Because most things happen in years. Let's say you're carrying around an extra 10 or 20 pounds. Probably didn't pick that up last week. Probably worked on it for years. Think you might be alive a year from today? Good. You have a whole year to do something about it.

New Year's Number One reason to have leftover polenta in the fridge: breakfast. Whether you're feeling leftover or good as new, this is a wonderful winter meal. Rich and comforting. Not heavy. Great way to start the New Year.

That's the question at breakfast every morning ... if you're in Nepal. It's the hot morning beverage you drink with everything. It's really hot lemon and honey. Maybe ginger. No tea. Easily habit-forming. A very good habit at this time of year.

If you and polenta are new to each other, let me tell you that it's one of the great comfort foods. It's remarkably nutritious, cheap and versatile. When you make this very hands-on version, you do it for both the great flavor and the cool experience.

Even if you exercise vigorously for an hour every day - too much sitting significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity. So when you're in front of your TV or computer, do this for a minute every hour or two.

The Day After. Nothing could be farther from your mind than the top of Grand Teton. Even the bottom is out of sight, out of mind. Even if you're right here and the summit's in sight, it's only here in your mind. Well, here it is. Take a minute. Press Play and get out for a minute.

Fire. The original Better Cheaper Slower energy technology. Keeps you warm. Cooks your food. For free. Don't have your own? Borrow mine. How's that for 21st century? Bookmark a fireplace and click back anytime. Just Press Play. Light a fire. Merry Christmas.

It always sounded like such a long way to walk, Jerusalem to Bethlehem. I imagined vast stretches of desert. No roads. No signs. Just the star. No Google Maps to tell them the trek's just seven miles. Nothing to sneeze at, but ... I could do that on Christmas Eve. You, too.

A great way to cook fish indoors. Totally flavorful and moist; not at all oily. Great finale for The Feast of Seven Fishes. See my minute-by-minute, play-by-play cooking schedule for the whole shindig. You can do it all with two hands in four hours or less.

Feeling good but not overfed? Good. Two savory courses left. This one's light. A palate refresher before the finale. A thoroughly aromatic dish. You can pretty much inhale this soup. The very fresh, lightly cooked salmon adds a few luxurious bites.

The simplest and, maybe, the most fun course in your seven-course extravaganza. Just delicious. A great follow-up to the refreshing salmon salad. A great set-up for the very light Salmon-Dill soup. Ten minutes of prep, mostly in advance.

Even if you exercise vigorously for an hour - five times a week - too much sitting still significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity. So when you're in front of your TV or computer, get up and do this for a minute every hour.

Fifty or so of these 18th century angels, and some cherubs, are living in a tree in New York this month. In The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Where you can come in from the cold, take a nice long walk and a nice long look at the Christmas Tree. Just Press Play.

The strategic course in your seven-course extravaganza. Light and refreshing between the rich Asian salmon cake and the hearty Tuscan fish and chips. Fifteen minutes to make. In advance. No running to the supermarket at the last minute for a package of goldfish crackers to round out the meal.

I knew the Coronado National Forest was full of them. I just didn't know they looked like cartoons. Here they are. Thousands of them. For miles. Walk the whole 16-mile trail: 5 or 6 great hours and more than 2,000 calories burned. Definitely a calorie-deficit day.

I always thought the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes was a very cool idea for a festive meal. So this year I'm planning a very cool menu that you can easily knock off. A lot of it in advance. So your Christmas Eve day is a Slower Happier holiday.

I always thought the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes was a very cool idea for a festive meal. So this year I'm planning a very cool menu that you can easily knock off. A lot of it in advance. So your Christmas Eve day is a Slower Happier holiday.

Ingredient cost for a week's worth of pungent and deeply delicious Asian sauce base: about $3. Make it in 5 minutes. Use it for the next five days with noodle soup, stir fry, fish, meat and egg dishes. A vegetable-filled ramen for $2/person. A week's worth of superior dinners for $15/person.

Even if you exercise vigorously for an hour - five times a week - too much sitting still significantly increases your risk of all the things you exercise to avoid. Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity. So here's something good to do in front of the TV or computer.

Took 300 million years to make it. Nice to sit next to it. Still very beautiful in its twilight years. Press Play. Be still for a minute. Have a really good Sunday.

For about $4.25 in ingredients and 12 minutes of your time, you get five or six dozen of the best cookies ever. And something that's in the running for Best Homemade Christmas Gift Ever. Bake a dozen. Give the rest of the dough as a gift that keeps on baking.

Temperature's 25 F in Central Park. Wind chill: feels like 14. I feel like taking a long walk. Somewhere else. It's 55 F in Arches National Park in southern Utah. No wind. Sun you can still feel in December. Amazing landscape. Less than two miles to the Delicate Arch. 500 calories round trip.

I always thought the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes was a very cool idea for a festive meal. So this year I'm planning a very cool menu that you can easily knock off. A lot of it in advance. So your Christmas Eve day is a Slower Happier holiday.

It's really cold here. So it's time to make ribollita, a deeply delicious and satisfying potful of Tuscan kale soup, something between a rich vegetable soup and a vegetable stew. A complete meal in a bowl.

Pizza spends a few minutes in a really hot oven. So do kale chips. A match made in the oven. Cherry tomatoes for some fruitiness and acidity. Some holiday color and decor. The perfect Christmas pizza.

Even if you exercise vigorously for an hour - five times a week - too much sitting still significantly increases your risk of all the things you exercise to avoid. Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity. So here's something good to do in front of the TV or computer.

Find some time to go out in the woods or into the park. Lie down on your back. Look up. Great Sunday activity. Press Play for the 60-second trailer. The full-length feature's showing right now in your neighborhood.

I'm not talking about sweet little nothings to dip into your espresso at the end of that romantic dinner in that cute little place you stumbled into in Rome. Though those are great, too. No, I'm talking about Whole Wheat Cheddar Biscotti. Seriously.

Want to burn 900 calories an hour? Snowshoe up a really steep mountain. Want to burn another 600? Snowshoe back down.

I love beets. Everyone loves these beets. Even the ones who say, oh, I don't eat beets. To those people, you can say, yeah, but these are like the French fries version of beets. Actually, they're the Tuscan-fried version. Which is even better. And much easier to make.

Don't throw away those bones and vegetable trimmings. Stick 'em in a pot with some water and let them simmer for a few hours. You end up with great soup or a great way to pump up risotto or farro or any other grain dish. Fragrant, deeply flavorful stock.