More Kitchen Progress!

The weather we've had this weekend is UNHEARD of for mid-March here in the Northwoods! It hit 80 both days this weekend and it was pure heaven for all of us. We crave the sunshine like pigs crave mud. Awwww!

We got a lot done on our big kitchen project this weekend as well, thanks for the most part to my brother in law, Gary, who is a carpenter (and all around great guy!).

Working hard...

We had a wall separating our kitchen/dining area and our livingroom area. It had a big square opening in it. When we moved in this house, the elderly man who sold it to us had glass shelves in the opening with "knick-knacks" of his wives. I always hated that wall...

So we took down half of the wall. I would've loved to have the whole wall gone, but we have a heating element and electric on that wall, so that idea was out. Wow, did it open up the kitchen! It looks totally different.

We also had a very 50s-60s looking peninsula that closed in our kitchen and made it feel small and cramped. We knocked it out. The kitchen looks 10 times larger!

It's hard to tell, but it really cramped the kitchen. The refrigerator is right across from it.

Here it is with the new half wall (to the right in the picture) and the peninsula gone. What a mess it all is right now (notice the tape on the new sink and faucet in the background with all of the clutter), and we still have a lot left to do like painting all the trim white.  We're also replacing the existing dining set for something more modern.

Here's what we're doing next!

-New flooring!

-window treatments

-new accessories and decorating projects to tie it all in

-healthy and delicious recipes from my new kitchen!

I'll be sharing pictures as I shop for fun ideas and the finished room soon!

Recipes That Trick Your Brain (and help you get fit!)

When I first started blogging, I was making recipes so full of fat and sugar they made Paula Deen sigh. Part of my love of baking and cooking, though, is watching people enjoy what I made. It really gives me a wonderful feeling inside to watch people eating my dishes and seeing that it made them happy!

As the years went on, though, and I started to get a bit older, all of that sugar and junk started to catch up with me. Physically I felt like crap. I looked thin-ish, but I didn't feel it in my clothes.  Think muffin top and a lot of jiggling going on! I knew that my old way of cooking and baking wasn't going to work for me any longer when I decided to stop putting junk like that in my body.

So my new passion became making over recipes that were healthier and had less calories BUT I wanted that same satisfaction factor to be there. That is a challenge.

And then I would read things like:

"I don't believe in healthifying desserts. A dessert is a dessert so leave it be!"

But I fully disagree. For something to be sweet and wonderful, it doesn't have to be terrible for you.  Nature has provided some wonderful options that are sweet and delicious-use them in your baking! It's unfair to tell yourself that if you want to be fit and healthy that you can't have that wonderful experience of eating delicious recipes ever again.

I received this email from Kristen this week that really made me smile.

 "I just have to say that your website has been a HUGE inspiration to me! I started a weight loss competition at work and came upon your recipes. I am in LOVE with the pumpkin cream cheese bread and the banana oat cookies. They are my secret! I eat the bread for breakfast and eat the banana oat cookies when I am hungry between meals. Perfect! I have lost 15 pounds in the past 2 months, and I credit your delicious recipes with keeping me happy and making me feel like I'm cheating a little bit - but not really! Thank you so much!!!"

WTG KRISTEN! I've received others that are similar in the past year that confirm what I'm thinking...

You can trick your brain into thinking that a healthy cookie is the same as that packaged piece of junk from the store! It makes you feel satisfied and happy but you don't get the bad benefits that usually come with eating sweets.

And eventually your body won't even want the bad version of the cookie anymore. Really!

As for me, I'm at a lower weight than I was before I had my 3 children and feel physically great! And like Kristen, I'm able to do this because of recipes like the ones below, which are my go-to healthified favorites!

If you're craving peanut butter cookies try PB White Chocolate Oat Balls or PB Slice Cookies

If you're craving chocolate try Chocolate Oat Chews or Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls or Cocoa Cookies

If you're craving a fruitier dessert try Banana Oatmeal Chewies or White Chocolate Apricot Granola Balls or Cherry Almond Cookies or White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Oat Balls or

If you're craving muffins try Blueberry Oat Muffins with Sea Salt or Rustic Pumpkin Oat Muffins or Cranberry Oat Muffins with White Chocolate

Toddler Haircuts

Age old question asks "How am I going to cut my 2 year old's hair?"

