Small Slice

We're leaving tomorrow for our trip to Yosemite, and I've been trying to use up all our perishables.  Last night, I grabbed a red bell pepper, a green one, a large white onion, a couple of cloves of garlic and some olive oil and sauteed the whole mess.  Then I dumped in a can of plum tomatoes and sauteed some more.  Digging around in my fridge, I pulled out three small zucchini.  Sliced 'em thick and tossed them in.

The smell at this point was heavenly.  But I wanted...something else.  So I put the mixture in a casserole dish, topped it with about 1/4 cup of heavy cream, put on some panko bread crumbs and dotted the whole thing with butter and baked it until it had a nice crust on the top.

It was perfect.  So perfect that I dreamed about it, and had leftovers for breakfast.  Sometimes, the best food comes from spontaneous throw-stuff-in-pans cooking, doesn't it? 

I'll be back on Tuesday with a new menu and photos.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Posted by Jenny at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning, I popped one of my walking DVDs in and started to get my walk on.  My four-year old was playing at noggin.com, so I figured I'd be able to get through most of the workout before she showed up wanting attention. 

Nope. 

This time, however, instead of demanding that I turn it off and play with her, she decided to walk along with me.  She marched in place gamely, and did the kicks.  When it came to the double side-steps, though, she got sort of lost.  She paced back and forth behind me, staying clear of my feet, but just barely.  Then came the clapping part. 

There is nothing quite as gooby as clapping along with an exercise DVD, but I figured what the hell, and swung my arms out to the sides and then back to the center of my chest with a big clapping motion like the gals on the TV.  I heard my toddler tee-heeing behind me and I turned around to find her bent over, hand covering her mouth, giggling uncontrollably.

"What?" I asked her.  "Look, I KNOW, okay.  I'm just doing the exercise like I'm supposed to."  She dropped to her knees and did a remarkably good impression of a seal, clapping its flippers and waiting for a fish.

"You look like a seal!"  she giggled.  "Arf!  Arf arf arf!"

My center-clasping bra chose that moment to unhinge itself, leaving my boobs a-bouncing along to the rhythm of my hand clapping.

"Arf!"  I said.  "Arf arf arf."  Hey, at least she didn't call me a whale.

Posted by Jenny at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We had a long holiday weekend, with too much takeout to report.  I've become dreadful about sticking with my planned menus on the weekends, and I'm determined to change.  Next week.

You see, THIS coming weekend, I'm headed off to Yosemite, where I will be eating out, every meal. But I will also be outside and active all weekend as well, and I will keep my portion-sizes and food choices under control.

I am holding steady at 166 pounds.  Again with the stalled weight loss - I know that I'm not eating as well as I need to, and probably taking in too much food, because I've found myself chatting on the phone quite a bit, and I unconciously eat while I'm on the phone.  Watching TV?  No.  Reading?  No.  Cooking?  Not so much any more.  But man, as soon as I get my gab on, I start looking for things to chew. 

And you know what?  I don't think I should be eating while talking on the phone.  That is just rude and crude.  Right?  Agreed.  I'm going to nip that habit right this minute.  In fact, I'm drawing a picture of me yakking away with food particles flying out of my mouth.  And the person on the other end cringing, and I'm hanging that sucka on the fridge to remind me that is BAD.

I'm going to skip doing a formal menu this week, because of the few days where we are actually going to be at home and cooking.  We've got plenty of food stashed in our pantry and fridge that need to be eaten up before we leave, so I'm going to focus on making meals from the ingredients we have on hand.  I'll post photos in the Small Slice album if I make anything worth bragging about.  Heh. 

I'm off to squeeze in a workout and then get the kids started on making their teacher thank-yous.  I can't believe the end of school is here.  Wow. 

Posted by Jenny at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been quietly exercising away over here, and not trying to make a big deal out of it.  I almost feel as though writing about it, pontificating on how well I've been doing, will somehow jinx it, and I'll fail. 

However, I'm proud of myself, so here goes:

I've done an official exercise session of at least 35 minutes every day for the last three weeks.  Woo!

A long time ago, one of my friends said that she had to make a choice.  Either she was a woman who exercised daily, or she wasn't.  She decided that she was. 

I decided that I wasn't.  Because I was tired.  I was still young.  I didn't want to.  I had better things to do with my time.  I didn't enjoy it.  I wasn't an athlete.  I would still be overweight, regardless.

I admitted defeat without firing a shot.

A month ago, I stood in front of my mirror in last year's swimsuit, and I looked myself in the eyes.  I pulled my shoulders back and sucked my stomach in, and looked myself up and down.  I'm stronger.  I'm more fit.  I'm different.

And that's when I made my decision.  I'm an exercise every day kind of woman.  I will make time for it, just like I make time for showering or eating or breathing.  My day will not be done until I've made time for moving my body.

