(click on the image to enlarge, this is my actual receipt with personal stuff blocked out)
Today I went grocery shopping at walmart and got just a few items. As you know I’ve been doing a low fat high carb raw vegan challenge. This grocery haul reflects that. This will be my food for the week.
51 pounds of bananas (29 cents a pound)
14 pounds of peaches (99 cents a pound)
15 pounds of tomatoes (69 cents a pound)
a 15 pound watermelon (1.98)
In total, only cost me $32.96! Pretty cheap for one week huh. Yes I have leftover avocados from last week’s haul and I do have 3 large heads of lettuce in the fridge, however I’ll probably just eat what you see in the video.
Do you miss pizza because you either can’t find a decent vegan pizza or because you’re on a diet? Well no more my friends, this pizza is lower calorie than traditional pizza, lower in fat, and completely vegan! If you have gluten issues, please see my gluten free pizza recipe and use the crust, or use your own. This recipe is for 3 personal pan size or mini size pizzas. These will feed 3 grown people easily.
Ingredients:
1 whole recipe – Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 whole recipe – Basic Marinara or Pizza Sauce
6 ounces nondairy cheese – I suggest Daiya half mozzarella half cheddar
your choice of toppings, I suggest:
1 bell pepper, sliced thin
1 tomato, sliced
spring onion, minced
vegan pepperoni sliced – Yves makes a great tasting brand at only 50 calories per 10 slices too!
Directions:
Preheat your oven with your pizza stone at 425 for at-least 15 minutes. If you’re not using a pizza stone, only preheat until your oven is hot.
Divide your pizza dough into 3 equal pieces, and roll to your desired thickness. I choose a medium-thin style crust that got real crispy when baked. Rub corn meal into the pizza crust and flip over. If you’re using my pizza crust recipe, there is no need to prebake, otherwise follow directions that come with your crust. Spread 1/3rd of your pizza sauce onto the dough. For a traditional look, leave a ring around the outside of the crust, otherwise spread the sauce to the edge to help with drying and add extra flavor. Now spread most of 2 ounces of daiya cheese on your pizza, I left just a little bit for the top of the pizza. Arrange your desired toppings on your pizza. As you can see in the photo, my personal pizza was half veggie pepperoni, and half tomato. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your desired toppings!
Assuming your oven is hot, transfer your pizza on the stone (or pan) and bake. Time will vary and I suggest you start checking on the color of your crust at 15 minutes. A deep golden color will tell you if its done or not:
Remove from the oven and cut into 4-6 pieces and enjoy. This recipe makes 3 mini size pizzas , although they aren’t that mini. If you make a pizza like the one shown above it will have about 540 calories. If you use different brands of cheese of faux meat products, calories will vary. Also keep in mind the typical pizza has almost 1000 calories in it. Enjoy!
Never feel the need to purchase super salty, preservative ridden pizza sauce again when it’s this easy to make it at home. This makes enough for 1 large pizza or 3 mini/personal size pizzas.
Ingredients:
1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
Directions:
In a blender, add your can of fire roasted tomatoes, and your seasoning. Blend until you get your desired consistency. Then add in your flax seed as your blender is running, this way it won’t clump up. Let set for at-least 5 minutes then its ready to be used on pizza or as a marinara dipping sauce. Its really easy and fresh! Enjoy!
Nutritional information will vary depending on which brand of tomatoes you use, and how much salt is in them. Try to use low or no sodium tomatoes packed in juice. The flax seeds add little fat and lots of omega fatty acids which we can all use more of =)
In a food processor add 1 tablespoon yeast and sugar. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour and pulse a few times to mix the ingredients. After ingredients are mixed, turn food processor ON and slowly add your water until the dough comes together and pulls off the side of the bowl. You may need more or less than ¾ cup water so add very slowly. Once the dough starts to pull off the side of the bowl, continue processor about 1 minute. This step is important so you get the gluten developed and the end product is alot better. Now do one of two things:
If your food processor is like mine, where the center can be removed and the blade, remove them and put the dough back in and let rest for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
OR
If your food processor does not disassemble, put your dough into a LIGHTLY oiled bowl, preferably glass and cover with a some-what tight fitting cover (plastic wrap works if you have nothing else), let rise for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
After your dough has doubled in size, remove it from the container and roll it out to your desired thickness, I suggest using some corn meal (NOT corn starch/flour that's different) for dusting on your work surface to prevent sticking. When you get to your desired thickness, add cornmeal to the pizza by sprinkling it on and rubbing your hand in a circular motion to "grind in" the meal.
