Clean Eating

Recently I've been trying out "Clean Eating." Clean eating simply means that you eliminate all processed food from your diet. The first question I had when I looked into this was "what constitutes a processed food?" Andrew Wilder at www.eatingrules.com says, "Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients."  He calls it "The Kitchen Test".  If you pick up an item with a label and find an ingredient that you would never use in your kitchen and couldn't possible make yourself, then it's processed. (Obviously if it doesn't have a label, then it's probably unprocessed, ie. fruits and veggies)

Derek and I have been eating about 85% clean for about 2 weeks now. Recently I signed a pledge to do October Unprocessed (see my badge to the right of the page).  This is a pledge via eatingrules.com to eat only unprocessed food during the month of October.  I think it's going to be a great way to hold us accountable to a new way of eating and I'm already stockpiling recipes!

I figure, God put a bunch of delicious food on this earth for us to enjoy. Why would I want to eat something that contains sodium hexametaphosphate (try to say THAT three times fast!) or potassium sorbate?

A great resource I've found for meal ideas is 100 Days of Real Food. Lisa Leake took her family on a pledge to eat real food for 100 days. Check out her website www.100daysofrealfood.com or like her on Facebook! She has pre-planned weekly menus with links to recipes. She makes it so simple and her recipes are delicious! Following her has been a real eye-opener for me and she's truly an inspiration.

All that being said I have a fantastic recipe to share with you today! A few weeks ago I tried making whole wheat pizza crusts. Since then it's become our Friday night meal. The kids LOVE it, the husband LOVES it, and we all end up eating a healthy meal!

This crust is amazing. It's comes out of the oven crunchy and sweet, with just a hint of Italian spices.

Now this recipe is not 100% clean. It does have 1 cup of white flour in it which is not considered clean. I'm going to try all whole wheat flour next time we make it so I'll be sure to update this post to let you know how it turns out!

Start by adding together your dry ingredients: 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon italian seasoning.

Add to this your wet ingredients:  2 teaspoons of honey, and 2 teaspoons olive oil.

Next you'll want to combine 1 (1/4 ounce) package of fast rising yeast with 1 cup of warm water.  Mix until the yeast is completely dissolved.

Add the yeast mixture to the other ingredients and mix using the dough hook attachment on your blender (if you don't have a dough hook attachment, you could probably just mix with your hands).

Once the ingredients are combined, kneed the dough with your hands until it forms a ball. If your dough is sticky, add more whole wheat flour a tablespoon at a time. I also like to flour my countertop before I put the dough down to keep it from sticking!

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.  This gives the yeast a chance to do it's thing. After the 30 minutes you'll have a nice spongy dough to work with!

(Before...)

(...after)

Now here's the fun part - actually forming the crust! You can make the crust as thick or as thin as you like.  Because the kids like different toppings than the adults, I usually break the ball into two pieces and then make two fairly thin crusts. Totally up to you!

Roll the dough ball out using a rolling pin. Once you get it into a circular shape you can pick it up and let gravity help stretch it out to the appropriate size.  I like to grab it by the edge and work my hands around the edge of the circle, allowing it to stretch down. I'll admit, I tried throwing it like a true Italian but this was not a good idea. I wouldn't recommend it!

Lay your crust on a pizza stone or tray and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 5-6 minutes. 

(Before...)

Take the crust out of the oven and pop any bubbles that have formed with a sharp knife (you may need to press the steam out).  

(...after)

Now it's time to add toppings!! Here's where you can be SUPER creative! We like a simple pizza with mozzarella, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, and pepperoni. 

Arrange your toppings on your crust and pop it back into the oven for 8-10 minutes.

(Before...)

(...after!!!)

I honestly believe that after trying this crust I will never go back to takeout! It's delicious AND healthy which in my book is a winning combination!

I think next time we'll try a BBQ chicken pizza! I, personally, can't WAIT until the next pizza night!

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package fast rising yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey

1.  Combine flours, salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, olive oil and honey in a mixing bowl.  

2.  In a small bowl, add warm water to the yeast and stir until yeast is completely dissolved.

3.  Add the yeast mixture to the other ingredients and mix using the dough hook attachment.

4.  Knead the dough until it forms a ball, adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky.

5.  Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

6.  Roll dough into the desired crust thickness.

7.  Bake at 450 for 5 minutes.

8.  Add toppings and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.