Banana Cupcakes with Low Cal Frosting

Mmmm, Doesn't that frosting look light and fluffy? This afternoon my baby wanted a cupcake. Even though I'm dieting I knew I could come up with something on the healthy side. So, banana cupcakes it is!

Banana Cupcakes-adapted from the book 500 Cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
4 egg whites
dash of nutmeg
1 mashed ripe banana

Preheat oven to 350. Place 9 cups in a muffin pan. Combine butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and nutmeg in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until smooth, 2-3 min. Stir in mashed banana until combined. Spoon batter into cups and bake for 20 minutes. Then cool on rack.

Serves 9, 200 calories a serving. (I know kinda high, I need to buy some healthier flour)

Frosting adapted from Tosca Rena-Eat Clean Cookbook

1 cup Yogurt Cheese*
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. One tablespoon of frosting is 23 calories.

*To make Yogurt Cheese, put 2 cups of plain-low fat yogurt in a colander lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth (I used a thin,clean kitchen towel). Place the colander over a large bowl to catch the liquid that drips out. Place set-up in fridge over night. Then ta da! You are left with yogurt cheese which is very similar to cream cheese.

The banana cupcakes are very dense with a mild banana flavor. Sorry for the bad picture. Had to use my phone camera.

Remember Me?

I read a lot of books. I've read twenty something books since April 2009. Wow. That is a lot! It all started with the Twilight Saga and I flew through that then the House of Night series. I'm also into Chick Lit books that always have a happy ending. Like the one above. Just finished "Remember Me?" today.

Love Sophie Kinsella books! This was my third book by her. So, I thought I should start doing some book reviews. Here we go!

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

It's 2004 and Lexi Smart aka Snaggletooth is out clubbing with her friends. Her boyfriend, Loser Dave stood her up. Fast forward to 2007 and Lexi wakes up in a hospital bed with amnesia and is told that 3 years have passed. She wakes up to a super fit and tanned body, new teeth, fuller lips and a gorgeous husband. How did she get so lucky?!

You gotta read it to find out ! Since I love a great Chick book, I give this a 5 out of a 5.

Quotes from the novel...

"I can't get over this. Jennifer and Brad are divorced. The world is a different place."

"What are you, woman or walrus?"

Next book, Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Recap of last week-

I started working out again. I lost 4 pounds. Planning healthy meals in advance and going to the grocery store with a list is key!

What's on the menu this week.........

1. Zesty Barbecue Chicken (300 cal) over a baked potato.
2. Salsa Cube Steaks. (250 cal) I've never made cubed steaks. They were on sale.
3. Baked Orzo with Shrimp from Eat Clean book. Looks delicious. It's topped off with a yogurt cheese. You drain all the liquid off plain yogurt and end up with a cream cheese texture.
4. More of these for lunches! I heart hummus.

Also sandwich stuff and I made another batch of small breakfast burritos. I just love eating a warm breakfast more than anything! It's so satisfying.

Eat Clean

That is Tosca Reno up there on her cookbook. She was a frumpy and overweight housewife and now is a famous fitness model and cookbook author. I recently got two of her books off amazon. My goal is to try at least one of her recipes a week.

The scale gave me a really ugly number this morning and was a great wake-up call for me. Back to counting calories for me and menu planning. I want to be at a healthy weight before baby #2. I had toxemia with my first and don't want to up my risk for that again. My calorie goal is 1200-1500.

Meal Plans for this week-

Monday- Turkey Meatballs with Broccoli, Cauliflower and pasta

Tuesday- Chinese Chicken with Brown rice from Eat Clean Cookbook

Wednesday- Maui Black Bean Soup with tortillas from Eat Clean Cookbook

Thursday- Chicken salad with crackers

Friday- Hummus Wraps (flat out bread or pita with hummus, strips of carrots & red onion, black olives, tomatoes and feta cheese)---super good! Jordan made it a while back and it's very healthy.

Breakfast options will be fruit smoothies or a small, homemade breakfast burrito.

I gotta get to bed! This list is making me hungry. No late night snacking for me :)

Nightstand Makeover

Blah nightstand before pic.

I have been inspired ya'll! Since we moved into our new house I've become addicted to craigslist and thrift stores to find hidden treasures. It's really fun too.

We recently bought this 1970's nightstand off craigslist for 20.00. I liked the boxy shape of it and the fact that it has 4 working drawers. Oh and the 20 dollar part helped too. But all of our bedroom furniture is dark, chocolate wood or almost black. So, I bought some spray paint and finished this project in a couple of hours.

Ta Da! Here it is finished with the lamp on.

Here it is with the light off. The drawer pulls work for now but I will eventually buy some silver ones to match Matt's nightstand.

All I did was spray grey primer on. Then 2 coats of black spray paint. I spray painted the drawer pulls as well.

If your house needs some sprucing up check out Thrifty Decor Chick, The Nester and Living with Lindsey to name a few.

I have found so many crafts that I want to try! Here's another fun site, Dollar Store Crafts. For Christmas I made my mom apothecary jars almost identical to the ones that Pottery Barn sells for 39.00 and up. Will post about them soon when I remember where I found that idea.

Here's an after/after. I put new drawer pulls on err I mean Matt did.

New Year

Happy 2010 my friends! We had a wonderful Christmas and then vacation over New Year's Eve. Wasn't it neat to have a White Christmas in Tx?!

So, here I am pondering my new year's resolutions. By the way my husband thinks resolutions are "dumb" and doesn't get it. But he is constantly setting goals for himself so it's okay with me that he's not making new goals just for the new year. But I am!

1. Think of ways to be a better Mom. (I stay home with my 2 year old and it's easy to get into a boring rut but I absolutely LOVE all the one on one time I get with her).

2. We want another baby! I have baby fever bad. I think it just feels "time" for the second one.

3. I want to get more creative with my grocery budget and be more mindful of my spending.

4. Figure out a way to make money while being with my child the majority of the time. Sounds odd right?! I have some ideas just need to act on it.

5. Work on my esthetician skills which basically means studying up on things I've forgotten. Someday when I'm not a stay home mom I would like to get back into that field.

6. Get more exercise! We live in a great neighborhood with long sidewalks and a playground that I need to take advantage of.

And that's it! I really just want to grow closer to my family this year and appreciate all my blessings. I learned so much this past year. My husband lost his father, his job and his home. But we have so much to be thankful for. That was hard to see at times and there were lots of tears shed. I'm so happy that God heard my prayers and gave me hope.