Saturday, October 15, 2011

Butternut Squash Pizza (Gluten Free)

One of our favorite pizza toppings is the humble banana pepper. They are packed full of tart and pungent flavors (and yes, loaded with sodium). For me tomatoes and spinach are another favorite topping, but Nick isn't a fan of whole tomatoes on pizza, so we typically just stick with spinach. On this particular day, we added pureed butternut squash too, because, why not?! What's your favorite pizza topping?


Whole Grain Butternut Squash Pizza

Ingredients
3 cups brown rice flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t oil (for your fingers when spreading the dough)
1 t salt
1.5 T sugar
1 cup warm water

~ 1 cup pureed butternut squash
~ 1 cup pizza sauce
~ 2 cups cheese of your choice

(I added 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. basil, and 1/4 t. cayenne to my sauce. Then I added some banana peppers and spinach as pizza toppings. For the cheese I used cheddar and freshly grated parmesan.)


Possible Modifications
  • Use whole wheat flour, or all purpose flour (less nutritious if you use the latter)
  • Use canola oil or just regular olive oil instead of EVOO

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) Combine and mix the flour, salt, sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl. Next, add the EVOO and water.

3) Coat your hands with some oil, or non-stick spray. Use your hands to spread the dough evenly on a large pizza pan, the larger the better (you want the crust to be nice and thin).

4) Evenly coat the dough with pizza sauce and pureed butternut squash. Add toppings and spices as desired. Cook for 45-50 minutes minutes (depending on your oven and how crispy you like your pizza!)






ENJOY!

The great thing about brown rice flour is that it's 100% whole grain, yet it mimics white flour in terms of texture (so it doesn't get hard and chewy like whole wheat flour can).

Nutrition Facts
(1/12 of pizza)
Look, it's a "good source" of fiber! Anything with 10% of the Daily Value, or more, is considered a good source of a certain nutrient. This is also an "excellent source" of vitamin A. Anything with 20% of the Daily Value, or more, is considered an excellent source of a certain nutrient. We can thank the butternut squash and the spinach for that.


And now for this week's news;

Can Supplements Increase a Women's Chances of Dying?
(I hate to say "I told you so", but "I told you so!". Countless times I have told friends and family that taking too many supplements, especially certain minerals like Zinc and vitamins like Folic Acid, can be dangerous. You can get too much of a good thing, and there is a reason we have Upper Limits).


Vitamin E Pills May Raise, Not Lower, Prostate Risk
(I hate to say "I told you so" but for years I've been telling people to stay away from antioxidant supplements. The best place to get vitamin E, and any antioxidant, is from food. It's safe, and effective).


(This is pretty funny, I have to say. However, I do think cereal companies are doing a better job at reducing sugar. In fact, many of the cereals in this photo have 12 grams of less sugar, per serving, which isn't bad in my opinion. The real problem, in my opinion, is the cereal's lack of whole grains, fiber, and protein, all three important components in breakfast).


QUESTION:
What's your favorite pizza topping? On another note, have you ever taken an antioxidant in the form of a pill? After reading the articles above, would you still? I think the only one I would say might possibly be more safe is vitamin C.

16 comments :

  1. This looks delicious! I love spinach as a topping for pizza too. Haven't made one in ages, but your picture is making me hungry!

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  2. my favorite topping for pizza I think it's broccoli, crunchy toppings are so fun to have! :)
    I don't take any supplement at all... and if I start taking one, it's going to be multi-vitamin. I think antioxidant should come from real food instead of pills!

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  3. now you've REALLY done it. butternut squash pizza i think this would be my favorite pizza topping haha but besides that give me a couple of wads of goat cheese on a pizza and i'm a happy camper. can i tell you that the only times i ever get to eat banana peppers is when i go to subway hahaha and i LOVE them there!

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  4. My dad has always been vehemently against supplements, so he's in his "I told you so" mood too. ;-)

    Favorite pizza topping is cheese. Of course. Goat cheese, sheep cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella, gouda, whatever. I like there to be tons and tons of cheese!

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  5. gina that looks amazing and is fairly low cal! please make it for me :) i love veggies and nuts on pizza-though anything on a pizza is good!

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  6. Terrific pizza! I much prefer making my own pizzas. I can control the calories, fat and add as many of my favorite veggies as I like.

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  7. Hi Gina, wow, this looks delicous. Anything with butternut squash is a hit in my book!!!! Thanks as always for the interesting information. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

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  8. I have never used brown rice flour; I'll have to experiment!

    I don't really believe in taking supplements. I do take a multivitamin and fish oil, but I think the focus should be on getting a wide variety of nutrients from the food we eat. Vitamins and supplement are such big business. And I don't think we truly know how they all affect our body, how they potentially interact, etc...

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  9. I love banana peppers on pizza, and your idea of adding butternut squash is awesome!! What a great, healthful way to make the pizza toppings creamier!

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  10. Yum! I love the idea of butternut squash on pizza. My most recent new favorite is mushroom and green olives. Also not low in sodium like your banana peppers, but soooo good! :)

    Have a great week, Gina!

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  11. Your pizza looks very yummy! Have never tried butternut squash on pizza, so must add this to list to try! I am a huge fan of whole tomatoes on pizza!!! I know you can't do garlic, but one of my easy faves is to take an Udi's gluten-free pizza crust and spread a little olive oil and minced garlic on top. Then I add lots of sliced tomatoes, a little cheese and bake. I add basil after I take it out of the oven {Baked basil =yuck!} Also a huge fan of mushrooms on pizza!

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  12. hmm pepperoni. I mean, its classic. i like olives too.

    ive taken supplements, not vitamins really. on occasion I will pop a multi if I havent been able to get in my normal veg/fruit but I stay away from the pills and go for the food!

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  13. I would have never thought of this in a million years, so I'm glad you shared. It sounds fabulous. My favorite pizza topping is cilantro.

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  14. Pizza- love onions/peppers, also like mushrooms. If life had no rules I would do pepperoni but i don't. As for antioxidants, yes I take a supplement with ginger and turmeric in them and adore it (helps with aches and pains from running). I am not a multivitamin fan but found their were a lot of issues with this study (age of participants) and how it was communicated.

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  15. Yum, this seems like a pizza and a crust I could totally make- I'm a little scared of yeast but you don't make it sound so bad!

    I don't really take any antioxidant supplements, but I did fall for the Airbourne craze a few years ago, which probably had way more zinc than it should have. However that marketing ploy really got me- teachers do get sick WAY too often haha

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  16. It seems that the more we try to find shortcuts for nutrition, the more we realize it's not the way to go.

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