cauliflower crust pizza

 Many of you asked about the recipie for this Cauliflower Crust Pizza.  I'm sure you could find many recipies all over the Internet but I based mine off of Paula Deens recipie.  I made one small change though.  Which I'll share down below.

Ever since my sister inlaw visited back in January and introduced me to Cauliflower rice, I always keep a head of cauliflower on hand.  We make the rice about once a week and use it for a side with meals or we put it in to a whole wheat tortilla with fresh sliced peppers, pepper jack cheese, and some light ranch.   So since I was feeding the missionaries last week and I had a head of cauliflower I needed to use up I decided to try an experiment and make cauliflower crust pizza.  Besides, who better to try out food experiments on than hungry 19 year old boys.  Plus they have to eat whatever you fix, I'm pretty sure that's a mission rule.  

It turned out great! I actually really loved it and it is such a better alternative when those pizza cravings hit.  We topped ours with turkey pepperoni, roasted squash, zucchini, and yellow and red peppers.

Cauliflower Crust

Process 1 medium size cauliflower head in food processor until finely grated.

Microwave for 6 minutes.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes then stir in 1 egg, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.  I also added 1 tablespoon milled flax seed.

Spread crust out on a baking sheet and pre cook at 425 without toppings for 12 minutes.  Take it out and add your sauce cheese and toppings and then cook again until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I've made this two times. The second time I didn't let the cauliflower cool all the way from when I microwaved it and it was definitely a fork pizza.  The first time I made the pizza when it cooled from coming out of the oven we were able to eat it by picking it up.  All in all it was an experiment gone well!

in with the good

Last night I made Kale Chips.  After I put them in the oven to bake I thought, "Who even am I?!"  

I used to be the kind of person that when offered a salad I thought, "Have I angered you somehow? What did I do to deserve this horrible excuse for a meal?"

I've never really been the healthy type.  I pretty much ate and did what I pleased through high school, college, and up through the first 3 years of my marriage.  A few happy pounds and two beautiful babies later I found myself wanting to make some changes.  In the past I had halfheartedly made some commitments to exercise or eat better and they all ultimately ended up falling through within weeks or even days.  

The truth is I was content with where I was.  I didn't hate my body or have low energy.  I loved to eat sweets all of the time and every night was treated like it was a celebration and I would allow myself to give in to whatever craving I had. (mostly because I'm an adult and thats one of the perks after all!)  When things got hard there wasn't necessarily a big motivation for me to continue on.  

After experiencing the exhilaration of natural childbirth with Avett I literally felt like I could do anything.  I remember the moments right after I pushed him out I kept repeating, "I can't believe I just did that!  That was amazing!!"  I mean I was practically yelling it.  Childbirth was the highest of the high feelings I had ever felt. It made me want to do more things to push my body to new limits.  Giving birth to Avett was the positive driving force that gave me the confidence to know that I can do hard things.

So, when 2014 rolled around I made the cliche resolution that this year would be different.  I adopted the motto, 

"In with the good."

We have been eating a lot of good lately.  And I am proud to say that I have lost 17 pounds so far and John has lost 19.  We've lost 3 pounds more than what our two year old Evaleigh currently weighs.

I feel like we have become accidental occasional vegetarians.  We eat meat sparingly and have vegetables with every meal.  Lots of water.  Juicing.  Soup from Juice Pulp.  Greek Yogurt.  Cauliflower rice. Morningstar burgers.  Exercise.  Boiled Eggs.  Roasted peppers.  The occasional bowl of ice cream because we are human after all.  Coconut Oil.  Flax Seed.  Nuts.  Apples.  

So, hello kale...we are so excited about our new changes.