Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Medium-sized pizza with roasted
 peppers, roasted garlic, and pesto.

After many, many attempts over the years to find a homemade pizza crust my children like I finally found one!  (Click here for original recipe.)  It is delicious.  We divide it into 1/8 dough balls for small personal pizzas, into 1/4 for a medium sized pizza, and 1/2 for a large size.  We form leftover dough into balls and freeze for future use.



Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110º F/45º C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
In a large bowl (I used the bowl from my mixer), dissolve sugar in warm water.  Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand 10 minutes, until foamy.  Stir olive oil and salt into yeast mixture.  Mix in whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together.  Using dough hook attachment knead for 5 minutes on slow speed or 10 minutes by hand until ball of dough is smooth.  Place dough in an oiled bowl then turn to coat the surface.  Cover loosely with a towel until double in size, about 1 hour.  On a lightly floured surface, divide into 2 or more pieces, form a tight ball, let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425º F.  Roll out dough to desired size.  Top with toppings then bake until crust is crisp and golden at edges, 10-15 minutes.

Ratings:
5 out of 5 family members love it!

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
We tried the rice-based cheese but it did not melt well.  Then, we tried the Daiya shredded cheese.  Oh my, so much better than the rice-based cheese we were using for melting and for taste!

Lillie's smiley face pizza with Daiya
cheese and roasted red peppers.

Perfect Pesto (Nut-Free)

Pesto with one of our favorite crackers.

With the garden in great production of basil, I decided to try a nut-free pesto recipe.  I thought sunflower seeds would be a good substitute.  However, I could not find sunflower seeds to toast.  Out of all the products I reviewed in the stores and on the internet I found one that was not manufactured with other problematic foods.  Of course, it was out of stock.  Then I turned to my sunflower butter as it contains roasted sunflowers already blended.  It was great!  The taste is different than with pine nuts but yummy.  Plus, I was blown away by the fact every child of mine liked it on pizza with roasted peppers (dough recipe coming soon)!  That is really unusual.

Makes 12 tablespoons

Ingredients:
2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
5 sun-dried tomatoes, softened (mine came in halves so I used 10 halves)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sunflower butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
Place basil, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and sunflower seeds in a food processor or blender.  Purée while adding olive oil slowly.  Blend until desired texture. Add additional basil and purée if the sunflower seed taste is too strong.  

Nutrition Information:
1 serving (1 tablespoon): 70 calories, 3g carbs, 6g fat, 1g protein, 1g fiber, 4mg iron

Rating:
5 out of 5 like this recipe

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
Sunflower Butter: SunButter brand
Cracker:  Back to Nature Multigrain Flax Seeded Flatbread

Fabulous on pizza with roasted garlic
and red peppers!
(Dough recipe coming soon.)

It is delicious on pasta!

Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

This recipe is a favorite for three of us.  Ethan eats it with Dynamite Dairy-Free Ranch as I am still searching for an easy sour cream recipe that works for him.  We made it for guests.  It was a hit!

The first time I made these I used corn tortillas.  They were tasty but broke apart in the oven.  The original recipe calls for 12 10-inch tortillas.  Since the only Ethan-safe tortillas are 12-inch I changed the recipe to make enough for 10 tortillas.  I cut the recipe in half as it made too many leftovers for us but would be great for a larger gathering.  Also, I replaced soy sauce with raw coconut aminos, a sweeter but delicious soy sauce substitute.  The original recipe has you add about 1 cup of mixture to each burrito.  We like it with about 1/2 cup.  It is very filling!

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked kidney beans
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut aminos
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
10 (12-inch) tortillas, warm
10 slices rice-based cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º degrees F.  Heat oil in medium skillet.  Sauté onion and garlic until soft.  Stir in beans and mash.  Gradually stir in water.  When warm, remove from heat and stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and coconut aminos.  Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between tortillas (I mixed the sweet potatoes into the beans.  Then, spooned in about 1/2 cup of combined mixture into each 12-inch tortilla.) Top with slice of rice-based cheese.  Fold up tortillas burrito style then place on baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes then serve.

Nutrition Information:
1 serving (1/2 cup filling, no tortilla or cheese): 119 calories, 23g carbs, 1g fat, 6g protein, 8g fiber, 7 mg iron

Rating:
3 out of 5 love it  (will keep trying it with my 6 and 5 year olds)

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
These products work for Ethan as part of his vegan diet which also avoids soy, peanuts, and tree nuts.
Soy sauce substitute:  Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos
Tortillas:  Cedar's Wraps
Cheese:  Galaxy Rice Vegan Cheese

Sunflower Butter instead of Peanut Butter

It wasn't until I enrolled my first child into preschool when I was introduced to sunflower butter. Peanut butter and products were banned at our first preschool due to allergies of other students. After a look of panic, the owner suggested sunflower butter as a substitute. I had never heard of it.  We tried it and like it.

Fast forward three years, sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches are a staple. It is great for airplane travel as it is so hard to find Ethan-friendly food at airports. When we do go out to eat (which rarely happens), it is our back up food in case the restaurant cannot accommodate Ethan's needs. I send it in lunches for my school-age kids even though they don't have allergies (peanut butter is allowed in the lunchroom but not in certain classrooms). Primarily, I do it out of respect for others who have peanut allergies. I cannot imagine sending a child to school wondering if their EpiPen will get used that day when a simple substitution would make everything better. No recipe this time. Enjoy a few photos from our June trip to California.

(There are a few brands of sunflower butter.  I've found the Sunbutter brand to be at most stores near me. Also, you can make your own.)

Eating plums right off the trees!

Visiting one of many wonderful parks.

Touring Google's campus.

Trying to find Nemo.