Cauliflower Pizza Crust - Low Carb and Gluten Free

I LOVE pizza. It's probably one of my favorite foods. No, it's definitely one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately it's not that healthy and it usually hurts my stomach. Since I try to eat mostly gluten free, because that's what my stomach likes best, I decided to give cauliflower crusted pizza a try. I found a great recipe on Pinterest along with one on the back of the Cauliflower crumbles I used, and came up with a perfect recipe that tasted great! However it was a lot more work than making a regular pizza and I learned some things that I could do to make it better for next time. Here's a great recipe for a low carb, gluten free pizza crust:

INGREDIENTS (makes one 9" pizza) * does not include pizza toppings

• 1 cup of cooked cauliflower crumbles
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 tsp mined garlic
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt

Start by cooking your cauliflower crumbles in the microwave on high for about 5 minutes (no extra water need). My microwave is currently broken, so I put my on the oven on a low broil for about 8 minutes; this works just as good! You can also choose to "rice" the cauliflower on your own in a food processor, but I chose to go the easy route with the pre-made crumbles.

Next, you're going to make the pizza crust. Go ahead and set your oven to 450 degrees. Spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray or you can use parchment paper or a baking sheet. Mix the cauliflower, shredded mozzarella and beaten egg into a bowl and then add the minced garlic, oregano and salt; mixed well. At this point, my mixture seemed to be pretty runny and watered down. I would suggested straining your mixture before forming the crust so you don't have too much liquid.

Transfer your mixture on to the baking sheet, forming a thin 9" pizza crust. One recipe said to cook for 15 min and the other said to cook for 30 min. I cooked mine for about 38 min since it was extra runny from all the liquid. I would suggest cooking your crust about 20-30 minutes, keeping an eye on it. The amount of time also depends on how you like your crust cooked. I like mine a little crunchy so this also may have been why mine took longer to cook.

After cooking the crust, let it cool so it the crust can become more solid. Next add your sauce and favorite toppings! I made two pizzas; one with tomato pizza sauce, sharp cheddar cheese, a little mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni and the other with white pizza sauce, spinach, mozzarella cheese and a little bit of parmesan cheese.

After adding your toppings, place the pizza in the oven on a high broil. This will only take about 4 min, since you are only melting the cheese and warming your toppings. Depending on the toppings you use, you may need to precook them before broiling the pizza. If you used parchment paper when making your crust, make sure to remove that before broiling your pizza because the paper will burn.

Overall the pizza was delicious! The crust turned out so good and I couldn't even tell it was cauliflower. I will definitely be making my pizzas like this from now on!

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How to Make Yourself Actually Want to Workout

How to Make Yourself Actually Want to Workout

Whether you workout everyday or are trying to find the motivation to stick to an exercise routine, sometimes it's just not that easy to get up and at it all the time. I know from years of trying to get my own self to want to actually work out and now I love working out! It's fun for me and it's not just good for my health but my overall being. I have found that it clears my head in stressful times and leaves me feeling great afterwards and with a lot more energy. Here are 6 things I did to improve my fitness goals. I hope these will help you, no matter what stage of exercising you are in!

MAKE TIME FOR IT
Scheduling where and when you will workout is the biggest step in getting yourself to workout. When you make time for it in your day and have a plan, you will do it just like all the other things you do that day. It won't be as much a chore but just another thing you need to get done.

FIND A WORKOUT BUDDY
Working out with someone who enjoys the same exercises as you will help you stick to your workout routine. Having a friend will make you more accountable and give you more of an incentive NOT to hit the snooze button on your alarm, because you know you're meeting them at a specific time.

DO EXERCISE(S) THAT YOU LOVE, OR DON'T HATE
Finding the right exercise(s) for you that you enjoy doing will make working out a lot more fun.
This goes for where you work out too. If you don't like other people around when exercising, workout at home. If you don't mind other people around, find a gym or exercise class you love.

MAKE A GOOD PLAYLIST
Creating a playlist of your favorite songs that pump you up and make you happy are a great addition to your workout. You'll be singing along to the songs in your head and you won't even think about the fact that your working out.

