Not Quite Vintage

my first frittata: Jamie’s shrimp and parsley

I know, my first frittata. Yes, it was so easy to make, but I had no idea. Frittatas always seemed like they would be hard to make – I was so wrong. Can you tell me why I have been making messy omelets all this time?

Anyway, while going through my stack of recipes (that I have torn out of magazines for years) trying to determine what my first challenge recipe would be, I saw a cute little picture of Jamie Oliver pop off the page. I know, I didn’t take a good picture of the recipe page, his cute little picture is on the bottom left, just out of my camera frame. Sorry. From his picture, I saw the word shrimp. And I love shrimp. Then I realized I had all the ingredients accept for fresh parsley, but I decided jarred would do in a pinch. Perfect, a new recipe, a new technique and I don’t even have to go to the grocery store. Easy.

And it was. Well, accept for slightly burning my finger on the skillet while taking it out of the oven. Plus, my frittata doesn’t look as fluffy and brown as the one on the recipe page, but it was a good first attempt. I will definitely make this one again... And may even try mixing up the ingredients a little.

Here is a link to almost the exact recipe. The recipe I had was out of Redbook. The differences included, less butter and lemon zest. And it noted that there were four servings at about 180 calories each. I couldn’t imagine eating half of the frittata at one sitting. This recipe was great reheated – perfect for the single girl. I recommend it.

Hmmm, now to figure out what my next challenge recipe will be.

my new health and fitness challenge

I am at it again... I took a little over a week off between challenges and was ready to hop right back in. When I look back over the week in between, I have to say that some of my new habits stuck. I may have eaten out a couple times, but I watched my portions and snacked less. That said, my old clothes are only just starting to fit, so I needed another organized challenge to get me motivated.

Not much is changing on the challenge (plan), I plan to follow many of the same exercise goals – play sports, walk, do my Shred DVD (although I am moving up to level two). The biggest addition is my mini abs challenge. Seriously, someday I want to wear a bikini (I know, not good timing since summer is almost over, but who knows maybe I will get to go on a vacation this winter), so I am going to do a daily abs routine. I call it 9 ways to pain. Yep, fun. It comes from a workout I clipped out of Sports Illustrated for Women – it is really old, probably 10 years old, but it is good. The workout only has seven ways to pain and I added two more. In my opinion, it focused too much on the upper abs, so I added reverse crunches and bicycles at the end. It hurts, but I think it will be worth it. Last night, I did it during the first few minutes of the women’s beach volleyball match – tv and good breathing make it bearable.

For diet and nutrition goals, I am going to work on variety and paying attention to how foods make me feel – does it make me sleepy, am I hungry one hour later or do I have tons of energy. For the variety part, I am going to try one new recipe a week and the recipe has to include either an ingredient, spice or technique I haven’t done before.  I hope to post about these too.

Lastly, it is a 5 in 5 challenge. Five pounds in five weeks. Doable. And best part, this time I have a challenge partner. Our 5 in 5 goals is the same, our plans are different, but having the positive motivation is key and makes it really fun. I am excited!

Anyone have any great healthy recipes to suggests? Unique ingredients I should try? I have a bunch of recipes pulled, but I am open to any inspiration I can get.

Hope you guys don't mind reading about all this health and fitness stuff. Posting it helps me feel accountable - so thanks for your help :)

happiness is...

Coming home from a long day at work and a softball game to find four magazines in the mail box. Well, technically they were shoved between the front door and the storm door, but still they were there to brighten my evening... along with that, Olympic beach volleyball was on. Seriously, good stuff (can you imagine being 6 foot 9? Dalhausser rocks!) Too bad I was so tired out by the time the match was over, I only made it through just a couple pages of Fitness before heading off to bed.

another dishcloth and a 31-day MHFC recap

Yes, I am working on another knitted dish cloth... Seems to be my easy craft of choice these days. When life is busy, it is hard to fit in crafting. So, I am happy to even see progress on the littlest, simplest project. I was checking out some pictures of knitted dishcloths on Flickr and I really am loving some collections of solid color ones. I may have to try that next and use up some of my solid color Sugar and Cream collection. Maybe I’ll start with a Lacy Mock Cable pattern I printed out a long while back. 

