New Year offers chance for a fresh start

Whether you’re resolving to eat more meals at home, learn to love vegetables or add a few new kitchen tricks to your repertoire, there’s help for those New Year’s promises.

Here are some places to turn for ideas and inspiration:

Eat more fruits and vegetables: We all have heard the statistics: Something on the order of 90 percent of us don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables each day.

It can be daunting when women find out the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 1 1/2 cups of fruits and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables each day (for men, it’s 2 cups of fruits and 3 1/2 cups of vegetables).

Turn to www.fruitsandveggie morematters.com. The Web site, run by the nonprofit Produce for Better Health Foundation, offers tons of tips, planning guidelines and recipes for bumping your fruits and veggies intake.

The recently added video center includes a whopping 275 short videos that show how to check fruits and vegetables for ripeness, storage methods and recipes.

There is also a new kids’ Web site to help encourage little ones to eat more fruits and vegetables. Click on “Get Kids Involved” or go to www.foodchamps.org for food fun and games, coloring sheets, activity pages and recipes.

Eat locally: There’s still time to take advantage of a special membership offer from the Main Market Co-op, which is set to open in the fall of 2009.

Join the cooperative today and there are several thank-you gifts in the offing. They include: a coupon for 10 percent off at Revival Lighting, 14 W. Main Ave.; $5 at the Elk, 1931 W. Pacific Ave., or Two Seven Public House, 2727 S. Mount Vernon St.; a complimentary copy of Spokane Metro Magazine; a locally handcrafted bar of soap from Kizuri, 35 W. Main Ave.; a free gift from aNeMonE Handmade Paper Flowers with a $40 purchase; a $10 gift certificate to Hill’s Restaurant and Lounge, 401 W. Main Ave.; and 10 percent off at Tangerine Boutique, 1019 W. First Ave.

Membership details and rates can be found at mainmarket.coop. To take advantage of the deal, membership forms must be submitted online or postmarked today.

Or, check out Carolyn Lamberson’s story in today’s Food section about Craig Goodwin and his family’s Year of Plenty ( www.yearofplenty.org). Goodwin’s site includes a list of local producers and growers the family discovered during their year of eating local foods.

Save money: Cooking at home is the fastest way to save money on food. Check out www.allrecipes.com for a huge database of recipes.

Click on the “Budget Cooking” tab for stories on 10 meals under $10, slow cooker meals, brown bag lunches and a photo tutorial on buying a whole chicken and cutting it up at home.

For menu ideas and recipes go to www.epicurious.com. Click on “Everyday Cooking” for weekly menu planners and recipes from the Dinner Rush feature.

Don’t know the first thing about cooking? No problem. Both sites offer articles, tutorials and videos for basic cooking skills as well as more advanced techniques.