Cauliflower Pizza Crust

You may have seen my previous link to this cauliflower pizza crust in the past. If you haven’t yet, you must try this. It’s so easy, so yummy, and amazingly bread-like. You wont believe it’s not bread!

We loved this recipe the very first time I made it. However, after some testing I believe it’s now even better. I didn’t change too much from the original, mostly just doubled the recipe to make enough to feed my pizza-loving husband. It’s Jesse approved for sure!

Start by roughly chopping an entire head of cauliflower. I used a little bit of the stems, but mostly just the florets.

Chopped cauliflower

Toss the cauliflower pieces into a food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. I have to do mine in about three batches because the whole head of cauliflower doesn’t fit all at once. Cover and cook cauliflower (without adding extra water) in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender.

Riced cauliflower

Then mix cooked the cauliflower with two beaten eggs, two cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, and spices. Then the cauliflower “dough” is ready to be transferred to a greased cookie sheet. Note: Some of the pictures show a casserole dish, but I’ve since discovered that a cookie sheet makes a crispier crust.

Cauliflower dough

Spread the cauliflower mixture evenly and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Ready to bake

After the crust is baked, you can add any toppings you choose.

Revised baking

Our favorite combination has been Muir Glen pizza sauce, ground beef (cooked), red onion, mushrooms, and green pepper. I’ve found it’s best to have the toppings prepared as my first step in the recipe.

Toppings

We also like to add Sargento four cheese Mexican blend on top of all the other toppings. Then it’s back in the oven, under the broiler just enough to melt the cheese.

Toppings added

Delish!

Finished pizza

Here’s the recipe:

1 head of cauliflower, riced and cooked
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
additional toppings and cheese as desired

Pizza

This might just be my favorite allergy adapted meal yet. I never would have thought cauliflower could work out so well. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

These days not much makes me happier than finding an allergy friendly way to make an old favorite treat. A friend of mine discovered this recipe in looking for cookies to make that were Kristin-safe. They’ve quickly become a new favorite, I could eat the whole batch by myself no problem. I’ve made them so many times in the last couple months since I’ve had the recipe. I’ve been bringing them everywhere.

I’m not always very good at baking. I do better in the kitchen when I can make it up as I go along and not worry about exact measurements. However, these cookies are so easy that even I can make them.

Start by beating one egg in a mixing bowl.

Beaten egg

Add 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar, and mix.

Sugar

Then add to that 1 cup of peanut butter. I like to use Skippy natural because it’s made with only peanuts, palm oil instead of vegetable oil (soy-free), sugar, and salt.

Peanut butter

Form cookie dough into balls and drop onto a cookie sheet.

Dough balls

I like to press them down with a fork to flatten them, then turn the fork and press again to make a criss cross pattern. They taste more peanut-buttery that way!

Fork design

Then bake in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes. Maybe it’s my cookie sheet, but mine take more like 12 minutes to get a little crispy on the outside and stay soft in the center.

Finished cookies

Yum… these are so delicious!

1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Enjoy!

Zantac for a Food Allergy Stomach

I get a lot people landing on my site searching for a reason why they have a puffy or swollen feeling in their face or throat. I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I had this problem when I first changed my diet due to food allergies, but thought I would explain it further. I’m not a doctor, but I can tell you what my doctor told me that worked for me…

Back when I first began my stomach problems, before being diagnosed with food allergies, one of the first things my doctor recommended after hearing my complaints was that I needed to try some time of heartburn medication. At first I dismissed the suggestion “knowing” that I did not have heartburn. I thought only old people got heartburn. Turns out heartburn happens to lots of people.

Commercials always show heartburn sufferers looking like they have some sort of chest pain. My heartburn was mostly felt in my throat, sometimes even making my ears feel stuffy. My throat often felt so swollen it almost didn’t feel like there was room to swallow. I would often find myself with my cold hands around my jaw or neck trying to relieve the pressure and make myself breathe easier. Once, I even made a special trip to the doctor to have her look down my throat and make sure nothing was hindering my breathing.

Zantac (Ranitidine) completely illiminated the swollen feeling for me. After my diagnosis, my allergy doctor said Zantac would be the best thing for me to take if I ever ate something that made my stomach feel upset. In taking it for that reason, I realized the swollen feeling was taken care of as well. I’ve been taking it everyday since then. It’s perfect for an allergy stomach because it’s an H2 blocker, the same class as Benadryl, which means it works similarly in the body. I found this explanation:

H2 blockers, or histamine-2 receptor blockers, are medicines that decrease the amount of acid made by the stomach. Histamine, the same chemical that causes congestion in allergies, is responsible for stimulating acid production in the stomach. When histamine is blocked, acid production decreases.

For me, my diet changed drastically after my food allergy diagnosis. I think that the stomach pains I may have had before were multiplied when I eliminated the bread and pastas which may have helped soak up the extra acid, and added more acidic things like extra fruits. I’ve also learned that when I do start to feel a little swollen in my throat again it often helps if I just grab a small snack, sometimes it just means my stomach is getting too empty.

Hope this helps. 🙂