Vegan Project: Buffalo "Tricken" Pizza

Ingredients:
1 package of Gardein barbecue wings
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 package of reduced-fat crescent rolls
1/8 cup of vegan ranch dressing
1/8 cup of vegan buffalo wing sauce
3/4 cup of Daiya mozzarella shreds
10 baby carrots, finely chopped


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

Unroll crescent rolls onto a rectangular baking sheet. Press all seams of the crescent roll together to make one big piece of crescent dough. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add Gardein chicken wings, and cook for three minutes on each side until browned. While chicken is cooking, thaw the Gardein sauce pack for three minutes in a bowl of hot water. Toss sauce with chicken for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Once cool to the touch, cut chicken into small pieces.

Mix together the vegan ranch dressing and buffalo sauce in a bowl. Once crescent dough is finished baking, spread the ranch/buffalo mixture all over the dough. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella shreds. Top with chicken pieces, chopped carrots and remaining mozzarella shreds. Bake in oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and cut into eight pieces.


Nutrition Facts
Serves 8

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Calories - 194

Calories from Fat - 93

Total Fat - 10.3g

Saturated Fat - 2.9g

Cholesterol - 0mg

Sodium - 569mg
Potassium - 30mg

Total Carbohydrates - 19g

Dietary Fiber - 1.0g

Sugar - 4.3g

Protein - 6.8g

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Vitamin A - 34%

Vitamin C - 0%

Calcium - 1%

Iron - 8%

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Clean Eating: Asparagus Pesto Pizzettes

I'm a fan of asparagus, but I can see why other people may not like it. It has a distinct flavor and texture, and the smell can be a little off-putting. But it's a green veggie that I like to have as often as I'm able to get Cliff to eat it. So, I came up with a way to hide the asparagus: make it a pesto. I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with an asparagus pesto. But it's the first time I've used it in a recipe, and it turned out nicely. Even Cliff loved this yummy meal which incorporates all the food groups and earned a B+ nutrition grade on my calorie tracking site.

Ingredients:
2 pitas (I use the Joseph's Heart Healthy Oat Bran pitas as they are only 60 calories each)
40 grams raw almonds
111 grams raw asparagus
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz Oscar Meyer Deli Fresh Chicken Breast Shaved Grilled Strips (this helped me save time, but increased the sodium content - if you prefer to roast your chicken, go for it)
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Swanson 99% fat free all natural chicken broth
2 oz smoked gouda cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

Rinse asparagus and snap off woody ends. Pat dry with paper towel. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange asparagus on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes. After removing from oven, lower heat to 350.

Meanwhile, place almonds in a small, dry skillet. Over medium heat, cook until toasted.

Place almonds, roasted asparagus, garlic and chicken broth in a food processor. Pulse grind until a pasty consistency, scraping down the sides occasionally.

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms until browned, adding salt to taste.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place pitas on baking sheet. Divide the pesto mixture between the two pitas and spread over the pitas. Top with chicken, then mushrooms, then shredded gouda. Bake for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve as is or alongside a lightly dressed salad of mixed greens. Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts
Serves 2
Serving Size 1 pizzette (345.2g)
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Calories - 407
Calories from Fat - 188
Total Fat - 20.9 g
Saturated Fat - 6.8g
Trans Fat - 0g
Cholesterol - 76mg
Sodium - 1730mg
Total Carbohydrates - 20g
Dietary Fiber - 9.3g
Sugar - 4.4g
Protein - 43.4g
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Vitamin A - 15%
Vitamin C - 45%
Calcium - 26%
Iron - 34%

Clean Eating: Vegetarian Pesto Pizza

Pizza has always been a comfort food. I think that's true for most people. But I wanted to find a way to make a pizza that's not only yummy, but also healthy and within my clean eating regime. I also wanted a way to use some of the fresh produce I received from my produce delivery service. I recently received some yummy tomatoes and kale, so here is my take on a pesto pizza.

Ingredients:
2 whole wheat flatbread
1 medium tomato
2 oz. fresh mozzarella
1 cup packed kale
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
dash of black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 360 F.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the flatbread on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes to get toasted.

Remove tough stems from kale and chop in small pieces. Place in a food processor along with garlic, shredded parmesan, walnuts, dried basil, olive oil, 1/4 tsp. sea salt and black pepper. Pulse grind to finely chop. Add vegetable broth and pulse grind into a paste. Scrape down sides of processor and pulse grind. Repeat until it is a well combined mixture.

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella. Sprinkle tomatoes with remaining 1/4 tsp. of sea salt.

On toasted flatbread, smear 1/2 of the kale pesto mixture on each slice of flatbread. Top with sliced tomatoes and then place sliced mozzarella on top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until mozzarella is completely melted. Slice into quarters and serve while hot.

Nutrition Facts
Serves 2
Serving Size 1 flatbread pizza (245.4g)
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Calories - 521
Calories from Fat - 259
Total Fat - 28.8g
Saturated Fat - 7.7g
Cholesterol - 25mg
Sodium - 1210mg
Total Carbohydrates - 46.4g
Dietary Fiber - 5.3g
Sugar - 3.2g
Protein - 23.1g
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Vitamin A - 119%
Vitamin C - 82%
Calcium - 43%
Iron - 52% 

Clean Eating: Low Carb Pizza

Drat! I knew I was going to blog this meal, and I was so excited about making it, I forgot to take pictures of the process. So, I'm blogging this anyway, and hopefully, I'll remember to take some pictures when I make this next time. In the meantime, here is a picture of the finished product, and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
For crust:
1 eggplant, peeled
1 egg
1 oz. pork rinds
2 oz. mozzarella cheese

For toppings:
2 medium tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 lb turkey sausage (make your own)
2 bell peppers
1 onion
8 oz. mushrooms
2 oz. mozzarella cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

To make crust, grate peeled eggplant using the large grate option. Dry grated eggplant on paper towels. Place in a large bowl. Grind pork rinds in a food processor until consistency of bread crumbs. Add to eggplant. Grate mozzarella cheese and add to eggplant mixture. Add egg and stir to combine.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add eggplant mixture to pan, and press to make an even layer. Cook until edges start to brown. Turn eggplant patty over on a plate and slide back into the pan to cook the other side. Do not fully brown other side of patty as it will continue to cook in the oven. Remove from heat.

Wash tomatoes and cut off top stemmed area. Cut an X in the bottom of the tomato. Add to a pot with water. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in ice bath to cool tomatoes. Once cool enough to handle, peel tomatoes and place in food processor. Add basil, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Pulse grind until it becomes a sauce.

Coat a medium pan with cooking spray. Cook onions, bell pepper and mushrooms until softened. Remove from pan. Using the same pan, cook turkey sausage (prepped from this link) until browned, breaking until chunks while it cooks.

Add tomato sauce to top of eggplant patty. Top with sauteed veggies and turkey sausage. Grate mozzarella cheese on top. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.


Nutrition Facts
Serves 4
Serving Size 308.8g
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Calories - 267
Calories from Fat - 115
Total Fat - 12.8g
Saturated Fat - 6.1g
Cholesterol - 107mg
Sodium - 805mg
Total Carbohydrates - 14.1g
Dietary Fiber - 5.6g
Sugar - 4.6g
Protein - 28.2g
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Vitamin A - 14%
Vitamin C - 33%
Calcium - 26%
Iron - 12%