More naughtiness...

How super yummy does this look?!

My sister and I decided to be extra naughty and have Hog's Breath for lunch last Sunday.

Don't fret though, my healthy eating is still on track, I'm just allowing myself a few treats.  I may not be losing weight as quickly as I want, but I'm still losing weight and I don't always have to deny myself lovely treats like this.

Daydreaming...

Yum.  This is what I've been daydreaming about today.  It was delicious.  It is one of the awesome desserts offered at Moorish Cafe.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week.

x

A Healthier Cannelloni

Over the school holidays I made the yummiest cannelloni I have ever eaten.  It was, however, quite hefty in the calorie stakes.

I am slowly getting my eating back in order and have lost a couple of those pesky kilos I gained over the past few months.  Still wanting to enjoy the yumminess of cannelloni, I found a 'healthier' version.  And a big plus was that it also had pumpkin.

Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

This cannelloni was pretty yummy.  I was impressed with the flavour it had, especially considering it didn't have a whole stack of ingredients.  I also added a few little extras:  pine nuts to the filling (this was suggested in the comments on Taste, it added a greater depth and texture to the meal) and some grated cheese to the top before putting it in the oven.  Just the cannelloni would have been roughly 300 calories plus the salad (which I added cheese and ranch dressing to...).  So it was a reasonably healthy meal - and MUCH healthier than the other cannelloni I had made.

All ready to go in the oven.  Yum.

For lunch this week I made Pork Salad.  I found the recipe in one of my Low Fat cookbooks.  It's kinda like a San Choi Bow - and supposedly 210 calories a serve (I've always considered pork, and especially pork mince to be quite high in fat).  It was very easy to make and very crisp and fresh to eat.  I think the only main negative to the meal was the cooking of the pork mince.  I HATE the smell of pork mince cooking.  YUCK.

Tonight I am making a Honey Mustard Pasta Salad for the next couple of day's lunches.  Sounds delicious, fingers crossed it tastes delicious.

Classroom Capers

Today I thought I'd give you a glimpse of my classroom.

It's been a tough year.  This class has been the toughest I've had.  But I love my job.  Sometimes I need to be reminded why though.  But I do.  I am so lucky to work in this industry.  To be responsible to mould the minds of our future leaders, to build relationships and provide comfort and stability - especially when many of my students do not receive comfort and stability at home - is a privilege.

Because I am so proud of what I (and my students) do, I am inviting you into my classroom.  I try very hard to make my classroom warm and inviting.  I often receive comments that my classroom always looks bright and cheerful.  Mission accomplished.

This is my classroom as you walk through the front door first thing in the morning (the kidlets unstack the chairs when the school day starts).

The view from my desk.

Our Unit of Work for this term is called 'Exploring Environments'.  The first environment we are exploring is Rainforests.  This sign was made with my much loved Cricut machine.  Pricey, but the best craft purchase ever.  I originally bought it for scrapbooking, now it pretty much lives at school.

Our rainforest.  I absolutely love how this turned out, but sadly I can't take the credit for it.  I had the idea, but my lovely and talented tutor constructed it.  I made one for my class two years ago.  It looked NOTHING like this, lol.  The signs are showing the four levels of the rainforest - forest floor, undergrowth, canopy and emergent trees.

My students drew and cut out animals and had to place them in the appropriate part of the rainforest.

Some of the gorgeous animals my students drew (my tutor drew the owl).

 The next environment we will explore.

The awesome water cycle display my tutor created.  Again, my idea, her creative talents.

And last but not least, we will explore deserts.

My whiteboard.  We've been learning about fractions.  Not everyone's favourite maths topic...

Our PM Benchmark reading levels display.  I borrowed this fabulous idea from another teacher at work.

This is the Arctic Fox we 'adopted' last year after raising money for endangered animals.  He is wearing my birthday crown.  My old tutor also wrote Arctic Fox in Japanese and put it around his neck.

Our latest art project.  Busy Frog Pond.  I'm not the most artistic person, but I have found an awesome series of art books.  Life saver.

So there you have it.  This is where I spend a very large proportion of my day.

I will update you every now and then with classroom updates.  Next term we are doing a unit on space, and I have heaps of space theme displays and projects in mind to jazz up my room.

Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella

Last night I made Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella.

Suprisingly, this recipe supposedly only had 386 calories a serve (not including the salad).  I always thought gnocchi would be quite high in calorie content, apparently I was wrong.

The recipe was also quite simple, with a total of 6 ingredients.  The gnocchi is store bought and next time I might be brave and try to make it from scratch.  The tomato sauce was very simple, consisting of a large tin of tomatoes, garlic, basil and a pinch of chilli flakes.

I thought the sauce was quite acidic and I wanted to add a wee bit of sugar to cut through the acidity, however the only sugar I could find was either raw sugar or Equal...  The Equal might have been okay, but I chose to go without...  The sauce could have also used a bit more chilli.  I guess my 'pinch' is quite measly.  My sister suggested that next time I might want to try blitzing the sauce as we both don't enjoy chunky tomato bits.

So this meal was okay, and with a few minor adjustments, I think it could potentially turn into a semi-regular meal in our house.


In other adventures, while looking for a recipe for low calorie banana muffins, I came across a website that has HEAPS of low calorie recipes.  While the recipes don't come with pictures (a bit let-down in my opinion), they come with a full nutritional evaluation.  Many recipes are submitted by the general public.  Go check it out at:  www.caloriecount.com  You have to sign up, but it's painless and FREE.

Lovely Left-overs

On Monday night I made a delicious Lentil Soup.  It was my first dinner meal back on the wagon.  I love soups, so it was a good choice.  Hearty and healthy.  Awesome.

Thankfully, I don't have a hungry horde to feed.  Usually just myself and my sister.  So usually I have left-overs.

Left-overs are awesome.  They not only save on grocery money, they also save on cooking and cleaning time.  Especially during the working week, cooking is not something I particularly want to do.  And I am now one of those weird people I never thought I would be, who cannot sleep knowing the kitchen is not clean (I never used to be that person until last year...).  Plus, left-overs also help me justify the insane amount of Tupperware I have collected.   Win!  So left-overs are awesome in many ways and are always included in my fortnightly menu plans.

My lentil soup left-overs for dinner tonight were particularly yummy, almost like a curry, it appeared to get better as it sat in the fridge over the last two days.

So, I appear to have successfully balanced myself on the wagon for the last few days.  Yummy (and easy) dinners and organised lunches have helped tremendously.  Tonight I planned my next fortnight of meals and I'm a bit excited about cooking some new things.  I have a healthy cannelloni, gnocchi and a pork salad on the menu.  So keep an eye out for my reviews on those.


Oh, look at the AWESOME chocolates I bought from Saltrum Winery in the Barossa Valley.  They are too pretty to eat.  Well, almost too pretty to eat.

Yep, those chocolates are gold.