Small Slice

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned.  I have not replaced the batteries in my digital camera since Saturday night, and you have missed out on some spectacular examples of Dinners That Are Totally Not On The Diet.  I have also stalled on getting going with my Strip Tease Aerobics DVD, but I promise to share my uh, moves.  I've been stalling about getting back on the scale, but I am doing it tomorrow morning after my weekend of diet debauchery. 

It would totally serve me right if the numbers have climbed.  I mean, let's take Sunday for example.  I had a chocolate donut for breakfast, hot chocolate at the ice skating rink as a reward for towing my three-year-old around for an hour and a half, and then topped it off with a giant slice of pizza for lunch.  I mean giant as in as large as my head.  And I have a huge head.  I didn't eat dinner, because I was so full from the giant pizza.

(Tonight?  I feasted on a barbecued hot dog and baked beans, corn on the cob, three-bean salad and potato chips.  I would hang my head in shame, but it was good and I didn't stuff myself, and besides, it's hard to type with your chin on your chest.  I'm just sayin'.)

This healthy eating is easy for me, as an individual, but my family...let's just say they are fighting it a bit.  Oh, okay.  A lot.  They want "fun food" and "easy food."   

I've been feeling quite victorious about eating smaller meals, and eliminating snacks. However, it has dawned on me that I am still mindlessly munching while I cook.  I sample everything, and all those little tastes and nibbles add up.  No wonder I'm not very hungry when I sit down to eat.  I'm using small plates, but I'm probably still eating double what I should be eating, volume-wise.

My mission for this week is to eliminate the sampling and taste-testing.  The food crosses my lips when I sit in front of my plate.  Not before, and not after.  This might give me a twitching eye from all the effort it will take me.  Hey, I wonder if that will burn calories?

So!  Monday is our menu day here at Big Slice of Life, Small Slice of Cheesecake.  I've decided to make this a "fun finger food" week to encourage the kids to linger and chat during the meal.  I belatedly remembered that this makes me like the Cher character in Mermaids.  That's actually pretty funny, don't you think? 

So!  Without futher ado, here's some fun food for week three:

Tuesday:  Grilled cheese sandwiches, salad, cream of broccoli soup and fruit  ( mini croissants, split and topped with cheddar cheese, broiled until bubbly, green salad and cream of broccoli soup with sliced apples.

Wednesday: Spanikopita, veggies and ranch dip, sliced fruit (phylo dough and butter wrapped around spinach, water chestnuts and feta cheese, accented with oregano and parsley and seasoned with paprika, sliced carrots and celery and jicama and whatever else with ranch dip and sliced melon.)

Thursday: veggie potstickers, shrimp cocktail, cucumber rounds with dill dip (Cabbage, carrot, celery, extra-firm tofu, soy sauce, in samosa dough steamed, with shrimp cocktail and sliced cucumber served with plain yogurt flavored with fresh dill.)

Friday: Shish-kebabs - chicken, veggies over rice with watermelon (Skewered and grilled chicken, veggies -  mushrooms, peppers, onion, whatever else and steamed brown rice, served with sliced watermelon.)

Saturday: Homemade cheese pizza, tossed salad, sliced fruit (homemade pizza dough, topped with fresh tomato, sliced summer squash and feta cheese, served with a tossed salad and sliced fruit.)

Sunday:  Falafel pitas, avocado and tomato salad, tomato soup (falafel balls, served in a whole wheat pita with lettuce and avocado and tomato salad, with a cup of tomato soup.)

Monday:  Turkey meatballs, garlic bread, roasted zucchini and peppers (Ground turkey, finely diced celery and carrot, parsley, oats, egg and soy sauce, pan roasted and served with garlic bread and roasted veggies.)

Tuesday: Nachos with refried beans and jicama salad (Tortilla chips, topped with shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocados and refried beans and served with a jicama and lemon salad.)

As always, if you have any questions about this menu, or ideas you'd like to share, leave me a comment or email me at bigslicejenny@gmail.com.