GET SOME NEW WORKOUT CLOTHES
Treating yourself to some new workout clothes can really give you some motivation. It will make you want to wear your cute new outfit and will also help you feel more confident when working out. Fabletics has been my favorite brand lately. They have so many cute outfits to choose from and when you become a VIP member, you get a new outfit each month!

MIND OVER MATTER
I've come to realize that for me, the hardest part about working out is the 'getting myself to go do it' part. A lot of the time I'll know I need to exercise, but dread it for no reason. Once I start, I enjoy it and feel great afterwards! I've really had to use this mind over matter mentality to get myself up and just do it.

What do you do to get yourself up and exercising?

Eat With Me

I love food and I love to eat. My mom has always called me a "grazer" ever since I was a little girl. And it's true, I'm always eating! But the thing is, I don't eat huge amounts at a time and what I eat is good for me (for the most part). I'm sure we've all heard that 6 little meals throughout the day are better for you than 3 big meals. Honesty, I don't know. I'm not a health expert by any means and I'm not a dietitian. But what I do know is that what I eat has helped me stay healthy and keep off the little weight I gained freshman year. I usually eat breakfast and dinner and snack throughout the day. I'm not a big lunch person, so I just eat something small when I'm hungry, along with drinking lots of water. Here are some of the foods I eat throughout the day! (Not all of them in one day of course).

Oatmeal - This is what I typically eat for breakfast everyday. Especially when I'm away at college cause it's easy to pop in the microwave before class. I'm a big breakfast person and I have to eat before I start my day. Oatmeal is pretty filling believe it or not so it usually lasts me a long time until I get hungry again. Sometimes when I'm feeling extra hungry or know I won't eat for awhile, I'll slice up half a banana along with about half a spoonful of peanut butter and mix them in with my oatmeal. I know this might sound different, but it's so yummy, trust me!!

Banana with PB - Speaking of banana and peanut butter, this is one of my go to snacks! I usually get Jiff Natural Peanut Butter, which is supposively more natural and is quite delicious on my bananas. I also like to do this with apples. I'll get a package of apple slices and eat them with my PB too!

Premier Protein Shakes - Sometimes when I'm really busy, I'll grab one of these to go! They're seriously so good, it tastes like a chocolate milkshake! They also make tons of other flavors too if you're not a chocolate person. What's great about these is that they actually fill you up and last you a long time until your next meal or snack!

Skinny Pop Popcorn- I eat this stuff when I'm craving something salty, like chips! The best thing about this snack is that it's not only super yummy, but it's only 39 calories per cup! I know right!!!

Yoplait Light Greek Yogurt - This is the best brand of greek yogurt I have found when it comes to taste. This brand makes a ton of different flavors and it tastes just like regular yogurt, not like that weird taste that some greek yogurts have. My favorite flavors are vanilla, strawberry banana, apple pie, boston cream pie, and strawberry cheesecake.

Lunch Meat & Cheese Roll Ups - Like I said, I'm not really a lunch person so I don't like to eat sandwiches that often, and I try not to eat bread. But in order to get some protein and make it kind of like I'm eating a sandwich, I'll take two pieces of lunch meet and roll that up into a thin slice of cheese. My favorite is Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese Slices because they're only 40 calories per slice!

Grapes - Lately I have been loving grapes, especially while I'm at the beach. They're super refreshing and tasty! Sometimes I'll even pop a handful in the freezer so I can eat them later and have frozen grapes! This is probably my favorite way to eat them because it's like eating an icee in every bite!

Halo Top Ice Cream - I love love love this stuff!! Ice cream is my favorite dessert and I honestly could eat it for every meal. The best part about this particular ice cream is that it's super low calorie. Like super low, like as low as 60 calories a serving or to put it in a different perspective, 240 calories in a whole pint. I KNOW RIGHT. This is the best thing to happen to me. Seriously. And you know what else? There are some many delicious flavors and they're actually really good. The flavors range from plain vanilla and chocolate to flavors like s'mores, birthday cake, mint chocolate, cookie dough, sea salt caramel and so much more. I could tell you all the flavors I love but that would take forever. Just go try for your self!!