On another subject, today was the last day of my 31-day Shred Mini Health and Fitness Challenge. It has been a month full of learning and change. I feel really good. I am stronger and leaner. I have never been able to do as many push ups (and I think this is why I am hitting so well at softball – this week, I actually hit it over the left fielder – very weird). My jeans fit better. I am able to resist things I may not have before, like homemade ice cream day at work yesterday. I know, it was torture, but weigh in was today and I was focused. It is all about priorities. For me, right now I am prioritizing my health and fitness and I hope I am able to make it more automatic and natural as I keep moving forward.

So, I lost 4.5% of my weight during the challenge. Over a point in BMI. I really wish I had taken measurements before I started because I can see changes and feel my clothes getting loser in places. I am content and proud with what I accomplished this month. It gives me more motivation... And confidence.

Next up, figuring out the details of my next challenge. I need to ask myself where do I want to go and what is the best way for me to get there. Breaking a goal up into manageable parts makes it less scary and I am more apt to stick with it. Maybe this is why I like to do lists so much.

Unclutter July update after the weekend... I have a few more things to check off my list. Yes, I know this weekend is technically August :)

mini health and fitness challenge (MHFC): observations and an update

You know, when you start a health and fitness challenge it seems like almost everything starts pointing back to that challenge – at least for me. My mind is focused on this because I really want to meet my goals and maybe because of that, much of the outside influences in my life seem to focus in on health and fitness as well.  This is probably not a new thing, the world really does focus in on this stuff, I just wasn’t consciously noticing it. I was probably (definitely) noticing it unconsciously – and have been for years and years. I think a lot of that unconscious noticing wasn’t of the positive variety. I was noticing the stereotypes, the inconsistent portrayals in the media, the focus on quick, quick, quick etc. Right now, I am noticing the negatives in this and also the positives that are mixed in throughout, like the curvy fitness models that sometimes make their way into the magazines, the healthy lifestyle articles about making good choices, loosing weight slowly and living an active lifestyle etc. This is all good, and it is propelling me further into my health and fitness challenge and pushing me to go even further in creating the life I want as I move forward.

For example, I was reading an article this morning entitled Fit at Any Size. It was more focused on kids than adults, but a few things hit me. I really think the following statement sums up what I want for myself  “Fit means happy too; so does staying active; so does loving your body no matter its shape. The key is to get that body healthy and keep it that way. The numbers on the scale... should start to come second to physical fitness as a gauge for health.” After reading this, I thought this is really what I want this for myself, yes, but I have to admit I am not there yet. Honestly, I still want the scale to change and I think it needs to for me to be healthy. That said, maybe it doesn’t need to change that drastically. Another thing the article said was that “exercise has to stop being a daily chore.” Wow, that is so true and I think the operative word here is “chore.” Daily exercise is good, feeling that it is a chore is bad. So how do I get to that place? I need to figure out how to “make it about playing and fun again.”

Right now, some of the exercise I am doing is a chore and some of it is fun. The dvd is a chore – it is a means to an end – to give me the strength to feel confident in the fun. Fun for me are the sports I play (currently volleyball and softball). The fun is feeling like an athlete. I am not feeling like my full definition of an athlete right now, but I can see that I am moving back in that direction. I think I need to focus my next mini health and fitness challenge around finding my inner and outer athlete again.

For now, I am pretty happy with my progress on my 31-day Shred MHFC. Two weeks in and the scale is moving and I can see changes in how my body looks and how it is working. I am also noticing how the food I am eating is affecting my mood and energy. Good stuff.

And, you know what is really fun? Hitting a line drive so hard down the third base line into deep left field and having all the guys worried the next time you are up to bat! Fun! Thank you push ups :)

my mini health and fitness challenge

On Monday, I mentioned that in addition to my Unclutter July project, I am also doing a mini health and fitness challenge. Over the past six months, I have used pretty much every excuse in the book and allowed myself to do only the bare minimum in taking care of myself. Honestly, the sofa and fast food became my friends. If I didn’t have an organized sport to attend, I would go home from work and relax on the sofa. If I was busy or not in the mood to cook, I hardly hesitated to go through the drive thru. I know, so not good for me. I let myself feel sorry for myself, using all the stress and change in my life as an excuse. Yes, Mom did pass away and Pops is sick (but doing so well with his treatments), but I finally realized I wasn’t doing myself (or anyone I love) any favors by not taking care of myself. So, now I am choosing to use the crap of the past few months (years really) to move myself forward - To feel better about myself, to be healthy and to hopefully insulate me from health problems in the future. A big challenge.

