Sweet Potato Pizza Bases (gluten free, dairy free)

March 16, 2017 · 7 Comments

We now have three of us in the family as dedicated gluten-free.

While I love almond meal based recipes, all that almond meal does get a bit expensive. So I’ve been experimenting with different things to bulk out the almond meal and be a little more frugal.

My first experiment with pizza bases was a winner with both kids saying they preferred it to the plain almond meal one I usually make. It’s pretty easy to make and perfect for using up leftover sweet potato mash.

The bases freeze really well, so make a double batch to have an easy dinner option on hand ready to go. They defrost super quick!

I hope you love these easy sweet potato pizza bases as much as we do. Let me know if you make them!

Sweet Potato Pizza Bases (gluten free, dairy free)

This is what you need:

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potato

2 cups almond meal

2 eggs

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

2 teaspoons Herbamare (or salt)

This is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 200°celsius.

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

Line two round pizza trays with non-toxic baking paper.

Spread the mixture onto the trays and form the shape you want. The mixture is like a batter, not a dough.

Use a spatula to help you push it to the edges and smooth out so it’s an even thickness.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Now you can spread it with sauce and your choice of toppings.

Pop it back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so or until it’s cooked.

Enjoy!

Supercharged Pizza

September 9, 2013 · 147 Comments

This amazing Supercharged Pizza recipe today comes from Lee Holmes and her new book, Supercharged Food for Kids.

Lee is a natural, new age mum, certified holistic health and wellness coach and a qualified wholefoods chef with a certificate in food and nutrition. She was also this year’s over-all winner of the BUPA Health Blogger Award. Her first book, Supercharged Food is one of my all time favourites. Her new recipe book is all about the kids!

The recipes are based on real, whole food that the kids are going to eat! She has converted favourites like pizza, nuggets, pasta and desserts to be super healthy. You will find recipes that are gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and sugar free, which cater for so many allergies.

As well as the recipes, Lee also provides loads of tips on how to remove sugar and processed food, a top ten nutrient army, eating for special diets and allergies, packing and presenting a creative lunchbox, a bunch of tips for busy families, a chapter on sneaking super foods into everyday kids’ meals and information on mood and concentration, energy, performance and squad food.

There are 90 cool recipes including, Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, Pirate Muesli Bars, Cacao Bomb Crackles, Cheesy Mini Tartlets, Crunchy Chicken Drummers, Rice Crispy Bars, Zoo Poo, Watermelon Ice pops, Gluten Free Pita Pockets, Savoury Breakfast Muffins and lots, lots more.

This e-book is fabulous for any parent looking for fun, easy, healthy recipes that their child will actually eat. Get them browsing with you and checking out what they would like to try. I mean seriously, what kid is not going to want to make Zoo Poo??????

I know you are all going to love this book! I thought it was so great that I joined Lee as an affiliate to help her spread the word. Click here to get your copy! You can instantly download the PDF which comes with e reader versions for your mobile devices, e book readers and kindle.

Okay, now for the food!

Supercharged Pizza

Vital Stats: Grain free, gluten free

Okay, so this is what you need:

Approx 1 1/2 cups finely ground almond meal

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Topping:

2 tablespoons tomato paste

105g oven-roasted tomatoes (we substituted fresh pineapple chunks)

2/3 cup grated full fat cheddar or goat’s cheese

1/2 cup chopped ham (no nitrates or additives)

sprinkling of dulse flakes (optional)

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 220°C and lightly grease a pizza pan or large baking tray. For the pizza base, put 1 1/2 cups of almond meal in a large mixing bowl, add all the other ingredients and mix until you have loose dough. If it feels wet, add a bit more almond meal and work with your hands until smooth.

Shape into a ball. Cut the dough in half and roll each portion out into a thin circle of about 15 cm, working from the inside out in a clockwise motion. Add more almond meal if it becomes too sticky. Place the two bases side by side on the prepared baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread with tomato paste, leaving a 1 cm border of dough uncovered. Scatter the cheese, ham and tomatoes (or pineapple), over the top, and sprinkle dulse flakes. Return the pizzas to the oven for another 7-10 minutes, or until glistening and crispy.

My tips: I made the base in the thermomix – just grind your almonds first, add the other ingredients and mix on reverse for a few seconds to combine it all.

Both my kids loved this pizza recipe (actually we all did). What I like most is that it really fills you up – you only can eat one or two pieces at a time! The base is so tasty and I think it would work well on it’s own with a drizzle of olive oil to serve with soup. Make up extra bases while you are there and freeze them, uncooked. You may never order another takeaway pizza again!

