One of my family's favorite dishes is pizza. But it's hard to find a great pizza that's also healthy and organic. Since we don't eat out much anymore (for one, it's way too expensive, and two, eating non-organic food that's full of GMO's quite literally makes us sick), I started making my own pizza. It's such an easy recipe and you can customize it to however you like. So today, I'd like to share my go-to pizza recipe as well as a yummy new recipe that I just tried for dessert - Avocado Banana Bread.
My pizza is a basic spelt crust with a pesto sauce and pretty much any topping you can possibly throw on. It is a little time consuming as you have to wait an hour for the dough to rise, but it is totally worth it! If you are in a pinch and don't have time to make the dough, a good alternative is the Wildtree pizza dough. It's organic and pretty much all you have to do is open the bag, add water and mix. You can buy the Wildtree doughhere (there is also a gluten free option available too!). For my pizza, I use Cilantro Pesto. Now I know cilantro can be one of those love/hate type of herbs (I've heard many a person say that it tastes like soap) so if you are one of those people, you can substitute basil for the cilantro.
For toppings, the possibilities are endless. We usually use pepperoni (Applegate brand has an organic option that we love), fresh mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts (Reese brand has a non-gmo project verified option), peppers, zucchini/squash, onions (green or red work best), feta cheese crumbles, and mozzarella cheese (Organic Valley has both of these options for cheese). Another combination that we love is sliced ham (again, we use Applegate brand since they are organic and nitrate/nitrite free), artichoke hearts, roasted garlic cloves, crushed or sliced pineapple, peppers, zucchini/squash, mushrooms, pine nuts, goat cheese crumbles and mozzarella. The toppings certainly pile up high, but the pizza is fabulous. And you really can't go wrong with whatever toppings you choose.
My pizza is a basic spelt crust with a pesto sauce and pretty much any topping you can possibly throw on. It is a little time consuming as you have to wait an hour for the dough to rise, but it is totally worth it! If you are in a pinch and don't have time to make the dough, a good alternative is the Wildtree pizza dough. It's organic and pretty much all you have to do is open the bag, add water and mix. You can buy the Wildtree doughhere (there is also a gluten free option available too!). For my pizza, I use Cilantro Pesto. Now I know cilantro can be one of those love/hate type of herbs (I've heard many a person say that it tastes like soap) so if you are one of those people, you can substitute basil for the cilantro.
For toppings, the possibilities are endless. We usually use pepperoni (Applegate brand has an organic option that we love), fresh mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts (Reese brand has a non-gmo project verified option), peppers, zucchini/squash, onions (green or red work best), feta cheese crumbles, and mozzarella cheese (Organic Valley has both of these options for cheese). Another combination that we love is sliced ham (again, we use Applegate brand since they are organic and nitrate/nitrite free), artichoke hearts, roasted garlic cloves, crushed or sliced pineapple, peppers, zucchini/squash, mushrooms, pine nuts, goat cheese crumbles and mozzarella. The toppings certainly pile up high, but the pizza is fabulous. And you really can't go wrong with whatever toppings you choose.
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe (makes one large pizza or 2 12" pies)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 cup warm water (warm to the wrist)
2-1/2 to 3 cups spelt flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil for the bowl
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add flour, oil, and salt and mix well. Turn onto a well floured surface and knead dough for 5 minutes, adding more flour as dough gets sticky. Grease the bowl with olive oil and put dough back into the bowl. cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide it into two pieces (unless making one large pizza). Work dough for 1 minute and set aside. To bake, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and sprinkle your baking sheet or pizza stone with a little cornmeal (the organic and non-gmo kind of course). Take your pizza dough and flatten on the pan. Add toppings. Bake for about 10-18mins depending on toppings. (Start checking on it at about 10 min. When the cheese and crust starts to brown, it is done.)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 cup warm water (warm to the wrist)
2-1/2 to 3 cups spelt flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil for the bowl
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add flour, oil, and salt and mix well. Turn onto a well floured surface and knead dough for 5 minutes, adding more flour as dough gets sticky. Grease the bowl with olive oil and put dough back into the bowl. cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide it into two pieces (unless making one large pizza). Work dough for 1 minute and set aside. To bake, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and sprinkle your baking sheet or pizza stone with a little cornmeal (the organic and non-gmo kind of course). Take your pizza dough and flatten on the pan. Add toppings. Bake for about 10-18mins depending on toppings. (Start checking on it at about 10 min. When the cheese and crust starts to brown, it is done.)
 | Cilantro Pesto Recipe 2 cups cilantro, packed (can substitute with 2 cups of basil or 1 cup each of basil and cilantro) 2 large cloves of garlic (if you like your pesto with a little more spice, you can add a few more cloves. I tend to add about 5 large cloves to mine) Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons) 1/3 cup of pine nuts (can substitute with almonds) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup olive oil Combine ingredients into a food processor and blend. |
Now for the Avocado Banana bread! I just tried this one today and it is amazing! The combination of the avocados and bananas gives this bread such a rich and creamy texture. I love it! For my recipe I substituted spelt for my flour (it's a healthier option since it is an ancient grain) and of course I have all my organic ingredients. This is a must try recipe for any dessert bread lovers out there! I tried the recipe on fellow bloggers site Crazy for Crust. For her recipe on this yummy bread,click here.
Enjoy these recipes! If you have any yummy pizza topping combinations that you'd like to share, please leave a comment!
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