Ditch the restrictive resolutions and set one of these 3 fun food ‘intentions’ instead

Editor’s note: Professional medical help and medication are often a vital part of the eating disorder recovery process. If you or a loved one are coping with an eating disorder, contact the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline for support at 866-662-1235.

Justine Doiron used to fall into the 49% of young adults who reportedly set a New Year’s resolution — specifically about food — something she now views as “enticing yet toxic.”

“During my teenage years, I struggled with an eating disorder. I was a perfectionist in a larger body, and that always makes someone with that personality trait 10 times harder on themselves,” Doiron said. “Every new year, I was thinking, ‘I’m about to be so perfect. I’m going to run in the morning and lift weights at night.’”

She would carefully plot out an intense, calorie-restricted regimen that she “would never stick to.” But something about that perceived control gave her soul a “sense of relief.”

As it turned out, loosening the reins and trusting her gut — literally — allowed Doiron to gain her life back.

When the 30-year-old recipe developer and author of “Justine Cooks: A Cookbook: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen” launched her popular Instagram and TikTok platforms @justine_snacks in 2020, she was just dipping her toe into intuitive eating. (This anti-diet concept, created by registered dietitians Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, has 10 principles that include “reject diet culture” and “challenge the food police” to inspire people to eat when they’re hungry, stop when they’re full and strip away ingrained beliefs that food is morally good or bad.)

“When I first started my account online, you could subliminally see a lot of fears still showing up in how I was eating,” Doiron said. “As I exposed myself to food more and more, that relationship got better through practice.”

These days, the self-described plant-forward pescatarian spends far less time ruminating about what she will or won’t eat — and enjoys much more time being present, listening to her body about what it needs and developing recipes to feed herself and her audience.

Fans have watched this philosophy come to life through her viral recipes such as Eggplant Parmesan Chickpeas, Chicago Deep Dish Toast, Baked Kale Salad with Crispy Quinoa, Shatter-Top Cauliflower Orzo and Blueberry Cookies, and have learned more about it through her personal, honest and revealing voice-overs that speak to her relationship with her body, her family and beyond.

As for Doiron’s recipes, these days they’re rich in seasonal produce, flavor and healthy fats, and often involve creative twists on the familiar. In other words, they’re comfort food 2.0. And they’re thoroughly restriction-free.

“My journey has not been linear. I’m 30 now, but I’ve been on this path of moving away from restriction since I was 23. It was about halfway through that process that I realized I now eat for energy,” Doiron said, “not in a ‘cutting out foods’ way. But when I’m eating more balanced meals throughout the day, it brings me energy in a way that counting calories and trying to hoard all my calories for the end of the day never did.”

Giving her body what it needs at regular intervals throughout the day and exposing herself to a variety of foods, including desserts, helped her slowly but surely make strides over the last decade, and especially in the last four years. With nothing off-limits, she was able to start showing up as her real — and creative self — something that clearly resonates with fans of Doiron, now a best-selling author.

To experience more ease at the table, Doiron said that two paths prove to be far more enjoyable and effective than a pledge to stick to a certain number of calories or macros. There are additive resolutions, which focus on including more quality in your life. There are also intentions, or aims, that loosely define something you would like to do.

Here are three ideas from Doiron that fit into one of those two categories — and that might just help you ditch the diets in 2025 and for a lifetime. Why not try one at a time, perhaps a new addition each week or month, or however it works for you? And there’s no getting these notions “wrong.”

Prioritize your most-skipped meal

Perhaps you skip your morning meal or deem that cup of coffee “breakfast” because you’re rushing to get started with your day. Or maybe you work through lunch.

“If you’re struggling to have a moment to take care of yourself or if your work is crazy,” Doiron said, “prioritizing a meal that normally falls by the wayside can help refocus your relationship with food.”

At the start of 2024, her intention was to prioritize dinner. “I was testing all day for this cookbook, and by the time dinner came around, my hunger cues were all off,” she said. “I decided that I need to make space to enjoy cooking and to eat just for me.”

Once Doiron started making herself (and not just her output) a priority, she noticed a big difference in her energy and creativity levels.

