Spice It Up

It’s here!  I picked up my new laptop.  It’s an HP something or other.  I’m very technical, can you tell?  Anyway, the husband said it was a good one and the price was right which was the most important thing!  So shiny and new…

No more ghetto monitor hook-up :)

 

I skipped the gym in favor of meeting a friend early for coffee.  I had planned on getting a treat at the Starbucks, so I just had a Chobani nonfat blueberry yogurt before leaving…

At the Starbucks, you know what was calling my name…

I love Pumpkin Spice Light Frappuccino !!!

Lots of gabbing went on, then I had to leave for a call about some “blog stuff”.  More on that soon ;)  Tease!

I ended up way late for lunch again.  I was past the starving point and starting to get shaky.  The easiest thing that came to mind was a wrap, so I quickly threw together  turkey, chipotle pepper hummus and baby spinach in a high fiber tortilla.  Some POPchips and grapes and I was good to go…

Gobble, gobble.  I don’t even know if I tasted any of it, except for the hummus which, WHEW, did I say this was mild before?  It seemed pretty spicy today and basically overpowered the turkey.  I really do like it, though.  I’ve never been a fan of spicy things, but some do grow on me.  I just like to taste all the components of a sandwich or wrap, otherwise what’s the point of putting it in there, right?

Since lunch was so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack and I kinda had a stomachache anyway.  Probably from scarfing down my lunch!

I decided on a simple dinner of Chicken Cutlets and Zucchini with Beans.  The chicken cutlets are always a hit with the husband and daughters, but I knew the zucchini with beans were going to be a tough sell.  For this easy dish, I pan-fried some fresh sliced zucchini and added in a can of Trader Joe’s Marinated Bean Salad.  Before serving, I added some sliced mozzarella (2 lite string cheese, cut-up) to try to entice the haters…

Very tasty!  I think it would make a great topping for pasta, too.  The husband was good with it;  the daughters not so much.  Try, try again.

I ended the night with THE HOMEWORK WARS and a few Trader Joe’s Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites…

Have a great one!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I’m starting to think in terms of planning for certain treats.  If I know I want something, I cut back somewhere else to accommodate for the treat and I’m not doing it in a way that seems threatening or depriving.  It’s starting to feel like a natural progression.

Question of the Day:  Do you like spicy food?

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)…

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…

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

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…

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….

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…

The nutritionals looked good…

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…

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…

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…

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” ?