Be Creative: Healthy Pizza

Ange and I were both having a pizza craving. Sometimes, well actually many times, we think so much alike, it is scary.  Anyhow, one evening, we set out to make a healthful and delicious pizza, much more satisfying than pizza made in a traditional way and not just a regular pizza with vegetable toppings. Ange's and my culinary delight in life is making food dishes that are satisfying, decadent, and delicious but also more healthy than the traditional dish. We start out intending to make a traditional dish with a traditional recipe, but modify the recipe to make it as healthy and satisfying as possible. Selecting ingredients is the first step and requires some creativity. Substituting the called-for ingredients with healthy options means replacing some of meat, cheese, eggs as well as replacing any processed white rice, flour or sugars with healthy options and ingredients (hopefully, local and organic ).  After Ange and I perfect a recipe, I get lots of practice making my great-tasting healthy dishes for my family. I visited my family last week in Florida and in honor of my making "Jen" meals with them last week, I am going to share TheBeList Heathy Pizza recipe which I made for a snack for my family one afternoon.

My favorite part of this recipe is that it is very easy to make several versions of the pizza, at the same time, to accommodate dietary or taste preferences. Last week, I had 6 eaters--all with totally different favorites. My brothers love meat, don’t like much cheese, and veggies aren’t their favorite. My mom and boyfriend like all the toppings. Dad likes meat and cheese but not all veggies. I prefer a completely vegan pizza and love anything that is a vegetable. Here’s how I made it work:

Ingredients:

* Some flat bread, I use naan, but flatbread, pizza bread or even sliced multigrain or focaccia would be      great. Point is, it really doesn’t matter.

*A couple of cans of whole or chopped organic plum tomatoes or fresh works also

* Half a tube, jar or can of tomato paste

* A couple cloves of garlic

* Fresh Basil

* Sea or Himalayan Salt

* Pepper

* Red Pepper flakes (Optional)

* Half of a large onion, any type, or a whole small one.

* Half an eggplant, chopped.

* One zucchini, chopped

* One bell pepper, chopped

* One cup chopped plum or cherry tomatoes

* Two cups spinach or arugula (once it wilts down, it won’t be much)

* Half a cup shredded cheese

* About half of a pound of meat, whatever you like, Chicken, sausage, anything could work.

Be creative! If you want to do a vegetarian version, use faux sausage or pepperoni. Ange once made my family a vegan pizza bread stuffed with fake meat and none of the meat eaters knew the difference. That recipe for the fabulously delicious vegan pizza bread is to come…

No matter what, use as much fresh, organic, local food for the ingredients as possible.

First, preheat an oven to 350 Degrees.
The start to a great pizza or pasta dish is the sauce. I always make it homemade. It isn’t imperative, but I promise, it will make it taste so much better. For me, this isn’t a step to cut corners . Although homemade pesto is great on pizza and something to try, to try to please everyone, I chose a conventional tomato sauce. I start with a little olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic in a pan. (I am not much of a measuring kind of girl, just adjust based on how much you like.) Heat until the garlic is aromatic and golden on a medium heat, but be sure not to burn. Add a can or two of chopped organic canned plum tomatoes. I use the whole ones and chop myself, but it probably doesn’t make a big difference if you are pressed for time. Fresh tomatoes work fine also, but I would probably use regular tomatoes and process lightly in a food processor so there is some liquid. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat to simmer and add organic tomato paste until it is the desired thickness. I like to add some chopped fresh basil also. Salt, pepper, and let simmer until you are ready. If you like a little kick, I sometimes add red pepper flakes.
While you are doing the sauce, in two other pans, get the toppings going. In one pan cook the meat, chicken, sausage, whatever you want.
In the other, make a little veggie topping mixture. I start with olive oil and add onion. Cook on medium high for a few minutes and then add any of the following, and anything else that sounds good to you. I use eggplant, zucchini/squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach and/or arugula. Simmer and let cook down. You can also add a little tomato paste to that mix if you like.
Once all three components are close to done, I cut the “pizza bread” into small triangles or squares and arrange on a baking sheet to toast. When toasted, then all you have to do is assemble. I make combinations that I know each person will like. Some with just cheese and sauce and meat. A few with everything. A few with just sauce and veggies. Lots with meat and sauce. This part you should adjust based on your group.
A note on the cheese. I like to use one or two kinds of fresh cheese and grate myself as I am making it. It seems to come out better than a pizza made with the packaged, pre-shredded kind.
Once assembled, stick back in the oven until they look melty and yummy! Just a couple of minutes will be enough.
Time can be cut significantly if you already have the sauce left over from a pasta dish that day or a day or two earlier. In that case, this is a 15 minute effort. If you do the sauce at the same time, I approximate 25min.