The Little Nutritionist

I have a few things on the agenda for today!

I missed out on Al's famous spaghetti bolognese while I was at my expat event last night, but he luckily had lots of leftover sauce. I heated up the sauce on the stove tonight and topped it on to my favorite food in the world: gnocchi! 

Al makes really good bolognese sauce from scratch. He's been cooking it way before he met me. 

This is my homemade gnocchi bolognese! Actually, I didn't make the gnocchi from scratch, but I could if I wanted to....I think. Anyway, both components were great on their own, but I'm not sure if I liked the two combined. I think the sauce is best with long pasta, and gnocchi is good with a simple cream sauce or my way with olive oil, pasta sauce and loads and loads of parmesan cheese. 

As I promised, I am posting the lentil and vegetable curry recipe. 

Recipe by Julie Symons
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten and dairy free

Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green capsicum, chopped (green pepper)
2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 tablespoons red curry paste
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups pumpkin, cubed
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cups dried red lentils 
2 cups green beans, sliced
2 zucchini cut in chunks
1 cup light coconut milk

Method:
1. Heat oil, add onion and capsicum, cook until soft
2. Stir in garlic, ginger, curry paste and cook 1 minute
3. Add vegetable stock, pumpkin and cauliflower, bring to boil and simmer 6 minutes
4. Add lentils and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes
5. Add beans and zucchini
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender and lentils are cooked
7. Stir through the coconut milk and heat through

You can serve with rice if you want a little something extra, too. 

I halved the recipe. It lasted me one dinner and two lunches, and I still have leftovers! Thanks for the great recipe, Julie. 



On a more random note, I have officially lived in Australia for two years!!! As one of the girls at dinner worded it yesterday, it's my expativersary! Don't ask me if I have an Australian accent, because I don't. I sound exactly the same, although sometimes I phrase things differently. I think I'll go to the toilet, and then I'll have a nap. Ya know, those kind of things. 

Now, I am happy to say that I can finally share what is going on with me. I mentioned a few days ago that I was very stressed out, but I wasn't able to explain all of the causes with you. 

In a nutshell, one of the reasons that I was excited about living in Australia for a while was so that I could figure myself out career-wise. I have a bachelors degree in psychology, but I don't want to be a psychologist. I also, as I figured out over time, don't want to work in human resources or study industrial-organizational psych. I, basically, realized that I didn't want to do anything super psychology-ish. 

In January, an epiphany hit me like bird crap hits a clean car. I want to be a nutritionist. It's an idea I've had before, but I was always afraid of the science courses I would have to take. I loved biology in high school, but I struggled a bit with chemistry (although I rocked memorizing the periodic table of elements). I got good grades, but it never clicked with me the way that it did with other subjects. But I can't let the fear of chemistry get in the way of what I want to do. 

I could talk about details for hours. I could ramble about why I want to be a nutritionist and all of the things that I could do once I'm a registered dietitian, but I'll keep it simple. I like healthy eating, and I like helping others. No to mention, there are so many writing opportunities in the field. I do it for free now!

So that's what I want to do with my life. I wish I could have figured it out earlier, because I now have a whole year of prerequisites ahead of me. Being a psychology major, I never needed to take any bio or chem classes. I also want to get into a masters program in Chicago. In order to start the program in August 2012 (if I get accepted), I must complete three prerequisite science classes by January 2012. That's the application deadline. 

By the time I realized I wanted to go through with all of this, I figured out that the only way I could possibly get my three classes in by January was to take summer school classes in the US. I'd take bio 101 and chem 101 (the most basic courses and ones you need as a stepping stone to take more advanced required prerequisite courses), and I could come back and take chem 102 in Adelaide. This was the only way it could work. If I couldn't get into summer school in the US, then I wouldn't have enough classes out of the way to apply in January. Then, I'd have to wait another year to apply. What the heck would I do until then? 

(I hope this makes sense to you, because although it all makes perfect sense in my head, I'm confusing myself when I type it all out.) 

I thought it would all be golden, but then I wasn't able to register for my classes in the US over the weekend. An error came up saying that I haven't completed the prerequisites for the classes I want to take, even though I did in college!  I couldn't talk to anybody at the school since it was the weekend, and the spots were quickly filling up. 

I sent desperate emails to the school asking for help. My mom also got involved and was so helpful. She talked to the school first thing on Monday morning in Chicago. It turned out that I needed to fill out a form telling them what classes I wanted to register for. I scanned it into them, and they immediately gave me the go-ahead to register. I got into both of my classes, and now everything is fine. It was a lot of panic, but it turned out okay.

Now, I just have to hope that I can get into the Adelaide class. If I can't, there is a strong possibility that I won't be able to come back after the summer.

To alleviate some confusion, here is what I am doing:

Classes in Chicago (starting June 6, ending July 27)
Bio 101 (this isn't the exact class I'm taking, but it's just a basic cell biology class that  you would take your freshman year of college in your first semester if you were a nutrition major)
Chem 101 (same idea)

If all goes well with registration, I come back to Adelaide and start a new class at the end of July. This would be something like chem 102.

If I finish those classes, I have three down by January. That means I can successfully apply for the masters program that starts in fall 2012. 

In January, I would continue with school in the US. Other classes I need to take are:
Biochem
Microbiology
Organic Chemistry
Intro to nutrition (although I think I took it in college)
Foods with lab
Planning my wedding

Planning my wedding isn't a course, but it will take a lot of effort!

I see a lot of excitement and stress in my future. I also have to finish all of these classes (and pass) by the time the masters program starts (if I get in). 

I also told everybody at work about it, and my last day is May 27. It's so bittersweet!

Now you know my exciting news. It's going to be a lot of work. I have back up plans if I don't get into the masters program, but I really really hope that I do! It would be so nice to get married knowing that I'm going to start an awesome program in the next few weeks. 

Ohhh right, did I mention that my wedding is August 2, 2012? I told you that I had a lot to talk about today!

Al needs the computer now, and I need to do productive things for tomorrow like taking a shower, cleaning up and figuring out if I want to go to the gym in the morning. 

This was another heavy writing day, so thanks for reading!