Pizza, it doesn't have to be bad for you.

Pizza doesn't have to be unhealthy, although, it is definitely considered a treat. Anyone that knows me, knows that pizza is my absolute favorite food in the whole world. True, it's nothing fancy but there is something about a thin crust and fresh toppings that makes me happy. Veggies, chicken, cheese, anchovies, olive oil... you name it, I've put it on my pizza!!

Since I do love this food so much I decided to go on a hunt for a "clean eating" version of the normally carb-loaded and thick crust that you get in your normal day-to-day pizzeria. I have found the perfect whole-wheat pizza dough recipe and piling on healthy veggies and low-fat cheese is as easy as pie (pun-intended).

Bonus if you have your own canned tomatoes or any other straight-from-your-garden veggies, the sky is the limit really when it comes to what you put on your perfect pizza.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp raw honey
• 1 cup less 1 1/2 tbsp lukewarm water (105° F to 110° F), divided
• 1 pkg active dry yeast (1/4 oz or 2 1/2 tsp)
• 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, divided
• 4 tsp vital wheat gluten
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together honey and 1/3 cup water. Sprinkle in yeast and allow to proof, undisturbed (do not stir or move bowl), for 10 minutes or until yeast is foamy. (NOTE: If yeast does not foam, it is dead and your dough will not rise. Discard and start again with fresh ingredients.)
2. While yeast is proofing, mix together 2 cups flour, wheat gluten and salt in another large bowl.
3. Once yeast is foamy, add remaining water and 2 tbsp oil to yeast mixture. Pour in flour mixture and gently fold in with a bowl scraper or spatula until just combined. Mixture will form a very wet ball. Coat the bottom of another large bowl with remaining oil (ensure that bowl is large enough so that, when doubled in size, the dough will not reach the top). Transfer dough to bowl, rolling ball a bit to coat with oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to rise for 1 hour. Dough will be very soft and sticky.
4. Lightly dust counter with about 1/4 cup flour. Transfer dough to floured surface and roll lightly in flour as needed. Gently knead dough, using remaining flour as needed, for about 1 minute. Form dough into a ball and place back into bowl. Cover bowl again tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to rise for 30 minutes.
5. Transfer dough back to floured surface, adding more flour to prevent dough from sticking, if needed, and cut dough in half to form 2 balls. Lightly knead each for about 30 seconds and reform into balls. Dough is now ready to be formed into crust or wrapped for future use. To store, wrap each dough ball individually in plastic wrap. Dough can be kept refrigerated for 24 hours or frozen for up to 1 month.
6. Top dough with all your favorite fresh veggies, low-fat cheese, chicken and of course sauce and bake at 400 degrees until cheese has melted and dough is cooked through.

To Use From Refrigerator
Remove dough from fridge and allow to warm a little at room temperature, about 10 minutes. Form a pizza crust.

To Use From Frozen
Transfer dough from freezer to fridge and let it defrost overnight before following the Use From Refrigerator steps above.

Nutrients per serving (1/8 of each dough ball): Calories: 96, Total Fat: 3 g, Sat. Fat: 0.5 g, Carbs: 15 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 1 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 121 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg.

3-Cheese Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:
Sauce

• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 12 oz roasted red bell peppers (packed in water), drained, patted dry and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 packed cup whole parsley sprigs, roughly chopped

Shells

• 4 ears corn, husked
• olive oil cooking spray
• 30 large whole-grain pasta shells (or 12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles)
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese
• 3 oz goat cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves or chives, plus additional for garnish
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions:



ONE: Prepare sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes, roasted peppers, rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender and add parsley. Remove plastic center from blender lid to allow steam to escape, hold a kitchen towel loosely over the opening and purée. (NOTE: Exercise caution when blending hot liquids.)
TWO: Prepare shells: Preheat broiler. Mist corn with cooking spray and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil 8 to 10 inches from heat until light golden brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove kernels: Hold corn upright on a cutting board and use a chef's knife to cut off kernels, starting at the top of the cob and carefully sliding knife downward. Transfer kernels to a bowl.
THREE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare pasta shells according to package directions, cooking until just al dente. Drain thoroughly. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, goat cheese, mint, parsley, egg and half of corn (about 1 1/2 cups). Season with black pepper.
FOUR: Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Fill each of 24 pasta shells (6 additional were cooked to allow for damaged shells) with about 1 rounded tbsp ricotta mixture and place in baking dish, stuffed side up. Cover shells with remaining sauce, remaining corn and mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes, garnish with additional parsley and serve.

