Luxurious cauliflower crust pizza!

I often crave carb loaded foods, rather than sweetness. I also love pizza, absolutely one of my favorite cheat meals and carb craves, when done right. But even though I have cheat days, I like to make conscious decisions. Do I really want normal pizza with that gluten rich crust that's just lathering in oil? Topped with pizza sauce that's high in sugar and unnecessary ingredients? 

I decided it was time to bake my own pizza and make better choices with it :) I know cauliflower crust can sound complicated but with these simple steps, you'll be enjoying flavorful, gluten free and lovely pizza without the extra fuzz. 

You need: 

- 1 cauliflower head

- 1/2 cup (1dl) grated mozarella cheese

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 tsp dried Basil

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

- 1 egg

- Pizza sauce, I simply used pure pureed tomatoes 

- Toppings of choice (I used spinach, black olives, red bell pepper and extra cheese)

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Hæ elskurnar :) Það er búið að vera rosalega mikið að gera í skólanum en hér kemur ný færsla með dýrindis pizzu úr blómkálsbotni. Ég er mjög hrifin af pizzu og öðru fæði sem inniheldur hátt hlutfall kolvetna og vel það yfirleitt framyfir sætindi á betri dögunum. Um dagin langaði mig einmitt rosalega í pizzu en fór aðeins að spá í innihaldinu. Pizzakassinn eftir tilbúnar pizzur er alltaf löðrandi í olíu, svo og skorpan og botninn sjálfur, auk þess sem pizzasósan inniheldur heldur mikinn sykur og önnur óþarfa innihaldsefni. 

Mig langaði að baka mína eigin en helst sleppa hveitinu. Ég hef áður tilraunast með kúrbíts pizzu sem mér fannst ekki haldast alveg nógu vel, né líkjast pizzadeigi. Þetta er hinsvegar alveg málið! Pizzan varð yndisleg, botninn var stökkur en mjúkur, svona eins og pizzur eiga að vera. Ég mótaði botninn soldið þykkan, til að líkja eftir pönnu pizzum, en ykkur er velkomið að hafa þær þunnbotna :) Fylgið þessum einföldu skrefum að þessari yndis böku :)

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Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Cut the florets of a small head of cauliflower. 

Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor to make cauliflower "rice" 

Heat in the microwave for 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl

Add the cauliflower rice to a clean cloth/towel and let it cool for a few minutes. Then squeeze the cauliflower in the towel to get out as much excessive liquid as possible. This is the most important step as wet cauliflower won't stick well together

Add the cheese, spice and egg and mix well 

Spread a little oil on a baking sheet and form your pizza on it. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until the crust is golden

The crust is ready! :)

I used pure pureed tomatoes (hægt að fá m.a. frá Sollu eða mauka sjálf) instead of pizza sauce, and added my toppings of choice. Don't worry about the sauce getting bland, the crust adds enough flavor :) Bake for another 5-7 minutes

Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it :)

I was so so so excited. It held perfectly together and it smelled and tasted so good. The texture was just like any pizza I would normally have and the taste was even better.

Highly recommend trying out this deliciousness :)

- Amanda <3 

Flower power

Might sound a bit cliché but I found this title to be the most descriptive one. I've had these floral jeans for a long time and they always remind me of summer. Wearing bold patterns like this can be challenging though, but you can't go wrong with basics. I paired the jeans with a white sweater since it's still pretty chilly outside, it happens to be warmer than it looks like, and very cozy :)
I do however see myself pairing the jeans with a white tee and sneakers this summer for a more relaxed look. I really liked this outfit though, it brought up the happy hippie in me and I can totally see myself strolling like this downtown with ice cream. Ah, summer, come soon, please.

Enjoy your weekend :) I'm going to study, work out and have a cozy time

- Amanda <3 

Strawberry chickpea muffins

Can you believe this pretty little muffin is made of chickpeas? Neither did my friends. These are sweet, moist and flavorful. You most certainly do not taste any chickpeas, just sweetness of the strawberries and white chocolate. YUM!

You need:

- 240g/ 1 14 oz,  cooked chickpeas 

- 3 eggs 

- 3 tablespoons honey

- around 8 strawberries (small box)

- 50g white chocolate

- 1 banana

- 1 tsp baking powder (notaði vínsteinslyftiduft)

- zest from one lemon

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp salt

Add everything to a blender/food processor except for strawberries and white chocolate. 

 Then add the strawberries and chocolate to the batter. Simple as that! Bake at 175°C/350°F for 25mins. I recommend using silicone forms since the batter is a bit runny and sticky. 

My cute girls :) We ate the whole batch up! 

