Pizza & Salad: How to make it healthy and delicious enough for a party!
One of my best girlfriends is getting married and last weekend we had her bridal shower - well actually it was a Glam shower (you know, she already had enough of the other kind!) The hostesses all made different food, we were doing more of heavy appetizers because it was a night-time shower over the dinner hour. I typically get a little anxious when I have to go to social events or parties where I don't know what kind of food there will be. Enough with carrots and celery! So I always try to think of things guests will love and will be clean, nutritious foods as well. For this shower I was making salad and pizza. Yes, pizzas! Here are my recipes, they were super easy and a hit, we had no leftovers!
Greek Salad & Veggie Pizzas
Let's start with the salad:
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- A huge bowlful of chopped mixed greens. I used the supergreens blend (Baby swiss chard, spinach and kale and mixed greens) all organic
- 1 can black olives, sliced
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- ~ 10 artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Feta cheese
- Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
DRESSING:
Mix the zest from 2 lemons, lemon juice in a glass container with 2-3 tsp olive oil, about 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; a pinch or two of Himalayan sea salt and dried parsley. Shake it up and toss. I waited until a little while before the shower to toss it and put the salad back into the refrigerator.
Now for the Flatbreads: I do not eat gluten, but I figured not everyone at this shower was gluten free. So I tried a compromise. I used Ezekial sprouted flatbread tortillas, the small size ones. I warmed the flatbreads in the oven on baking sheets while the oven warmed to 400 degrees. This helps the crust to stay crispy and not get soggy from the toppings and other ingredients.
Once toasty, pull out the tortillas and top with marinara sauce, chopped mushrooms, fresh basil (from my herb garden!) and cheese. You can use whatever cheese or vegan cheese you like. I typically use a Peccorino Ramano because it's a sheep's milk cheese and better digestively than anything from a cow. But these had mozzarella freshly shredded.
Put them back in the oven until the cheese melts and everything is golden brown. I let them cool and then cut them into quarters to make it easier for all the ladies to eat in their fancy outfits.
Note: if you are gluten-free or gluten sensitive, even the sprouted grains may not be good for you. They ended up giving me a bit of a stomach ache the next day - and also it could have been the pink champagne cupcake I ate when I got home! #confession Literally I never eat cake, cupcakes, or anything like that, I don't like added sugar so I'm sure that was part of the reason. Tweet it: If you typically eat clean, it hurts when you don't! #cupcakes #sugar
What are your favorite flatbread recipes? Let me know and post a comment about your best entertaining apps!