Delicious, Healthy Mexican Pesto Pizza Recipe

Let’s face it, pizza is delicious and most likely a weakness of practically everyone. Even though we all love pizza, we also know that it is not the healthiest food for us. Just think about it, the excessive grease and the high fat content. It’s frightening to say the least. Here is a recipe for a healthy alternative to the typical pizza shop slice. This recipe uses various nutritious foods including chia seeds. Chia seeds are a delicious superfood. Their use dates as far back as the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan times where they were a staple of the diet. They are high in antioxidants and omega 3’s,6’s, and 9’s â€â€Ŕ all necessary to your daily diet. This one ingredient will add great nutritional benefit.
Mexican Pesto Pizza
Pesto:
2 Tbps. Navitas Naturals Hemp Seeds
1/4 Cup Pumpkin seeds
1/2 Cup Cilantro, tightly packed
2/3 Cup Baby spinach, tightly packed
1 Clove garlic
1/2 Jalepeno pepper, deseeded
1/3 Cup Hemp oil (or olive oil)
2 Tbsp. Lime juice
1/2 tsp. Sea salt

Crust:
1 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. Navitas Naturals Chia Seeds, divided
1/3 Cup Rice milk
1 Cup Brown rice powder
1/4 Cup Mashed black beans
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder

Toppings:
1-2 Medium heirloom tomatoes (sliced thin lengthwise)
1/4 Cup Chopped cilantro

Directions:
Crust- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients for the crust in a large mixing bowl, setting aside the 2 Tbsp. of Chia seeds. Gather the dough into a ball and knead it for one minute. After kneading the dough let it stand for ten minutes. Sprinkle a non-stick baking sheet with the 2 Tbsp. of Chia seeds that you had set aside. Roll the dough out upon the chia seed into a 9×13 inch rectangle or similar shape. Upon the completion of rolling out the crust, bake it for ten minutes in the preheated oven.
Pesto Sauce- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse the ingredients until they are finely chopped. Once the ingredients are finely chopping, slowly add the oil and process the mixture until it is fully blended together.
Assemble- Once the crust has finished baking, spread the pesto onto the crust. Top with the thinly cut tomatoes. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes. After you remove the pizza from the oven, sprinkle it with cilantro and let it stand for 2 minutes. After the pizza has cooled, cut it up using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter and serve. The recipe serves approximately 4 to 6 people.
Enjoy this nutritious pizza and fulfill your pizza craving all in one!

Healthy Pizza Recipes

I admit it, I am a pizzaholic. I can eat pizza every day, at every meal, and even as a snack. Well, ok, maybe I will throw in a calzone recipe every once in a while, but you get my point. Due to my love of pizza and because of the frequency with which I eat it, it is essential for my waistline that my pizza recipes are healthy and I still want them to taste good.

Here are some ways you can make healthy pizzas:

Use light or low-fat cheeses

Measure the amount of cheese you use and then use a bit less

Use turkey bacon instead of big-fat greasy pork bacon

Use ground turkey rather then ground beef

Use more vegetables and less meat

Use diced tomatoes rather then canned tomato sauces to cut sodium

Use a little whole-wheat flour rather then bread flour

Use less olive oil and don’t use any in the dough

By considering these tips and maybe trying a few, you will increase the health factor of your pizzas. Making healthy pizzas will allow you to eat pizza every day, and that sounds good to me.