Try one new vegetable each week

Just 10% of American adults consume their recommended 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day, according to the US Centers for Disease Control of Prevention estimates. Since Doiron has a “deep love of vegetables,” one of her favorite additive resolutions involves shopping for and using one new vegetable per week. Doing so repositions fresh food as fun and exciting, rather than as drudgery (or as something parents nagged us to eat).

One week, try parsnips, a root vegetable you can prepare like carrots or potatoes. Next, stock up on Romanesco broccoli, that cruciferous veggie that looks like a mash-up of cauliflower and broccoli.

Create a menu capsule wardrobe

Shopping, preparing and cleaning up after a meal involves a lot of labor (and a fair amount of time). Plus, the potential for mealtime indecision is higher than ever, thanks to the countless recipe ideas online and on social media, plus a slew of delivery apps that could just bring dinner to your door.

Save money and stress by setting an intention to turn to one of your trusted recipes. Think about those dishes that aren’t too taxing to execute, don’t involve too many ingredients and that always leave you feeling good after preparing and eating them. Try to brainstorm recipes that are not something you force yourself to eat because you “should.”

“Find two or three recipes that satiate and really ‘hit’ like nothing else and that you can always make with items you have in your home,” Doiron said.

Alternatively, these eats will be “good for you in flavor and in function,” she said.

A protein-topped avocado toast such as a 14-minute Chili Lime Salmon Avocado Toast is a stellar example. Or try one of her go-tos from the new cookbook: Gochujang Beans With Melty Escarole and Black Vinegar (below), featuring just three fresh items (escarole, garlic and shallots). The rest are punchy pantry staples and condiments.

“These beans are thick, glossy and vegetable-packed, but they aren’t following any strict diet culture rules. You start by browning butter and add a really sticky, flavorful sauce. The beans bring the plant-forward protein that’s sustaining,” Doiron said. “As for the greens, admittedly, past me would have just shoved down escarole with a fat-free dressing on it. This is a celebration of vegetables, though, as the escarole melts down into the unctuous sauce.”

Gochujang Beans With Melty Escarole and Black Vinegar

Serves 4 | Prep time: About 20 minutes

“Black vinegar, the sauce that is nearly mandatory alongside xiao long bao, is an ingredient I like to sneak into as many places as possible to add a note of acid and tang,” Doiron wrote in her cookbook.

“Here, it’s used to sharpen up some creamy butter beans in a glossy, sweet-spicy gochujang sauce. The recipe comes together fast, all in one pan, finishing with the melty escarole that clings to the beans almost like a dumpling wrapper — which, yes, is a stretch, until you scoop one up, wrap it around a bit of butter beans, and experience it for yourself. Serve this with steamed rice so the sauce can pool into that, too.”

Ingredients

● 4 tablespoons salted butter

● 2 small shallots, thinly sliced

● 2 garlic cloves, finely grated

● 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

● 2 tablespoons gochujang

● 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

● 1 tablespoon soy sauce

● 1 tablespoon maple syrup

● 2 (15-ounce) cans butter beans, drained and rinsed

● 3 cups roughly torn escarole

● ¼ cup black vinegar

Instructions

1. Set a large pan over medium heat and add the butter. Let it melt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn down the heat and add the shallots, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have softened, and the butter is lightly golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large cup, whisk together the garlic, ginger, gochujang, vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup and 1 cup water.

3. Add the beans to the pan and give it a swirl to coat everything. Pour in the gochujang mixture, increase the heat to medium and bring to a soft simmer. Let the sauce reduce by half, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes.

4. When the sauce becomes thick and glossy, add the escarole and let it wilt into the beans. This will take a matter of seconds.

5. To serve, portion into four bowls and dot each bowl with at least 1 tablespoon black vinegar, plus more as preferred.

Recipe adapted from “Justine Cooks: A Cookbook: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen” by Justine Doiron. Copyright © 2024 by Justine Doiron. Published by Penguin Random House.

Karla Walsh is a Des Moines, Iowa-based freelance lifestyle writer with more than 16 years of editorial experience.

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