The best thing about having a problem is… it forces you to find a solution.
The problem? I’m 8 months pregnant and have two little girls staring me down because they want their dinner and they want it, like… 5 minutes ago. The solution? Turn to my fridge and find three things that can go together and try something new.
That’s exactly what led me to create this quick and easy “pizza” alternative. A dish with more nutrients than most pizza, less calories, and takes roughly 10 minutes to make.
I’d already figured out, a year prior to my kid-dinner-crisis, that tortillas serve as a crispy casing for food when sautéed in a pan.
I’d created (what’s become a signature dish of mine) Skillet Salmon Quesadillas with Riced Cauliflower using brown rice tortillas, and remembered how fabulous the crust turned out in the pan. It was super thin, like crackers, just the way our family likes pizza crust.
So… I took what I had in my fridge at the time: Ezekiel sprouted tortilla wraps, leftover marinara sauce and uncured/no nitrates salami and made little individual pizzas in a skillet, for the kids. (I also threw in a little spinach and added some green beans on the side.)
Today, I’ve evolved the ingredients a bit, especially when it comes to making “adult” pizzas, but the concept is still the same.
The fun thing is, you can really put your own spin on it and add in anything you like. You can use tomato sauce or pizza sauce, I just happened to have marinara yet again, and used that this go round. You can make it meat-filled or meatless. Truly, whatever your heart desires.
Here’s a what I put together though, for ONE mini veggie pizza.
Veggie Pizza Ingredients:
1 Ezekiel sprouted tortilla (small, 28 gram pkg)
1 & 1/2 Tbs. of tomato sauce (or marinara)
1/2 c. spinach
1/4 c. bell peppers
3 shitake mushrooms (sliced)
2 cherry tomatos (sliced)
1 Tbs. onions (chopped)
1 Tbs. parsley (for the garnish)
- Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Let it warm up while you prep your pizza.
This is a great time to get the kids involved in cooking. Build a little assembly line of toppings and garnishes and let them “decorate” their own pizza, however they like.
2. Next, start assembling your pizza. Lay down your sauce first. Then, add your greens.
If I’m making the kids’ pizza, I’ll put the salami on AFTER I put down the spinach and then sprinkle 2 Tbs. of parmesan over the salami. It’s an easy way for me to slip in a little extra green goodness, because it’s not so visible.
When I’m making my own veggie pizza, after I lay down the sauce and spinach, I start layering on the veggies: bell peppers, mushrooms, red onion and tomatoes.
Once assembled, put the pizza directly into the warmed pan on the stove and let it cook roughly 5 minutes, or until the edges of the tortilla get a little brown and the tortilla gets crispy.
Slide your pizzas onto a plate and garnish with a little parsley or parmesan and that’s it. Lunch or dinner is served! Kids are happy because they get “pizza” for a meal and Mom is happy because it took her no time at all to make, and even less time to clean up. Can’t beat it!
*If you want to keep this dish gluten free, brown rice tortillas are great (Trader Joe’s has some), or I’ve used Rudi’s Gluten Free Spinach tortillas, found at Whole Foods. The only thing with Rudi’s brand is… there’a a lengthy list of ingredients along with “cane sugar,” which we try to avoid. But… it is nice to have some options, so weigh what’s most important to you, and adjust your ingredients accordingly!
*Also… you could use larger tortillas to make bigger pizzas, just double the pizza ingredients.