Takeaways: Are you being fooled by the ‘healthy’ options?

August 7, 2013 · 46 Comments

Image courtesy of Rob Wiltshire.

Is healthy fast food really healthy?

Many of us feel better about choosing a ‘healthy’ takeaway option instead of the obvious poorer food choices like Big Macs.

However, you still have to be careful about what you choose.

Eating takeaway every now and again is no big deal and definitely falls into the 20% treat part of a healthy diet.

Just make sure you and your family are not eating these foods daily thinking they are a great option.

Here are my top three ‘healthy’ fast foods that I think are not so healthy after all.

1. Sushi. While sushi can be healthy, there are some things you should watch out for:

Deep fried fillings are more than likely fried in a cheap, nasty vegetable oil.
Fake crab fillings are high in sugar and salt and are full of artificial ingredients.
Mayonnaise can contain artificial ingredients, including MSG.
Tuna can contain high levels of mercury.
Soy sauce is really high in salt, can contain GMO and wheat.
Sushi rice can contain high levels of sugar.

When choosing sushi for takeaway, I try to stick to plain vegetable and avocado fillings. Better still, make sushi at home using quality organic ingredients (it tastes better too!)

2. Subway. You only need to check out the ingredients list at the Subway website to see what I think is wrong with Subway! There are so many artificial ingredients and numbers (including preservative 282 which is a known problem for kids), soy, canola, palm oil, sugar and hydrogenated oils. It is actually scary looking at all this list! If you have to go to Subway, stick with a plain salad, no meat, cheese or dressing or condiments.

3. Healthy Pizza. The ‘Good Choice’ range from Dominoes with 97% fat-free pizza sounds pretty good right? And didn’t the Biggest Loser, Shannon Ponton advertise them? Well, Dominoes won’t actually give you an ingredient list. They give out nutritional information, allergy advice (yep, soy is in everything) and an additive list. You can bet on the ‘Good Choice’ range being full of numbers, processed meats, trans fatty acids and sauces full of sugar and salt. They might claim salt reduced, but it’s still high in salt compared to fresh foods. I think the only way to get a truly healthy pizza is to make it yourself or find an old-fashioned pizzeria that makes them from scratch.

Have you come across any fast food that claims to be healthy but isn’t really?

Check out Vegie Smugglers at my affiliate shop link.

Healthy Father’s Day Food !

August 27, 2012 · 4 Comments

I love Father’s Day. It’s a chance to acknowledge and appreciate our dads and spend some quality family time together.

We never spend lots of money, instead it’s all about brekky in bed, home-made cards, hanging out together and a little something special.

Check out my Natural and New Age Father’s Day Gift Guides if you need some inspiration for gifts!

But what are we going to feed Dad? Keep it healthy and keep it tasty! Here are some ideas from the blog:

Breakfast in bed is a perfect start to the day (along with plenty of cuddles and kids in bed).

Green pancakes with blueberries and yoghurt

Family lunch. Home-made pizza and a salad.

Healthy Pizza

Roasted Vegetable Pizza (with a gluten-free base)

Afternoon tea. Hot drink and a biscuit – healthy of course!

Homemade hot milo

Healthy Anzac Biccies

Dinner and Dessert. Mexican Chicken and a Healthy Brownie.

Mexican Roasted Chicken with Corn Couscous Salad

Beetroot and Strawberry Brownies

For more recipes, you might like to check out my new Recipe Index!

What are you cooking Dad for Father’s Day? Give us some more ideas!

Roasted Vegetables and all the things you can do with them!

June 12, 2012 · 13 Comments

I have a confession to make. I haven’t always been a vege-lover. My love of veges developed when I was well into my twenties!

Even today, I like to eat vegetables that have been jazzed up and made more interesting with other flavours.

One of my favourite ways to eat vegetables is roasted. It intensifies the flavour and makes them sweet. I make up a large tray of these roasted vegetables and then use them throughout the week in various ways.

Okay, so this is how I do it:

Choose some yummy organic vegetables. I like using mediterranean flavours for this – so capsicum, red onion, zucchini, eggplant, fennel, garlic, asparagus, tomato. I also like adding sweet potato as well!

~ veges ready to pop in the oven ~

Chop up all your vegetables into medium size chunks. I use a whole head of garlic and squeeze it out later. Soft vegetables like tomato and asparagus get added in the last five minutes of cooking time. Toss in some oil – I use grape seed or coconut. Season with some cracked black pepper and pink Himalayan salt. Fling into a shallow sided baking tray, taking care not to pile them up too much – you end up with steamed veges then, rather than roasted. Roast in a very hot oven 220 degrees celsius for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly until the veges are soft and caramelized. Add some fresh herbs if you like.

