Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Wheat Belly Wheat Free Pizza


I cut this into 15 slices

This absolutely terrific dish is courtesy of Dr. William Davis, author of “Wheat Belly”.  This recipe is located in Appendix B, page 248 of the hardback and reprinted with his gracious permission.

Folks, if you haven’t heard of or read this book, I highly suggest you do so.  The Wheat Belly philosophy is basically Stage 1 of The Perfect 10 diet.  And I don’t know about y’all, but once I went to Stage 2 and added grains back in, I went *pllllgbbbbltth* and kept struggling and wondering what I was doing wrong.  The information I read in this book really opened my eyes and helped me to make better choices with regard to grains and wheat.   Also, their Facebook page is really helpful and fun; Dr. Davis actually shows up several times a day to answer questions!  (must be nice huh?  I heard Dr. Aziz used to do that a few years back but no more….)  And they have a recipe guru over there too, he’s figured out some wheat-free bread recipes and has them available to share.

But don’t worry – I’m not gonna jump P10 ship and head over to the Wheat Belly bash.  I think that both of them are a great help to me right now and I am learning so much from each.  I think you will too. 

This pizza was so good!  You could fill up on just two slices of it.  The crust is great BUT it’s delicate so this is a fork and plate kind of pizza.  I had some Boboli pizza sauce in the freezer so I used that and I think that it was just right – it kind of distracted them from all the veggie and turkey toppings and once again, they had no idea it wasn’t ‘real pizza.’  And believe me, the Kid looks for stuff like that so she can accuse me of trying to feed her healthy food…

Wheat-Free Pizza (Cauliflower Crust)
Makes about 15 square slices

Crust:
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Pizza:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
12 oz pizza sauce or 12 oz tomato paste
Choice of veggie toppings: bell peppers, onions, garlic, spinach, olives, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.
Choice of meat toppings:  ground turkey, diced chicken, diced nitrate free sausage
Fresh or dried basil
Fresh or dried oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


The crust as it came out of the oven....

Boil the cauliflower until soft, about 20 minutes.  Drain and mash.  Add 1/4 cup EVOO, eggs and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly coat a pizza pan or large rimmed baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan and press/spread the ‘dough’ into a flat pizza-type shape no more than 1/2 inch thick, mounding it up higher at the edges.  Bake for 20 minutes.


Now is the time to prep your toppings.  I like all my toppings cooked, so I threw some onions, zucchini, mushrooms and cut up chicken sun-dried tomato sausage in a skillet with EVOO and the seasonings.  I also crumbled up a homemade turkey burger patty in there.

Remove the pizza ‘crust’ from the oven (leave the oven on) and spread it with pizza sauce or tomato paste, top with mozzarella, then add the toppings and drizzle with 1/2 cup EVOO.  (IF you cooked your toppings in EVOO, don’t add the extra).  Sprinkle with Parmesan and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Cut the pizza into slices and use a spatula to transfer pieces to the plates.


This is a small paper plate...yes, from Costco.







So, depending on how much pizza you ate, you'll have to guesstimate your servings of veggie, protein and fat.  I would say 1-1/2 veggie and 1/2 fat and 1/2 protein on a normal slice like I had. 


Print this recipe:  Wheat Free Pizza





13 comments:

  1. Joley, this is great! And a big thank you to Dr. Davis for being so supportive and allowing you to share this wonderful recipe and resource with others :)

    I am going to test it out for lunch on a much smaller scale since it is just me and see if it might work for Friday! :)

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    1. Jenn - I froze some extra slices. That way you could make extra and save them for when you don't feel like cooking!

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  2. Thank you, Joley! I started out on Perfect 10 Diet a couple of years ago, then stalled when I started adding grains back in, but didn't really realize that's what it was. I heard about Wheat Belly through one of your posts, and I am ordering that book tonight! I have already stopped eating wheat and can really tell a difference. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this blog and share these great recipes!

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  3. Have you tried freezing the crusts? I was wanting to make a few in advance then freeze them for easy weeknight dinners.

    Thanks!!

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  4. I hadn't even thought of that but since the cauliflower crust is so delicate, I don't know if it would transfer to the freezer well and it would probably ice up and fall apart after thawing. But you could thaw the mush, spread it out and recook it....

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  5. I made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! I would absolutely make it again. I just wanted to ask a question about the recipe. My "crust" while very tasty, had more the texture and consistency of mashed potatoes than it did a sturdier crust. Did I do this incorrectly or is that to be expected?

    P.S. Thank you so much for this blog! The recipes and advice you give are invaluable for a newbie to the program.

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    Replies
    1. Terrin - thanks for letting me know how you liked it! Unfortunately, that is the texture of the crust, you did it correctly. I will sometimes call this pizza casserole so that people won't try and pick it up to eat it.
      Also, thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate knowing that the blog is helping people!

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  6. I've made this crust before and a way to make it a little "sturdier" and more like a pizza crust is to squeeze ALL the juice out of the cauliflower after you cook it. I just put it in a clean dish towel and squeeze. You'll be amazed at how much liquid comes out. Excellent recipe.

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  7. Does anyone know if you can make the crust without the cheese? I'm no wheat, no dairy, but would love to try this. Just wondering if it might work.

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  8. I am a senior who tried this last fall and loved it. We read the Wheat Belly book and went wheat-free for 4 months.....right up until Christmas. I lost 28 pounds and came down 3 sizes in clothes. We were off the wheat free for 3 months and not only did the weight try to creep back up, but my joints hurt just like they use to before getting off the wheat. My hubby and I are almost back to complete wheat free now and feeling better. Dr. Davis mentioned Einkorn wheat flour and I found it at Jovial Foods, but haven't bought any. Has anyone used this non-genetically engineered flour yet?

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  9. My crust came out super soggy. I used parchment paper. Could that be the culprit?

    MelissaKK

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    1. Not necessarily, but it might have the liquid pool under it instead of evaporating. Make sure and squeeze the heck out of the cauliflower, I've been known to use a clean dish towel or paper towels to take a lot of the liquid out as well. Good luck and try again!

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  10. This does look delicious, but if you're concerned about the texture of the crust, I noticed that the Wheat Belly Cookbook has a recipe for some mini pizzas where the crust is made of things like almond flour so it's more of the texture of a crust. I just ordered the book too and will let you know how it goes when I try the recipe. I do think I'll try this one too because I just love cauliflower.
    Thank you!
    Teresa

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