My weapon of choice lately has been several different Leslie Sansone DVDs - I've been alternating between a four mile "walk" and a two and a half mile "walk/jog" session.  I've also been swimming daily and making time to stretch out with some improvised yoga.  It works for me.  And when it feels stale, I'll move onto something fresh.  Because NOT exercising is no longer who I am. 

My challenge to you all is to think about who you are - are you a daily exerciser, or not?  If not, what is holding you back?  Gimme your best excuses. 

Posted by Jenny at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been taking the kids swimming at our neighborhood pool almost every day for the last week.  I'm over the horror of appearing in public in a bathing suit.  In fact, I'm almost feeling like I need to buy a new suit that maybe doesn't feature a skirt that goes down to my knees.  Despite my use of sunblock, I'm also getting a wee tan, which I know I shouldn't be happy about, because aging, skin cancer, yadda yadda yadda. 

Look, browned flab looks better than white flab.  Think about bacon.  It is just not as delicious looking when it is raw, you know what I mean?  I imagine that I"m sizzling.  I'm not TRYING to get tan.  But I'm not going to cry about it.  Or stay out of the pool.

Speaking of which - swimming is something that I'm never sure how to enjoy.  When I was a kid, I was on a swim team, and while I was never one of the 'good' competitors, I won a few ribbons at a few races.  But since then, I've never really enjoyed lap swimming.  Besides, now that I'm paying to have my hair colored, I don't want to fuh-reak my 'do out with a bunch of chlorine. 

That aside, it feels ridiculous to just stand waist deep in the pool while my kids swim around.  I mean, I need more exercise - and I'm ALREADY WET AND STANDING IN THE POOL.  No excuses! 

I've been grabbing one of our pool noodles and using it like a kickboard, slowly kicking my way from one end of the pool to the other, as slow as can be.  The fronts of my shins and thighs are killing me, by the way.  Flutter kicking.  Bah.  But yesterday, I wanted to work my arms.  Without getting my head wet. 

I tried riding the pool noodle like a horsie, and doing breast stroke arms.  That was a miserable failure, with a round-trip lap time of nearly 5 minutes.  I ditched the noodle, and ended up doing the dog-paddle in chest high water, so I could keep my freshly colored locks dry.  My kids were looking at me like I was a freak, and I'll admit, I was rolling my eyes (while working my thighs) at myself. 

I've become one of those women I used to scoff at who refused to get their heads wet at the pool.  But I did 20 laps, and I'm feeling it today, so I'm thinking I need to do more of that.

I'm putting up a new exercise challenge daily over at my CafeMom group - go add your own challenges!

Posted by Jenny at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This last week, I had a boatload of chores, field trips and other school events and killer allergies to tackle. 

This morning, I weighed 166 pounds.  I'm thinking that being busy is the secret for my own weight loss success.  If you can call losing one pound in two weeks a success.  (I'm totally saying yes.)

I'm going back to my roots here, both literally and figuratively, at BigSlice - menus on Mondays, photos of my dinners (and anything else I remember to photograph) with the how-tos, and exercise challenges, along with inspirational posts and occasional whining.  Somewhere along the way, I lost my motivation and held onto my extra pounds, and this blog has suffered.  Taking a quiet (ha!) week helped me see that I'm allowing myself to get worked into a frenzy, instead of just putting one foot in front of the other.

My poor hands have suffered from this weight gain.  After the birth of my third child, I lost enough weight to barely cram my wedding rings on over my swollen fingers.  I couldn't get them off again, and I promptly gained another fifteen pounds.  I had missed wearing the rings while I was swollen from pregnancy, and I was glad to have them on, but they were digging into my finger a bit.  This last week, I slicked up my finger with dishsoap and removed the rings for the first time in four years.  It hurt like heck, and a week later, the indentation remains in my skin. 

If for no other reason, I want to lose enough weight that my rings can be slipped on and off.

In other roots news - I had my hair colored and cut on Saturday.  I wanted a fun summer cut, something easy to wash and run out the door with, since my longer, layered cut wasn't working for me.

People, I have a head the size of a bowling ball, and I decided to get a shoulder length 'do.  Behold the mighty helmet effect.

I've washed it and styled it myself, and I will say that it is a great cut.  Lots of swish and lift.  But with my face so thick, it emphasizes the roundness. 

If for no other reason, I want to lose enough weight that my face doesn't resemble a melon.  With jowls.

So, on with this week's menu!  Click below to see the master plan:

Monday: Mini chicken pot pies with watermelon
Tuesday: Grilled sandwiches with pickles and sweet potato fries
Wednesday: Pesto whole-wheat spaghetti with salad
Thursday: Soup, sliced apples and garlic toast
Friday: puff-pastry wrapped wild rice chicken with TJ's soycotash
Saturday: Baked tilapia with coleslaw and mashed sweet potatoes
Sunday: Spinach lasagne with steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower

I'll upload photos and recipes as I go. 

