Here is a new twist on veggie pizza! I just made this over last weekend and it was a success! I suggest eating it in the first day or two… 3 days it is a little mushy and no longer looks as appetizing. 😀 Haha!
Vegetable Pizza with Zucchini Crust
(I doubled the recipe to make it fit this jelly roll pan)
4 cups shredded raw zucchini
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg beaten well
1 TBSP nutritional yeast
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shred the zucchini and sprinkle salt over it. Mix well. Let it sit a few minutes. Pour the beaten egg over it and mix well. Add nutritional yeast and mix well. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish and spread it out thinly. Bake for 20-30 minutes or till the zucchini looks a little toasted and the crust has “set up”. (Baking time may vary depending on your oven). Let crust cool while you make a batch of Homemade Hummus.
Filling: Homemade Hummus or prepared pesto.
When crust is cooled, spread with 1/2 -2/3 cup of hummus. It should be 1/4 inch thick or a little more. Â In the picture above, I used half hummus and a 5 ounce jar of prepared pesto. So you will only need a half jar (2.5 ounces) of pesto for this recipe!
Topping:Â Half a bag of shredded Power Blend Superfoods or 5 ounces of your own chopped veggies. Sprinkle over the hummus and press the raw veggies down a little to make them stick better.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers and eat the next day.
You might be wondering why the dish above is empty… That’s because these sweet potatoes were so yummy I didn’t get a picture before I ate them! 😀 Ha! But it’s a super simple recipe with 4 ingredients!
5-6 medium sweet potatoes
1 TBSP butter
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more if desired)
Wash the sweet potatoes, cut out bad spots & cut the ends off a little. Prick each tator with a fork in several different places. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or hour & a half. Take them out and unwrap to poke with a knife and see if they are cooked through.
Peel the sweet potatoes while warm, then place in a bowl and mash with a fork or with the hand mixer. Add the butter, salt and cinnamon. Blend well.
1 Â (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1/2 to 1 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 medium slim zucchini, quartered and sliced
Add salt and pepper if desired.
Cooked spaghetti noodles
Fry the hamburger and onion together till the meat is brown. Drain excess fat. In a food processor or blender, put the tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Blend well. Add to the meat. Stir in the garlic powder. Add the celery and zucchini. Add more water if needed. Let simmer on medium heat till the veggies are tender crisp. (or simmer to desired tenderness).
Serve on a bed of cooked zucchini noodles. Top with 2 tablespoons of freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. Â YUM!
One day you are walking out your back door and find a little plant growing up beside the patio. You wonder what it is, and remember you have a book inside that describes plants in your backyard. After getting it and comparing pictures from the book to the real life plant, you decide it is purslane. Reading a bit of the paragraph, you discover some incredible information! Who knew that weeds could be so tasty and full of nutrition? This little powerhouse of nutrition is a necessary ingredient in your salad bowl!
Purslane is usually growing along a building or out in the driveway. It has a slightly juicy yet a tangy taste that is very mild. I found a large plant of it and made several meals from the one plant! Purslane looks like a spread out succulent that has reddish colored stems about the size of a #2 pencil with dark green oval leaves. (The sun was so bright the day I took this picture, you cannot see the red stems!)
Purslane
Most people think you have to eat fish, walnuts, avocados etc to get your Omega 3… Well, it turns out that purslane comprises of MORE Omega 3 fatty acids than any other vegetable plant! Herbalist James Duke says that 3.5 ounces of purslane contain 400 mg of ALA. (1)  If you have some chickens in the backyard and feed them some purslane, they will lay eggs with 20 times more omega’s than regular eggs!! 20 times!!! That is a huge inflation! 😀 Munch munch!
Purslane has been used in the herbal world for many things-
burns
headaches
stomach problems
intestinal problems
boils
cough
shortness of breath
arthritis
cardiac tonic
muscle relaxant
anti-inflammatory
diuretic
psoriasis
osteoporosis
eyewash
depression
urinary tract infections
kidney stones
hemorrhoids
asthma
dysentery & bleeding
wounds or breast infections
It also helps increase uterine contractions, has antibiotic and anti-fungal properties, kills parasites, treats appendicitis and the American Indians infused the leaves in flaxseed as a liniment for a stiff neck!
