Surprisingly, making this crust was pretty easy. You rice the cauliflower with a blender, mix it with an egg and mozzarella cheese, then spread it on a round pizza tin and bake for 15 minutes. That's it! I wanted to keep my recipe simple so I just added cherry tomatoes, fat free shredded mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. I will make this again and experiment with different toppings. You could really add any topping that you would put on top of your traditional pizza, so be creative. The one thing I would change next time is the amount of cheese I added to the top. Since the crust has one cup of cheese mixed into it, adding another cup or two on top makes for a heavy cheese flavor. Plus, I used fat free cheese so that helped as far as reducing the amount of calories. So if you're not using fat free cheese you will add on extra fat which in my opinion defeats the purpose of a cauliflower crust to begin with. I've also read reviews where people said if you don't strain the excess water after the cauliflower is microwaved, it will result in a mushy watery crust. So make sure to do that step for a crispy crust.
Since I am still on Cycle 1, Day 10 of the 17 Day Diet, I have to significantly reduce my carb intake so making a pizza like this curbed those cravings. It's amazing to think a little head cauliflower can be so many things….mashed cauliflower and rice cauliflower (Click for recipes) are two that I've made so far and I'm glad to add cauliflower crust to the list! Next I want to try couscous cauliflower so stay tuned for that one.
Salute to Tomato Bail Cauliflower Crust Pizza and amazing alternative to traditional carbilicious pizza!
Cycle 1, Day 10 of the 17 Day Diet Menu and Impressions
Morning Beverage: 2 cups hot water with lemon
Breakfast: Greek yogurt with blueberries and a cup of green tea
Lunch: 2 pieces of egg casserole
Dinner: Tomato Basil Cauliflower Crusted Pizza and a mesclun salad with olive oil and fresh lemon. A cup of green tea
Exercise: 17 minutes of leg squats
Impressions: I tried on my red shorts again this morning because was so happy about how they fit 24 hors prior. I was hoping they would be even looser today…no such luck…but the same as yesterday so that's good. I wore a black skirt to work today and it seemed to fit better than it had in the past so that was also a good sign. Dave gave me his hug/squeeze tests this morning and he said yep, you are getting slimmer by the day. Food for breakfast and lunch were the same as yesterday because I didn't prep/plan ahead of time. Planning meals ahead of time is crucial to help with your satisfaction of each meal. Luckily I was really busy at work today so eating blah wasn't that big of a deal. I didn't crave any snacks today. In fact I really haven't been hungry on this diet…it's not that I'm eating any less than I was before the diet…it's that what I'm consistently eating is different. The past three days I haven't had much going on so that helps being able to stick to the diet. I have a ton of social events coming up this weekend and all throughout next week. One being Local Restaurant Week!!! Our dear friends Tom and Christa spearhead the event here in Western New York and we always dine out 2-3 times during the event. My motto next week will be "I think I can, I think I can!
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| A cauliflower crust! Unbelievably good! |
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| 17 Day Diet Friendly, low carb, low calorie and gluten free |
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| It all starts with a head of cauliflower |
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| Rice the cauliflower in a blender or grater |
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| It will look like this when it's riced |
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| Mix the cauliflower, fat free mozzarella and egg |
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| Shape into a flat round crust and bake |
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| Just out of the oven, now to add toppings |
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| How delicious does this look? |
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| Cauliflower Crust Pizza |
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| Tomato Basil Cauliflower Crust Pizza |
Adapted from Paula Dean
Preparation and cook time: 45 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cauliflower, grated (about 1/2 a large head)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups fat free mozzarella, shredded and divided
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, for garnish
Heat oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grate the cauliflower using a blander or box grater until you have 2 cups of cauliflower crumbles. Place in a large bowl and microwave for 5 minutes, or until soften. Remove and let cool and * important step - strain as much liquid as you can from the cauliflower. Mix in the egg, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Once combined, pat into a 10-inch round on the prepared pizza pan. Spray lightly with non-stick spray and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.
Top the pizza with remaining mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. Bake in the oven until melted and bubbly, another 10 minutes. Top with basil before serving.
"I think I can. I think I can." should be my motto too! But instead, during Local Restaurant Week I find myself saying, "So many restaurants, so little time." :)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you by the way! Looking forward to dining out during Local Restaurant Week even though I'm on the 17 Day Diet! The challenge begins Tuesday night at Lombardo's…the monkfish entree may be my choice.
DeleteAndrea, I cannot wait to try this (and I think you know how very much I despise getting out our food processor!) It is SO festively colored, too - always just LOVE your posts! So timely and looks amazingly healthy & delicious - THANK YOU!
ReplyDeletemy crust does not be seeming to set up so that its not mushy after cooking .
ReplyDelete