6 New Year’s food resolutions

 

These aren’t traditional New Year’s resolutions and they don’t require you to give anything up or practice abstinence in any shape or form – quite the opposite. These New Year’s resolutions are all about trying food and drink from some of the great food and drink producers in and around the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.

So, let’s kick off in style with our first boozy New Year’s resolution!

Resolution #1

“I will try 3 local ciders or perries in 2015”

Gloucestershire and Herefordshire are two of the UK’s cider counties and that’s definitely something to be proud of! Just in case you’re a cider connoisseur and you think you’ve tried them all, we must congratulate you and ask you to tell us your favourites! We’re lucky enough to have some fab artisan cider makers such as James McCrindle’s and Severn Cider right on our doorstep, so it seems a shame not to take full advantage of this.

If you’re teetotal do not despair! There are local farms and small businesses who sell absolutely fantastic cold-pressed apple juice, such as Oaklands Park.

 

Resolution #2

“I’ll try out a new local takeaway in 2015”

OK, so this isn’t fine dining, but there are loads of great takeaways tucked away in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.

Do you go wild for fish ‘n’ chips or are you a kebab fiend extraordinaire? We reckon that we have a diverse enough population of Indian takeaways, Chinese takeaways, fish and chip shops, kebab shops and more to service the local area!

In fact, we want to do a deal with all of our readers… If you try a new takeaway each month, we will too! Then we can all post reviews of our favourites on the WyeDean Deli Confidential Facebook page.

Now to our first meat eating resolution…

Resolution #3

“I will try out a new local butcher by March 2015”

We don’t think this one will be too difficult. There are so many butchers and farm shops in and around the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley that there’s bound to be one that you haven’t used before. If you find a real gem of a butcher, let us know and we can spread the word (and check them out for ourselves).

 

 

A vegetarian equivalent…

Resolution #4

“I cook a new wild garlic recipe.”

Here’s a wild food foraging challenge – and you don’t have to be vegetarian to enjoy it. We’re blessed with abundance of wild garlic in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. So, we encourage you to make the most of this awesome ingredient!

Look out for wild garlic (Allium ursinum) in and around bluebells. This wild relative of cultivated garlic loves moist and semi shaded conditions. It starts growing in late winter and flowers at roughly the same time as bluebells, and it’s easily identifiable by the clusters of small star shaped white flowers and garlic fragrance. In fact, you’ll often smell it before you see it.

However, keep it legal and safe by following this common sense advice.

Resolution #5

“I will sample a new brand of local ale in 2015.”

Now, we appreciate that a good number of people might have sampled all of the ales that the Forest of Dean has to offer. However, if you haven’t already tried them all, how about treating yourself to something new to kick off 2015?

If you have already sampled all the local artisan ales, once again, we must applaud your thoroughness – why not try one you haven’t had for a while?

 

 

These are hopefully more enjoyable New Year’s resolutions than the traditional ones, and easily achievable. It’s not that we don’t think a healthy diet and exercise is important, far from it. It’s just a case of keeping everything in moderation. In fact, the occasional alcoholic beverage could do you some good and it’s worth noting that a lot of local and traditionally made food and drink is free from additives and other potentially unhealthy chemicals.