CAUTION: Even though purslane has evidence of relaxing muscles and increasing uterine contractions, it should not be used in excess amounts during a pregnancy. (1)
Purslane in a salad
Purslane is also high in antioxidants, omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, melatonin, glutathione, vitamin A, B, C, E, beta carotene, magnesium (450mg / cup), calcium (2000mg / cup), potassium (8000mg / cup), Co-Q10, and zinc to name a few!! Wow!! 😀
You can see in the photo above, I had chopped some of the leaves and put it in with lettuce, topped it with fresh salsa and blueberries for a sweet crunch. I used a peach vinegar for dressing, but you can eat it with any salad dressing. Â It can be used in smoothies, salads, potato salad, soups, stir fry or Asian dishes.
Go search your yard for some purslane and let me know how you use it!
Do you have lots of zucchini from your garden? There are so many ways to fix them! 🙂 How are you using up your zucchini?  Here is a fun pizza recipe!
4 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs; beaten
1 pound hamburger
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 cup pizza sauce
Mix the zucchini and salt; let stand 10 min. Add 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese and the beaten eggs. Press into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake 20 min at 350 degrees. Brown meat and onion; drain off the grease. Stir pizza sauce in with the meat and onion, then bring to a boil. Remove from heat and spread on the zucchini crust. Top with remaining cheeses and bake 20 min at 350 degrees.
Variation: You may add 1 cup chopped green peppers and 1 cup sliced mushrooms or any other vegetables to the top of meat before baking.
**Total baking time 40 minutes. Serves 10-12 people
Cover sliced cucumbers, onion and salt with cold water and let stand for 2 hours . Drain well. Dissolve sugar in vinegar by heating in a small pan on the stove. Let cool, then pour over sliced cucumbers and onions. Cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator 24 hours. Freeze pickles in containers with a little of the marinade in each box.
When ready to use, thaw pickles and eat with sandwiches or as a side dish. Pickles are usually still a little crunchy! 🙂 They are not what I consider a “sweet pickle” but they do have a “slight sweet & tangy” taste!
Yield: One recipe makes approximately 2 quarts or 3 pint boxes.
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt (more or less can be added)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Pepper to taste
1 medium red pepper, cut in strips
4 ounces of mushrooms (fresh or canned)
Melt the butter in a frying pan then add the garlic salt, basil, and pepper. Stir in the peppers and mushrooms; saute till just tender. Add the bag of green beans. Stir every so often and cook until the beans are tender crisp. Â Serve on a bed of rice with chicken strips or just use as a side dish.
1 bag of mixed vegetables (can be any stir-fry blend)
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 (10 ounce) can of chicken breast, drained
Fresh cilatro, chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 – 1/3 teaspoon garlic salt
Put the oil in a large skillet and add the chopped onion. Saute till onions are slightly limp, then add bag of vegetables. Add the dill weed and garlic salt. Stir often making sure the vegetables cook till tender crisp. Add the chicken and chopped fresh cilantro and parsley (as little or as much as you want). Stir enough to make sure chicken is heated through. Vegetables should be tender crisp.
Serve on a bed of brown rice or just eat as is. Enjoy! 🙂
Make the Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro recipe  (click) on that link for the recipe).  Peel the sweet potatoes and add the lime and cilantro to the potatoes in a dish.
Next: Peel 4 small white potatoes and chop them into smaller pieces. Cook them till they are soft. Mix them with the sweet potatoes and blend with a hand mixer till smooth. You can add some butter and a sprinkle (very small amount!) of garlic salt for taste and blend it in.
YUMMY! I almost like these better than the plain sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro recipe! 😀
2 red delicious apples (peeled and cut into small chunks)
1 golden delicious apple (peeled and cut into small chunks)
1 pear (peeled and cut into small chunks)
Juice of one lemon
Juice of one orange
¼ cup dates (chopped)
½ cup pecans (chopped)
Directions
After preparing the first four ingredients, add dates and half of the pecans, and pour half of the lemon/orange juice over the celery, apples, pear, dates and pecans, stir to coat, and set aside while preparing the dressing . Make dressing by combining the other half of the pecans with the reserved lemon/orange juice and puree into a nut butter sauce. Add puree to the salad and stir to blend flavors. Serve on a bed of leaf lettuce.
