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At the end of this week, many Americans will wake up from their New Year's revelry, step on their scales for the first time in months and rue every last bit of pumpkin pie, egg nog and bacon-wrapped scallop they put in their mouths. That's where the folks at Food Network's "The Kitchen" come in on Saturday, Jan. 3, offering up New Year's shape up tips in an episode appropriately enough titled "Healthy Fresh Start." "We're kind of here to guide you through the next phase, which is paying the piper, if you will," says Jeff Mauro, who co-hosts the Saturday morning show with Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Marcela Valladolid and Geoffrey Zakarian. According to Mauro, there are simple ways of cutting calories from your diet, some that might even seem a bit counterintuitive. "I shy away from low-fat," he says. "You know, they're putting a lot of sugar in there or there's higher calories. So I say use your butter. Just focus more on the meat and protein, have your potato or a little bit of pasta but just try to cut that by a third and then get full on the vegetables and meat. "And make everything at home. You know, eating out – and there is a ton of eating out during the holidays, too, and people don't realize that it's not just all the home-cooked rich meals but it's going to Christmas parties and it's going out to dinner with friends and it's constantly eating out." And it's also not exercising. But Mauro cautions that if you're not already on an exercise regimen, don't dive in whole hog this week. "Take it slow," he says, "and make sure you do your research because (otherwise) you're just going to injure yourself. And if you're going to diet, don't just look at it as a diet. It's the same way. You can jump into it head first; you're either going to crash in the diet or blow out a knee. So take it slow." What book are you currently reading? "I am reading 'The Bone Clocks' by David Mitchell. I'm very into it. I love to read." What did you have for dinner last night? "I actually had my CrossFit Christmas party that they throw, and so I had a carne asada and it was wonderful." What is your next project? "I am in the process of – you know, we're shooting 'The Kitchen' still, so I leave Monday to do another round of that, so that keeps truckin' on. And I'm also working on my own line of food I'll be doing in the spring on Home Shopping Network. So I'll have my own home Italian beef sandwich kit and sausage and pepper kit and meatball parmesan sandwich kit. So look for that. That'll be fun." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "The last vacation I took was last spring. We went to Costa Rica ... and I fell in love with it. It was an unbelievable experience." BY GEORGE DICKIE Jeff Mauro New Year's shape-up tips from 'The Kitchen' During the holiday season, you likely don't want to think of your boss as "horrible" ... but a movie sequel isn't letting you off that hook. "Horrible Bosses 2" revisits the pals who wanted to get even the first time with the supervisors who had belittled, humiliated and exploited them. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are back as the buddies, who have a new but equally problematic boss to deal with this time. Double Oscar winner Christoph Waltz – minus the hand of writer-director Quentin Tarantino here, but in a story that's as subversive in its own way – plays a tycoon who steals the trio's idea for an innovative shower head that contains shampoo, thus eliminating the need to dispense from a separate bottle. Needless to say, the guys aren't happy about being ripped off ... and since they managed to even the playing field before, they decide to do so again, this time by kidnapping Waltz's son (Chris Pine). As you might expect, though, things don't go quite as planned. There's no real necessity for a sequel to "Horrible Bosses," but if you know what to expect going in, the second round offers passable comedy. It's not especially sophisticated, but neither is a lot of screen humor these days. Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston get to reprise their roles from the first film as supposedly "Horrible" ones, and Jamie Foxx also returns briefly. The bigger dose of good news is that the teamwork among Bateman, Sudeikis and Day remains solid – and Waltz and Pine are both good additions, getting right into the spirit of things. That spirit is pretty specific, too, involving frequent crude jokes and situations. Again, though, that's very much in keeping with the overall approach of today's movie comedies. "Horrible Bosses 2" is by no means great, but it's not especially horrible, either. It is what it is, and if it's your cup of tea, you likely won't feel terrible for having sampled it. Jason Bateman 'Horrible Bosses 2': Not terrific, not particularly horrible BY JAY BOBBIN Page 8 Dec. 29, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2015

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