For dinner, my family eats pretty healthy. We actually don't eat carbs that much, but we do eat special things like fish tacos or burrito bowls and have our occasional baked potato! Some of my favorite dinner foods are salmon or grilled chicken. My dad is a great cook and comes up with all these different ways to prepare grilled chicken along with these incredible different sauces. Some of my other favorites are spaghetti squash, green beans and cauliflower. We usually always have a side salad and my favorite dressing lately has been honey mustard from Newman's Own. It's 70 calories per 2 tablespoons, which is pretty good compared to dressings like ranch or thousand island.

There are so many other foods that I eat and love. This is by no means what I eat every single day. Like I said, I love breakfast foods and I have a sweet tooth. These are just some of my favorite foods I have been loving lately that are actually healthy, or healthy-ish. But all in all I've come to realize it's all about moderation in order to stay happy and healthy!

XOXO

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New Year, Same You, But Better

Hey there, it's me! It's been awhile since my last post, but with the start of the New Year it's time for a fresh start. Yes, that's right a new look for Sweet Serendipity and more posts are headed your way, so stay tuned! That being said, I'm sure we all have a long list of changes we want to make this year, me included. But as I started this list I realized I was adding things that were meaningless. Sure they would help me improve some areas of my life, but I realized I was beginning to write things that were going to change me. I was writing down what I wanted to be instead of taking what I am now and improving myself. I was focusing on what I'm not instead of appreciating what I am. This year, lets not have high expectations for ourselves. Lets not make pages of things we've been meaning to get done. Lets choose to be happy and proud of who we are. This year, lets take baby steps to improving ourselves and make a list of things that really matter. We can get caught up in trying to make ourselves a completely different person, while sometimes that change is needed, for most of us it's not. Lets make this the year that we don't change ourselves but push ourselves to be better and most of all happy.


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10 Easy Ways to Boost Your Mood

Even though Clark just left a few days ago, I am already going crazy missing him. I know that seems silly because our time apart has just begun, but I keep thinking about how long we have to go and it makes me a little sad. I try to stay positive but it's hard when you're home all day by yourself with nothing to do. So I decided to come up with some things to keep me busy and so far they've worked!

Here are a few things to do to boost your mood when you miss your special someone:

1. Exercise ~ getting back into my gym routine after the holidays has really helped me keep my mind off things. I get into my workout "zone" and focus on what I'm doing and I feel better about myself when I'm done! Now if you're like me and hate to run, or if you even hate going to the gym, just taking a walk and really looking around at how beautiful our world is will put you in awe and keep those grateful thoughts around rather than the sad ones.

2. Listen to music ~ I know I've read somewhere that listening to happy music can improve your mood and whether that's true for everyone or not, it seems to really work for me! I try to listen to music as much as I can because I always find myself singing along and being in a happy mood.

3. Take a bubble bath ~ Taking a warm bubble bath is always very relaxing for me and since my dorm has community bathrooms with showers only, I'm trying to take as many baths as I can while I'm still home. Clark even gave me some bath suds for Christmas so I'm able to use my special gift from him every time I take a bath!

4. Bake ~ I love to bake any type of sweets and so far I've been making lots of gluten free snacks, which may or may not be a good thing :)

5. Paint ~ Painting as always been away for me to escape any of my problems or struggles so this has been a big help for me! To see what I painted for Clark view Getting Crafty.

6. Read funny quotes ~ Sometimes I need a good laugh and I will look up funny quotes on Pinterest! I even send some to Clark to make him smile!

7. Prayer book ~ One of my good friends gave me "The Bible Promise Book For Women." Inside it has many prayers under different categories. For example, if I wanted to pray for strength, I could look at prayers and bible verses specifically for that! This has been very helpful because I know that I can always count on praying for our relationship to help me feel better.

8. Plan a fun trip (if you can) ~ One of my friends that is still here in town invited me on a fun girls trip! We're going to the beach and to Universal Studios over Martin Luther King weekend. I am really looking forward to this and it has helped me realize how grateful I am to have such supportive and loving friends at home and away at school!

9. Watch your favorite movie or read a good book ~ I'm not much of a reader, but I'm a big movie person so I'm constantly watching Lifetime movies and my favorite shows on Netflix!

