{"id":24476,"date":"2015-01-19T09:18:47","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T14:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24476"},"modified":"2015-01-19T09:19:01","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T14:19:01","slug":"new-years-resolution-lighten-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24476","title":{"rendered":"New Year’s Resolution: Lighten up!"},"content":{"rendered":"

After (over)indulging for the holidays, now is a good time to go with lighter foods<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Cathy Branciaroli<\/strong><\/span>, Food Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"bok-choy-fixed\"<\/a>

Bok Choy soup \u2013 Kick off the new year with lightened up dishes like Chinese style bok choy chicken soup. Photo courtesy of Marlene Baird.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re anything like me and have been indulging yourself with rich food while ignoring exercise during the holidays, then you probably also have set goals for the new year to eat more healthful food.\u00a0 Of course, this is easier said than done.<\/p>\n

But it is possible to take the chill out of the long winter season while avoiding comforting foods that include butter, milk, heavy cream and refined carbohydrates, ingredients that pile on pounds that can stick around long past the winter thaw.<\/p>\n

Now\u2019s the time to consider different foods that are light and far less guilty than the decadence of what we were eating during the holiday season. \u00a0\u00a0Lentils, tofu and vegan dishes all spring to mind, but feel more like penance than a fresh New Year regime.\u00a0 Many of us think that \u201clighter\u201d and \u201chealthier\u201d means less flavor and texture, but that needn\u2019t be the case — food can be both light and delicious.<\/p>\n

How about starting the day off with a fruit smoothie that provides vitamin C and a kick of freshly squeezed orange juice?\u00a0 \u00a0Follow that with a light lunch and a dinner featuring protein, vegetables and healthy carbs.\u00a0 Now that doesn\u2019t sound so bad does it?<\/p>\n

Kick-start the New Year resolutions by making a detoxifying Chinese chicken soup.\u00a0 My food writing friend, Marlene Baird suggests this recipe.<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil<\/p>\n

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cubed<\/p>\n

1 white onion, diced<\/p>\n

4 cloves garlic, crushed<\/p>\n

2 medium carrots, diced<\/p>\n

3 cups fresh bok choy, roughly chopped<\/p>\n

5 cups chicken stock<\/p>\n

\u00bc teaspoon Himalayan sea salt, to taste with truffles<\/p>\n

\u215b teaspoon Freshly ground pepper<\/p>\n

1 Tablespoon flat-leaf parsley<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preparation:<\/p>\n

In a large stock pot, over medium-high heat add oil.\u00a0 Saute the garlic about 2 minutes.\u00a0 Add onion and carrots, and stir for 5 minutes until translucent.\u00a0\u00a0 Add cubed chicken and let cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.\u00a0 Add in bok choy and mix well.\u00a0 Add in chicken stock, parsley, salt and pepper.\u00a0 Mix and let simmer for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"meyer-roast-chicken-thighs\"<\/a>

Meyer Lemon Chicken \u2013 Lighter dishes can still be delicious. Photo courtesy of Susan Palmer.<\/p><\/div>\n

For dinner, try Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken Thighs, Fennel and Sweet Potatoes from Susan Palmer.<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n

1 fennel bulb<\/p>\n

2 medium jeweled yams\/sweet potatoes<\/p>\n

1lb skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs<\/p>\n

1 Meyer lemon, quartered<\/p>\n

kosher salt and black pepper<\/p>\n

4-5 springs fresh thyme<\/p>\n

vegetable oil<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preparation:<\/p>\n

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.\u00a0 Remove the stalks from the fennel bulb. Cut the bottom root end and standing straight up cut the fennel in half. Cut out the tough inner core layer and then slice the fennel into \u00bd inch slices. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.\u00a0 Scrub the sweet potatoes and cut into a 1 inch dice and add to the baking sheet with the fennel.\u00a0 Season with kosher salt, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and toss. Add the thyme sprigs.\u00a0 Roast for 25 minutes.<\/p>\n

Pat the chicken thighs dry and generously season both sides with salt and pepper.<\/p>\n

Remove the vegetables from the oven, toss with a spatula and add the chicken thighs and quartered Meyer lemon.\u00a0 Roast for another 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, the skin is crisp and the fennel and sweet potatoes are browned and caramelized.\u00a0 Serve immediately with a wedge of Meyer lemon to squeeze on top of the chicken.<\/p>\n

We all know we’re going to break our New Year’s resolutions but try starting out the year with dishes that are healthy AND delicious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After (over)indulging for the holidays, now is a good time to go with lighter foods By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times If you\u2019re anything like me and have been indulging yourself with rich food while ignoring exercise during the holidays, then you probably also have set goals for the new year to eat more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245,7],"tags":[6655,6652,6654,6653],"class_list":["post-24476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-featured","tag-healthy","tag-lighter-foods","tag-new-years","tag-post-holiday-eating"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24479,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24476\/revisions\/24479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}