So, what do I do with any big challenge? I break it down into manageable parts. Manageable part one for me is my 31-day Shred Health and Fitness Challenge. Weird name huh? Well, I named it after a new fitness DVD I purchased, called the 30-Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. She is the hard core trainer from The Biggest Loser (yes, I watch The Biggest Loser - all of you already know I am a tv-aholic) and I find her style motivating. Plus, I needed something new to mix in with my softball and volleyball. Bonus was that each of three workouts includes strength, cardio and abs in less than 30 minutes. I have to make an embarrassing confession here – after I completed level one for the first time, it took a couple days for me to walk the stairs correctly again. I wasn’t expecting this, but I guess old school calisthenics like jumping jacks along with squats and lunges are pretty effective... It made me realize how drastically my fitness level had changed and how important it was for me to make some changes. This is when my challenge was born.

I sat in front of my computer and started to map out my challenge. I know from experience that having an official framework is the only way I will be accountable – this is how I lost weight and improved my fitness level a couple years ago, so I figured it would be good to try it again. I came up with a July calendar complete with a workout schedule and a set of exercise, nutrition and overall goals. I am going to share these goals with you, just to make myself feel a little more accountable.

Disclaimer: This is only month one, so I am pushing myself, but not to the point where I will burn out and not enjoy myself, so it may look a little easy to some. Oh, and also, I by no means am posting this information to influence others, I am very conscious of how this type of information can throw people into a tailspin (me included). I by no means think I am “fat” or am making any assumptions on what the health and beauty ideal is for everyone. I made this plan with only myself in mind, knowing my height, weight, build and history. Okay, cool, just had to put that out there.

Exercise

• continue with team sports
• walk 1-2 times per week
• shred dvd 3 times per week
• if a team sport bye or rainout, try a new strength routine
• rescheduling is ok, as long as the numbers match up

Diet & Nutrition

• keep a food journal
• load up on veggies at meal time
• fit in more fruits
• high fiber breakfast
• bring lunch 3 times per week
• drink lots of water
• 1800-1900 calories per day

Overall

• move to shred level two
• lose 1-2 pounds per week

The unwritten goals of this is to just feel a bit better about myself, a bit stronger, a bit more comfortable sporting a tank top (I do anyway, but it would nice to have stronger, more defined arms again). Hopefully I will get there, armed with my challenge plan and my food journal... And I think I am on the right track. Yesterday was my first week weigh in and I exceeded my weekly weight loss goal (yay) and I feel empowered to just keep going.  I exceeded my goal, even while allowing myself to enjoy a 4th of July bbq with my Pops – I couldn’t pass up his grilled hamburgers, I just knew to walk three miles in the morning and eat smartly the rest of the day. Balance is what I am looking for. I know it was only the first week, so it will get harder, but I think I am ready. Wish me luck :)

if you can, avoid...

getting in the way of a high speed softball thrown wildly by an overzealous left fielder. This is what I did last night at softball. I know, it is all part of the game. Many girls I know would have just gotten out of the way, but no, I really thought I could catch the ball on the hop and make the play. At least I kept the ball in front of me and didn't let it go out of play and allow runners to score. But I didn't make the out either. And now I have this really pretty bruise that I am sure will get worse in the next couple days and will take a couple weeks to go away. Fun. I guess, no skirt wearing for me. Now back to sitting uncomfortably in my work chair.

it is official, it is No Soda April!

Wow, I have gotten a lot of feedback on my effort to stop drinking soda. Everyone has been very supportive and full of helpful advice, both in and out of blogland. And to top it off, Miss Kelli even offered to join in the quest.

This got me thinking - maybe other might be interested in joining in. So, in an effort to make this endeavor a little bit more fun and to create an even larger support group, I am opening this up. Would anyone else like to join in on "Kelli and Colleen's No Soda April?" There aren't any special rules. You don't even have to give up soda completely, just make an effort to limit your intake. You might even just want to switch to diet soda - that would be ok too. Make this challenge what you need it to be for yourself.

With every little challenge, there just has to be a logo. I just can't get away from the designer in me and honestly, I needed a little creative break from work yesterday. Feel free to post it on your blog to show your pledge and support.

Let us know if you are game and keep us posted along the way! The more we cheer each other on and share our progress, the more successful we will be. I'll be checking in along the way too.

8 days and counting for me (I started a little early)... 21 days to make or break a habit, right?

