Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Balsamic Glazed Onions & Peppers (Grain-Free, Gluten-Free)

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Balsamic Glazed Onions & Peppers

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Over the past few months, I’ve seen many variations on recipes for cauliflower crust pizzas—that is, pizza crust made from cauliflower! At first, I thought it sounded blah. Cauliflower is a pretty boring vegetable; I couldn’t imagine it making a yummy crust. But after a while, it stuck in my brain and I realized I couldn’t knock it till I tried it. Plus, I couldn’t resist the idea of a totally grain-free, gluten-free pizza. How 2012!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Balsamic Glazed Onions & Peppers

Turns out the crust is not JUST cauliflower: it’s mixed with shredded mozzarella, egg, and spices. I’m sure you could make a vegan version very easily, too! In fact, it’s something I’m definitely going to try—just replace the cheese with Daiya and the egg with chia egg replacer. For a delicious sauce/spread, you could even try my vegan cashew cheese! YUM. That’s next on the list!

For my very first attempt, though, I stuck with a blend of recipes I found online (Pinterest and other food blogs, mostly). You make the crust first, then top it with your, er, toppings, and finally broil it. So your veggies (and meat, if you’re including it) have to be cooked beforehand, which is why I decided to go with balsamic glazed onions and peppers. Plus more shredded mozzarella

Step 1: chop your cauliflower

Step 2: rice your cauliflower

Step 3: mix your ingredients

Step 4: form your crust

Step 5: bake your crust

I basically loaded up the crust super-duper heavy, and we ended up eating the pizza with forks. But I’m a Chicago girl by birth, and deep-dish pizza is in my blood. So, what can I say? In the future, though, I’d like to try a “lighter” pizza. In fact, the crust alone would be just great!

As with any pizza, there are a gazillion ways you can customize this with various toppings and cheeses (or cheezes). If you try it, I’d love to hear what you did! And as soon as I make a vegan version, I’ll be sure to post some pics of that, as well.

Step 6: load up your toppings. I love this sauce!

Step 6: load up your toppings

Step 7: broil for 5 minutes

I apologize for the lighting in the photos, but sometimes you just have to work with what’s available

Recipe for the crust is listed first below… Balsamic Glazed Onions & Peppers is after that. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza (Grain-Free, Gluten-Free)

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium head cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried or fresh oregano
• 1 tsp. dried or fresh basil

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Chop cauliflower into chunks. In a blender or food processor, pulse the cauliflower until “riced” or very small pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a cheese grater.
3. Sautee the cauliflower in a tiny bit of olive oil in a large skillet for 6–8 minutes or until translucent.
4. Transfer the cauliflower to a medium bowl. Mix in all the other ingredients and stir well.
5. Spread the mixture on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or a pizza stone if you have one. Form into a circle if you’re feeling traditional
6. Bake at 400F for 25–30 minutes until golden.
7. Remove from the oven and add your toppings.
8. Broil for 5 minutes.
9. Cool 2–3 minutes, then cut and serve immediately. Enjoy!

 

These balsamic glazed onions and peppers are simply superb as a pizza topping! They’re super-easy to make but they taste expensive, if you know what I mean

Step 1: slice your onion & pepper very thin

Step 2: sautee for 7 minutes

Step 3: add balsamic, water, and sugar

Step 4: simmer for 30 minutes; uncover, simmer for 15 minutes more

Balsamic Glazed Onions & Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 large orange bell pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Steps

1. Slice the onion and pepper into thin strips.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil.
3. Add the onion and pepper strips and sautee until soft, about 7 minutes.
4. Add the water, balsamic, and sugar and stir gently.
5. Cover partially and simmer 30 minutes.
6. Uncover, and simmer 15 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
7. Add to your pizza… or to salads, sandwiches, burgers… Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Have you ever made a cauliflower crust pizza?

Do you have a favorite pizza topping?

Perfect Guacamole (Vegan, GF, Raw)

Perfect Guacamole

To see all recipes, scroll to the top and click on Recipes or just click here!

Summertime in California is the season for guacamole…and for everybody’s close-to-the-heart recipe for their very own “perfect” guacamole!

There are SO many ways to make guac, and so many are delicious.

There are also so many people (ahem, guilty) who swear their guac recipe is the finest, the ultimate, the ONLY ONE you’ll ever need.

Some people like to add tomatoes, onion, salsa, cilantro…or even (of course) bacon. My take is that the star of the guacamole is the avocado and anything that detracts from the star lessens its performance. I want avocado, plain and simple. Well, just dressed up a teeny, weensy bit.

The trick is to make it smooth, brisk, and salty…but not too much of those qualities. I know, some of you like your guac chunky. But trust me, once you’ve tried a hand mixer, you might never go back to potato-masher-ing your avocados. The hand mixer is the secret sauce here; the limes and salt are just frosting on your avocado cake.

What’s YOUR version of perfect guacamole? I’d love to know, even though I’ll never make it

Perfect Guacamole (Vegan, Raw)

Ingredients

• 5 medium ripe avocados
• 2 limes
• sea salt

Steps

1. Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits, and squish the fruit from the peel into a bowl.
2. Juice the limes into the avocado mash.
3. Add a bunch of sea salt.
4. Use a hand blender to process until smooth. Add more salt as desired.
5. Serve with tortilla chips or Mary’s Gone Crackers; spread on a flaxseed wrap or add to a collard wrap; serve with fish tacos; spoon out and eat on its own; the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Do you have a favorite guacamole recipe you’d like to share?

