Kitchen Goal Setting in 2022

It’s January once again, and that means fresh empty planners, crisp winter air, a fully stocked liquor cabinet, and of course, goal setting. Each year, I choose kitchen-related areas to focus on, and call them my kitchen resolutions. This year, I’m doing things just a little differently. But before we get to that, let’s look back on my goals from 2021.

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2021 Goal Recap

Better & Healthier Snacks

My aim at the beginning of the year was to make it easier for me to grab a healthier option when reaching for a snack. I’m still a snacker, but thanks to my pantry reorganization (loving these acrylic drawers) and having some better items on hand (lentil chips are my fave!), it’s easier for those to be just a little better for me.

Final Score: 8/10: I achieved this goal as written, but there is still some refining I can do when it comes to balancing snacks throughout the day and my organization system.

Research Science & Technique

I wanted to dig deeper into knowledge when it comes to cooking and baking, since I’m pretty much self-taught. This goal started with cookbooks that are more science- and technique-focused (like The Food Lab), and expanded into other channels. But I didn’t actually absorb as much info as I set out to.

Final Score: 6/10: I really put in the effort to build up my library and find knowledge from outside sources, but I still need to actually finish reading the books I have (cue foreshadowing…).

Learn To Like A Food I Hate

Honestly, I’m just glad this one is over. Maybe we don’t like things for a reason, and my reason is that mushrooms and olives just don’t taste good to me. Sure, I was able to have them chopped up tiny and covered with other flavors, but that’s all I’ve been able to stomach.

Final Score: 3/10: I’d give myself like a C for effort alone, since I mostly avoided this goal. The score is dragged down by a Q4 of just not even trying, except a single bite of an olive during Thanksgiving apps.

Invest In My Food Photography

If there’s a goal that tells me to spend money, it turns out I’ll do it. I expanded my collection of photo props, handmade some backdrops from wood and marble contact papers, bought myself a lighting kit, and upgraded my camera into the world of mirrorless (Nikon Z50!)

Final Score: 10/10: I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. On the left is a Boozy Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate from December 2020. On the right is a very similar shot of Bourbon Butterscotch Hot Vanilla from last month, shot with my backdrops, new napkins, my upgraded camera, and artificial light.

Deeper Reading into Previous Goals

Goal Setting in 2022

Having four goals going on at once was a lot to focus on, so I am changing up the way I set my resolutions for this year. Instead of establishing all my goals now, I am setting mini goal themes for each season of the year, and then detailing exactly how I want to achieve them.

There are a couple reasons I decided to go in this direction:

• My past resolutions have been abstract, single sentences. I want something a bit more tangible that I can measure my success against.
• Reevaluating each season gives me even more of a chance to be flexible with myself.
• The themes will help me focus, and I’ll be able to track myself with small daily, weekly, and monthly checkpoints, depending on the nature of each goal.

So what are we starting with?

Winter 2022 Goal: Use What You Have

The main reason behind this goal is to stop myself from going overboard, continuously buying and trying new things, only to lose interest in what I already had on hand. The measurable pieces of this goal are:

• Read through all of my cookbooks before buying anything new.
• Low spend/replace only on kitchen gadgets, utensils, appliances, and (this one hurts) decor.
• Set up or test better inventory systems for my pantry and fridge, so I’m not overbuying groceries.

I’ll use my planner to track these, with a daily habit tracker for the first two bullet points. For the third, I have three monthly milestones: research in January, implementation in February, and testing in March. Throughout this month, I’ll create a more detailed action plan.

How to Follow Along

I’ll be doing my normal quarterly updates here, with the first one around the March to April transition. It will include a recap of how things went for the first three months of 2022, and a breakdown of my mini goal theme for the following few months.

For more details in the moment, be sure you are following my Twitter. That’s where I will be posting mini updates, successes, challenges, and more in between my larger posts here.

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