See, even my fridge is ready for the challenge. Water bottles are filled, iced tea options are available. I have already shared my Crystal Light collection. Hmm, what else can I do to make this work...

putting this goal out there...

I am trying, once again, to give up soda. It is probably my biggest vice. I am not talking about diet soda, I am a real soda type of girl. Coca-Cola Classic actually. And I like it iced up. I can tell you the best places to get fountain coke – it varies greatly you know...

I am not really sure where the addiction came from. We didn’t have soda (or pop as all my college friends called it) around the house growing up. My parents never really drank it. I remember starting to drink it in high school. When a soda and a bag of chips was a healthy lunch... Crazy, I know. In college, it became my caffeine of choice. I would rather have a cold, fizzy soda in the morning than hot coffee. And it grew from there.

I have given it up for Lent and other reasons in the past, but it never stuck. And I am not all that sure it will stick this time, but I am hoping I can get to the point where I just enjoy one every once in a while. I really like the taste and the fizz – it really isn’t a caffeine thing.

In order to kick my habit, I have stocked up on some alternatives. For the morning, I have some TJ's half-caf coffee, paired with sugar free vanilla creamer. For the daytime, I have my trusty water bottle(s) and a selection of tea bags and crystal light mixes.

If you haven’t sampled all the new varieties of Crystal Light recently, give them a try. My favorite has to be the Immunity variety. It is a cherry pomegranate flavor. A bit strong if you use the entire portion, half of the packet is plenty.

Anyway, so I am putting my goal out there into the universe, hoping it might help me succeed. It is ultimately part of my Bigger, Smaller Life plan – the health and fitness branches. These branch need a decent amount of TLC right now and are a current focus for me.  As is finding my inner “Athlete” again. I am missing her. I know she is still there, she just need to be reawakened.

yummy soup and more

Health and fitness have an important place on my Bigger, Smaller Life tree. The past year has done a number on my fitness level and my waistline... And overall, by the end of the year, I just didn’t feel “good.” So since New Years, I have been doing my best to increase my activity, to eat better and to take my vitamins/supplements.

I typically rely heavily on my scheduled sports for exercise, but I haven’t been scheduled for a USTA tennis match since before Christmas and we keep having BYE weeks in volleyball, so I have had to dig deep and get moving on my own. Sometimes this is a challenge because the sofa and/or the sewing machine tend to call my name louder than my iPod. Last week, I got moving on my own 4 days and finally had a tennis match yesterday afternoon. Yea, 5 workouts last week. And the tennis match took every minute of the 2 hours allotted. Too bad we didn’t win – we lost the third set tiebreaker at 11-13 points. And can I tell you how stiff my sides are today? Over a month off of tennis proves to you how good tennis is for your obliques! Good pain, good pain.

I think, odd as it may sound, I am having more luck motivating myself to exercise when I get home from work because of the radio show I listen to on the way home. I recently changed my work schedule, so I leave at 4:30 instead of 5 (that also means, I have to get up earlier too – it all evens out). This allows me to listen to The Fitness Guru (Lime on Sirius) on the way home. To hear interviews with fitness authors, the host’s answers to listener calls and emails and even just the host’s voice all make me want to exercise the moment I get home. Hey, I will take motivation wherever I can get it.

When it comes to eating healthfully, I have a few things I am trying to do: eat more fruits and vegetables, watch my sugar intake (not the sugar from fruits – more like sweets and especially soda) and limit the processed foods in my diet. My goal is to change my lifestyle... And as part of that, if I could lose a few pounds, that would be great. I am weary of excluding anything from my diet to lose weight (I’m not going to do Atkins or anything – goodness, my body needs carbs to think).I think a more natural, varied diet will be able to sustain me forever.

In working toward this, my goal is to try at least 2 new, healthy recipes each month. This past weekend, I was craving soup. I logged into a new site I found, Eat Better America, and found a Tomato and Roasted Sweet Pepper Soup that looked good... And easy. It was fun to make – I had never roasted bell peppers before and aside from a small red patch on my hand when I brushed the top of the over, it went well.

I couldn’t get it to photograph well, so I am borrowing a picture from the site.  Pair it will some crusty multi-grain bread with a little garlic and sea salt and it makes a very satisfying meal. If you like a chunkier soup, you could add a can of diced or stewed tomatoes along with the crushed tomatoes in the recipe. I have leftovers and I can’t wait to go home tonight and enjoy some for dinner... But of course, only after I exercise :)