NYC: Healthy Restaurants to Balance the Holiday Bulge

I just got back from a wedding. In Florida. A normal wedding would not have been as detrimental to my waistline, except this one was a combined vacation, right? It's a wedding and it's vacation, and when on a vacation wedding, you're allowed to eat and drink as much as you want. But it's okay because I'm going to start a healthy fast this week. Yup. No eating meat or dairy or anything Gwyneth Paltrow deigns to ingest. So basically, I'll eat nothing solid for the rest of the week, and I'll be back on track for the holiday season. Oh, I forgot. Thanksgiving is this week. And before that I have drinks with a friend in town for the holidays, and then I am having a pre-Thanksgiving feast with people who will be out of town for the actual feast. Then there's the actual feast. I'm not the type of girl who skips special occasion eating, and I am not the kind of girl who'll down pro-biotic liquid chalk while everyone else has stuffing. So balance, I need balance. I need smart restaurant reservations amid all of the customary gorging. Here are some healthy alternatives to even out your This Is Why You're Fat holiday binge-a-thon.

● Organic Avenue (Lower East Side) - Do-gooders open up a health nut’s paradise and we’re all better for it.
● Angelica Kitchen (East Village) - Neighborhood veggie powerhouse is the anti-Mickey D’s. No cell phones, no booze, no credit cards. No coffee either, the stuff they peddle doesn’t even come close to getting those teeth grinding.
● Blossom (Chelsea) - Way more stylish than its culinary kinfolk, the crunchy health nuts here totally shower on the reg.
● Josie’s (Murray Hill) - Lots of glowing girls fresh from NYSC, nibbling on oven-roasted free-range chicken, tofu duck, and Japanese yams.
● Pure Food and Wine (Flatiron) - Say goodbye to a future of pacemakers and a gut the shape of China. Raw food is real food. Surprise your out of town pals with a reservation at this health-hole. Tell them it’s tres New York, so get over the raw part.
● Counter (East Village) - So healthy, it shouldn’t be this close to Blue & Gold. But it is, just in case you’ve indulged at happy hour and need to purge your poor diet sins. Meatless, organic, futuristic Jetsons-chic diner.
● The Pump () - Gay bar? “Energy food” actually, totally baked and never fried.Good for lunch, will give you some room for egg nog every once in awhile.