By the time Jan. 2 rolls around, most of us are just plain done. We’re over the dips and the chips. We’ve had it with the rum and the nog, the endless cookies, the figgy pudding and, God forbid, the foie gras “ice cream.”
Our clothes feel tighter, and the gym is so packed, it’s laughable. For most of us, it’s time to simplify — and if we can slim down, so much the better. So we begin again, hopeful in the New Year.
I actually look forward to the arrival of January and the relief of just staying at home and cooking. Dinner can be a platter of roasted vegetables and wild rice, period. Or a huge salad, blissfully free of anything “candied.” I try to take a hiatus from wine, and in a month or so, I’ll be ready to hit the restaurants again.
Meanwhile, although my bookshelves are groaning with cookbooks, I continually turn to a terrific cooking blog:
KalynsKitchen.Blogspot.com by Salt Lake City resident Kalyn Denny. Famous in the blogosphere and nationally lauded by Saveur magazine (among others), Denny created her blog to share recipes based on the South Beach Diet. But guess what? You don’t have to be on any specific diet to love her blog. It’s just full of truly appealing, healthy ideas.
From “Easy South Beach Recipes with Five Ingredients or Less” to endless ideas for weeknight dinners (sautéed chicken breasts with tarragon-mustard pan sauce served with pureed goat-cheese laced cauliflower, anyone?) to dinner parties, it’s simply a terrific go-to site for healthy home cooking that will not leave you feeling deprived. Bottom line, Denny is a friendly, approachable and adventurous cook who understands that great tasting food comes from great ingredients. And isn’t that the very best way to “diet?”
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