Life, Crafts, Music, Diets, and Cooking

Today, I filled out my student teaching application -- scary stuff.  In a way, though, it made me feel a little proud of myself.  I mean, I've completed 140 hours of schooling, have a GPA of 3.56, and I'm graduating with honors.  I apply for graduation by June 1st.  All is well and good, but it scares me, to be honest...

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I really wish I could share my gift for Zach!  I would if I knew he did not read this.  I will definitely take pictures and post it when I give it to him, though.  It's all hand-made, too.

Oh a whim, I went on eBay searching for a violin.  I've wanted to learn how to play a violin for a while, but they are pretty expensive and I don't know of anyone who could teach me how to play.  When I got on eBay, I took it as a sign because I found a violin for $45 brand new and with everything with it (minus the shoulder cushion, which isn't completely necessary).  It should be here tomorrow!  I'm so excited.  I'm going to try to teach myself through various YouTube videos and websites.  It seems I've taught myself a lot lately.

So, Zach and I have started a diet (approximately January 9th).  I began by just watching what I ate, but soon he showed me an awesome app he had for his phone called MyFitnessPal.  It's basically a calorie counter with a huge database of foods; it also has a barcode scanner where the barcode looks up the food.  It's really useful and adds a sense of accountability because of its ease.  Not only that, but it keeps track of your weight whenever you log it.  At the end of the day it says "If every day were like today, you would weigh X in 5 weeks!"  So far, it says I will have dropped a total of 20 pounds in a little over a month from now.  So far, I have lost 7 pounds.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I am a vegetarian, which can make it hard to find diet foods that aren't salad.  Not only that, but I do not like mushrooms, which is a large part of most vegetarian diets.  Luckily, I stumbled across an awesome dieting website with a lot of recipes for different types of lifestyles...Including vegetarian. Happyness~!  The websites is 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet, which the name alone made me have to visit it.  I will include some of the recipes I have tried so far.

 

 Veggie Calzones

Ingredients:

3/4 cup halved and thinly sliced zucchini

3/4 cup sliced, fresh mushrooms* (I changed mine to a few baby carrots, sliced)

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup Roma tomato slices* (This was not in the original recipe, we thought it would add a little something)

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 10-ounce can refrigerated pizza crust

1 cup low fat mozzerella cheese

1 egg white, beaten

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In bowl, combine mushrooms/carrots, zucchini, pepper, tomatos and onions. Sprinkle with garlic salt and basil and mix well. Unroll dough and place on cookie sheet. Roll into a 14 inch square and cut into 4 pieces. Place 1/4 cup of cheese on each square and spread to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top each with 1/4 of vegetable mixture. Fold dough over in half and press edges with fork to seal. Brush each pastry with egg white. Cut 2 or 3 slits in top of each pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  (250 calories per serving)

 

Rice Crust Pizza

Ingredients:

3 cups cooled brown rice, cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder

1 egg

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped plum tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 11-inch pizza pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Combine rice with egg, half the basil and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Mound rice in center of prepared pan. Cover rice with plastic wrap. Using your fingers, pat and shape rice into 10 1/2-inch circle about 1/2-inch thick, making a rim around edge. Lift away plastic wrap.
Pre-bake the rice crust 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Stir in remaining basil and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When pizza crust is cool, sprinkle half the mozzarella over it. Cover cheese with the tomato mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and sprinkle Romano cheese over it.
Bake until cheese is bubbly, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the pizza on a rack until comfortably hot to eat. Serve immediately. (160 calories per serving)