Hello ladies and gentlemen! As you probably know by now, my name is Amy and this is my very first post! I think it is only appropriate to share with you all a recipe that has been feeding my hungry, pizza loving belly for the past few weeks. I was inspired by a lunch I had last month on my honeymoon in Banff, Alberta. The restaurant is called Coyotes and if you are ever in Banff, I highly recommend stopping by for lunch or dinner. They use the freshest ingredients and everything is made from scratch! Anyway, because I’m a pizza fanatic but cannot eat it all the time due to its fat and greasy nature (kind of an exercise undo-er), I love trying different variations that are healthier and that I won’t feel bad about eating. This is the latest, but I am going to start with my basic pesto recipe as you will need this for the pizza.
Cilantro-Basil Pesto
Yield: 1/2 cup
- 1/2 cup cilantro (pack it in there)
- 1 cup basil (packed as well)
- 1/3 cup EVOO (more or less depending on desired consistency)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- ground pepper (to taste)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until you get a pesto consistency. I like to start off with half of the evoo and add in the second half as its processing, but you can do whatever floats your boat.
Apple Goat Cheese Pita Pizza
Yield: 1 serving
- 1 piece of whole wheat pita bread
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup of cilantro-basil pesto
- About 2 ounces of fresh goat cheese
- 1 granny smith apple
Turn broiler on high to heat up. Place pita bread on baking sheet and spread the pesto on it, like this:
Next, take the goat cheese (I like to buy it whole, not crumbled, and break it up myself) and spread it around on top of the pesto. Then, cut the apple in very thin slices using a mandolin slicer (a knife will work if you do not have a mandolin slicer).
Place the pizza in the oven and let cook for 3-4 minutes (depending on your broilers strength). Then, turn the broiler off and let the pizza sit in the oven for another 2-3 minutes. Cut up and enjoy!
This is so easy and fast, which is probably why I’m averaging like 10 one a week. Some other ideas would be to add a little crumbled gorgonzola on top before baking, and/or adding crushed walnuts or pecans. Either way, you’re getting whole grains, bacteria and virus fighting agents in the basil and cilantro, fiber from the apple slices, and MUFA’s (monounsaturated fats – fights belly fat) from the extra virgin olive oil. So give it a try! Let me know what you think!
What is your favorite kind of pizza to make at home? Do you do anything to make it more nutritious?