Flip the dough over onto your pizza stone or pan top with your desired sauce and toppings. Bake normal or 425 for about 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. Thin crust pizza tastes only about 15 minutes with toppings. Thicker crust may take 25 or more, depending. I do not know cooking time for deep-dish, no one in my family likes this type of pizza. Enjoy!
Notes
Makes enough for 1 large pizza, 2 thin crust or 3 mini pizzas.
5 medium bananas, very ripe (Should be almost all brown and squishy)
1 cup unpacked brown sugar (dark is better but light will work)
½ cup regular sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon baking soda
3 tablespoon ground flax + 8 tablespoons HOT water (mix well and let set 5 minutes)
¼ cup grape-seed oil (you can use olive oil if you prefer)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (the real stuff only please)
¼ cup nondairy milk mixed with 1 teaspoon white or rice wine vinegar ***(see note)
2½ cups wheat flour (you may need more or less)
slightly less than 1 cup nuts, chopped **(see note)
Instructions
In a small bowl add your ground flax seeds and HOT water (I cannot stress how important HOT water is), stir well so there are no lumps and let set aside for about 5 minutes. Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius or gas mark 4).
In a large bowl, combine your bananas, sugar, vanilla, salt, applesauce, baking soda, oil, and nondairy milk. Using your hands (which I did) or a potato masher; mash until the lumps are less than 1 centimeter (1/4 inch) or til desired smoothness. I like to leave tiny lumps so you get bites of banana, but this is up to you.
Check your flax "eggs", if they are snotty in texture and thick; they are ready to go in the bowl. If they are not, let set another couple minutes, then add to large bowl.
Mix in your flax eggs well. Now start to mix in your flour ½ cup at a time using the folding method. I suggest using a flexible spatula for this. Circle your bowl to scrap the sides down, and cut through the middle until your flour disappears and there are no huge pockets of flour in the mixture. Repeat this for 2 cups total of flour. Now look at your mixture, is it thick, kinda snotty and holds together well? If the answer is yes, then stop. If you think it needs a little more then add the remaining ½ cup of flour. If for some reason your bananas were huge and its still too moist, add ½ more flour. There really is no reason to use more than 3 cups. Once your batter looks ready, fold in slightly less than 1 cup of nuts, your choice; make sure they are evenly distributed.
Get two regular sized loaf pans and spray generously with oil or grease well. Failure to do this will result in a bread you can't pry from the pan with a crowbar, you were warned.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and lightly tap on the counter to remove air pockets. Bake at 350 for about 60 - 75 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf should come out almost clean (like 90%) if you wait for it to be completely clean, the bread will be crumbly and dry. Good with milk, not so much on it's own. Mine took 65 minutes.
At this point you can store them at room temperature (cool completely before putting in a container) or freeze them. My grandma used to wrap her breads in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap. Don't forget to date them. I wouldn't keep them in the freezer more than 3 months for best results. Thaw at room temperature completely before serving.
Notes
* A word on flax seeds. If you are baking for someone with an allergy you can use regular whole large sized eggs. Egg replacement powder isn't that great of an option here and extra bananas will not work either. Sorry =(
** A word on choosing nuts. I used pecans, which is all I had left. Traditional banana nut bread is made with walnuts, however you can mix and match to your taste. Try a combination of both or go for something different all together. You could also use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if someone is your family has a tree nut allergy. Better safe than sorry!
*** A word on nondairy milk. In this recipe I used a homemade brown rice milk that was just rice and water with some vanilla, however you may use any type of nondairy milk. Be careful if choosing a strong flavored milk like mung bean or hemp milk. These will alter the flavor of the end dish. Also, coconut milk should be avoided unless you want coconut banana bread. (that does sound good though! 😉
