Place tortilla chips on a plate and top with canned black beans, rinsed and drained. Add shredded light cheddar cheese. Microwave approximately 1 minute, until cheese melts. Top with salsa and shredded romaine lettuce.

tofu fried (brown) rice

It has been nearly 3 months since I quit eating meat- nearly 2 months since I’ve  had fish. I didn’t think I’d make it a week-let alone months! It hasn’t been as hard as I expected. I’ve found ways to vary my favorite recipes and I’m learning how to cook with tofu and soy products. When I can make those dishes look prettier-I’ll post the pictures

I thought that my not eating meat I’d drop weight pretty quickly, but I haven’t really. I’ve pretty much figured out that it is because I’m compensating by eating more carbohydrates. So in the last month, I’ve really tried to eat more whole and less refined grains. The only exception is pita-whole wheat pita seems to just crumble in my hands!

So, whole wheat has replaced white wheat in most of the dishes at my place. Cookies (yea, healthy right?), bread, pasta and pizza dough are now made with whole grains.

The crust for this pizza is only 1/2 whole grain- but a big improvement over traditional dough. Try the recipe and let me know what you think!

Whole Wheat Pizza with the Works

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast

2/3 cup warm water

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs honey

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup cornmeal

¼ tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup pizza sauce

1 ½ cups shredded Italian blend of mozzarella cheese

pepperoni style veggie protein slices

½ small-medium green bell pepper chopped

¼ cup chopped onion

½ cup lightly steamed broccoli

optional: banana peppers, olives, mushrooms

Directions

In a small bowl combine yeast and water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in honey and olive oil. In a large bowl combine whole wheat flour, cornmeal and salt. Stir in yeast mixture. Stir in as much of the 1 cup of all-purpose flour as you can with a wooden spoon.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30 to 45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly sauté green peppers and onions. Grease a 12-inch round pizza pan; set aside. Punch down dough; let rest for 10 minutes. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a prepared pizza pan, building up edges slightly. Prick dough all over with a fork.

Bake crust for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Spread pizza sauce on partially baked crust. Add toppings.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until cheese is melted and edge of crust is browned