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Þessar voru svo mjúkar og sætar :) Jarðaber og hvítt súkkulaði klikkar ekki. Kjúklingabaunirnar koma í stað hveitis og þó það hljómi furðulega passa þær stórvel í baksturinn. Það finnst ekki bragð af þeim og kökurnar verða mýkri fyrir vikið. Elsku vinkonur mínar mættu í kaffi til mín og datt þeim alls ekki í hug að þær væru að borða kjúklingabaunir :)

Mæli með þessu elskurnar, sérstaklega tilvalið að skella í bakstur í leiðinlega veðrinu!

- Amanda <3

Little things

I'm an university student that lives alone, so the home decor has to be on a budget. I want to show you a few glimpses of my apartment and some little details that make it feel more cozy :)

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Eins og margir vita er ekki alltaf mikið milli handanna hjá háskólanemum, hvað þá ef þeir búa einir. Mig langaði að sýna ykkur lítil brot af heimilinu mínu og nokkur atriði sem mér finnst lífga upp á íbúðina :)

Pretty vases for my make-up brushes / keypti þessa sætu vasa í söstrene grene :)

Pretty little candles from Ikea

My favorite furniture :)

Pretty watches in a display box 

Jewelry trees are useful to keep things organized :)

My little fridge piggies (I have a thing for pink and pigs!)

You might have seen glimpses of my kitchen piggies! They sure lighten my mood while cooking :)

The one thing most university student can't live without..a coffee maker! 

Dr. Organic are my favorite products. They are organic (duh), don't test on animals and only include natural ingredients. I have sensitive skin that doesn't handle perfume in creams well (hello rashes and outbreaks), and these feel really gentle on my skin. I also have very dry skin that the cold weather here in Iceland doesn't help with. That's why I use Vitamin E facial cream and body butter :) It's the best moisturizer for dry skin, you can say bye to itching skin and dry spots, yay! :)  / Þessi krem fást í ýmsum heilsuvörubúðum eins og Lifandi markaði, en mesta úrvalið fæst þó í Holland & Barret í Smáralindinni. Dr. Organic framleiðir línur sem henta ýmsum aldurs- og húðgerðum svo ég mæli með að skoða og fá jafnvel aðstoð við val :)

Everybody have a nice weekend :*

- Amanda <3 

Cozy zucchini bake

It's march already with its hope of spring, yet it's freezing outside. March never fails to remind us we live in Iceland  and there is still some waiting to do ;) I made this bake one day when I really wanted something warm and comforting, like lasanja. I didn't feel like having heavy pasta however, so I decided to change it up with zucchini :) This tasted great and felt like real comfort food. So warm and cozy. Lentils are high in protein and a good source of iron, as well as having the advantage of cooking in 15-20mins and no need to soak overnight! Good for the daily busy bee :)

What you need:

- 1,5 small zucchinis or 1 big

- Red lentils, I boiled 500g but had lots of leftovers, 250g is probably enough for this dish alone

- Any veggies you have in the fridge (I used tomatoes, red bell pepper, mushrooms)

- 1-2 cups (1-1,5 dl) Tomato puree

- Grated cheese (used aprox. 250g)

Start with boiling red lentils. Took around 20mins :)

Cut up veggies while lentils are boiling. Heat the veggies on a pan and mix with the lentis, as well as tomato puree. Portion can be optional, depending on how thick you want the filling to be. Season by taste, I used around a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and chilli pepper each as well as a tsp of lemon pepper and ground ginger. 

I cut up the zucchini in fairly thick slices (around 1cm) and placed on the bottom of an oven proof deep dish

Add the lentil filling :) 

Add cheese. Repeat as you would do with lasanja: zucchini, filling, cheese

After the second layer, add another layer of just zucchini to add a little extra crunch. Bake at 180°C/350°F for aprox. 30minutes.

So good :) Red lentils are the sweetest type of lentils and really mix well with the zucchini. 

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Virkilega mæli með þessum ljúfa og bragðgóða rétti :) Rauðar linsur eru svo sætar, mjúkar og góðar. Í bland við ost og kúrbít kemur út frábært bragð sem yljar manni í kuldanum. Mæli með þessu eða gulróta- og sætkartöflu súpu nú þegar frostið hefur aftur látið sjá sig. 

- Amanda <3 

Instagram 1

Here are a few recent photos of my instagram :)

1. Green make-up. 2. New gym wear, yay!

3. Black milk works for the gym too :)  4. New plate for my cupcakes and other goods

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5. Skittles relaxing while we watch tv.   6. Live.Love.Carnaval

7. Baked a new batch of oatmeal muffins :)  8. Giving my little pug some belly rubs 

- Amanda <3