Pizza, homemade & healthy

Pizza, homemade & healthy

Most pizza, whether from a restaurant or grocery story freezer, is neither healthy nor very tasty, IMHO. It fills a caloric need, a hungry stomach, plus it’s something usually everyone will eat. But the oil and fat and salt aren’t appealing; the cheese turns off anyone plant-based. So let’s make our own! Much better, with a whole wheat crust, quick homemade sauce, lots of veggies, and a mozzarella-like pourable cheese that browns right up.

Here’re the recipes for the crust, the sauce, and the cheez. The crust recipes includes the directions for assembling it all into a pizza.

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
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“Mozzarella”

This cheez will taste like mozzarella, and brown in the oven. It's ooey and gooey, perfect for pizza.
Course: Sauces and dressings, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 0

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 4 Tbs tapioca flour
  • 1 Tbs nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/3 cup water

Instructions

  • Cover the cashews with hot water and soak for 10 minutes.
  • Drain the cashews and place in a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until it becomes a completely smooth liquid, about 2 minutes.
  • Pour into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continually stir. The cheese will start forming clumps; keep stirring and it will continue clumping until the mixture turns from watery to a thicker melty cheese sauce. This takes about 5 minutes.
  • Serve hot or allow to cool. The cheese will get thicker as it cools but will stay in a melty state.

Notes

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 – 3 days
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
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Pizza!

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Servings: 0

Equipment

  • 1 pizza stone optional

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water 105 degrees F
  • 1 Tbs sugar
  • 1 Tbs active dry yeast
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 – 2 1/2 cups flour I like white whole wheat
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put a pizza stone in the oven while it preheats for at least 10 minutes.
  • Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbles form.
  • Gently stir in olive oil.
  • Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix with a spatula until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball.
  • Transfer to a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough for about five minutes, adding up to ½ cup extra flour if needed.
  • On a piece of parchment paper, roll the dough flat into a 12-inch circle.
  • Spread pizza sauce on the crust. Add desired vegetables: red onion, mushrooms, green pepper, artichokes. Top with pourable or sliced mozzarella cheez and a sprinkling of herbs like oregano and basil.
  • Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone in the oven.
  • Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. If the cheez isn't browned, turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes. Watch it carefully!
  • Take the stone out of the oven and remove the pizza to a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking pan will be fine.
Use jarred pizza sauce or make your own with this recipe below.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time3 minutes
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Pizza Sauce

Whisk this up from ingredients in your pantry.
Course: Sauces and dressings
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 0

Ingredients

  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 15 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbs dried oregano
  • 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

  • Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

Chocolate-Pistachio Banana Sushi

Chocolate-Pistachio Banana Sushi

This is easy, and a fun thing to make with children. Slice it up and keep it in the freezer, the perfect treat.

Prep Time15 minutes
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CHOCOLATE-PISTACHIO BANANA SUSHI

The name says it all! It's a fun recipe to make with kids, and a treat to have in the freezer.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 3 Tbs pistachios
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate pieces 70% dark
  • 1/2 cup plant milk

Instructions

  • Heat the milk to boiling; remove from heat.
  • Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes while the chocolate melts.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the pistachio garnish. Chop the pistachios into small pieces or add the pistachios to a coffee grinder and grind them to a fine powder. Set aside.
  • Whisk the chocolate-milk mixture until smooth.
  • Peel the banana and place it on a serving plate covered with parchment paper.
  • Slowly pour the melted chocolate over the banana, making sure it is completely covered on the top and both sides.
  • Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top of the banana.
  • Place your serving dish in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate, then remove, slice, and serve.

Notes

This recipe makes extra chocolate sauce. It’s great to add to a bowl of ice cream (plant-based of course), or to dip strawberries in, or spread on graham crackers. It can be frozen.

Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

These are fun to make. There’s little cooking, other than a quick boil of the rice noodles. Kids like to participate and everyone likes to eat them. The sauce is finger-licking good!

Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Rice paper is wrapped around crisp veggies, dipped in flavorful sauce. No cooking required.
Course: Appetizer, Sauces and dressings, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Spring rolls

  • 2 oz thin rice noodles
  • 12 sheets rice paper spring roll wrappers
  • 1 cup cabbage red or green, sliced very thin
  • 2 carrots cut into matchsticks
  • 1 cucumber sliced very thin
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 12 pieces butter lettuce
  • 1 jalapeno pepper thinly sliced

Dipping Sauce

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 Tbs soy sauce
  • 2 Tbs maple syrup
  • 2 tsp Siracha adds heat; to taste
  • 2 Tbs rice vinegar
  • 3 Tbs water

Instructions

Spring Rolls

  • First cook the noodles according to package directions. Should take only a couple of minutes. Drain and rinse.
  • Fill a cake tin that is larger than the rice paper with an inch of water.
  • You will make each spring roll one at a time. Lay the rice paper in the water until it is pliable, about 20 seconds. Take it out and place it on a towel.
    If you leave it in too long, it will disintegrate. You'll get the hang of it!
  • Leaving about an inch on each side, layer a little bit of each filling ingredient, lettuce first, on the bottom third of the wrapper.
  • Roll up the wrapper from the bottom about half way, then fold in the sides. Continue rolling all the way.
  • The wrapper might stay closed; you can also dampen the very top with some water to help it stick.

Dipping Sauce

  • Whisk all the ingredients together.

Notes

Recipe makes 12 spring rolls.
Other optional ingredients include slivers of baked tofu, cilantro, and mint.
Normally my recipes are no-oil but sesame oil adds such great flavor that I’ve included it.
If you take these as your contribution to a meal, better make a lot more – they will go fast!