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!

FUTURE MOVIE DIRECTOR?

 DELICIOUS BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE:

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup frozen strawberries
2 ripe bananas
2 large handfuls spinach
1 + 1/2 cup of water
Juice of half a lemon

Blend all ingredients  until smooth and enjoy!

Caught on tape: Baby Ricky's new line is "...and action!" but when he's standing up he says it with so much enthusiasm that his whole body shakes hahahahaha, he also makes sure he is on his tippy-toes when he screams it. I am hoping to get him on video when he does the 'standing version' one of these days.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

 Baby Ricky's favorite green smoothie. Try it with your kids and let us know if they enjoyed it as well

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 cup frozen mango
1 big handful spinach leaves
1/2 to 1 cup of water (I like mine a little on the thick side)

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth.

Feel free to send me pictures of your little ones drinking their favorite green smoothies to bernice4fyr@gmail.com


Rick Lakota's Famous Lasagna

I told you there is usually two kinds of food cooking in my kitchen, well, today was no different. While Rick made some mouth-watering lasagna, I decided to create my own new recipe. And NO, I don't feel restricted because I didn't eat the lasagna...people always ask me that and the truth is, when I decide it is a vegan or raw-vegan day/ week (s) for me, I stick to it. When I do purely raw-vegan, I really don't miss cooked food, amazing how the body can adapt!


Mango-Pesto 'Pasta'

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. In a separate bowl toss mung beans with about 4-5 Tbsp of mango pesto (I like mine drenched in the sauce). Save the rest of mango-pesto in tight container and place in the fridge. Garnish with some paprika and serve. YUmmy!

Verdict: I LOVE IT!


My FAVORITE Snack:

Ingredients:

1 granny smith apple, sliced
1 Tbsp almond butter (see brand I use below)

What a lovely GREEN day it's been :)

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