January 3, 2014
Our holiday break was a non-stop merry go round of eating and drinking — big shocker, right? Christmas and New Year’s falling mid-week made the ride keep on going. It felt like the minute you took a pause post celebrating you were suddenly heading into a weekend. Today, it has merged into a blur of parties, trips to the grocery store (Fresh Market is my new BFF), jam-packed “free time,” and yes, a full recycling bin of wine bottles.
For our annual New Years Eve gathering we had a few close friends gathered around the kitchen island — this year we grilled king crab on the BBQ as we enjoyed a long and leisurely trip on the bubbly train. This segued into our January 1 all day pajama party. Why not devote twenty-four hours to a cozy day of fatty food and laziness?
From hangover McDonald’s breakfast out of that arch emblazoned bag, to Bloody Mary sipping and football watching, to a grand finale of Spaghetti alla Carbonara for dinner- we send off the old and welcome the new with fat-laden gusto.
All this indulging happens with the knowledge that come January 3 (we have to give ourselves an easing off the porky express) we take a month-long break from drinking, heavy food and too much sitting on our keisters. It’s not a diet, and there is no cleanse in sight; just a hefty tweak of our lifestyle and meals to get us all back on track. The kids have been warned that we won’t be seeing that Rusty’s Pizza delivery guy for awhile. Here on the blog, January will focus on healthy living, but rest assured come February we’ll be back to cocktails and cookies (in that order).
Cheers to a happy and healthy New Year!!!
Here’s one of my favorite green juices I make at home. With only two ingredients and a blender you can feel healthy and virtuous in about a minute.
Pineapple Green Juice
2 big servings or 4 kid-sized
1/4 of a fresh, sliced pineapple
6 cups packed chard or green of your choice (you can use spinach, sorrel and arugula or a mixture of all of them- basically anything extra you have)
Pack it into the blender or Vitamix until smooth, adding ice water to make your desired consistency. Serve immediately.