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