The following is an online extra from our January issue, heading to newsstands now.
Photo by Thinkstock
SARAH GASKIN
I'm a pescetarian who mostly just loves cheese and butter, so I make a lot of smoothies to get my veggies. I like them better than juicing because of keeping the whole veg/fruit. I also use nuts all the time to substitute for cheese. I make pestos without the parmigiana and grind walnuts, cashews, pepitas, etc. with garlic and hot peppers to spread on sandwiches for rich, fatty flavor.
Post-Workout Smoothie
2 bananas
1/2 pint raspberries
1 apple with peel
1 medium roasted beet
2 handfuls of kale
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
Handful raw cashews
Almond milk (sufficient amount to blend to drinkable consistency)
JAY BAYER
At home, my wife and I do a cold soba noodle “salad” with pulled leftover chicken, cucumber, bok choy, carrot and ginger. Dress lightly with ponzu, honey and sesame oil. As the soba noodles are buckwheat noodles, some — though not all — are gluten free.
Agave is super friendly on the glycemic index, making a Mezcal Old Fashioned a must for the dieting gourmand. We skew to a bar spoon of maple syrup for complexity’s sake, though agave syrup is still quite nice.
BETH DIXON
Dixon’s Don’ts
Anything “syrup” = lots of sugar and lots of calories.
Drinking in excess = lots of calories (about 140 per cocktail).
Cordials, liqueurs, Fernet Branca (200 calories per shot!)
Dixon’s Dos
Drink spirits neat, on the rocks or with club soda.
Add muddled fruit for flavor (berries, lime, mango, cucumber).
Add flavored bitters to amp up your drink without adding calories.
Drink wine (about 120 calories per 5 ounces).
Drink low-alcohol beers: Less alcohol means less sugar and fewer calories.
Easy Drink Recipe
1.5-ounce spirit of choice (rum, vodka, bourbon, gin, tequila are all about 100 calories)
Handful of fruit (from list above)
Splash of lemon or lime for acid
4 to 5 dashes of bitters (Angostura is great; Saison carries a wide variety in its market.)
Muddle ingredients, add ice and top with club soda.
My Favorite Salad Right Now
1 mango, diced
1 small cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, seeds removed
Juice of 1/2 lime
Handful of cilantro
Salt/pepper to taste
Add quinoa to “beef it up” if you like.
JASON ALLEY
Save your carbs for lunch, when you’re still moving and grooving through your day.
For a go-to dinner, start with a leaner cut of pork like loin chops or tenderloin. Make an easy marinade with whole herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil or tarragon (use some or all); crushed garlic; and salt and pepper, adding just enough olive oil to moisten the protein. Grill and serve with vegetables (grilled, roasted or steamed) or a giant salad.
BRITTANNY ANDERSON
Metzger’s Roast Chicken and Kale and Carrot Caesar Salad
For Chicken
1 whole chicken, preferably under 3 pounds, as local and natural as you can get
2 lemons, sliced
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large onion, sliced
1 whole head garlic, cloves removed and smashed open a bit
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 clove
2 sprigs thyme
2 quarts water
2 quarts ice
Combine all ingredients except chicken and ice in a pot and bring to a boil until sugar and salt dissolve. Strain the hot brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken, then add the ice to rapidly cool it down. Stir until the brine is completely chilled.
Butcher your chicken into halves by cutting out the spine, removing the breast plate and the wing tips. (You can do this with a whole chicken as well, just brine for an hour longer.) Submerge your chicken halves in the brine for 3 hours. Remove from brine and place skin up on a rack on a sheet tray in your fridge for 2 hours or overnight to dry that skin out. This seems like a lot of work for a chicken, but it will be the best, I promise!
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees at a minimum or up to 475 if your kitchen smoke detector won’t freak out like mine does at home. Pull your chicken from the fridge, season both sides with salt and pepper and rest at room temperature while your oven preheats. Rub your chickens with a bit of fat (coconut oil if we are being extra healthy) and pop into your hot oven. The high temp will give you the crispiest skin and juiciest texture; it should take 25 minutes or until the juices run clear at the fattest part of the thigh. Don’t overcook! I mean it! Let those pretty babies rest for about 5 minutes, then cut them into quarters to be served over the kale salad.
For the Kale Salad
1 pound Tuscan kale or another hearty green like escarole or radicchio
1 pound carrots, peeled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 anchovy, smashed into a paste
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons grated pecorino (optional)
Slice and boil half of your peeled carrots in water just to cover. Once tender, remove from the liquid and puree in a blender or food processor, using the cooking liquid to achieve a smooth consistency. Roast the other half-pound of carrots in the oven till crisp-tender. Set aside.
Wash and de-stem your kale, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Put into a large bowl and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of carrot purée with the lemon juice (to taste), anchovy, garlic (and pecorino if your healthy diet includes cheese — mine does). Season it with salt and pepper.
Add your roasted carrots to the bowl of kale and a couple of tablespoons of your carrot “Caesar” dressing, and dress it with your hands, making sure to get each leaf of kale nice and coated. Add more salt and pepper if needed (kale takes a lot of salt, don’t be afraid).
To serve:
Arrange a nice handful of kale salad and roasted carrots on a large platter and tightly plate your roast chicken pieces on top. Dump any of the accumulated chicken juices from the pan over your salad. Grate a little more pecorino on there if you’re feeling wild.
