Whole Wheat Pita Pizza

We loooove pizza. This recipe is the perfect size for a personal pizza and it's a much healthier alternative to the homemade pizza we usually make.

This recipe reminds me of when my mom used to make us little pizzas using naan as the crust...it was so good! There’s something about a whole wheat pita that just gives such a great texture and hearty flavor to the pizza crust...and it's very filling!

The best part about this entire recipe is that it literally took me about 15 minutes to make. Quick and easy?? Yes, please. This one is definitely a winner!

Whole Wheat Pita Pizza
Recipe adapted from Whole Living
Ingredients:
4 whole-wheat pita breads
4-5 sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
fresh basil, finely chopped 

Spinach and Basil Pesto
Ingredients:
1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

For the pesto:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well blended. It's that easy! :)
 

To assemble the pizzas: 

Arrange pita breads on two baking sheets. Spread about 4 tablespoons of pesto on each. Scatter chopped sun dried tomatoes on top, and then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle fresh basil on top. Transfer the baking sheets to the oven, and bake the pizzas until the mozzarella has melted, about 20 minutes. Remove the pizzas from the oven, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut each pita pizza into wedges and serve!

Asian Quinoa Salad

I made this salad a few weeks back and can’t wait to try it again! We've just recently started eating quinoa, and this was the perfect salad to add to our dinner. 

The best part is that the quinoa is cooked in vegetable broth with fresh ginger, orange zest and orange juice, giving it this amazing flavor! Just throw in some veggies, almonds, and a delish dressing with honey and sesame oil and you have one incredibly satisfying salad. I’m glad I made enough for lunch...it tasted even better the next day! 

Asian Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from The Fig Tree

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock

1 cup of uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger (divided)

1 teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest

juice of one small orange

2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 cup of edamame; shelled

2 cups of broccoli slaw

1 cup of sliced almonds, toasted

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Place the vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, grated orange zest, orange juice and rinsed quinoa in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the rice wine vinegar, other tablespoon of grated ginger, olive oil, sesame oil, honey, and soy sauce in a small glass jar or container. Shake to combine.

3. After the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Toss in the edamame, and broccoli slaw. Return lid to pot and allow the veggies to steam with the quinoa for 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

4. Toss the quinoa mixture with the salad dressing. Add in the sliced almonds. Garnish the salad with sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.

Spicy Black Bean Sliders

Last night's menu consisted of these cute lil’ sliders. Not only are the a piece of cake to put together, but they are seriously healthy and good for you!

I really like sliders like this because they’re super simple to prepare and so much fun to eat! You can pile them high with whatever condiments you have on hand and dig in.

I topped my burgers with avocado, Swiss cheese, and a mixture of Sriracha and Greek yogurt. The best part of this entire recipe is the fact that my husband LOVED them! They were spicy and satisfying, so he didn't even miss the meat.

Spicy Black Bean Sliders

Recipe adapted from Eat Live Run

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 jalapeno

2 cloves garlic

2 T tomato sauce

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 tsp cumin

1 1/4 tsp salt

avocado for topping

Swiss cheese, sliced

1 T Sriracha (adjust according to how much heat you can handle!)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

olive oil (or canola oil) for frying burgers

slider buns (I used Hawaiian Sweet Rolls)

Directions:

Seed and roughly chop jalapeno. Add it and the garlic cloves to a food processor and mince finely.

Add one can of beans to the jalapeno/garlic mixture and pulse to combine. Add cumin and salt and pulse until mixture resembles chunky black bean dip.

Transfer the mixture in the food processor to a large bowl and stir in the bread crumbs and tomato sauce. Stir well until everything is combined. Add remaining black beans.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Form black bean mixture into patties and fry for about 4 minutes per side, until golden and crusty brown.

In a small mixing bowl combine Greek yogurt and Sriracha.

Serve burgers with avocado slices, Swiss cheese, and sriracha/yogurt.

*I toasted the buns in the oven prior to serving.