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5 Tips On How To Stay On Track With New Year Resolutions

by Stephanie

5 Tips On How To Stay On Track With New Year Resolutions

Do you make new year resolutions?

I don’t really make them anymore, but I do think about the year ahead and think about what I intend to do more of over the course of the year.

I wrote about this on my Instagram account recently, but this year I’m going to focus on wasting less food.

More on that in another post. In this post, I want to give you some tips about how to stay focused on keeping your resolutions, goals and intentions in check.

I remember when I used to go to a gym thinking how busy it was at the beginning of the year. “Oh here come all the the resolution people!” and they were all gone by the second week of February.

It happened every single year.

So how can we create new habits and keep them long-term?

1. Be Realistic. 

It’s easier to do small things over time instead of big things all at once. This isn’t always the case, but if you want to run a marathon, it makes more sense to run a 5k first and work your way up to a marathon over time. It’s also not recommended to start your marathon training in the freezing cold dead of winter especially if this is your first time running.

When it comes to food, small changes work as well. Switch out one thing at a time instead of just throwing out all of your old food and not knowing where to start.

(That being said you’ll have more success if you get out the junk food!).

If you like bread, choose a nice organic sourdough bread when you’re done your old loaf. Finish up your milk and try some nut milk or drink half cow milk and half nut milk for a bit until you get used to the taste.

Don’t do it all once because you will overwhelmed and your tastebuds might revolt before your brain does.

2. Be Specific.

This is related to the previous tip. Don’t just say “I want to eat better.” Being vague isn’t helpful.

Get specific about how you want to eat better: “I’m only going to eat grass-fed beef now,” or “I’m going to drink 8 glasses of water a day.” These are specific things you can grab onto each day making it easier to keep yourself accountable for accomplishing your goals.

3. Don’t Be Hard on Yourself.

Again, this is related to being realistic. Just because you go one day without drinking those 8 glasses of water a day does not mean you failed.

You are human my friend.

We will fall and get up and fall and get up throughout the course of our lives. Don’t be so hard on yourself because you didn’t follow through that one time (or even the second, third or fourth time!).

Instead do it again the next day because every day is a new day to try again and succeed.

Please don’t throw your hands into the air and think you failed because you didn’t lose 25 pounds after going to the gym for a week. It’s just not realistic and it doesn’t help to be hard on yourself.

4. Schedule it.

That’s right, put whatever it is you’re doing into your calendar. My husband schedules his workouts and even though he’s busy, he gets them done because it’s in his calendar and it’s important to him. If you consistently put your workouts or meal prep times or water drinking schedule into your calendar you’re more likely to follow through with it because you’ll get reminders to do it.

5. I’m a big believer of doing something now.

Don’t wait until January or September or when you’re 40 or when you’re not so busy at work or when you [insert every excuse in the book here].

You will find every excuse in that book to help you fail. So rewrite your book so that you Just Do It as Nike says and start paving your path to succeed your way.

I hope that helps you stay on track! You can do almost anything you put your mind to, you just have to be open-minded and realistic about it.

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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for brunch. I bought a few quiches to eat for brunch mixed with bacon, croissants, and fruit.⁠
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No need to make everything from scratch friends!⁠
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According to the quiche reheat instructions, the internal temperature was to be 165° so after I baked it for about 18 minutes I checked the temp with my digital meat thermometre.⁠
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My mom’s husband looked over at me and said to her: “Look honey, she uses a thermometre too!” My mom laughed and said that her husband uses one for everything and uses a timer for all of his cooking.⁠
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When we were growing up my mom simply smelled and looked at the food to tell if it was done. ⁠
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“Mom, how do you know the turkey’s done?"⁠
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“Oh, I just know.”⁠
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My mom would smell it first in the kitchen and then she would peek at the food in the oven and decide it was done by how it looked.⁠
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It’s interesting how those experiences help us to establish what we do in our own kitchens when we start to cook for ourselves.⁠
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I use a thermometre and timer for many things, but I still use the smell and look method to help me decide if it’s done.⁠
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A balance of both of these approaches while cooking is important.⁠
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If you’re new to cooking, you might simply use a timer for a recipe, but once the timer is done, it might not be cooked all the way through. ⁠
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A more experienced cook would observe that the dish is not quite browned enough and that it needs more time in the oven.⁠
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Every oven has a different temperature, so it’s important to balance that with the time. This is why I find using a thermometre really helpful. It can also prevent overcooking and drying out the food.⁠
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Chicken is notoriously overcooked because people are afraid to undercook it. ⁠
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A thermometre will tell you exactly when the chicken is finished at 165°. It stays somewhat moist and juicy at that temperature.⁠
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If you wait until it’s browned on the outside, it might be too dry to eat. Alternatively, just using a timer could result in either a dry or under-cooked chicken breast.⁠
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I made this nifty graphic you can keep handy the next time you’re cooking. Use it to cook moist meat, not dry!⁠
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xo
Happy Friday 13th!⁠ ⁠ Do you find eating salad Happy Friday 13th!⁠
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Do you find eating salads scary??? 😱⁠
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According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:⁠
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1️⃣Those who think eating salad is boring.⁠
2️⃣Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough to be a full meal.⁠
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Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!⁠
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If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.⁠
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I know... People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.⁠
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On the blog, I have all the tips on how to make the perfect salad just for you: ⁠
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>>https://lealoucooks.com/howtobuildasalad/⁠
>>or get the link in my profile here: @lealoucooks
I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and c I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and creating something from what seems like nothing.⁠
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I do this to use up the food I have before bringing more food into the house.⁠
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I'm not sure about you, but when I don't use up the food I have, it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and then lands right into the compost bin. ⁠
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This is one of the ways groceries can get expensive.⁠
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So before you make your next grocery list, look in the cupboards and fridge first. What do you have in there that can be used up?⁠
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Then search for a recipe that uses those ingredients.⁠
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Shop your kitchen first, then make a list.⁠
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If you have food in your house you're not sure what to do with, comment below and I'll think of what to make with it!⁠
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#mealplanning #mealplanningtips #mealhelp #dinnertime #supper #eatleftovers #fridgefood #recipes #savemoney #foodwaste⁠
This weekend is a bit of a doozy - a fun doozy!!⁠
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💛My street is hosting a giant street sale (if you're in Etobicoke you can DM me for the address).⁠
💛It's my anniversary (14 years!)⁠
💛AND it's Mother's Day (on the same day as my anniversary! Sorry hunny).⁠
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I'm hosting my sisters and mom for a brunch and I asked them what their most favourite brunch meal is to eat... I'll make the menu a combination of everything for them!⁠
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My sister asked me the question back and I, of course, thought of eggs.🥚⁠
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(Why are all of my posts about eggs??)⁠
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This photo is of a breakfast I had last week and it was so good!⁠
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💛Sourdough GF bread from @thebreadessentials⁠
💛Topped with hummus⁠
💛Topped with a yellow heirloom tomato (fun!)⁠
💛Topped with eggs (duh)⁠
💛Topped with jalapeno sheep cheese from @blythfarmcheese⁠
💛Topped with Broccoli sprouts from @livingearthtoronto⁠
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That brekky was a favourite hands-down.⁠
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Eat what you love friends! 🌱⁠

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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