New Year. New Priorities.

Me in my happy place. Nothing better than an
oversized jumper, my kitchen and Chris
Country playing on the radio reminding me
of good times in Nashville. TN. 

If you track down this blog you'll see that the dates on it are a little haphazard; it looks like a blog that had died more deaths than Doctor Who but just like the good doctor, it's being regenerated - and the reason for that is because even if I haven't been blogging about food, I still have a burning passion for all things food, table and home - and all those things are still a huge part of our family life.

Food is super important to me because it is about home and love - love for others, and love for self. It's an act of daily mindfulness, gratitude and communion all rolled into one.

During the last eighteen months, our family has done a huge amount of travelling, and part of that travel has been about discovering what really matters to us. Through travelling away so often, it has created in us a deep appreciation of the place we call home.

This blog was originally set up in a time when we had just started a family, I was on maternity leave and money was beyond stretched. It was a project that set out to prove that just because you were on a budget, you didn't have to eat poorly, or couldn't homemake in a way that provided a sense of warmth, value, security, peace, and self care. Those principles still stand, and although we are in a far better financial position than we were then, in the last year something deeply troubling has been playing on my mind.

We are living in a culture of excess, of hollow greed and consumerism. As a result of that, our health, our happiness, and our families are suffering. Increasingly over the last twelve months I've been sickened by the amount of waste our family is producing. With every flick of the bin lid, I've been stabbed with another pin of guilt. Where is that rubbish going? Landfill? The ocean? Developing Countries? It's easy to just shut the lid and not think about it - but my children growing up and asking awkward questions about why the older generations are polluting their planet and it is increasingly hard to swallow.

Aside from that, there are the health issues. We're none of us getting any younger and over the last decade, both my husband and I have noticed that food and wine has become a silent enemy, getting all the more vicious with each passing year. Long gone are the days that we could eat a 1kg steak rib and not feel like our insides were churning butter, and long gone are the days I could slip into that little black dress and not feel a silent apology to the world - but more importantly myself.

Having a body that looks and is healthy and performs efficiently is one of the biggest boosts to self-confidence, motivation and success. It allows us to put ourselves out there more confidently and with more sense of self-power. That doesn't mean we all have to be skinny beans (in fact, the impact of too much weight loss on pre-menopausal women can be disastrous in terms of looking older) but it means we have to be happy in the clothes that we wear; that we don't die a little inside every time we go clothes shopping  for a special occasion, and that we feel healthy, happy, sexy and ready for business. I honestly don't believe that you have to become a gym / exercise slave to do that; at least this is what I tell my gym hating self.

So, with the new year, and after much family consultation, our resolution is set, "Healthy Bodies, Healthy Planet, Healthy Budget."

Here are our objectives:

• To produce 75% less household waste through packaging selections / shopping habits and less consumerism
• To recycle everything that is recyclable - including food waste
• To spend no more than £60 a week on a family shop & still eat VERY well. 
• To consume 75% less meat, and the meat that we do eat to be purchased from ethical and sustainable sources. 
• To increase our diet to 5 a day wherever possible and or eat far more fruit and veg
• To support local independent retailers rather than big supermarket chains, butchers, fishmongers and the farmer's market. 
• To seriously decrease our alcohol consumption because its expensive and not good for us.
• To do more make do and mend. 
• To use reusable cups at the coffee shop, refuse plastic straws, and take our own shopping bags. 

This list might look a little overwhelming at first, but it's about making small but significant changes that are going to make life a lot better for all of us. 

There have been some small outlay purchases to help us get started. 

• Food waste caddy and bio-degradable bags.
• A selection of Tupperware.
• An electric milk frother - to make beloved lattes at home and save ££
• A selection of pretty fold away shopping bags, including one that will fit in a pocket.
• A larder stocked with basic raw ingredients - pulses, grains, flour, stocks, herbs and spices etc. 

We are starting our position after Christmas with a full freezer, so some of the recipes will be fudging our £60 budget based on what we happen to have in - however as the weeks go on, the freezer will empty and the project will become more true to the weekly shop cycle. 

Having told our friends our intentions on Facebook, I know there are many folks who are interested in observing our project, sharing my recipes, menu plans and all that jazz, so this blog is going to be a kind of journal of that. 

I am really hopeful that as the weeks go on, we become a community, a group of friends who are all joining in on the project, sharing recipe ideas and helping each other stay motivated. I'm going to put together a linked Facebook group which can aid that community. I'll post separately about that once it is launched. 

In the meantime, Hi. Thanks for stopping by and feel very very free to jump on board this crazy ship and come along for the sail. 

Kindness, 

Kate x