Make Healthier Choices

Helping people Make Healthier Choices about real-food choices for optimal heath.

Snacks

Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust

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Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower Crust Recipe Renegade

Cauliflower Pizza Crust – the Hard Way

The first time I made caluiflower pizza crust, it took me FOREVER! All my counters were covered with dirty dishes–what a mess! It was a LOT of work, but I’ll admit–it was delicious!

I won’t eat any supermarket vegetables that haven’t first been washed. So after washing the cauliflower: I steamed it on the stove top, cooled it, pulverized it in my food processor, emptied it into a dish/tea towel, squeezed the heck out of it, put it in a bowl, mixed in other ingredients, spread it onto a pan, baked it, flipped it, baked it again, then made it into pizza and baked it again. Aren’t you tired just reading about it???

Being able to skip the squeeze-the-heck-out-of-it step, pulverizing in the food processor, and baking instead of steaming all helped save me a LOT of time. Not only are steps skipped, but not having to wash extra pots/pans, etc. saved time. And I have to admit I hated all that nutritious juice going down the drain. If you enjoy a gluten-free lifestyle, but have not yet tried cauliflower pizza crust–trust me–it’s worth it! But–try it the easier way . . . use a juicer.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust – the Easier Way

If you have a juicer, you’ll find this cauliflower pizza crust easy to make. I have an Omega NC800HDS (you can see it in action on my You Tube channel), but any juicer will work. Cauliflower juice isn’t exactly my favorite, but you’ll probably want to save the juice. I usually juice a couple carrots and an apple to go with a small amount of cauliflower juice.

Easy Cauliflower Pizza
 
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Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 425° F
  2. Remove cauliflower core, cut florets off stem and wash.
  3. Juice cauliflower; set juice aside to drink later.
  4. Place pulp on jelly pan (or cookie sheet).
  5. Bake pulp for 12 minutes.
  6. Remove pulp and let cool for about 5 minutes.
    While cauliflower is cooling:
  7. Place eggs in medium-sized bowl and slightly beat.
  8. Add Italian seasoning.
  9. Once cauliflower pulp has cooled to touch, add to bowl; mix together.
  10. Spread mixture onto silicone-lined jelly pan (or parchment-paper lined jelly pan).
  11. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes.
  12. Flip (I do this by placing silicone mat (or parchment paper) and second jelly pan on top and CAREFULLY and quickly flipping.)
  13. Bake for additional 8 minutes.

    Go here for: Cauliflower Pizza
Notes
Cheese is one of the ingredients in the first recipe I tried. I don't personally use cheese in my crust; I think cheese makes the crust tend to stick to the parchment paper/silicone liner making it easier to flip.

These cauliflower crusts freeze nicely. I’ve even frozen the cauliflower pulp in a vacuum-seal bag. I like to make make it worth dirtying my juicer, so I make three or four at a time and freeze them. I roll mine in waxed paper (parchment paper would also work) and place into a (2.5 gallon) extra-large plastic bag. I allow them to thaw before flattening onto a jelly pan.

Cauliflower Mushroom Pizza MHC RR

 

 

Cauliflower Pizza

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Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower Mushroom Pizza MHC RR

 

Cauliflower Pizza
 
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Ingredients
  • One Cauliflower Pizza Crust
  • 15 Oz. of Your favorite Tomato Sauce
  • ¾ to 1½ Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • ¾ to 1½ Cups Shredded Mozarella Cheese
  • Your Favorite Pizza Toppings
Instructions
  1. Top Cauliflower Pizza Crust with tomato sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings.
  2. Bake on jelly pan at 450° F for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
I topped my pizza with diced onions, pre-cooked sliced mushrooms and basil. It was delicious!

Find my Cauliflower Pizza Crust here:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

 


Tom’s Red Pepper Hummus

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Tom's Red Pepper Hummus
Tom’s Red Pepper Hummus

I have not yet found a store-bought hummus I can eat. Unfortunately, I can always taste the preservatives. I know, that’s probably a bit odd, but it might be a good thing.

This hummus is quick and easy to make. Everything goes into a food processor, except the red-pepper garnish. Give it a spin and you’re done!

Tom's Red Pepper Hummus
 
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An exceptionally easy hummus to make.
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Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Drain and thoroughly rinse Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans).
  2. With knife blade in bowl place all ingredients, excluding one roasted red pepper, into food processor. (If using cumin and Jalapeno, add now.)
  3. Process until completely mixed.
  4. Remove from processor and place in bowl.
  5. Chop remaining red pepper and stir into hummus or place on top as garnish.
Notes
Traditional hummus usually includes cumin. Since I'm not personally a fan of cumin, I've made ½ teaspoon optional. Not everyone is a fan of jalapenos and this recipe tastes delicious with or without the jalapenos.

 

 

 

 

My very first experience with Chick Peas was when someone told me about a delicious tossed salad that included Chick Peas. I think it had spinach, Chick Peas and balsamic vinegar. Beyond that, I don’t remember the recipe. I had never heard of Chick Peas (yes it was many, MANY years ago). I bought some during my next grocery-shopping excursion and tucked them safely away in my pantry for later use.

Weeks later, I finally decided to make that salad. I went to my pantry and looked and looked only to find Garbanzo Beans. those Garbanzo Beans sat in my pantry for probably months as I wondered how I could have purchased Garbanzo Beans instead of the Chick Peas I was looking so forward to adding to the salad.

When I finally cleaned out my pantry a month or two later and found the Chick Peas. As I turned around the can of Garbanzo Beans, there on the other side I found, “Chick Peas.” That is when I learned that Garbanzo Beans and Chick Peas are one and the same. Garbanzo Beans are to Chick Peas like Coriander Leaves are to Cilantro! I only learned that cilantro is the leaves of the coriander plant, when I became a gardener.

Zucchini Chips

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Tired of zucchini bread? Don’t live in Vermont so you can’t stash your extra zucchini through open windows in random cars?  Well, at least not without getting arrested. Looking for new ways to eat zucchini? If you have an over abundance of zucchini, a better way to get rid of them is to preserve them by dehydrating. This works well with any type of summer squash—zucchini, patty pan, crook neck, straight neck, etc. Especially zucchini. These chips are a healthy snack and great for dips like salsa, guacamole, onion dip, etc. They can also be crumbled into soups on a cold, fall or winter day.

Zucchini Chips Recipe Renegade

 

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Zucchini Chips
 
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These zucchini chips are great to use for dips - salsa, onion dip, guacamole, etc.
Author:
Ingredients
  • Zucchini (however many you can fit in your dehydrator)
  • Himalayan Salt
Instructions
  1. Slice zucchini about 3/16" thick.
  2. Lightly salt.
  3. Place in dehydrator and run at 135° for approximately 10 to 12 hours or until completely dried.
  4. Store in tightly sealed bag with desiccant.

After dehydrating, I place my chips into a vacuum-seal bag. Leaving it full of air, I add a desiccant, and seal without first vacuuming.

Please note: These chips need to be cut the correct width. If they are cut too thin they will stick to the trays and be hard to remove. If they are too thick, they will not be chip-like and slightly tough. If they’re too big or small, keep them for winter soups.

Lynn’s Onion Dip

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What better way to make onion dip than with healthful, natural ingredients?  Only four ingredients are necessary to make this delicious onion dip.

Onion Dip Recipe Renegade

Lynn's Onion Dip
 
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What better way to make onion dip than with healthful, natural ingredients? Only four ingredients are necessary to make this delicious onion dip.
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix all together. Let sit for about 10 minutes. That's it!

    *Optional - Snip chives onto top of dip for a garnish.