Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Food and drink

Good intentions and better ideas for the New Year

To resolve means to make up one’s mind; to decide firmly. It can also mean to solve, explain or clear up something.

Either meaning can be attached to those time-honoured New Year’s resolutions many of us make this time of year, most of which have something to do with food and the consumption thereof, or exercise and the lack thereof.

It matters not the degree of intent with which we make these promises to ourselves or, should we happen to be in the thrall of a tipsy New Year’s bash, we mistakenly make to others — horror of horrors, they may hold us to them! Either way, it all feels terribly sincere at the time.

But I’m of the mind that intent itself can be a very good thing, for even if the action never fully materializes, the thought alone has implicated a new reality that just might solve something or clear things up.

So in the spirit of resolutions and good intentions, fulfilled or not, here are some concepts that might help you turn over a new leaf for the New Year and shake you out of any post-holiday blahs at the same time:

 

Resolved: Eat five per cent less

With the number of obese people on this fair planet equal to the number of people who are hungry — about a billion people or one sixth of the world’s population in each case — it seems equitable that those of us who are lucky enough to live in this corner of the world could likely cut down on our portion sizes by something reasonable, like five per cent.

Of course the idea presupposes that you are not going hungry yourself. But let’s say you’re not, in which case it shouldn’t be that hard to do, given two facts.

One, people usually eat what’s put in front of them. Two, surveys show that the average portion for all foods has increased dramatically over the years. Some, such as those for salty snacks, increased in size by 50 per cent from 1977-98 — and we’re now 10 years beyond that set of stats.

Think of the pounds you’ll save — and dollars!

Statistics Canada tells us that the average Canadian household spends about $125 a week on food; make that about $132 in B.C. These figures are old, from 2001, but they’re the latest we have so you could easily increase them by 10-15 per cent. So say the average B.C. household expenditure on food is $150 a week these days — five per cent of that means saving $7.50 a week or nearly $400 a year.

You could take those savings and splurge on…

 

Resolved: Get behind local food businesses

Whether it’s Rogers Chocolates, Whistler Pocket Chocolate, or some of Ciao-Thyme’s or Whistler Cooks’ wonderful sauces, buying locally means supporting friends and neighbours, and a whole lot of other good things.

That $150 per week B.C. average spent on food includes eating out, so by cutting back on portions you could also spring for at least one more meal at one of the   — count ’em — 107 eateries at Whistler.

Okay, so that number includes pubs and lounges that serve food, but either way it makes for a definite pick-me up for both you and the business, especially in this post-holiday world where everyone needs a lift, thank you very much.

 

Resolved: Go whole hog on farm-fresh, even in snow

Yes, it’s January. But our dedicated farmers and farmers’ market organizers couldn’t care less.

So if you’re longing for fresh produce that hasn’t been trucked in from Mexico and been on the road longer than you care to think about, then resolve to check out the farmers’ market every Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the beautiful new Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre located across from Lost Lake Park in Whistler's Upper Village.

Usually about a dozen vendors from Pemberton to Abbotsford are there with their finest from field and farm as well as handmade crafts. How about some locally grown carrots and parsnips oven-roasted with rosemary and olive oil, borscht from fresh beets and cabbage, or some chard or kale seared to sweetness for dinner?

And when you’re finished you can wander through this impressive facility and learn about our Squamish and Lil'wat neighbours, including the Salish hunting canoe, which is carved from a single cedar tree and is almost twice the height of the Great Hall ceiling.

If you’re in Vancouver, stop by the Winter Farmers Market at the WISE Hall, located on Adanac Street, just west of Victoria Drive. It’s held every second Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until April 25. The next one will be Jan. 17.

You’ll find apples, kiwi, mushrooms, dried garlic, kale, leeks, shallots, potatoes of all sorts, squash, turnips, clams, pacific cod, sablefish, crab, rabbit, turkey, pheasant and more. Plus it’s a colourful way to while away a wintry afternoon without freezing your toes and nose.

 

Resolved: Save the planet one swipe at a time

When the eatin’s done, it’s time to clean up. Why not resolve to do it in a kinder, gentler way? Use water — and cleaners — like you’re camping in the great outdoors. After all, you are, sort of.

Turn off the tap in between rinsing each dish. Use soaps and cleaners that aren’t tested on animals and aren’t abrading you and the river system that they ultimately make their way into.

If you want to check out a very cool concept, go to Norwex.ca. This Norwegian company is bringing to the world cleaning cloths that don’t need chemicals or soap to clean. How new is that?

 

Resolved: Let us eat cake

If all the wheels come off your well-intended New Year’s resolutions I say, what the hell, make a statement!

Resolve to eat one whole chocolate cake every week. Top it off with the Udder Guy’s homemade ice cream from Cowichan Bay (Creekside Market has it at Whistler; Drive Organics, East End Co-op, Choices, Whole Foods, Capers and a whole bunch of other places have it in Vancouver). Make that the wild blackberry ice cream that’s more fragrant than a field full of ripening blackberries and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven, or at least to August.

Resolve to bake your mom’s best cookie recipe once a month and ask your best friends over to gobble them up in one sitting.

Resolve to keep looking for life’s little pleasures and share them with as many people as you can as often as you can.

A New Year can’t get any happier than that.

 

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer who walks a fine line between roasted parsnips and Death By Chocolate cake.