Asparagus, Mushroom, Pesto topped Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I had been debating all week how to use my asparagus, cauliflower and fresh tomatoes that I bought from the local farmer's market, when it hit me, combine them all in a garden fresh pizza! One of the things I love about making your own food, is seeing it go from individual ingredients into a beautiful finished meal, all parts combined to create a delicious healthy work of "food art"! lol 

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

Half a head of Cauliflower

2 egg whites

1/2 cup light mozzarella cheese

3 Garlic cloves, minced

Dash of Basil and Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings:

Pesto

Light Mozzarella Cheese

1 cup Mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 small organic tomato

1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes

12 stalks of Asparagus

Splash of Truffle infused olive oil - or regular olive oil

Toppings I would have added had they been on hand:

Crumbled goat cheese

Balsamic glaze drizzled over the top

Fresh spinach leaves

Sauteed Zucchini or Yellow Squash

So many options, I might just have to make another one next week!

Recipe feeds two slightly hungry people or one ravenously starving individual, like myself, after a hard workout.. Yes, I ate the whole thing.. couldn't help myself! You can increase the amount of cauliflower and add an extra egg white and a little more cheese to make a larger pizza!

Instructions:

A. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees

1. Rice the Cauliflower: Divide the half head of Cauliflower into large florets and put them a few cups at a time into the the Vitamix on low, using the dowel to push them down into the blades. This can be done in a food processor or using a cheese grater, although the Vitamix is by far the easiest and fastest way to "rice" the cauliflower.

2. Once the Cauliflower is "riced", I microwaved it in bowl for a minute to soften it, before adding in the egg whites, minced garlic, mozzarella cheese, and the spices.  Mix thoroughly.

3. Line a large baking sheet with wax or parchment paper, and spray it liberally with nonstick cooking spray. I have missed this step too many times to count and ended up with a pizza crust that wont come off the paper, and your whole pizza/dinner is ruined.. Moral of the story, use nonstick spray every time, as the cheese which is the glue the holds the crust together, also acts as a glue with the wax paper, foil, or parchment paper.. moving on...

4. Transfer the pizza crust mixture onto the baking sheet and pat down into a pizza shaped crust, so its about a half an inch thick and round.. or square if you like too 

5. Put your pizza crust into the oven to bake for 30 minutes until your crust is barely golden brown and looks like a solid pizza crust

6. While the pizza crust is baking, chop the mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and add them to a pan to saute with the stalks of asparagus tossed on top

7. Drizzle with olive oil, or in this case I used truffle infused olive oil, and cover with the lid to keep in the moisture, toss a few times, and after about ten minutes take them off the medium heat

8. Once the pizza crust is finished baking, top with pesto as the base, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, top with the sauteed mushroom and sun dried tomato mix, place freshly chopped tomatoes on top of them, and then finish with the sauteed asparagus stalks. 

9. Place your pizza with the toppings back in the oven to bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted.

10. Remove pizza from the oven, slice and enjoy! 

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

I generally try to venture outside my comfort zone with at least one item each farmers market trip. Which is how I ended up with a butternut squash sitting in my produce bowl for 3 weeks, before I finally got around to actually cooking it. I had previously tried roasting it for a butternut squash risotto, but found removing the skin to be a slow process when hot, and hard to peel before it was cooked (it broke my peeler..), so I was a little wary of this particular squash variety.  But for this savory soup, I decided to just leave the skin on when I blended it, and due to my Vitamix, a high powered blender, it magically disappeared into my soup. This creamy and slightly sweet soup was filling and scrumptious, perfect for a chilly winter evening! Sorry for not posting a picture of the finished soup, my camera died mid way through..

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash
1 large Sweet Potato
1/2 head of Cauliflower
3 Green Onion Stalks
4 cloves of Garlic
32oz Vegtable Broth
1 can Light Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Coconut oil
Olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Thyme

Directions:

A. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

1. Wash the butternut squash, before cutting it in half, remove the seeds and then slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2. Cut sweet potato into half inch rounds
3. Spray both lightly with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle salt and pepper before placing into the oven to roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.


4. Chop onion, mince garlic, roughly chop cauliflower add to pan with coconut oil
5. Saute for 10 minutes on medium heat, stiring often
6. Add in the Thyme and Parsley and vegetable broth
7. Simmer for 10 minutes
8. Remove the butternut squash and sweet potato from the over and place into the blender with your broth mixture
9. Puree until smooth
10. Add the thick mixture back into the pan and slowly stir in the coconut milk until you have reached your desired consistancy.
11. Serve when hot and enjoy!

Fueled with Fiber a Green Smoothie

Today was a great Monday, how often can you say that and actually mean it? I LOVE waking up on a Monday and not having to go into work! Thank you Martin Luther King day, it was amazing being able to start my day with a 4 mile beach run and a delicious green smoothie! Happy Monday!

Ingredients:

2 fresh picked oranges

1 banana

1 carrot

1 slice fresh ginger

1 cup kale

1 cup broccoli slaw or florets

1 cup strawberries

1 cup frozen mango and pineapple chunks

1 tablespoon chia seeds

A few ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into the blender

2. Starting with the peeled oranges at the bottom of the blender to make the juice that will ease the blending process for the rest of the ingredients

3. Make sure the frozen ingredients are near the top so the blender has a chance to adequately blend all the other ingredients before it becomes a frozen treat with bits of unblended kale throughout.

4. Turn on the blender and blend for few minutes until smooth

5. Enjoy your delicious and filling, fiber filled smoothie!

6. Be happy that you are feeding your body vital nutrients it needs to excel, strengthen your immune system, and be happy healthy human being :)

 

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Why I love Rice Vinegar..

After college I realized I needed to start making better food choices, as the ones I the ones I were making weren't doing my body any favors. Soon after I discoved my local Farmers Market was every Tuesday night and began buying local fresh produce weekly on my walk home from work. It was then, that I became obsessed with salads, I would make them for lunch and dinner most days, and the change in my body was immediate, I felt better, my skin looked better, I had more energy, I was addicted to salad.

Actually, I still am. Initially, I expirimented with different types of dressings, but didn't want anything too laden with oil and fats, as that defeats the purpose of salad.. until I eventually came across rice vinegar!

Rice Vinegar- Let me count the ways in which I love thee..

1. It's delicious! It is very flavorful and can be used on its own as salad dressing or seasonsing for your veggies!
2. Contains very few calories -  only 25 in a half cup!
3. It's low in sodium
4. Great source of Iron and Potassium
5. Helps to maintain a health immune system, one of the most benificial qualities of rice vinegar is its composition of essential amino acids, which help fight free redicals.
6. Shown to be helpful in lowering blood glucose levels
7. It aids in nutrient absorption, due to its content of acetic acid, which helps with digestive health by increasing the body's ability to asorb nutrients from foods. Vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed from foods that are collectovely consumed with rice vinegar. 
8. Without rice viegar there would be no sushi!!!!
9. Powerful antiseptic -  It kills on contact, dangerous bacteria such as salmonella and streptococcus.

Yes, I do buy it buy the gallon, I go through it so fast, that the small bottles just don't do it for me anymore. I encourage you to try some on you salad tonight!

Further reading on Rice Vinegar, if you are interested..

http://www.livestrong.com/article/246887-health-benefits-of-rice-vinegar/ 

http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/key.ingredient/rice.wine.vinegar/

http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/health-benefits-rice-vinegar-16456.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/the-health-benefits-of-vinegar3.htm