Every year, when the calendar flips to January, the dieting tips, gym membership discounts and healthful eating trends reemerge en masse. In the interest of avoiding food resolution cliches, this is not a collection of recipes for salads or diet-type foods. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course, but you’re probably encountering enough of that as it is.) Instead, we’ve made up a few food-related resolutions that we hope will inspire you to get into the kitchen and cook just a bit more this year.

Here’s what to do if you if you resolved to . . .

Eat more whole grains: Take this recipe for Whole-Wheat Pasta With Sausage and Kale (pictured above) for a spin. Even though it has kale, the sausage and olive oil add enough fat to keep it from being too virtuous.



(Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)

Eat less meat: It’s time you get to know tofu, a versatile ingredient that deserves a little more love. You could start slow and pair it with a little meat, as in the super Stacked Deli Sandwiches With Seared Tofu, then gradually work yourself up to something such as Silken Tofu With Soy Sauce (Xiao Cong Ban Dou Fu). Actually, scratch that. You should just make both. It’s 2019! It’s time to be bold. (And that silken tofu is delightful.)



(Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post)

Spend less money on takeout: Sounds as if you’d be interested in a recipe for Better Than Takeout Fried Rice! Or Spicy Lemon Grass Soup (Tom Yum Gai)! Or Easy Chickpea Curry! Or maybe Caribbean Black Beans With Sauteed Plantains? Creamy Vegetable Ramen? Jamaican-Inspired Curry Mango Shrimp? The Easiest Pizza You’ll Ever Make? So. Many. Great. Options.



(Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)

Have a signature cocktail: Then read through this piece on the seven essential cocktails every drinker should know how to make, and choose your favorite of the bunch. Some of us think that 2019 should be the year of the Negroni, but those people think that every year, so by all means choose something for yourself.



(Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)

Cook with less fat: Try a good ol’ fashioned steam. Steaming is a cooking technique oft-overlooked, but with the power of boiling water, you can cook things quickly, with both less fat and less chance of overcooking. In this recipe for Cool Steamed Eggplant With a Garlicky Dressing, you’ll use steam to bring out the tender side of eggplant, then season it simply with soy, vinegar, garlic and a few other ingredients.



(Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)

Become a smoothie person: This a thing people resolve to become, yeah? You’ll be happy to have a recipe for Cara Cara Orange Smoothies, which taste just like something you’d get from a smoothie stand, but obviously better since you’ve made it yourself.



(Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Amanda Soto/The Washington Post)

Become a better baker: Read these five tips to do just that, then take your newfound confidence for a spin with Whole-Wheat Jam Thumbprints. The recipe — a one-bowl affair that you mix together with a fork — proves how simple and rustic baking can be. And if you’re really serious about keeping the first resolution we suggested, then you’ll be happy to know that you can do so with dessert, too.

More from Voraciously:

This is how to reboot your eating without resorting to a fad diet

A complete guide to Instant Pots and other multicookers

There’s a little science to predicting food trends — but there’s a lot of guesswork, too