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Healthy food for a healthy new year

Compiled by Linda Perney

A healthy salad (LA Times)

Party's over, and it's time to get healthy. Herewith, a guide to 10 spots where you can eat a little better in the new year.

MANHATTAN

Better Burger. You want the burger, but you want to eat healthy, too. Louis Lanza, owner of Josie's, offers just what the name says: a burger but better -- better for you, that is. There are organic beef burgers, but if you want to cut the fat, try the ostrich burger, and if you want to skip the meat altogether, there are both soy and veggie burgers. Fries come baked and spritzed with a little oil. Want something else? There are healthy hot dogs, soups, and salads, too. Really better? They deliver. (565 Third Avenue, 212-949-7528; 178 Eighth Avenue, 212-989-6688; 1614 Second Avenue; 212-734-6644)

Onju. Softly lit and romantic, Onju offers organic Italian food. Among the menu's standouts: saffron risotto with green peas, homemade ravioli stuffed with wild chanterelle mushrooms and sauced with tofu cream, and golden and red beet salad served on a bed of lentils. For dessert? Figs with ricotta and red wine. (108 East Fourth Street; 212-228-3880)

Angelica Kitchen. Actually, you don't need New Year's resolutions to make you go to Angelica. The food is so good, the fact that it's good for you is almost secondary. Open for lunch and dinner, look for specialties like three-bean chili, noodle vegetable salad, or a Brazilian inspired feijoada. For dessert, order the fruit parfait with nut cream. (300 East 12th Street; 212-228-2909)

Pulse. The food isn't the only thing healthy at this laid-back place in Rockefeller Center. On the third-floor of the Sports Club, you can watch the skaters getting a workout on the rink below while you lunch on main courses like soy-braised short ribs or salmon in a mulled wine reduction. Monday through Thursdays, there are early dinners, too (last seating is at 8:30). Best of all, you don't have to be a club member. (45 Rockefeller Plaza; 212-218-8666)

Zen Palate. They've been around for awhile, and there are branches all over town, but that doesn't mean they aren't healthy (they are) or that the stuff isn't tasty and cheap (it is). The stir-fried fettuccini with mushrooms and snow peas is a particular favorite, but you can also settle down with plain steamed vegetables and brown rice, or if you want a healthy take on one of your granny's specials, there's also the stuffed cabbage, filled with stuff she never heard of, like soy gluten. Deliveries, too. (34 Union Square East, 212-614-9345; 663 Ninth Avenue, 212-582-1669; 2170 Broadway, 212-501-7768)

The Pump Energy Food. They call themselves a physical fitness restaurant, and they mean it: The slogan is No egg yolks, butter, oil, mayo, or white bread. What they do have is a good selection of sandwiches (on pita bread) and egg-white omelets. And, if you're in the market for a killer brunch, how about a stack of seven-grain pancakes, served with strawberries and frozen yogurt on the side. (40 West 55th Street, 212-246-6844; 112 West 38th Street, 212-764-2100; 31 East 21st Street, 212-253-7676; 113 East 31st Street 212-213-5733)

BROOKLYN

Life 983. The younger sibling of the East Village's Life Cafe, 983 holds up its end in Williamsburg, providing coffee and omelets ( French toast, too) in the AM and homey fare throughout the day. There are veggie burgers as well as salmon burgers for lunch (salads, too). For dinner, there are entrees like Guinness slow stewed beef with carrots and garlic mashed potatoes or spinach ravioli. And if you need something a little sweet, there's a fruit crisp -- or a chocolate cupcake -- for dessert. Full bar, too. (983 Flushing Avenue; 718-386-1133)

Naidre's. The Henry Street branch of this Park Slope favorite has a more ambitious menu than its older sibling, with dinner entrees that include half a roast chicken, turkey and veggie burgers, and a roast vegetable plate. During the day, there are plenty of tasty sandwiches, and breakfast is served till 1 p.m. (502 Henry Street; 718-596-3400)

Fuel. It's not much of a hangout, but if you're looking for a quick, healthy bite while you cruise the rapidly upscaling Atlantic Avenue shopping strip, stop at Fuel. Salads (with or without chicken), wraps, soups, burgers (veggie or turkey). Fruit smoothies, too. (214 Atlantic Avenue, 718-643-8686)

Bliss. Relax. Everybody else does. There's no bar at this cheerful brick-walled Williamsburg spot, but you can bring your own and chow down on salads, veggie burgers, sandwiches, and the house special Bliss Bowl, a good-sized portion of brown rice and vegetables dressed with tahini. And, if you don't feel like venturing out, they'll deliver. (191 Bedford Avenue; 718-599-2547)