Our Favorite Pizza

The littlest one I nanny for has a favorite pizza we make. It's sort of a recipe we came up with together, actually. The best part about it was it was originally a ploy to trick her into eating spinach. Spinach is one of the foods you should be eating EVERY DAY. My littlest charge likes to eat it because she's a gymnast and wants "Popeye muscles"- but it's rich in omega-3's, folate (helps reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke), and lutein, which does fight your muscles degenerating. It's a superfood! But for some reason, people are really turned off by it. I don't think it even really has a flavor, personally. I mix it up in salads, or stir fry... here is our pizza recipe. She knows it's healthy, and still loves it. If you're making it with kids, have them help with whatever parts they can. Helping make pizza will create a sense of pride in it, thusly making them want to eat it all the more.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Some type of blender
1 ready-made whole wheat pizza crust (I like Boboli best)
1 package of Kraft fat-free cheese (melts fine and you can use the whole package if you want) or 2%
1 small can pizza sauce (I use Pastorelli, I get it at Meijer. It's one of very few sauces that doesn't have added sugar and corn syrup in it, and isn't as expensive as some of the "organic" ones.)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
About 1 cup leafy spinach
About one cup broccoli, cut small
3/4 cup shredded chicken (I hate, hate, hate raw chicken. I buy a whole rotisserie chicken from Meijer, use what I need, and then have the rest for meals/sandwiches/snacks later.)

WHAT TO DO:

Start buy putting your crust on a cookie sheet and preheating your oven to 450 (if you're using Boboli; it may be different for other crusts). Sometimes to keep the kid busy, I have her spread a little olive oil on the crust- it's good for your heart. Next, the sauce. In a blender or Magic Bullet or whatever you have, dump your small can of sauce and your spinach and your garlic powder. Puree it. Spread that sauce on the pizza. Next, cheese it up with however much/little cheese you like. (This is really the true beauty of fat free cheese, no fat and 60 calories in a serving. And there really aren't a bunch of weird ingredients in it.) While the kid spreads on the sauce and cheese, I cut up the broccoli so it's more bite-sized. Go ahead and add the shredded chicken. The kid has a special way of doing the broccoli- she only adds it around the edges of the pizza in a circle, then crushes what's left and sprinkle it on top. It looks great and isn't overwhelming with broccoli. Bake it for 8-10 minutes, and you have a healthy alternative to pizza that will still taste awesome.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

until later...

“There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.” ~Stephen Wright