~ veges – all roasted and gooey! ~

Okay, so these are some of the ways I use them in meals:

* Toss through some organic pasta. If you like, add a can of organic tomatoes to the roast vege mix in the last few minutes to heat.

* Serve alongside some grilled meat. Top with pesto and shaved parmesan or fetta.

* Serve over some polenta – soft or grilled, firm squares. Top with pesto and shaved parmesan or fetta.

* Puree the vege mix (with or without a can of organic tomatoes) and use on pasta, in lasagne or as a sauce for meat. This freezes well if you have leftovers.

* Spread the roasted vege mix onto a wrap (Sorj and Mountain Bread brands are best), add fetta cheese or dairy free cheese spread. Roll up and toast in a pan or sandwich press.

* Serve with some baked ricotta, crusty bread and olives for a light lunch.

* Toss through some cooked, organic couscous or quinoa with some fresh herbs and fetta for a lovely warm salad.

* Spread onto a slice of sourdough bread, top with fetta and grill for a yummy brushetta.

* Cool the vege mix and toss with some baby spinach and an olive oil/balsamic dressing to make a lovely salad.

* Puree with a can of organic tomatoes and enough vegetable stock to make yummy vegetable soup.

* Cut the veges larger and serve alongside a roast for a modern spin on a roast dinner.

* Use in a frittata, quiche or tart.

* Use as a pizza topping (my favourite!) I added organic ricotta and a little parmesan on these pictured below and used Quirky Cooking’s yummy gluten-free thermomix pizza base.

~ roasted vege pizza ~

Do you like roasted vegetables? Please share your ideas on how to use them in your cooking!

Best pizza EVER !! 2 Ingredient base, Yummy topping!

March 16, 2012 · 26 Comments

I am a fan of home-made pizza. I have never had a bought pizza that tastes as good. However, I have not been to Italy (yet!).

But the dough you say! the kneading! the proving! it’s all too hard! Well, what if you could whip up an easy pizza base in less than five minutes, throw some toppings on and have it all cooked and ready to go before the pizza boy even gets on his bike? With the added benefit of having a family dinner with no additives or artificial stuff ? Yeah, that’s what I am talking about !

I am going to share with you the easiest, tastiest pizza base ever – spelt and yoghurt (my mum gave me the recipe, but of course I tweaked it!) and a yummy topping – prawn, fetta and pesto – that my family just loves. This recipe will make 2 largish pizzas.

2 Ingredient Pizza Base

Okay, so this is what you need:

2 cups organic wholemeal spelt flour*

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup organic greek natural yoghurt

10 large Australian green prawns, peeled and chopped into thirds

200g organic fetta cheese, cubed

4 tablespoons organic tomato paste

1/2 capsicum, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

2-3 tablespoons pesto

2 large handfuls of rocket (or spinach)

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius. Oil a couple of pizza trays. I like the trays with the holes in the bottom so the pizza bases stay nice and crispy!

Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the yoghurt into a bowl and mix well.

Work it together until it forms into a ball. You may need a drop or two of water at this point.

Take it out and knead it gently for a minute or so on a floured bench until it is nice and smooth. Don’t go too crazy – just a light kneading is all it ~~kneads~~ needs. 😀

Roll out the dough with your rolling pin into 2 rough circle shapes. Fling it onto the trays and press it to the edges. Now we are ready for yumminess on top.

Now, this is a personal preference, but I like to cook off the onion and capsicum in a pan – just so it’s not such a ‘raw’ taste on my pizza. So, do this if you are fussy like me!

Divide up the toppings equally for your two pizzas. Spread with the tomato paste, sprinkle with onion, capsicum, fetta and prawns.

Chuck into the hot oven for about 10-12 minutes until the prawns are cooked and the cheese is going nice and brown.

Drizzle the pesto over the top of the pizza and pile on the rocket. I don’t serve anything with this pizza – the salad is on top – bonus!

Cut with a pizza cutter and serve it up.

*Yes, you can use different types of flour in this recipe. Use organic wholemeal self-raising flour and leave out the baking powder. Experiment with your favourite flours!

We also love roasted pumpkin on this pizza instead of the prawns if you want to go vego!

As always, I love comments and feedback, so please come back and let me know if you made it and what the family thought. If you like it, share this link with your friends.

So, there you go – easy Friday night dinner and the pizza boy need never darken your door again !! 😛