Monday, September 28, 2009

The Heart Of The Home

Back to the grind!  We were up and at ‘em early to try and finish up the last painting touches and put the kitchen back together.  We had to make another quick trip to the Lowe’s,  but first some breakfast was in order.  I was in the mood for eggs, so I whipped up a Salsa Egg White Scramble (egg whites, spinach, salsa and light cheddar)…

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Then, it was off to pick up our hardwares.  Since, Trader Joe’s was right around the corner, I talked the husband into a pit stop to pick up a couple items.  I scored a cool new (to me) hummus that I couldn’t wait to have with lunch…

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I thought it would make a great topping for my Cuban Black Bean Patty on an Ezekiel hamburger bun

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It was perfect!  I liked the smoky flavor and the mild heat.  Definitely a keeper!

We finally finished up the last of the retouching and put the kitchen back in working order.  Only glitch was with the lighting over the table.  Seems our compact fluorescents were too big and stuck out above the shades.  I had to run back out and get smaller bulbs, but other than that, this repainting/updating job went pretty smoothly.  And the husband and I worked really well together, so no divorce papers needed to be drawn up after this project ;)

The daughters came home as we were finished and were so surprised at the change!  They loved it, though, which made me happy since the kitchen is the heart of our home and I want everyone to be comfortable in it.

I decided on an easy dinner.  I wasn’t quite ready to cook after the long, tiring weekend, so we fired up the grill and made some of these cool dogs I found at Trader Joe’s

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I haven’t had a hot dog in ages because of the high fat content of the regular ones and I found the light ones to be okay, but I question the “healthiness” of them.  However, I saw these Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dogs and the “organic” and “no nitrates or preservatives” made me feel a little better about them!  Hey, it’s un-American to not eat a hot dog, right?!  Anyway, I was surprised by the nutritional information considering these are not touted as a “light” hot dog.  One dogger is 70 calories with only 4.5 grams of fat!  That’s impressive.  Can’t get away from the sodium though – 430 mg., but that’s how a hot dog rolls ;P  Speaking of rolls, I ate my dog on a whole wheat roll with a squirt of straight up yellow mustard along with a side salad and some baked fries….

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I loved this hot dog!!!  Seriously good;  even the husband gave it a thumbs up.  Now, the fries…eh, not so lovely.  I bought these Alexia Yukon Gold fries and had high expectations…

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The nutritionals looked good…

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but the flavor was meh and some of the fries were hollow inside when you bit into them.  Somehow, the precooking process they do, cooks the potato right out of it!  Not a fan :(

All in all, a tasty dinner in our “new” kitchen.  Wanna see it???  Here’s a mini tour…

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Looks good now;  I’m sure I’ll mess it up soon enough!

I ended the night with another Trader Joe’s find:  Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

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A serving is 8 cookies for 130 calories and 6 grams fat.  They are made with whole wheat flour, oats and walnut meal.  Good ingredients and delicious!  I was satisfied with just 3 because they have such great flavor.   Just right…

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Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend!

ONE GOOD THING:  I was able to enjoy cookies without feeling like I had to eat the whole serving or container for that matter- LOL!  I ate what satisfied me and put them away.

Question of the Day:  What room do you consider to be the “heart of your home” ?

23 comments:

Yum Yucky said...

Aha! The kitchen looks awesome (and so do the cookies). But tell me, did you get the Ezekiel Buns at TJ's? I didn't notice any.

PS. I bought the 15 pack of Luna Bars this past Thursday and they're almost gone. This is what happens when my healthy ways rub off on a bunch of greedy kids. ARGH!

Ann-Margaret said...

Your kitchen looks amazing!!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I love your kitchen! It's absolutely beautiful. The hard work was so worth it!!!

OldGoogleAccount said...

Your kitchen looks really inviting. And those cookies! What an amazing find. Hmmmm, eggs for dinner tonight maybe? They look so tasty.

Unknown said...

Love the new look to the kitchen!
Love your mustard squiggle...cute! lol We love the Ball Park Beef Fat Free franks...but i will take a look at those at TJ's. YUM!

:)

Just Me said...

Your Kitchen looks fabulous!!! I cant wait until I get to buy a home so that I can have a great kitchen like that! I would say in my townhouse it was my kitchen, but now it is definately the living room, there is just more space.

Kelly the Happy Texan said...

I LOVE the color of your kitchen! Hey, can you comet o my house and help me pick out some colors? Or maybe I can just steal your ideas. :)

The heart of our home is the living room. It's where we play games together, read together, watch movies, etc. It's the most active room.

Di said...

I love your kitchen !

Here the heart would be the combo dining room/living room because that is where everything happens

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

Thanks, everyone! Glad you liked my kitchen!!

Yum Yucky - I find them in my local Giant. Check out the SuperG on 202.

Kelly - HI!!!! I would love to help you anytime!

Unknown said...

That hot dog looks fantastic!

thewwchick said...

AWESOME KITCHEN!!!!!!! I think that's the same color as the half bath off my kitchen. Love, love, love the color. I seriously could live in that half bath of mine due to the color. Yes, I have issues.

Try the Alexia WAFFLE fries. They are totally delish. We buy them in a big honkin' bag at Costco.

PS...chipotle hummus give me raging heartburn. That makes me so sad because it's TDF good! Now you know WAY too much about me. lmao

lynn said...

your kitchen look fab! yay! the heart of my home is definitely the living room...

Miz said...

the kitchen looks AWESOME.
and for me it is my office.

purple walls.big colorful mural on one wall.
toys everywhere :)

Annabel said...

Ooo I have got to try those cookies!

your kitchen is A-MAZING!!!!!

Lara (Thinspired) said...

Your kitchen looks fabulous! I definitely think of the kitchen as the heart of the home. It makes me so happy to be in a large, lovely kitchen with good company and good food!

Danica's Daily said...

Your kitchen looks awesome - LOVE the painting! :)

MMMM....salsa eggs - I need to make some.

I almost bought those cookies the last time I was in TJ's but was afraid I couldn't eat a serving...hmmm - I may have to give them a try now.

Reen said...

Black bean patty looks great. Must try.

My kitchen is also the Heart of the Home, but it wasn't until we knocked the wall down and opened it up to the rest of the house. Now it's definitely my favorite room.

Unknown said...

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I have an award for you on my blog today, please stop by!
Jenn

sian-girlgetstrong said...

those blk bean patties look soooo good. I almost have all the ingred. - thanks for sharing PS love the color of the new kitchen!

m i c h e l l e said...

Your kitchen looks beautiful! So crisp and inviting :-)

Like most families, I think our kitchen/dining area is the heart of our home. It's right in the middle of our house too so really gets the traffic - I love that!

A Daunting Tale of Scale Warfare said...

The kitchen looks fantastic!

I will be picking up a package of the hot dogs, I of course will not be telling the kids or the fiance that they are organic and just wait for their reactions!

I learned my lesson this week about buying the TJ's cookies. This lady doesnt have any self control lol. I got the Triple Ginger Cookies, and OMG they are amazingly good. Even the fiance likes them and he's not a fan of ginger. 6 cookies=140 calories, which isnt bad...if you can keep it to 6 cookies hehe.

Unknown said...

Wow, nice kitchen!!!

Anonymous said...

Your new kitchen is beautiful. So jealous over here. You picked a beautiful color for the kitchen.