Answer:

Dino baths in the sink. He hardly noticed mom circling around him snipping away. Because when your kid's hair starts to look like this:

Then you know it's time. Oh, and make sure to give the dinosaurs a haircut too. It's a must!

Join me at the Sunday Baker Facebook Page for more fun discussions!

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins (All Natural)

Muffins are one of those food items that I never buy at a bakery or hotel or anywhere. The reason being that they are usually packed full of calories and sugar. LOADED. One large muffin can contain half of your daily calorie intake. The scary part is it only takes me about 2 minutes to finish one off!

I like to call this muffin the "morning pick-me-up muffin". It is full of good ingredients and flavor, yet have no processed sugars or white flour (with the exception of a small handful of white chocolate). This recipe makes 12 heavy muffins at 168 calories each, and really a half of one of these will fill you up on your morning break!

Note: When using dried fruits in baking, limit the amount you add. They are usually very high in natural sugars, double the amount of the whole fruit. A small handful goes a long way with flavor.

 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins

1 c. white whole wheat flour (see this post for more info)

1 c. oat flour (grind rolled oats in processor)

1/2 c. rolled oats (whole, not ground)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 c. unsweetened all natural applesauce

1 large, ripened banana, mashed

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 c. agave nectar OR pure maple syrup

2 t. all natural vanilla

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. all natural white chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oat flour, oats, baking powder and sugar, and cinnamon until well combined.

2. In another medium bowl, mix together the mashed banana, applesauce, egg whites, agave, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir wet mixture into the dry mixture until a thick batter forms. Stir in the cranberries and white chocolate until evenly combined.

3. Put two heaping tablespoons of batter each into sprayed muffin cups. Flatten just a bit with the back of the spoon. Arrange a few extra cranberries on top for a pretty presentation.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until very light golden brown. Do not overbake or they will be dry.

Kitchen Makeover, Ready To Go Again!

pinterest.com

About 2 years ago we did some kitchen updates that were badly needed! We painted our horribly old stained cabinets white and added new, modern hardware. It made a huge difference!

from 2010 after updating

But after painting his heart out for the entire summer (it was a LOT of work!), Rich sort of hung up his paintbrush and I haven't been able to get him to budge since. Why don't I do it myself you ask? Well, honestly I'm really great at coming up with home reno ideas, but I'm pretty terrible at the handyman jobs. I have tried and it really wasn't pretty.

There's still quite a bit left to do to bring the rest of the kitchen/dining area up to par with the updated cabinets. Spring is approaching and it's time! I want my beautiful kitchen for the summer, since I'll be spending so much time there. Here are the things we'll be attempting to do (with a not-so-large budget):

New Flooring. Ours is really really HIDEOUS! You know peel and stick tiles...ya that. Here's some flooring inspiration:

houzz.com/

This dark, modern hardwood would be a nice compliment to the light, airy look in the rest of the kitchen. I love dark hardwoods!

pinterest.com

Another with the same look

pinterest.com

I also like the other extreme-almost a white washed, bleached wood look

I'll be floor shopping soon and showing you my options-I hope some of you will help me decide!

Window Treatments. Right now I'm happy with having none. Our kitchen is so bright and full of natural light. However, Rich wants something on them and it's true that in the summer it gets too heated from the sun. So I've decided on simple, natural bamboo shades. They will still let the light in and not be a heavy treatment that will make the room look smaller.

pinterest.com

Does anyone know a good place to order these?

A new table and chairs. I need to find a new table. We bought this one from Craigslist (with the chairs) for $100. It's much too big for our small dining space. I would like to find a table similar to one of those below and recover the existing chairs. I want to spend next to nothing on the new one, so I'll have to get creative!

Current Table-notice the hideous current floor!

White?

Or dark?

Wall Treatment. We have a big, blank wall in the dining room that needs something. I've been wanting to put a white-washed plank wall up ever since I saw this one at The Lettered Cottage. I think Rich can pull this off! I then am thinking of putting a small desk area in for my bills and recipes.

Current dining wall

Inspiration wall

Flooring shopping begins this week. I've decided to steer away from the big-box stores like Menards and Lowes. We have tried shopping there for flooring in the past and left uninspired and I didn't feel like I had a lot of options.

Can any local readers recommend an area flooring store to me?