The 2014 Cleanse Pantry

I’m a cook, not a nutritionist.

So to create the annual Food Lover’s Cleanse—Bon Appétit’s two-week healthy-eating plan to help you balance the excesses of the holiday season—I partner with New York–based registered dietitian Marissa Lippert. She makes sure the recipes are sensible. My job is to make sure the food tastes good. There’s no way I’d survive a diet of dull foods, so I pack the cleanse with bold, fresh flavors.

The FLC program is cooking-intensive; we provide recipes for every meal so you can get in the kitchen and enjoy the pleasures of preparing whole foods (plus tips if you can’t cook on a given day). Since two weeks of cooking can be more daunting than forgoing potato chips, this year we offer several do-ahead items to have on hand that will make it easier to add sparkle to the lean proteins, whole grains, and seasonal veggies that dominate the plan.

Here we preview a few favorites—from an emerald-green tahini sauce that works as a fish marinade, a dip for vegetables, and more, to a slightly sweet seed and nut mix that can top salads, yogurt, or a bowl of oatmeal. My hope is that they taste so good that you’ll return to them throughout the year, just for the pleasure of it.