OPTION: If you can't find large whole-grain pasta shells, you can transform this recipe into roll-ups using whole-wheat lasagna noodles! Cook 12 noodles to al dente, top with 1/4 cup ricotta mixture, roll up and place in baking dish, seam side down. Proceed with recipe. Serves 6; 2 roll-ups per person.




**Nutrients per 3 shells: Calories 429, Total Fat 8g, Carbs 69g, Fiber 6g, Sugars 9g, Protein 18.5g

Summery Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:
-Cooking spray
-1 lb green beans, rinsed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
-2 tbsp plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
-1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
-Scant 1/4 tsp sea salt, divided
-Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
-8 oz sliced button mushrooms
-1/2 tsp lemon-pepper salt-free seasoning (TRY: Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend)
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-3 tbsp whole wheat-flour
-1 3/4 cups low-fat milk (not skim)
-1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
-1/4 tsp dried rosemary
-1/4 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
-1/4 whole-wheat panko (or rice crumbs)

Instructions:
ONE: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mist a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
TWO: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add beans and cover until water returns to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, place a colander in the sink and fill a large bowl with ice water. Drain beans in colander and immediately add to ice water. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain. (Beans may be cooked up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate).
THREE: In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp oil on medium-low. Add onion, season with scant 1/16 tsp salt and pepper and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown. Transfer onion to a bowl. Coat skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add mushrooms, lemon-pepper seasoning and scant 1/16 salt. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 8 minutes; set aside.
FOUR: Add remaining 2 tbsp oil to saucepan used to cook beans and heat on medium-low. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Increase heat to high and slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thick, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1/8 tsp salt, coriander, rosemary, thyme, tomatoes, beans and mushrooms. Mix well, adjusting seasoning as desired. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and cover evenly with a layer of onion, followed by a layer of panko.
FIVE: Bake until liquid is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

TIP: Step one through three may be done 1 day ahead. Simply cover and refrigerate until you're ready to cook. Increase baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrients per 3/4 cup serving: Calories: 166, Total Fat: 8g, Carbs: 23g, Fibre: 5g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 7.5g, Sodium: 266mg

Entertaining... clean eating style

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try something bold, something new. I put together a dinner menu of strictly clean eating food and invited my Aunt & Uncle over for dinner, along with myself and my grandmother.
With that down, now I had to figure out what I was going to make.

I chose to make 3 dishes that I had never tried making before from both a few separate clean eating magazines. The first was summery green bean casserole with crisp green beans, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms. The second and main dish was 3-cheese stuffed shells (I did a variation of this recipe with whole-wheat lasagna noodles). Finally, for dessert I made a Mexican frozen pudding topped with crumbled chocolate cookies. Okay, so my math skills are a bit off, more like 3.5 dishes or 4 if you want to get technical.

3-cheese stuffed lasagna noodles

Mexican frozen chocolate pudding topped with chocolate cookies

Summery green bean casserole

The whole dinner, including dessert turned out fantastic as well I received rave reviews from my family. My Aunt was quick to ask for the recipes and my grandmother even mentioned the following day how much she enjoyed the dinner. SCORE. I couldn't have imagined a better turnout of delicious, clean food with great company.

A healthy beginning

My love for food began as a young girl while helping my mom out in the kitchen. I was quickly drawn to the beaters and mixing bowls that she used to create cakes and cookies. I found this enjoyable because you could mix a few ingredients together and come up with something delicious and a work of art. Or at least that’s how I feel about the things I create. Only in the last 6 months have I realized that my love for food is not just a phase but rather a calling towards something greater.

In the early Spring I was wandering through Chapters and came across some Tosca Reno books in the fitness & lifestyle section of the store. My initial reaction had to do with the fact that the front cover mentioned I could “peel off those last 10 pounds” but truly my interest came from the idea of eating clean. The thrill of the unknown. I had never heard of this term before that day, however, I felt intrigued to buy this book because I have always been mindful when it came to healthy eating.

Along with BeautyFit boot camp and clean eating things seem to be coming together and making sense in regards to a path that I’m starting to follow. Sandra Compton has been one of the greater inspirations in my current journey, I’ve really needed that push and even though my steps are small they will be very important.