If you’re like me, you're probably doing one of three things right now:

1. Wondering what to have for breakfast that will be soothing for your I stayed up way too late-soul but also is “healthy” because you said you would

2. Scrolling through aspirational recipe and life planning TikToks while eating leftovers

3. Or writing down long lists of all of the things you want to do an accomplish and be this year

That said, I am strictly anti-boring resolutions that meet their makers by the end of the month. New years goals don’t have to be hard and uncomfortable, restrictive, or…just plain blah. So this week we’re sharing some of our home cook specific 2026 intentions that cut through the clean-eating, transform-your-kitchen, become-a-sourdough-influencer noise. The ones that acknowledge you're a real person with a real kitchen and real spinach dying in real time.

Let’s get into it!

12 Achievable Goals for Home Cooks in 2026

1. THAT. BAG. OF SPINACH!

That’s in all caps mostly for me to hear myself shout it when I read it. This is the year that we all finally admit that we are not going to eat 16 ounces of spinach before it dies and turns into that wet, dark green goo that haunts the bottom of the veg drawer. Buy the small bag. Buy it the day you plan to use it. Or better yet, buy frozen spinach!

2. Learn one new recipe per month (that's literally 12 recipes, you can do 12 things)

I’m not going to promise that this is the year we all "master French cuisine" or "become a pasta-making experts," but just one new recipe feels achievable. January can be sheet pan chicken. February can be a different way to cook eggs. This is the participation trophy of cooking goals and it feels exciting but not daunting.

3. Clean as you go

I always say I will and actually think I do when I’m in the flow of it all, but then I put whatever it is in the oven, look around, and realize just how wrong I was. This is the year we all get just a little bit more intentional about that. I have faith in us. Just rinse the bowl before the dried batter requires a chisel. Wipe the counter before the olive oil becomes a permanent installation. Future you/me/us is begging!

4. Stop saving glass jars you'll "definitely use for something"

You have 47 pasta sauce jars under your sink waiting for their moment. That moment is not coming. You're not making overnight oats in all of them. You're not starting a candle business. Recycle them and free yourself.

5. Use the nice dishes

Your wedding china is not waiting for a special occasion worthy of its debut. Tuesday night pasta is the special occasion (just maybe not for the kids). The good plates don't make the food taste better, but they make you feel fancy while eating leftovers, and that's worth something. We all deserve more occasions in life.

6. Meal prepping baby steps

The Pinterest version of meal prepping stresses me out. You need 21 meals in matching glass containers and for all of them to look professional and colorful and cleanly organized and perfectly chopped and like they include the whole alphabet of vitamins. This is the year we all agree that it…doesn’t have to be that and in fact, it shouldn’t. Cook a big batch of rice. Roast a sheet pan of vegetables. Brown some ground beef. That's meal prep. You just gave yourself three nights of "I don't have to start from scratch" and that's huge.

7. Stop hoarding takeout sauce packets. You have enough.

You have 94 soy sauce packets, 43 hot sauces from various pizza deliveries, and enough Taco Bell Fire sauce to open your own store. You're never using them. You know you're never using them. They know you're never using them. Set them free. They go bad too.

8. Write down that recipe your mom told you over the phone. Add it to your Pepper collection. Save it forever.

You've asked her to make "that chicken thing" four times now and every time she tells you, you say "oh yeah, I'll remember that" and then you absolutely do not remember that. Type it out. Your friends will thank you for it too!

9. Stop buying ingredients for recipes you will never make or will only make once. Think of creative substitutions first!

You bought tahini, sumac, and preserved lemons because you were going to make that Middle Eastern feast you saw on TikTok at midnight on a Tuesday. The tahini is now a solid brick, the sumac is untouched, and the preserved lemons were opened and are now just taking up space in your fridge. Limit waste and save money by getting creative with what you have at home!

10. Check expiration dates before you buy duplicates of things you already own

You now have three bottles of fish sauce because you never remember if you have fish sauce, so you buy fish sauce every time you need fish sauce. Same with vanilla extract. And baking powder. And that weird paste that one recipe called for. Do a new years audit of everything you have. Make a list and purge the things that have been with you since pre-pandemic days.

11. Stop apologizing for the meal you just cooked

I really need to get better at this. I know that I do it for extra validation, but calling out the things that I would have done differently only bring up new insecurities. If you also are cursed with this affliction. Remember: you literally just made dinner from scratch. Stop. You cooked. That's the achievement. Nobody else was going to do it. Own it!

12. Accept that not all of these are going to stick and THAT’S FINE!

The spinach will go bad again. You'll collect more jars. The takeout packets will multiply in the dark. You'll buy ingredients you won’t use. We’re all human. The point isn't perfection. The point is that you're feeding yourself and the people you love, even if it's imperfect, even if it's messy, even if it’s repetitive. It’s the love that goes into nourishing your family at the end of the day.