15 family New Year's resolutions

1. Change pizza night to 'meal discovery night'

Broaden your foodie horizons together and set aside one night every week to discover new flavours and cuisines. Use your mealtimes to travel the world, tasting curries, tagines, tacos and dishes like our Chinese-style crispy sesame lemon chicken with noodles. The kids will enjoy the sense of adventure and you're guaranteed to discover some new favourites.

Check out our family meal recipes for more ideas.

2. Aim for 1 hour of family movement a week

Run, walk, skip, cycle, roller-blade, play football, hoola-hoop or practice yoga... The list of ways you can get moving is endless, all you need to do is pick one and get going. Just be sure to keep things light, fun and encouraging. Break the hour up into 15-minute sessions, if that's more convenient for you, or aim for two longer workouts on the weekend.

3. Start the day with healthy breakfasts

Starting the day with a nourishing breakfast is essential for growing bodies and minds. While cereal is an easy choice, it's often packed with sugar and additives. Get their day off to a good start with a healthy, wholesome breakfast of porridge topped with fruit or, if you're pushed for time, mix up overnight oats the night before.

Browse our healthy breakfast recipes and read our review of the best healthy cereals to buy, including granola, muesli and bran flakes.

4. Learn a new skill

Get little ones learning how to hold a knife and cut ingredients safely with our Kids' Kitchen videos. One they've mastered that, they can move on to other fundamental cooking skills, like weighing and measuring, carefully boiling water and using a frying pan, if they're old enough. This will set them up for life and you'll be relieved knowing they're doing things right.

5. Go meat-free once a week (or more)

Going veggie a couple of times a week is beneficial for your family's health and the planet. Give it a go with our baked tomato, mozzarella & basil risotto with a golden, crunchy topping and you can be sure that no one will feel like they're missing out.

For more ideas, check out our easy vegetarian recipes.

6. Enjoy a monthly movie night

Curl up on the sofa, stick a good film on – and make sure you come prepared with delicious snacks. Take it in turns to choose the film, or aim to agree on one together. We like Ratatouille, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and, for older kids, Chef is a great choice.

Read our guide on how to have the ultimate family film night then browse our film night recipes for eating while you watch.

7. Hold family meetings to plan meals for the week

Instead of asking the kids what they want, or buying the same old meals each week, get them involved in the planning. That means thinking of dishes, looking up ingredients, checking the cupboards and writing a list. Let the kids have a turn at running the meeting, if you need to you could even incorporate a 'talking spoon' so that everyone gets to have their say.

8. Eat the rainbow

Build healthy food habits by choosing a resolution that adds to your diet, rather than restricting or taking anything away. Encourage your family to eat red, orange, yellow, green and purple foods every day. Doing so will be a fun challenge, and give their nutrition a boost.

Discover vibrant dishes in our top healthy colourful recipes, including sausage & white bean casserole, peanut butter rainbow rice and quinoa-stuffed peppers.

9. Get crafty and minimise waste

Encourage your family to collect cardboard, egg boxes, jam jars and other recyclable household items so that it can be used for crafts. It's a cheap and cheerful way to keep the little ones entertained and get their imaginations going.

Get crafty and give our egg carton ideas a go, the check out 15 of the best indoor activities for kids for more fun ideas.

10. Practice planting

Set some time aside each week to do small gardening tasks. Consider building an outdoor veg patch or a small indoor herb garden. This will encourage little green fingers and help children get excited about where their food comes from.

If you want to turn it into a longer and more creative activity, learn how to make a bee flower pot.

11. Share the chores

Create a chore chart that includes everyone – both kids and adults. Rotate daily or weekly, so that everyone has a turn cooking, laying the table and washing up. You could add extra chores in throughout the week, such as watering plants, feeding the dog or hanging up any washing on the line, with prizes for anyone who completes them all.

12. Make use of your kitchen gadgets

Whether you got a new bit of kit for Christmas, or you've had an unused gadget in the back of your kitchen cupboard for some time, make a point of using it regularly. We have plenty of recipes for air fryers and slow cookers, including this sumptuous slow-cooker chicken tikka masala.

13. Cut back on sweetened drinks

Eating too much sugar is bad for our health, and it affects our energy levels and sleep – the same is true for children. Make a conscious effort to cut back on juice, squash, cordial and fizzy drinks, all of which contribute to our daily sugar intake. Consider saving sweetened drinks for the weekend or limit to one a day.

14. Try meditation together

Expecting the whole family to sit still for 20 minutes of deep meditation might be expecting a bit much at first. First, try a few minutes sitting quietly with legs crossed and eyes closed. Gradually, you may be able to build up to longer periods.

Alternatively, you could try mindful walks in the park, breathing exercises before bed or a few simple stretches in the morning.

15. Be more sustainable

Set an intention to make sustainable food choices when possible. This could include opting for organic meat and dairy, shopping for local fruit and vegetables, and buying more sustainable fish. Speak to your fishmonger, they'll explain how to branch out from your usual choices. You could try hake, for example, as an alternative to cod and haddock. For inspiration, check our hake recipes – we have plenty more like this hake & seafood cataplana.

Plus, read our expert guides on how to eat fish sustainably and whether organic produce is healthier.

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Have you set a resolution for your family? Let us know in the comments below.