If you’ve made New Year’s resolutions in the past, chances are they were to eat healthy, exercise, get more sleep, or find ways to cope with stress. Of course, like everything else this year, coronavirus has changed all that.
According to a recent survey conducted by OnePoll for Affirm, instead of traditional New Year’s resolutions like joining a gym or losing weight, people are looking to save money for the future (62%), and focus more on experiences (68%) like spending time with family and traveling more.
Plus, 7 in 10 said they want to learn new life skills or practical goals.
While you may have the best intentions to follow through on your resolutions or goals, as moms, there are real obstacles we’re faced with this year in addition to all of the things we already have on our to-do lists.
Things like working from home, distance learning and an unexpected quarantine. And with everyone at home more, we have less time for ourselves.
EASY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR MOMS
The good news is that you don’t have to make lofty New Year’s resolutions in order to have a significant impact on your—and your family’s— health and well-being in 2021.
Here are 50 small, realistic, and achievable goals any mom can do.
1. Replace one processed/packaged kid’s snack with a fruit or vegetable.
2. Try meal planning—The Dinner Daily makes it easy.
3. Swap some refined grains for whole grains.
4. Serve a leftover vegetable for breakfast.
5. Try a new, healthy recipe.
6. Stop drinking soda, sports drinks, and juice.
7. Bring your kids food shopping and let them pick a new fruit or vegetable to try and cook at home.
9. Purge your pantry of one processed food.
10. Read nutrition labels.
11. Sign up for a virtual endurance event with your kids. Try active.com
12. Cut out some sugar—here are 23 easy ways.
13. Limit salt.
14. Take a walk as a family after dinner.
15. Eat slower and more mindfully and model the same for your kids.
16. Swap regular potatoes for sweet potatoes.
17. Put fruit out on the counter for after-school snacks.
18. Cut up produce and store them in glass containers which makes healthy eating easier.
19. Swap butter for avocado when baking. Related: 11 Baking Substitutes for Eggs
20. Try kid-friendly ways to serve chia seeds.
21. Put on fun music and have an indoor dance party with your family.
22. Make time for self-care.
23. Have one more family meal together—it doesn’t have to be dinner!
24. Eat more beans, legumes, and plant-based foods. Related: 10 Ways To Get More Plant-Based Foods in Your Kid’s Diet
25. Teach kids how to recognize their hunger signals.
26. Incorporate foods that are high in probiotics into your meals.
27. Stop eating so much fast food.
28. Rely on easy, healthy dinner ideas to get dinner on the table fast.
29. Make green smoothies or green juices. Related: How to Make Smoothies for Kids
30. Make one meal and stop being a short-order cook.
31. Replace one meat-based meal with plant-based foods.
32. Try a new type of fish. Related: What Types of Fish Are Safe for Kids?
33. Don’t stress about picky eating.
34. Order your kids’ meals from the main menu.
35. Eat low-glycemic fruit like berries.
36. Batch cook homemade baby food; rely less on store-bought.
37. Avoid sugary cereals. Related: How to Pick a Healthy Cereal for Kids
38. Stop eating in the car and in front of the TV.
39. Make breakfast a priority. Related: 25 Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids
40. Make a grocery shopping list—here’s a free one.
41. Commit to cooking dinner one more night each week.
42. Offer two vegetables at dinner—studies show variety helps kids make healthy choices.
43. Use your slow cooker or Instant Pot to save time cooking.
44. Don’t persuade kids to “take another bite.”
45. Teach kids food can be fuel and taste good.
46. Upgrade your peanut butter. Related: How To Pick A Healthy Peanut Butter for Kids
47. Don’t use food as a reward.
48. Buy yourself a new cookbook—here’s a list of my favorites.
49. Eat more avocado—here are 25 kid-friendly recipes.
50. Do some meal prep to eat healthily and save time.