Posted by Jenny at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Due to some end-of-school craziness and other unfinished business, I'm going to put BigSlice on the ice for a week.  Check back with me on Monday the 21st for fresh content. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Posted by Jenny at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Jaime!  Congratulations on your SIXTEEN POUND loss over the last 9 weeks!  Woo-hoo!

Jaime wins our $50 gift certificate main prize.  However, I have to give props to a couple of our other BigSlicers -

Healthy Mummy kicked some serious butt with her TEN POUND loss and Kris stayed with it, and lost an awesome EIGHT POUNDS. 

I'm waiting for a few more responses, and then I'll post the total amount of weight all the challengers lost this round.  I'm so proud of all of you!   You inspire me to stick with this, and make my own loss happen. 

Posted by Jenny at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I've had a heck of time getting myself organized this week.  The school has had an event, field-trip or other activity every day this week, and I've been spread a little (or, okay, a LOT) thin.

I'll announce the winner(s) of the BigSliceOff as soon as I get home from dropping my youngest at preschool - so in a couple of hours.

I'm finally starting to see some weight come off this month, and I'm eager to keep the pounds a droppin' and to revive poor Big Slice of Life, Small Slice of Cheesecake, which has been languishing away.  A fresh start!  At approximately 10 am PDT!  Check back for the winner of the BigSliceOff - and my plans for BigSlice.

Posted by Jenny at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Doesn't it feel like we just started the BigSliceOff?  This ending seems rather abrupt.  In any case, get me your final weigh in numbers and scale photos by no later than Wednesday, please, so I can tally everything up for the last time.

We've had a couple of days with temperatures in the 90s, and yesterday, I braved the swimming pool with all three kids for the first time.  Sadly, the suits I bought last year (aaaargh) still fit me, although I will say that my arms are thinner and more muscular, and I'm more firm all over.  But still.  That's just rude.

I'm digging into a whole pile of work around the house - rearranging rooms and carting out bags of unloved possessions.  It seems like I manage to accumulate more of everything, no matter how I try.  But I'm holding fast at 167 pounds, and that is a small miracle.  Especially since I had to weigh myself at Target.  My own scale gave my weight as 224 pounds, 57 pounds and 102 pounds on three different attempts, thirty seconds apart.  Must have been a shapeshifting kind of day.  Or a whacked scale day.

I'm determined not to become discouraged.  Standing at the bathroom mirror, tugging on my swimsuit and sighing, it would have been easy to give up.  I had so many different plans for the start of this summer - plans that included the return of feeling comfortable in cute sundresses and confident in swimwear.  Instead, I find that I've made a tiny amount of progress, and it is still a daily struggle to make the right choices for my health.

Bah!

I'm shaking the dust out of my motivation, and after I send it to the cleaners, I'm going to put it back on, fresh and clean and pressed.  It might need to get a new one, in this season's colors, but I'm not going to pull the muumuu out of the closet.  In fact, I'm going to donate that sad old attitude along with the clothes that I've been holding onto out of habit. 

Wow, that was a really weird concept, poorly explored.  But I think you all get the point.  People, I'm tired of being a lousy dieter/life-changer/whatever.  I need to refresh my goals, and recharge my motivation.

Stay tuned!

Posted by Jenny at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I just checked the email I sent participants of the BigSliceOff, and I said May 7th was the final weigh-in.  I also said that the BigSliceOff was going to run for three months. 

I'm not even sure what day it is, or what I was thinking when I created that email.  Since I've been a disaster of a challenge planner, let's just stick with the date I initially declared.

MONDAY IS OUR FINAL WEIGH-IN.  I'll need a few days to double-check our total losses, and then I'll announce the winner of the $50 gift card on Friday, May 11th.

Here's the thing, though.  I've still got a ton of weight to lose, and I still want to have some friendly competition.  I just don't know if I'm cut out for running contests, per se. 

I'm going to investigate some other alternatives (sites that will track a challenge - preferably free) and see if we can't get something like that rockin'.

In the meantime - drink your water!  Eat your veggies!  Get out and move this weekend. 

Posted by Jenny at 6:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I just had an epiphany over at Three Kid Circus.  I'm fit to be tied, and my children are killing me with their naughty, obnoxious behavior.  After ranting about it, it dawned on me that ALL of our problems could be directly related to the amount of sugar/processed foods we ate this weekend.

Duuuuuuuh.

I'm going to have to be hyper-aware for the next few weeks.  Every time I think I have a handle on it, I let myself be led astray by my well-meaning but not sugar sensitive husband, who can eat nothing but crap and be totally fine. 

I'm so miserable right now that I never want to eat another bowl of ice cream for as long as I live.

I've already finished all my online stuff for today, so I'm going to get my workout in right now.  I'm going to do the 2 1/2 mile walk/jog DVD.  How about you?  What are YOU doing today?

Posted by Jenny at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)