Green Pizza Fridays - How I survived all the yummy food Facebook posts and did not cave

Green Pizza Friday!

Does this sound familiar? All week, you eat well, watch the sugar intake, work out, your golden. All efforts firing in the right direction. Then Friday hits. Bam! The week is done and you do not want to chop, cook or even think about what is for dinner. The temptation to go out to dinner is strong. You scroll past yummy food posts all over Facebook and Instagram and think, what the heck, let's go out for dinner or order in. 

Well this Green Pizza has saved us many a weekend. It saves our wallet and our waistline. I'm surely not the first person to make a healthier version pizza. But here is my fast, no measure, no fooling around recipe. If it's not quick, I do not cook it. So here we go...

The Secret is to get that crust rising early. You can not start this at 5pm when your hungry. Or chances are strong you will cave and order in the real deal.

Noonish - 3pm
Mix 1 packet fast rise yeast
1 1/2 Warm to wrist water
1 glug of EVO - 2 Tablespoons
1/2 t salt

Mix with fork, add whole wheat flour, until forms dough, about 2.5 cups.
Sprinkle flour on top in bowl, Pop smaller bowl underneath with hot water in it to help dough rise.
Cover with plastic wrap and dark dish towel.

Let rise on counter till ready to bake.

When your ready to bake,
No rolling pin, just spray baking sheet and push out dough with fingers flat. Nothing fancy.
Here is where I pretty much use what I've got. Whatever veggies I have in house. It's a great way to use up what you already have in the fridge. 

Drizzle tiny amount evo on crust if you like, I tend to skip this part.

Add, low fat mozzarella, tiny dollops of skim ricotta cheese,
Then veg it up- Fresh tomatoes, colored peppers, spinach, broccoli, garlic, anything else you have on hand.
Salt and pepper, garlic salt and top with another dusting of cheese if you like.

Bake 400 degrees, about 20 min. 

Your done! 

Spicy Black Bean Burgers Recipe - Make them yourself

I love veggie burgers but the price can get a little bit much and we always seem to run out of them. They often are filled with alot of sodium too. So I decided to give it a whirl for myself and came up with this awesome recipe that is not only packed with protein but great on your waistline and budget. You can make them into actual burger patties but for saving time, I opted for a hash and use a whole wheat pita pocket and whalla!  (Love Arnolds brand Pita Pockets - 110 calories per half and worth it on taste)

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice and quinoa mix
2 cans of black beans
1 cup grated carrots
1 red pepper - chopped
1 sweet onion - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 chopped fresh jalapeno pepper - minced (optional)
1/2 t red pepper flake
cumin
1/3 cup bread crumbs (optional) but helps them stick together
1/3 cup flour

salt and pepper

1. Boil your rice/quinoa mix as recommended, 1 cup mix to 2 cups water.
For time saving, I like to make double the night before and use leftovers for this step.

2. Chop your veggies fine, peppers, onions, garlic and I buy grated carrots again to save time.
Saute all of these in 1 T of olive oil- season with salt and pepper and 1 Tablespoon Cumin, 1/2 t of red pepper flake and minced jalapeno  (You can use up veggies in this step- maybe eggplant or whatever you might have on hand. Pop them in there)

3. In a fresh bowl, combined cooked veggies, cooked rice/quiona, then add 2 cans of drained black beans. Again for time saving( notice a theme here) Add beans handful at a time and squeeze so you give them a little mash. You don't need to get everyone. Add 1/3 cup bread crumbs. This will help them stick together. Then get your hands messy and hand mash till well combined.

4. Spray a hot skillet with cooking spray and a dash of olive oil. There is such little fat in this that you just want to make sure they have something to cook in. Take a handful of Black Bean Spicy and toss in flour, then saute. Continue with rest of mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. The flour will help give you a tiny crunch.

5. Serve inside pita pocket with romaine, cucumber and light ranch if you like.

Hope you give it a try and enjoy!