Surviving Pizza Night -- Part 2

 

So here’s the outcome of pizza night. After spending a little time prepping other ingredients … the Italian veggie mélange, the tofu ricotta, and the no oil marinara, I ended up using, of all things, bread for my pizza crust. Why not? I’ve used pita bread and flat bread ... granted, by using a loaf of Ezekiel’s Food for Life Sesame Bread, this could, potentially, be considered pizza toast. But call it what you will, it was what I had to work with and it worked out wonderfully well ... little single size serving pizzas that satisfied, with all the flavor you want and no compromise to my health. Maybe I will call it pizza toast ... then I can have it again for breakfast!

So I ended up toasting the bread first thinking that would help keep it from getting soggy from the sauce and toppings. Then I layered it with marinara, veggies and ended with the tofu ricotta on top. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and baked them for about 7 minutes. When the tofu ricotta started browning, I decided it was done. 

Building my pizzas

I should mention that I was concerned about possible sticking on the baking sheet, so I sprinkled about a tablespoon of corn meal over the sheet before laying the toasted bread down on it. Worked like a charm, and I think it helped the bread to not get soggy as well. 

So, all around, this was a success, if a little out of the norm, crust-wise. While my husband was chowing down on his "It's not delivery ..." pizza, this was all I needed to satisfy me. And yes, I ate all four of them ... with a side salad! I love eating plant based!

Fresh out of the oven

Co-Existing with a Carnivore (Surviving Pizza Night)

My husband has been wanting pizza. I put him off last week due to our a/c being temperamental and outside temperatures that got up to 110 degrees here in Northern California. There was no way I was going to have him turn the oven on in those circumstances. And the microwave would not accommodate the frozen pizza he had stashed in the back of the garage freezer. 

Well, the a/c got fixed Tuesday and temperatures have been lower this week, so I know he’s not going to be put off much longer. The problem now is that pizza is a trigger food for me. After all, I didn’t stop eating melty, stretch, gooey, cheese-laden pizza (and other animal/dairy products) because they suddenly tasted horrible. It doesn’t matter than I know, and have experienced, the detrimental effects of dairy. The fact that processed meats, such as the pepperoni and sausage toppings, are class one carcinogens, as reported by the World Health Organization, has no effect on my body’s physical reaction when I smell pizza. My response, when faced with that assault on my senses is … I WANT PIZZA!!! While knowing how unhealthy it is does keep me from eating it these days, it doesn’t help with the cravings that start within me when I'm triggered. 

So what’s a gal to do?! In this instance, I intentioned to make a health-promoting, whole food plant based pizza that would satisfy body and mind. Sure, I could have gone to the store and grabbed a vegan pizza, but I like to stay as close to whole foods as possible. Which is why I spent some time prepping ingredients. For this endeavor I prepped three items that should serve double duty for pizza and lasagna or other pasta dishes if I decide not to do lasagna. 

I sautéed some veggies, slightly different from the normal, weekly sauté that I do. I used onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini and summer squash and tomatoes. I water sautéed them and added little Trader Joe's Italian Style Soffrito seasoning. For the “cheese” factor I decided to put together a tofu ricotta. I could have made a melty, stretch, gooey vegan cheese. I have made one in the past that’s awesome, but I chose the tofu ricotta, knowing it could do double duty with some other dishes. And I’m all about prepping ingredients that can be used for multiple dishes. So, along with a super simple marinara, I now have the fixings for pizza that will satisfy me when he’s munching on his fat and cholesterol-laden, cancer-causing “it’s not delivery” pizza tonight for dinner. 

In the meantime my prepping paid off with this yummy bowl (I'm calling it a lasagna bowl.) that I had for lunch today. To put it together I cooked some whole wheat rotini and added a serving to a bowl along with some of the veggie mixture, tofu ricotta, cannellini beans and spinach, then topped it with some marinara. Yum! I’m looking forward to doing this again. Next up … pizza. Now I’ve just got to come up with a crust. (To be Continued)

Recipe Links:

Tofu Ricotta

Simple No Oil Marinara

Hiccup ... smickup! (Claiming the Victory!)

So, if you are in my Facebook group, you will know that I hit a milestone last week ... 150 pounds gone! I'm not going to say gone forever, as I have in the past, because that's come back to bite me. And it's not that I am ever going to go back to eating the standard American diet or not actively working on a healthy lifestyle. It's just that weight is a thing that fluctuates. And I've already fluctuated back up a couple of pounds. Not exactly sure why... could be water weight or the fact that I haven't exercised in over a week, or maybe my scale just had an off day. (That's what I'm hoping!) 

I think I'm not gonna worry about it too much and I'm still gonna claim my 150 pound victory. I put the work in and I deserve it! Truth is, I have lost well over 150 pounds ...  probably more like 300 pounds if you count up all the times I have dieted and lost, and gained back. This isn't one of those times, so I'm not gonna let a little hiccup phase me. But I am definitely making a plan to get back to exercising because I do that for my heart health, not just my weight. And that, my friends, is something I can do for myself right now, so I am off to walk a couple miles ... as soon as I finish this.

If you haven't visited my Day One Facebook group yet you can do so by clicking here. I will still be blogging from time to time, but I usually post every day in the group. Would love to see you there! Below you'll find a screen shot of part of the post that you can see in its entirety in the group. If you're not into the "group thing" I also have a Day One Facebook page. You can find it by clicking here.

Health and Blessings!