on to a piece of chicken and bake it, but that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the pungent exotic spices that fill your head when you walk in to a great Indian joint. The kind of spices that you have no idea what they are, but smell so familiar. I’ll need to do a lot of research and probably make a few trips to a specialty store (luckily I live in the most diverse borough in the country), but I will face my fears and master at least one dish from this  mystery cuisine.

- I will attempt to go at least 2 days a week without eating meat*. “NO!!!!!”, “Say it ain’t so!!!!” Although I maintain that most vegetarians are not to be trusted, I do agree that we as a society eat way too much meat. There are some great approaches to this type of diet that have recently become popular. Mark Bittman has the “Vegan Before 6pm” philosophy that keeps him healthy while still being able to be a food writer for the NY Times. Meatless Mondays is also an interesting idea that helps your health and the planet. *please note that for purposes of this resolution, fish is not considered meat. Come on,  I’m only human

- I will attempt to eat a whole pig- and blog about it. This is to make up for that last resolution. I’m thinking that I’m going to document my pig consumption this year and try to have a nose-to-tail year. It shouldn’t be too hard considering the fact that my CSA works with a supplier that provides some “lesser” cuts (kidneys, feet, ears, liver, etc.). Now, eating a pig is only half of the resolution. The other half being that I will write about it. I’m going to need to come up with a weekly column. Maybe something like “What part of Babe did Tom eat this week?”. If anyone is interested in inviting me over for a pig roast, I’m open. Yeah, I’m excited about this one.

That’s it. Does anyone have any food related resolutions that they made? I’d love to hear them.

Happy 2011 everyone. Mangia!