Tag Archives: celiac disease

Cheesy cauliflower crust pizza

Posted on by

0

I love food. Mostly I love to eat it and take pictures of it. And tell other people about how amazing it is.

I’m working on loving the cooking part of it. When I added a food section to this website, it wasn’t with the intention of becoming a food blogger. Similar to why I started blogging about type 1 diabetes, I see this as a good opportunity to improve my own cooking skills, to challenge myself to prepare healthy meals, and to showcase some stellar recipes that others have tried and approved.

One person that I plan to feature a lot is my sister. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with celiacs disease. Part of her journey has been learning what she can eat, but also finding and modifying recipes to fit her dietary needs. A lot of times her alternatives are healthier, low carb versions of popular foods (although not always). But every time she texts me a picture of her dinner, my mouth starts to drool. I figured that many of the people who read my blog would also be interested in what she’s been cooking.

So to start us off, here’s a recipe for Cheesy cauliflower crust pizza that my sister made. She found the recipe from the food blog, Jo Cooks and I’ve copied Jo’s recipe below. The only difference my sister did is that instead of making the cauliflower dough into breadsticks, she just made a giant pizza. You can see below how beautifully it turned out.

PREP TIMG_8160IME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 40 minutes
Author: Jo
Serves: 8
INGREDIENTS
  • 4 cups of riced cauliflower (about 1 large head of cauliflower)
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups of mozzarella cheese (I used a Tex Mex blend because that’s all I had)
  • 3 tsp oregano
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese (for topping)
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Prepare 2 pizza dishes or a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Make sure your cauliflower is roughly chopped in florets. Add the florets to your food processor and pulse until cauliflower resembles rice.
  3. Place the cauliflower in a microwavable container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and add the 4 eggs, 2 cups of mozzarella,oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Mix everything together.
  4. Separate the mixture in half and place each half onto the prepared baking sheets and shape into either a pizza crust, or a rectangular shape for the breadsticks.
  5. Bake the crust (no topping yet) for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden. Don’t be afraid the crust is not soggy at all. Once golden, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.
  6. Slice and serve.
Nutritional information based on 1 cup mozzarella cheese for topping.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Serving size: 99g Calories: 164 Fat: 9.8g Saturated fat: 5.2g Unsaturated fat: 0.0g Trans fat: 0.0g Carbohydrates: 4.3g Sugar: 1.0g Sodium: 296mgFiber: 1.1g Protein: 15.6g Cholesterol: 104mg

When life hands you lemons…

Posted on by

0

My sister recently found out that she may have Celiac Disease.

As directed, she has completely cut gluten from her diet. While more and more gluten-free options are becoming available both in restaurants and grocery stores, it’s still a diagnosis that comes with its own set of challenges. I’ve watched her as she’s adjusted to this major lifestyle change. I’ve watched her grapple with finding something she can eat on a menu, watched her reluctantly turn down food at an event, watched her patiently pace the aisles looking for the gluten-free options or alternatives to her favorite recipes. It hasn’t been easy, but she has risen to the challenge with tremendous strength, discipline, and optimism.

I truly admire how she has stayed so positive despite having to give up or modify so many of her favorite foods. How she’s taken on the added responsibility of checking every food label and having the discipline to turn down what she knows she can’t have. How she’s gone from having the freedom and ease of choosing essentially any food to having much more limited options. Through all this, she’s faced this change courageously, head on, and hasn’t let it get her down.

I admire what she’s had to do even more because I’ve been so reluctant to make my own dietary changes even though I know it would help me. While I know that she doesn’t really have a choice if she wants to avoid doing damage to her intestines, she still doesn’t complain. I know I should eat less carbs, I know I should cut back on sugar. I know it would help tremendously to stabilize my blood sugars, to lessen my insulin intake. I know it would benefit my overall health, but I haven’t made those changes to what I eat.

I look at what she’s doing and I find it inspiring and motivating. It hasn’t been easy for her, but she’s doing it and using it as an opportunity to grow. As she said to me, “I think of it as a challenge, as a way to stay healthy, learn new foods I might not be used to eating, and definitely learn to cook better with the foods I can eat.” In many ways she’s given me hope that when I finally decide to make (less significant) changes, that I too can do it. And with so many people with both type 1 diabetes and celiacs successfully balancing both, I know that when I’m ready, I will have plenty of resources and inspiration within the DOC too.

No one asks for these types of challenges. Whether it’s balancing blood sugars on a daily basis or completely eliminating a protein composite from your diet, life is full of obstacles. It’s how you approach them that makes the difference.

I’m lucky to have such motivating, positive, and strong role models in my life. People who when handed lemons, they make amazing gluten-free lemon bars with almond crust!