Resolutions: Resist the Urge

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New Years resolutions are a sucker’s bet.

We all know it. Even so, there’s something about the next year’s calendar with all its small, clean squares so full of potential.

Resist the urge.

Make plans, not resolutions. Lay foundations instead of boundaries.

DON’T resolve to eat out less often. INSTEAD get your house in good cooking order.

Keep a well stocked pantry, have your knives professionally sharpened, buy lots and lots of condiments, play with your forgotten utensils and appliances (have you ever used the sausage attachment that came with your food processor?).

DON’T resolve to limit your fats. INSTEAD plan to savor every bite.

Experiment with nut oils and buy different grades of olive oil? use the good stuff when it counts. Eat really fresh butter from grass-fed cows. Same for cheese. And ice cream.

DON’T give up meat. INSTEAD plan to broaden your culinary horizens.

Beans, nuts, grains, and even green vegetables contain protein. Did you know that there are 40,000 different varieties of rice? That should keep you busy for a while.

DON’T give up refined foods. INSTEAD plan to make informed decisions.

Know your food?where it’s from and what’s been done to it.

If you must make a New Years resolution, make it this one:

This year, I resolve to enjoy my relationship with food.

Make 2011 a celebration, not a challenge.

Paula Deen swears she will stop eating gummi bear vitamins like candy. Anthony Bourdain wants to learn to make pasta from scratch. See the New Years resolutions of celebrity chefs, as told to Oprah.