Thursday, March 29, 2012

Change your idea of pizza

While I love whole wheat and whole grain breads, I like to limit my amount.  The gluten and yeast tends to slow down my digestion among other things when eaten in larger amounts.  Bread is not bad, but many people have noticed how gluten tends to cause stomach issues.  I like to use a moderate amount and look to use other creative avenues for some traditional foods.  I discovered a wonderful recipe for a Cauliflower crust Pizza and home made marinara sauce.  KID APPROVED!

Too much wheat in your diet can cause stomach issues like, candida, Leaky gut syndrome, Celiac Disease, and weight gain.  A lot of research is pointing towards many of our Wheat and grains fields are being genetically modified to be more pest resistant.  This is messing with our ability to digest these foods.  When baking or cooking it is best to use organic sources because of GMO's.  Symptoms can be gas and bloating, intestinal cramping, create wheat allergies, memory lose, unable to digest nutrients, nausea, diarrhea, and more.  I love grains and breads, but in moderation.  It's fun to take a recipe and change it up so that you don't always eat it in a single way.

Gluten Free cauliflower crust pizza
2 cups, crumbled cauliflower
2 cups Non-Fat shredded mozzarella cheese                                                                       
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp crushed garlic
olive oil (optional but great for a crispy crust)
***This recipe was for my family of 6.  You can easily cut recipe in half for 2-4 people****

Marinara Sauce
8-10 plum tomatoes, blanched
6 roasted small yellow and red peppers
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp oregano


Marinara Sauce takes a little longer to make than the crust so you will start it about 1 hour earlier.  I made mine early that day to have ready when I made the crust.  In a medium sauce pan add all tomatoes and roasted peppers to simmer over medium low heat until moister is cooked off.   Then move tomatoes and peppers over to a food processor and pulse until all blended.  Move back over to sauce pan and add remaining ingredients.  Simmer over lowest heat for another 20 minutes.  

Crust
In food processor crumble one head of cauliflower.

This will look like a coarse meal.









In a microwave safe container (I use pampered chefs micro cooker) steam cauliflower for 5 minutes.
 You will not add any water to cauliflower when steaming since suliflower holds lots of moister.









In a large bowl place 2 cups of cauliflower, cheese, eggs, and seasoning then mix together.











On a stone, drizzle oil and smooth over surface.  Take a heaping amount of mixture to center of stone and smooth out into a 9 inch circle while 1/4 inch deep.  Drizzle and smooth out with just a tad more oil over top to brown crust, this step is optional.











Place crust in oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.


Remove crust and place marinara sauce and topping over pizza.







Place back in oven for an additional 5 minutes, just to melt cheese.  Veggies will still be crisp and not over cooked.  If you like veggies cooked more then you will want to roast separately while crust is roasting.   Pizza on right is the kids cheese pizza.






Pizza was easy to cut and put on plates but can not be eaten like a bread crust pizza.  The kids and I enjoyed with a fork.  While the kids knew it was a new recipe they said it was delicious and asked for more. 












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