3 Goals You Can Reach in 2021: Part 3

In case you’re just joining us, we’ve been detailing how to take steps toward nine of the most common goals people set every year in January. We’ve talked about how to workout and read more, how to stick to a budget, and how to lessen screen time (even during a pandemic!). There’s more for you to explore here and here. 

As a reminder, we’re sharing simple steps you can start doing today to make goals a reality rather than something you simply write down. Today, we’re going to talk about the final three goals of the most popular annual goals: how to be more eco-friendly, how to stay organized, and how to try new recipes. Let’s keep the goal setting going! 

Be More Eco-friendly: 

Supporting and being kinder to our environment is an ongoing endeavor, rather than something we can solve in one swift motion. But, if we all make even small changes, they do add up! So, consider the ways your family lives, and think about ways you might be able to make revisions. Here are a few ideas:

Recycle: Many communities pick up recycling each week or there are centers within driving distance where you can drop off your recycling. Rather than tossing water bottles, soda bottles, jars, newspapers, and more into the trash, consider rinsing them and placing them into a recycling can instead.

Reusable Bottles & Dinnerware: Consider choosing to use a reusable water bottle throughout your day rather than single use plastic. You can also opt to skip using paper plates and plastic utensils and instead turn to everyday dinnerware that can be washed and used again and again. 

Use Reusable Bags: When you make a trip to the grocery store, how many plastic bags do you typically leave carrying? Likely a lot, which is totally normal! Purchase a few reusable bags you can use each week to cut back on waste. The great thing about reusable bags is they can typically fit more than an average plastic bag, which means you’ll need to make fewer trips back and forth to your car to bring everything inside.

Get Organized:

Whenever the word “organize” is mentioned, typically feelings of overwhelm follow. But, they don’t have to! Rather than thinking you need to completely organize and overhaul your space at once, why not break things down into steps? Here are a few ideas:

Tackle One Area: This might look like a room, or it might look like a drawer! There aren’t rules about how slow or fast you need to organize.

Set a Timer: Think about seeing what you can get done in a block of time. Five, 10, 15, or 60 minutes will definitely allow you to make a dent or complete an entire project! 

Look to the Pros: There are plenty of articles about organization, and some of them are definitely worth the read! We like this piece by Real Simple about how organization pros create order. The tips are 100% doable!

Tidy: Whether it’s at the end of the day or one day a week, think about tidying up your space. Organization doesn’t work unless you do, and your new process will take time to get used to. The key thing is remembering how you feel when everything is in order!

Try New Recipes:

If you’re becoming tired of your meal rotation, it’s likely time to mix it up. Consider trying even one new recipe each week. 

Think about collecting recipes to try and pinning them onto a board on Pinterest. Move the ones you love to a new board after you’ve made them, and delete the ones you know you never want to make again. You can also mix things up by trying rotating through new recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack, so your list is never completely filled with recipes that have many steps (dinner recipes, we’re looking at you!).   

We also post plenty of recipes in the app!

Now that we’ve reached the end of our review of some of the most popular goals and resolutions, which ones are on your list? Let us know on Facebook!

6 Recipes to Make With a Box of Pasta

Chances are, you have a box of pasta (or many!) stashed in your pantry right now. While an extra box of pasta may be great to have on hand for a quick meal with your favorite jar of sauce, you can also get creative to expand your recipe repertoire. Here are 6 recipes to try at home with an extra box of pasta you have on hand! 

Pasta Salad 

Nothing screams summertime quite like a big bowl of pasta salad! We love the versatility of this dish. You can nearly add anything else that you also have stashed away in your pantry. You can opt for a more traditional pasta salad, like this Classic Macaroni Salad from Taste of Home, or this Sun-Dried Tomato, White Bean, and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad Recipe from Half Baked Harvest. Try one as a side dish for your next cookout with a box of macaroni or rotini noodles!

Rigatoni Alla Vodka 

No sauce? No problem! What if we told you that you can easily create a delicious homemade sauce in minutes? Making your own vodka sauce can be intimidating at first, but we promise that this homemade sauce will rival your favorite jarred sauce. You’ll want to make this again and again! We love this Easy Vodka Sauce recipe from Bon Appetit

Mac & Cheese

Use an extra box of macaroni or cavatappi to create the ultimate comfort meal! We love adding breadcrumbs on top of our Mac & Cheese for texture, plus broccoli or brussel sprouts for added nutritional value. This recipe from Healthy Seasonal Recipes is a great go-to! Bonus: the kids will love it!

Caesar Salad 

If you haven’t tried adding noodles to your favorite salad, you’re missing out! Noodles add fantastic texture to a salad, as well as make them more filling if you’re opting to make a salad for dinner. Dress up your traditional caesar salad with a box of penne, ziti, or fusilli noodles. Just a Taste has a delicious recipe here that even includes homemade caesar dressing! 

Skillet Lasagna 

Who doesn’t love lasagna? While we enjoy this Italian staple as much as the next person, it can be such a process to make! Skillet lasagna is an amazing way to get the taste of this family favorite, without all of the time and effort. Try this Easy Skillet Lasagna recipe from House of Yumm with an extra box of lasagna noodles the next time you need a quick, one-pot dinner! 

Stir-Fry 

Use your spare box of spaghetti noodles to make a delicious stir-fry! While you could opt for traditional lo mein noodles, spaghetti noodles work just as well. One of the best things about making stir-fry is that you can use whatever produce you already have in your refrigerator! A few add-ins we love are mushrooms, red pepper, onion, chives, and carrots. Try this 15 Minute Lo Mein recipe from Pinch of Yum.

What are your go-to pasta dishes? Share them with us on Facebook!