nom nom ~ and some new kitchy stuff

Let's talk FOOD for a moment.

How about plain low-fat Greek yogurt mixed with ground flax seed and a little natural sweetener (Truvia) over a bowl of strawberries and blueberries, and topped with Kashi Go-Lean Crunch...

A yummy, nutritious breakfast or lunch!

Yesterday, I baked a loaf of zucchini-walnut bread. This recipe is healthier than the usual zucchini bread recipes out there that have a ton of sugar and fat. This recipe uses low-fat Greek yogurt, canola oil, and minimal sugar. Makes a good late morning or early afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea.

YOGURT-ZUCCHINI BREAD WITH WALNUTS

(Recipe adapted from Food & Wine)

1 cup (4 oz.) walnut halves

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. EACH baking powder, baking soda, & salt

3/4 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. low-fat plain Greek yogurt (you can also sub low-fat sour cream)

1 c. coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 med. zucchini)

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9x4-1/2" metal loaf pan. Spread the walnut halves in a pie plate and toast them for about 8 minutes, until they are fragrant. Transfer the toasted walnuts to a cutting board and coarsely chop them, then freeze for 5 min. to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with the eggs, canola oil, and yogurt (or sour cream). Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients along with the grated zucchini and toasted walnuts and stir until the batter is evenly moistened. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 1 hour and 10 min., until the loaf is risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool on a rack for 30 min. before unmolding and serving.

Found these gorgeous blue Bell jars at Goodwill for $1.99 each.

The color reminds me of the Caribbean. :-)

I'm currently using them to store tea bags and Truvia packets.

See the vintage yellow tray on the wall? I recently bought a couple of these ~ I have a red one, too ~ and was wondering how to display them, when I saw this great idea of hanging them on the wall and using them as a bulletin board of sorts on a Pinterest board.

I hung the trays using 3M velcro strips. They supposedly don't damage the walls when you take the stuff down.

I hung the red tray on the side of a cabinet by my kitchen window.

The wind chime is made from vintage silverware; found it at a craft show.

Now for a dose of reality. This is what my kitchen looked like earlier this morning when I was making a vegetable bean salad to bring to my mom's later, and also baking cookies for my son.

I'm delaying the dreaded clean-up!

Hope you all have a delightful and blessed Labor Day...

What are your plans for the day?