I always think it is really fun at the beginning of the year to set goals in all kinds of areas, and cooking and baking are one of the areas I like to set goals. Food is such a huge part of our lives, of course, and there is so much fun to be had with food and always new foods to sample and experience, so I think it is the perfect area in my life to try and get better each year. Here are a few of my food goals for 2023.

Try Out 4 New Recipes a Month


I definitely have plenty of family favorite recipes for us already, but I always love trying out new recipes as well and would love to make a goal to try out one new recipe a week. One of my favorite places to find new recipes is right on my Cook’n feed when I open up the program and I see my recommended recipes. This software knows me very well by now and knows what kind of recipes will pique my interest and they are always spot on!

I love introducing my kids to different cuisines, so for example I just came across this recipe for a jambalaya that I am sharing in my other article this week that was a total hit for all of us, even my really picky eater, so this was a complete victory all around.

Be Less Wasteful


I just want to try even harder this year to not waste any produce. Something that helps me to put things into perspective is to think about it this way--let’s say I forgot about that half-full carton of almond milk in the back of the fridge. Well, I’m not only wasting that almond milk, I’m wasting all that water that went into creating the almond milk. It takes about 1.1 gallons of water to make a single almond, and 92 almonds to make up about 1 cup of almond milk, so it can take up to 105 gallons of water to make a small serving of almond milk! Thinking this way helps put it into perspective further and helps me be even more conscious about being wasteful.


I plan to be really great about having one day a week to clear out the fridge and have a hodgepodge meal that we enjoy to use up any leftovers we have, or any veggies or meats that need to be used up. My mom was always so great about us always eating leftovers and it seems like once or twice a week we’d each have to eat some random meal that might have a taco, an egg roll, a slice of cornbread and a side of coleslaw, because those were the random things we had that week and we didn’t mind at all!

Improve My Knife Skills


I have a knife block ful of the dreaded dull knives, which means I think it’s time to upgrade those this year and I might as well take this opportunity to improve and learn better knife skills. I do a lot of cooking, but have never really seemed to get faster or better at chopping up produce and things. I plan to do a lot of learning and try to improve this this year. I want to look legit, you know what I mean? :)

Get My Favorite Recipes Down


I am resolving to make sure I save all my precious favorite recipes into my Cook’n cookbooks so I never forget them! Cook’n makes it so easy to save your beloved recipes--whether it’s precious old, handwritten recipes from your grandmother or even capturing your go-to recipes right from your favorite food blogs or websites. And of course it puts them right in one easy place for you to find and categorize them quickly and easily. It’s the best!

What are some of your food goals for the year? Mine seem simple and small, but they are totally doable this year and I know will enhance the lives of me and my family. I hope you and your family have an incredible year 2023!

    Mary Richardson
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! mary@dvo.com