I think it means cooking and eating smarter. Supposing I'm not cooking with unusual cheeses or nuts or oils, cooking at home and packing a lunch most days will save me a bundle.But just because I'm trying to make more with less doesn't mean taste needs to be sacrificed, and it doesn't mean I won't be enjoying indulgences. I'm keeping track of every dollar these days (or, you know, every $20).And, so, it seems like 2009 is the perfect year to reconnect with the kitchen.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the economy. And, I want to shake up what ingredients I use.

Although there will be exceptions, I want to spend the year cooking with whole grains, a variety of fruits and vegetables and 'good' fats. This year I have some weight to lose, which I'll conveniently blame on motherhood (you can blame the housing market if you prefer). Because there are days when even something simple seems out of reach, I'd like to be one of those people who cooks a couple of night's meals on Sunday, so there are always healthful and tasty meals that can be reheated in a pinch. So, I will be especially interested in meals that can be made simply and quickly. But, these days, I'm lucky to have 30 minutes to cook before my 2-month-old daughter loses her patience. In my more ambitious days, there has been sourdough made from scratch, creme brulee (finished with a kitchen torch) and brined turkey on Thanksgiving. If you have ideas or resolutions of your own, please pass them along. Perhaps a foodie is simply someone who appreciates good food and isn't afraid to order something they can't pronounce perhaps you're a foodie if you see cooking as an art, an art enhanced when you color outside the lines of a recipe.So, here's my not-so-secret foodie agenda for the new year, which will be reflected to some degree in the coming months in this section. And, perhaps in these new economic times, being a foodie can mean more than snubbing pork ribs or spending retail for granite counter tops and brushed aluminum appliances.

(I was later admonished by friends in the business for saying something so stupid it's like trying to get a job at a gardening store and introducing yourself by admitting you have a black thumb.)Although I am still very much the latter (a reporter), I'm coming around to accepting I'm a confirmed foodie as well. My name is Liz Van Hooser, and I'm a closet foodie.I know plenty of nice people who embrace the label, but I've always shied away from it because, to me, it says several things I would rather not say: I have too much money I have too much time on my hands I'm a snob and, I won't like your home cooking.One of my opening pitches during my interview for this job was this: I'm not a foodie, I'm a reporter with a deep interest in issues related to food.

Foodie definition