Carob-Dusted Raw Power Bites (Vegan, GF, No Sugar Added)

Carob-Dusted Raw Power Bites

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These little treats are similar to my Chocolate-Coconut Energy Bites, but with two major differences: sunflower seeds and carob. Sunflower seeds are anti-inflammatory, making them excellent for recovery. And unlike cacao, carob doesn’t have any stimulating properties, so you can eat these right before bed and not worry whether they’ll keep you awake.

Carob is less sweet than cacao, however, so if you like your treats sweeter but don’t want the extra sugar (stimulating just like caffeine!), you can add some stevia to the mix.

Carob-Dusted Raw Power Bites

Like the chocolate-coconut bites, these little guys are loaded with antioxidants, healthy fats, alkalizing properties, and pure deliciousness.

They’re an excellent refueling and recovery snack after a hard workout, but they’re equally good as a healthy dessert.

I make these very small: the recipe can roll out as many as 22 miniature servings. But if you’re a big fan, you can make 12 1-inch bites instead. Or double the recipe and make 24 1-inch bites

Carob-Dusted Raw Power Bites

Carob-Dusted Raw Power Bites (Vegan, Gluten-Free, No Sugar Added, Raw)

Ingredients for 12 regular or 22 mini servings

• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 4-6 hours
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours
• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp. + 4 Tbsp. raw carob powder for dusting
• Optional: 10 drops (or 1 packet) of stevia

Steps

1. Drain and rinse the cashews and sunflower seeds.
2. In a food processor, blend together the cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut oil, and 1 Tbsp. carob powder.
3. Hand-roll into 1-inch or 1/2-inch balls with your hands, then roll in the carob powder to dust.
4. Freeze for 15 minutes. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Do you eat before working out?

If you run long distances, do you have a favorite snack for long runs?

Grain-Free Sprouted Bean Bread (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Grain-free sprouted bean bread

To see all recipes, scroll to the top and click on Recipes or just click here!

If you followed my sprouts recipe from a few weeks ago, you’re probably already a sprout-making pro! But you might be wondering what else you can do with sprouted mung beans and sprouted lentils, besides adding them to salads and sandwiches. Not to mention, if you’re eating gluten-free, you might not even be eating sandwiches!

This bread is a delicious, wholesome alternative to store-bought breads and it’s also a fantastic way to use your sprouts!

Grain-free sprouted bean bread

This bread is an adaptation and blend of a couple of recipes I found online. It’s artisan-style, so not necessarily something you’d use to build a club sandwich or a Reuben But it is excellent toasted and spread with nut butter or cream cheese.

I apologize for the lighting in the photos, but sometimes you just have to work with what’s available…know what I mean?

Grain-free sprouted bean bread

Grain-Free Sprouted Bean Bread (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sprouted lentils
• 1 cup sprouted mung beans
• 1 cup garbanzo flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 chia egg (see recipe)
• 4 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. brown rice syrup

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a blender or food processor, blend the sprouted beans at medium speed until pasty.
3. Use a hand mixer to mix in the flour, sunflower seeds, and all other ingredients.
4. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil.
5. Spread the mixture evenly in the loaf pan. Sprinkle extra sunflower seeds on top if you like.
6. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.
7. Turn the oven off and let the bread sit inside for 1 more hour. Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Have you ever used legumes in bread?

Do you have a favorite bread recipe?

Easy Flaxseed Wrap (Gluten-Free)

Easy Flaxseed Wrap

To see all recipes, scroll to the top and click on Recipes or just click here!

Last week, I posted my recipe for Collard Wraps, a delicious and healthy portable lunch. But I have to admit ~ as much as I LOVE my greens (and I really do), sometimes I want something… fluffier. Bread-ier. More “traditional.” Carb-ish.

We’ve been staying away from wheat and flour around here, for various reasons, and I certainly feel excellent as a result. However! I do occasionally miss a sandwich or burrito.

Well, to my excitement, I discovered this recipe for super-easy wraps made with flaxseed meal, that are the perfect stand-in for a tortilla, pita, or bread. The recipe came from the book Wheat Belly (read my Goodreads review), a very interesting new title about the development of modern wheat and why it causes so many problems for so many people.

The wrap is fluffy, like a pita, but malleable, like a tortilla. So, if you want something less “green” but still super-healthy, you can follow my recipe for Collard Wraps but use these, instead! I’ve found these wraps to be an excellent alternative to any carb-o-licious, flour-based foods I might be craving. They are also delicious when spread with almond butter or cream cheese!

If you make these, I’d love to hear what you spread and/or filled them with, or if you tried an alternative recipe!

Easy Flaxseed Wrap

Easy Flaxseed Wrap (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• pinch sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 large egg

Steps

1. Mix all ingredients together and blend well.
2. Warm a 10-inch skillet. Add coconut oil to grease if you want.
3. Pour in the batter and spread evenly across the bottom.
4. Cook for about 3 minutes.
5. Lift the edge with a spatula and slide onto a plate. Let cool for at least 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Do you ever stay away from wheat and/or flour?

If so, do you have any favorite alternatives to bread, pitas, and tortillas?