wellbeing – Cookin' with Carmel

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

April 5, 2017April 5, 2017Leave a comment

What do you make when you can’t eat junky white processed flour but are a pizza lover?! CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA!!

unnamed — Pizettes Two Sauces: Traditional Marinara Sauce and Sweet Potato Sauce

There are SO many more benefits to this alternative-you’ll feel good, which means you’ll look good! Well, I do, ever since giving my food a makeover. I TRY to stay clear of eating white processed flour-and really any sorts of processed foods. So I turn to this Crust Recipe when I’m craving a takeaway. It’s all veggies so it is a guilt-free pizza pie-YUM!

Ingredients

Cauliflower Crust

(Makes 1 large round pizza or 4 small pizzettes)

1 small head of cauliflower

1 clove of garlic

pinch of Himalayan or sea salt

Tablespoon of dry, mixed herbs (Oregano, Basil, Parsley)

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax+3 tablespoons water-rest for 15 min)

Sweet Potato Sauce

1 large BOILED or ROASTED sweet potato

tablespoon of nutritional yeast

pinch of salt

Pizza toppings that pair great with this Sauce: sauteeed mushrooms, sauteed onions, spinach, and walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 450F.

To make the crust: Wash and dry cauliflower. Cut off the floret. In a food processor, pulse all ingredients EXCEPT the flax egg until it looks like the consistency of rice.

Put the cauliflower in a mixing bowl and add the flax egg.

Spoon the mixture onto a baking tray. Pat and shape with your fingers into a circle.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown (this may take up to 20 for the larger pizza/depending on your oven).

While the base is baking in the oven you’ll want to make your sauce and toppings.

To make the Sauce: Siimply mash the sweet potato with a fork until smooth. Mix in the nutritional yeast and smooth.

Back to the Crust: Take the Crust out and spread the Sauce. Add the Toppings. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

A New Direction

February 24, 2017February 25, 20173 Comments

There’s been a little radio silence on my blog, as I have been making somewhat of a big transition! I’ve always been a ‘foodie’, but in recent years, I haven’t had the healthiest relationship with my meals, snacks, and drinks(alcoholic and non). I ate when I was tired, out of boredom, or simply because something looked good. I broke my ankle in June 2015, and my health, physically and mentally, spiraled out of control. I reached my heaviest I’ve ever been (I’ve always been a little chubbier, and never an athlete, and even in my slim days I wasn’t treating my body right) weight wise. Even though it seemed my blog was taking off in Ireland and that I was happy, I was actually pretty miserable.

I moved back to California with a goal in mind: gain back my happiness and confidence(as well as lose a few lbs for my sister’s wedding in fall 2017). I hired an amazing personal trainer, and since December have been working out with her twice a week, as well as doing at home and other gym workouts. I’ve also cleaned up my diet- I avoid processed sugars and white flour and I’ve cut WAY back on my alcohol intake. I’m feeling so much stronger, happier(food has such a bigger role on mentality than I realized), and much more energetic! I’ve also gone FROM A SIZE 14 TO A SIZE 6(ROUGHLY 25 LBS)!! I haven’t focused so much on the number of the scale as much as I have about my level of confidence/how I look in those jeans.

Being much fit and healthier has pushed me to have much more of a direction/have a sense of clarity with what I want my role to be in the food industry. I look at food as fuel nowadays, instead of a stress buster/to pass time.

With that, from now on, cookin’ with me will be MUCH HEALTHIER, CLEANER; and I’m hoping to offer tips and tricks of fitness (like proper form) that I’ve learned so far!

-Chia puddings have been one of my pre-workouts!