It’s that time of year again to make New Year’s Resolutions! 2016 is ready to go on the shelf as we step into a fresh new year, full of possibility. Most of us have just indulged (or are still indulging) in beautiful holiday fare. We have the idea in mind that as of January 1st, we will turn over a new leaf with our New Year’s Resolutions. Well, #anovafoodnerd family, we are here to help you with that!
My Anova Can Help Me with New Year’s Resolutions, TOO?
That’s right! We took a look at the most popular New Year’s resolutions for the last few years, and yes. Your Anova can help you achieve quite a few of them. Let’s go down the list!
Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions
Stay Fit and Healthy
We just explored the many reasons that sous vide is an extra healthy method of cooking in
our last blog post. Preparing your own meals in general is one of the easiest ways you can gain control over your health, and keeping as many nutrients in as possible with this cooking method is the ultimate health-promoting way you can nourish your body! And one my favorite sayings in relation to health and fitness that I have read is “You can’t outrun a bad diet.”
Your Anova gives you the opportunity to eat more healthfully while simultaneously giving you the time you may be slaving over a hot stove to take that extra run, do another set of squats, or bang out a HIIT session in your living room.
Lose Weight
Ah, the ever popular New Year’s resolution that sells gym memberships and diet books, but tends to fizzle out by February! Let’s not fizzle this year - let’s SIZZLE when we complete the finishing sear on our healthy proteins and nutrient-protected vegetables. Whether you are implementing this resolution by following Weight Watchers, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, South Beach, Atkins, you-name-it, Anova makes it easier.
Whatever way of eating you choose, it is recognized across all regimes that the key to success is PLANNING. Planning and prepping your meals, or components of them, in advance is what is going to have you seeing a difference in the way your jeans fit before you know it. You can best do this with
batch cooking just one day per week. And I personally have great plans to continuously feed you amazing healthy ideas as the year goes on to keep you motivated and satisfied! Keep your eyes peeled in the very near future!
Enjoy Life to the Fullest
What is the key to enjoying life to the fullest? In my experience, it is being relaxed enough to be fully present with whatever you are doing. And what is integral to being relaxed? Time without pressing obligations, however short it may be.
Cooking with an immersion circulator has a way of “creating” time. You don’t have to worry about things overcooking, so you can spend an extra half hour outside playing. If you take that initial step of implementing weekly meal planning, you likely gain an extra hour of unscheduled time every day. With more time on your hands, you have greater opportunities to do the things you have been wanting to do without the meal-prep-obligations nagging you in the back of your mind.
Spend Less, Save More
This New Year’s resolution is one of my favorites when it comes to how Anova can help! One of our customers relayed a story not too long ago about how they had been saving up to go out for a fancy steak dinner and splurge on a bottle of champagne while they were at it. They calculated the cost coming out to about $200, and noticed a holiday sale on the Anova online where it was $99. The customer in question purchased the Anova, the steak of their dreams, and a bottle of champagne for LESS than $200! They told us how this made so much more financial sense since now they could eat restaurant-quality meals whenever they wanted, at home, for a fraction of the price.
When you can prepare the highest quality meals right at home instead of going out to eat, you save money. When you meal plan and bring your lunches to work, you save money. When you batch cook and freeze portions for later use, you reduce food waste and save money. And when you take advantage of your Anova’s ability to turn even less expensive cuts of meat into succulent masterpieces, you are definitely spending less! Win-win-win!!!
Spend More Time with Family and Friends
This one not only ties into the “Enjoy Life to the Fullest” New Year’s resolution, but even goes further. Now that you have the power in your hands to cook like a pro with Anova,
THROW MORE DINNER PARTIES! You now have time on your side, so spend it doing whatever you please with family and friends. In my humble opinion, however, there is no better way to spend it than breaking bread together. The food, the laughter, the passing of plates and spilling of drinks - these are the things that bring us as humans closer together in the simplest way. It is perfectly summed up in one of my all-time favorite food quotes:
"If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him... The people who give you their food give you their heart." ~ Cesar Chavez
Get Organized
Your Anova is a tool to help you with this, at least in the kitchen. I have already mentioned meal preparation a couple of times. I cannot stress how important it is to overall success! Balanced meals and good nutrition lead to a brain firing on all pistons. Start planning your meals, so you can ensure that your body and mind are taken care of first. The rest will be easier by default.
Learn Something New/New Hobby
May we suggest the ins and outs of sous vide cooking?!?! ;-) Check out our
Community for helpful answers to common questions, lots of videos, and conversations with fellow food nerds!
Follow us on Instagram to get daily inspiration in the form of photos from our customers with times & temperatures as well as links to new recipes. Find ever more great information from the super-experienced users in the
sous vide forum on reddit. There are so many places to learn amazing things, and of course we will answer your questions directly whenever we can.
Travel More
Before my parents had the money and opportunity to start exploring the world, they did an awful lot of “traveling” from home - through cookbooks. I grew up eating the cuisines of many cultures at home, at the homes of family friends, or in restaurants. Save money for your next big trip by cooking at home more often. You can use your Anova to “get a taste” of the lands you want to visit! Search “sous vide
” and see what recipes come up. And please take pictures of what you make and post them with the hashtag #anovafoodnerd!
Not to mention, we have some incredible international recipes of our own both on the app and in our very own Anova recipe site! What a great place to start.
Read More
Cooking with Anova has already saved you time and money and made you healthier. It's enriched your friendships, and it's allowed you to taste flavors around the world. As soon as we work out a page-turning function to our app, we will be sure to let you know! Or you could do what I like to do while cooking, and listen to books on tape...
In closing, we want to wish all of you a healthy, happy 2017! We hope that we at Anova Culinary can contribute to that in some small - or large! - way. Please don't hesitate to share the ways you think we can make that possible in the comments - we'd love to hear.
And with that, what are YOUR New Year's Resolutions, #anovafoodnerd family?