10. Ask someone else about what they're going through ~ Sometimes asking other people about what they're struggling with will help you realize that what you're worrying about or sad about isn't that big or it can reassure you that everyone struggles with something, just in different ways! This also gets me talking about how I miss Clark instead of holding all my feelings inside. And instead of this making me feel sad, my friends or family give me encouraging words which always improves my mood!

Just to clarify, by doing all of these things I am not trying to forget about Clark at all, I'm just keeping myself busy so I'm not focusing on how much I miss him and being sad all the time. Since most of my friends have gone back to school (besides the ones that are still in my hometown at FSU) I don't have that much to do at home anymore. I'm very excited and ready to go back to school because then I will be back in my school routine with all my friends and that will really help our time apart go by faster since I will be a lot busier.

I hope these tips will help you when you miss someone special or if you're just struggling and need to lift your spirits!

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Gluten Free Foods That Are Actually Yummy to Eat

Having been gluten free for about two years now I have tried many brands in search for the most delicious food. From rubbery bagels to plastic crackers, I've tried it all. When I first discovered that my stomach was sensitive to gluten, I felt that I was no longer able to enjoy the yummy foods that I loved! I soon realized that there are some bad brands out there but there's also many good brands! And I'm here to tell you what those are. Whether you're gluten free or not these are the best brands and yummy foods that I love!

Breakfast: 

{ Chocolate Chex Cereal | Publix | GF Chex Oatmeal | Publix | Bisquick GF Mix | Publix | GF Toaster Waffles | Trader Joe's | Udi's GF Double Chocolate Muffins | Publix }

I'm a huge breakfast person and while I can't have a gormet meal every morning these are the second best thing! Chex brand has awesome gluten free cereal that comes in many different flavors, I personally love the chocolate. They also make GF oatmeal which has always been one of my favorite breakfast meals. I use Bisquick gluten free mix to make pancakes, biscuits and Belgium waffles. You can't even tell the difference and that's what I love about it! When I don't have time to use the mix I pop two GF waffles in the toaster. There are numerous brands that sell GF waffles but I found the best to be from Trader Joe's. They're not dry and flaky like other brands. My absolute favorite brand is Udi's and these double chocolate muffins are to die for. Udi's also makes some delicious pizzas as well as bread!

Lunch/dinner/snacks:

{ Toufayan GF Wraps | Publix | Mueller's GF Pasta | Publix | Amy's GF Garden Vegetable Lasagna | Publix | Glutino GF Crackers | Publix | Lance GF Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers | Trader Joe's }

For lunch I'll eat one of these Toufayan GF wraps (I add lunch meat and cheese), I'm not a huge bread person because it makes me feel too full so these were a great find. Sometimes they're hard to find in Publix but ask an employee for help they're definitely worth it! My favorite food is Italian and that really stinks because most Italian food had gluten in it, but when I'm at home I use Mueller's GF pasta for spaghetti and other yummy dishes. Amy's brand has a ton of tv like dinners to choose from. Shown above is the garden vegetable lasagna but they also make things like burritos, Mac and cheese and even some Chinese food! Glutino is my second favorite brand! I love to eat their crackers with cheese or chicken salad! Lance recently came out with these peanut butter sandwich crackers and I couldn't be more thrilled, I use to eat the ritz brand as a child and now I can have one of my favorite snacks back!

Dessert:

{ Krusteaz GF Fudge Brownie Mix | Kroger | GF Chocolate Cupcakes | Trader Joe's | Glutino GF Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies | Publix | GF Chocolate a Chip Cookies | Trader Joe's }

Gluten free brownies that actually taste good are hard to find so when my aunt made me these Krusteaz fudge brownies I was in heaven. I honestly think they're better than regular brownie mix. Dessert is my favorite "meal" and Trader Joe's chocolate cupcakes make me realize that even more. They're so moist and the buttercream icing is the perfect touch. Glutino has done it again with some yummy cookies. These are as close to GF Oreos as you can get. My mom recently found the Trader Joe's chocolate chip cookies and I think I have fallen in love. I used to be obsessed with Famous Amos cookies and these are almost exactly the same but even bigger and better!

These are just a few of the gluten free foods that I enjoy and know are actually delicious to eat. So when you're cluelessly wondering around the grocery store looking at many different GF brands, you can count on these to be the best!