Vegan Veggie Pizza with Gluten-Free Crust

My friend Maureen Lermer and her three children have been on a gluten-free diet for years and I love to feast my eyes on her beautiful food photography. I have been toying with the idea of eating gluten-free myself. When I'm doing all raw of course I am totally gluten-free but when I am making some vegan foods I still incorporate some gluten in my diet. Today I decided to make a vegan veggie pizza with a chickpea crust and the result was DELIGHTFUL!

WHO WANTS PIZZA?

SO FILLING AND NUTRITIOUS I WAS FULL AFTER TWO SLICES

THIN, FLUFFY, GLUTEN-FREE CHICKPEA CRUST

 PIZZA TOPPING

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, sliced into rings
1 zucchini, chopped
1 small Indian egg plant , chopped
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and and let marinade for about 15-20 minutes.

CHICKPEA CRUST:

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour
Dash of salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil

First, add yeast to cup of warm water and mix. Pour mixture into bowl with chickpea flour and salt, mix until smooth and then cover and let stand on kitchen counter for 30 minutes. Uncover and  add olive oil and mix well. Pour into baking pan and place in 450 degree oven. Let bake for 10 minutes. Take out and set aside.

I  decided to use left over mango pesto I had in the fridge for my 'cheese'. Here's the recipe from an old blog entry:

CHEESE: MANGO PESTO

Ingredients

1/2 cup pine nuts
3 cups basil leaves (I used 1 bunch)
2cm ginger root
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup + 2Tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt or salt to taste
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 Tbsp almond butter (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups ripe mango chunks
3 cups of mung beans, rinsed and patted dry

Put all ingredients except the mung beans in a food processor with an 'S' blade and blend until smooth.


ASSEMBLY:


Generously spread mango pesto over crust. Add pizza topping over the pesto and place pizza into the oven for another 5-10 minutes to warm. Serve and enjoy!

Eating healthy is a labor of love just like every worthy thing we have or strive for in our lives. Taking time to prepare your foods makes it very much easy to be grateful and appreciate life and ourselves. If you do try this out I would like to know how you liked it. Next, I will be working on making some vegan condensed milk, yup, you heard right, yummy stuff isn't it? Till then, be safe and ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY.

MY SISTER TOOK THIS PHOTO, I think she did a good job, thanks Gege

Remember TO EAT AND DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

3 + 3 Reasons to be Happy

I just came back from a much needed vacation and I must say it was also my best birthday yet; no big birthday bash, cake or anything like that but it was peaceful. I had peace in my heart, resolved issues, decisions made, bigger dreams and goals to be achieved and oh, I became an auntie (my nephew was born on March 5th, four days after my birthday) and my mother arrived from Cameroon on my birthday itself.

Picking up Mom from the airport

What more could I ask for? Added bonus: I left the kids at home, yup, mommies need time away every now and then, Daddy did a good job filling in for me.

My Happy 33rd Birthday ...

Lounging

What about you all? what have you been doing in my absence? been eating good? exercising enough, sleeping well? breaking old habits? making new friends? what? I hope all good though. I started reading more again, great books always get me going...my anchor has always been God, Great circle of people and Great reads, what about you? What is your anchor? what gets you revamped? My Mother says her secret is staying JOYFUL but then she goes on to explain to me the difference between Joy and Happiness....well, I am so proud of her and impressed with her keeping up with FYR even in Cameroon. She actually fits in jeans my sister and I wear...trust me I almost fell to the ground when she zipped and buttoned this pair of size 8 Jeans.

53 year old mother of 5 adults

Mama

"Staying JOYful is my rejuvenator."

I enjoyed some Cameroonian dishes while I was on vacation, boy oh boy! my mother brought some cooked eru from Cameroon! Impossible? yes! but did she do it? YES! hahahahahahaha she is a NINJA. Eru is our traditional meal, consists mainly of a green leafy vegetable called 'eru', some palm oil, crayfish, maggi and any meat of choice. It is eaten with fufu or gari or in my case some rice or plantain.

My traditional meal: Eru (with gari)

Anyway, that's what I've been up to just in case anyone missed me :) I have been dreaming of some pesto and some cheesecake (raw-vegan) and some...oh well, I'm back to my juicing and RAW feast, care to join? Come back soon, you never know what I'll be un-COOKING next time. Have a swell day everyone and ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE HAPPY xoxo

"I'm living my life like it's GOLDEN."

Remember to  EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!