Pizza is just one of those foods. Sometimes a gal or a guy just has to have some pizza. I think it is the all time best Treat Food. And notice I said Treat Food and NOT Cheat Food. I think that thinking of foods or meals as “cheat meals” has such a negative implication. Food is love. Food is good for us, and even better, food IS good. And pizza is always good.
One thing we love to do is make our own pizza. I have a great pizza dough recipe I love to use and then let folks create their own favorite pizzas before we pop them on the grill. If you missed that recipe HERE it is.
On Sunday the Third Son had some friends over as they had a break from school on Monday. Since they were all hanging outside, swimming, playing basketball, doing all the boys stuff, we thought pizza would be the perfect “feed the boys” meal. So I whipped up a batch of dough and got together some toppings for a “pizza bar”.
I usually treat pizza as a treat. However, since I was at a football game and had “weekend” food, I thought I’d had enough treats. I had been wanting to make a cleaner pizza crust and thought this was the perfect night to make a pizza with cauliflower crust.
And you all know I don’t share a recipe unless it gets a gold star stamp of approval! So, I’m telling you this is my new favorite pizza crust!
VEGGIE PIZZA WITH CAULIFLOWER CRUST
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella
2 egg whites
1/2 oz prated Parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup Slices Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place half the chopped cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, like rice. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the cauliflower.
Coat cauliflower with cooking spray. Bake, stirring, for 25 minutes then let cool.
Turn oven temperature to 450 degrees. Warm a skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and and garlic, then add mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes and sauté’ until tender.
Place cauliflower in a kitchen cloth and squeeze out until as dry as you can get it. In a bowl, combine cauliflower, 1 tsp oil, salt, pepper, mozzarella, egg whites and parmesan cheese.
On a parchment lined baking sheet press cauliflower mixture into two circles. Coat with cooking spray and bake until browned, about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with mushroom mixture, tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella. Bake again until cheese melts.
This was so, so, so good. Don’t let pizza scare you. You CAN EAT pizza and STILL EAT CLEAN!
Use this crust recipe and top with all of your favorite toppings! You can eat, enjoy and still feel great the next day!
How often do you eat pizza? What is your favorite? Do you consider pizza a treat?
Enjoy Your Day!
Leave a Reply