Every year, right before Christmas, I starting thinking about my New Year’s resolutions. What could I do differently next year? What do I want to improve in my life??

Unfortunately for 2010, I was still thinking about what I could “resolve” as Dick Clark was appearing on TV. Quickly, I jotted down some thoughts:

• Exercise more? Ah…yes, I could, but at this point in my life a few times a week is as good as it’s going to get.
• Quit smoking? JUST KIDDING. I don’t smoke – never have, never will. The closest I get to “smoked” is eating hickory-smoked bacon and kielbasa.
• Eat healthier? Hmmm…….I don’t think I eat “that bad”, but there definitely is room for improvement.

So, for 2010, with seconds to spare, I resolved to eat healthier.

Whew, that was close. But now that my resolution was in place, what did I need to do to accomplish my goal?

First, I had to define what it meant to eat healthier. For me, this meant eating more “whole” foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. I wanted to incorporate more fresh foods – things found in the “perimeter” of the grocery store – into what I cooked.

Next, I had to find out how to cook with these “whole” foods. My favorite place to look for books – the library – held a treasure trove of information and books with recipes I wanted to try. The clearance section of our local bookstore also yielded one book that I absolutely love.

Lastly, I had to be able to buy food and stay within a budget. A common misperception is that cooking healthy is “expensive”. So many cookbooks have recipes with an ingredient list a mile long. Worse yet, the ingredients needed are exotic and not easily used in various dishes. I needed to make food that was made with a few, quality ingredients and tasted great.

And so, books in hand, I began to learn how to incorporate more fresh foods into my family’s breakfast, lunch and dinner meals – even snacks! I’ve been surprised to find that the new meals I’ve made since my resolution have been incredible tasty. My kids have eaten dinner without any complaints – even when it’s been a little out of the box – and my husband gets giddy when I tell him it’s dinnertime.

What’s also great is that I found I spent less on food for the month of January than my typical monthly budget. Now that’s rewarding!!!!

There are many recipes and tips I have discovered since I resolved to eat healthier. If you’re looking for great-tasting meals that are good for you, keep coming back to Once Upon a Coupon! I’m looking forward to sharing with you the things I have learned. (What’s great is that I’ve already used my family as guinea pigs, so you don’t have to use yours!)

Eating healthy is possible – even on a budget.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Meal Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.