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Create a new foodie you

Set yourself a few challenges with Olive's essential 12-month guide

Reproduced from the January 07 issue of Good Homes magazine. August 07 issue on sale now. Subscribe now and save 40%.

Being a modern foodie means more than just enjoying eating (although that definitely is the best bit). It means being thoughtful in your food choices - caring about the provenance of ingredients, taking stock of animal welfare, making an effort to buy products that have been paid for fairly, and trying not to mess up the environment by racking up food miles.

You're also on an endless quest for knowledge, try different dishes, watch food programmes on TV (yelling at the screen when you think the chef is wrong) and keep your foodie address book bang up to date. Let's face it, it's also a little bit about showing off - whether serving a 100 per cent authentic Thai green curry, leading your friends to the perfect carbonara at your local Italian, knowing which gastropub does the best Sunday roast or being on first name terms with your butcher.

Not to say you're a food bore - you don't have to know Larousse Gastronomique by heart or have eaten every single part of a pig to be a 2007 foodie (although if that floats your boat, you'll probably enjoy our more challenging suggestions).

However foodie you are, everyone wants to be that little bit better and that's where our resolutions come in. Scared? Don't be - just pick the options that appeal or go for the easier ones. Feeling fired up? Go for the harder options each month.

January

Easy
Keep your finger on the global culinary pulse by bookmarking a food forum such as , which counts US chef Anthony Bourdain among its regular contributors. Also worth checking out are and for dining, for cooking and for the beautiful food photography.

Intermediate
Read your way out of the ethical food and drink shopping maze with Rose Prince's The Savvy Shopper (£7.99; Fourth Estate; Olive offer £6.99), which details everything you need to know about shopping (at the supermarket and elsewhere) with a clear conscience. Also, bookmark ethiscore.org, a site that allows you to check the ethical performance of various brands, including food manufacturers.

Hard
Change the way you think about cod. Yes, we know, turning your back on the classic chip shop fish is a sacrifice but, unless you're sure it's been caught sustainably - from Icelandic or Faroese waters (where cod isn't under threat) - it's a sacrifice worth making. Worthy alternatives include hake, hoki and pollack, or go for farmed organic cod - try the No Catch, Just Cod brand, at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Booths.

February

Easy
Adopt the latest superfood before it goes mainstream: acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee), a nutrient-rich berry from South America that tastes like a cross between berries and chocolate, with higher levels of antioxidants than pomegranate or blueberries. Try it in The Berry Company's Acai Smoothie (£1.69/330ml, Waitrose and Sainbury's) or in Innocent's Superfood Natural Detox smoothie (£1.75/250ml, widely available).

Intermediate
Landfill is evil - you know that. Reduce your own contribution by buying fruit and veg loose and avoid buying packaged food when you can. For all those occasions when you can't, recycle. The stainless steel Butterfly bin (£129.99; 01442 871296; www.simplehuman.co.uk) has two compartments (one for normal waste, one for recyclable) and is easy to use.

Hard
Learn to love offal - not just liver and kidneys but oxtail, heart, tongue, tripe, pigs' trotters and sweetbreads (the thymus glands of veal, young beef, pork and lamb). Books such as Anissa Helou's The Fifth Quarter (£20, Absolute Press, £20; Olive offer £18) and Fergus Henderson's Nose to Tail Eating (£16.99, Bloomsbury; O offer £14.99) will hold your hand through the process.