Le Pizza Fries

Muhahahah I have suckered you in to another pizza recipe! You maybe wondering "is this woman mad? This is the like 20th pizza post!" Why yes, I am mad... mad about pizza!
I didn't even like pizza back when I wasn't vegan, it was just another supper idea that didn't really catch my attention. But ever since I turned vegan I am addicted! I love creating new fun ways to eat pizza, some healthy like my spaghetti squash pizza boats found here, or some not so healthy like my newest post...PIZZA FRIES!!!
Yes I said pizza fries. Two of the greatest foods ever, combined into one amazing dish that will have you wondering why you never thought of this before. I know I did!
Well its simple, bake fries in the oven until toasty brown.
Top with your favourite vegan pizza toppings, like:

• hot peppers
• tomatoes
• olives
• mushrooms
• mock meats
• onions
• pineapple

Sprinkle with some Daiya Mozzarella, broil it for 5 mins (be careful you don't burn it like I did!)
Heat up some pizza sauce to dip in and viola you got yourself supper! Or a snack, or maybe ever breakfast! This would be the perfect college breakfast!
If you are feeling generous you could even share this dish at a party with your friends. If not eat this in the car before you go in and blame your dog for eating it while you were getting ready (if you don't have a dog, I cant help you).

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

My Vegan Disney World Trip 2013

Disney World. Disney World. Dis-ney Woooorld (in the tune of Rufio from Hook) This is what kept playing in my head while walking through the parks because I was so excited to be there. I honestly believe it’s the happiest place on earth and I can even say that while going there in a group of 14 with 3 children 5 and under. The characters, the food, the RIDES! All makes it an experience like no other on earth (well maybe other Disney parks) and to top it off I was able to find some really tasty vegan treats, hooray!

To make this easier I am going to break it down by park.

 

First stop – Magic Kingdom

Pretzels and Popcorn – Found throughout the parks. Even though I had read that the pretzels and popcorn were vegan on other websites I still double checked while I was there because you never know if the product has changed or not. And success I could still eat them, well the popcorn I devoured but as for the pretzels I didn’t have any because I HATE THEM. But still good to know!

Fruit – Found throughout the parks. At about every other card they sold fresh fruit, such as pineapple, apples, bananas, ect. So there was always something fresh to eat when in need of a quick snack.

 

Tofutti & Rice Dream Ice Cream – I opted for the Rice Dream Vanilla in a Root Beer float, something that I haven’t had in forever and boy was it tasty. This is located at the Main Street Plaza Ice Cream Parlor

 

For a more in-depth look of what Magic Kingdom has to offer I would suggest this website it helped me out a lot!

 

 

Next stop – Epcot

While we were there it just so happens that the Food and Wine Festival was going on. We spent most of the time in Epcot going on the rides so it wasn’t until later that we actually went around and looked at what the booths had to offer. I sadly couldn’t find anything that was vegan but then again I wasn’t too surprised. I did how ever find something for lunch that was really good and even specifically labeled vegan. The Tamarind Vegan Beef - found at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion. I was a little nervous trying it because I didn’t know how much it might actually taste like beef. So I had Devon try it first just to be sure because the taste of beef is not something I miss. Luckily the flavour and texture didn’t resemble beef at all and the sauce was really good!

 

 

On to - Animal Kingdom

This is by far a vegans paradise. If you ever go to Animal Kingdom the first stop you need to make is at their allergy carts where they sell vegan snacks. They have everything from vegan cookies, granola, hummus and veggies and even cupcakes (not listed from Babycakes). Plus they can tell you where all of the vegan meals served in the park. To my utter excitement the guy informed me that Pizzasafari could make me a VEGAN PIZZA! Yes that’s right a VEGAN PIZZA! I was so excited I think I told him to shut up!

 

 

Veggie Pizza - located at Pizzasafari. They bring out the head chef to talk to you about what you would like on the pizza and then he goes and makes it in the back. It took about 15 mins to make but it is so well worth the wait.

Fries - found at the Flame Tree Barbecue are fried separately from everything else they serve, so they are vegan friendly!

Falafel dish - I have a horrible memory about this one, mainly because my head was still spinning at the thought of pizza, but the guy at the cart told me that one of the restaurants (I’m pretty sure in Dinoland) could make me a falafel dish that was vegan.

 

Lastly Hollywood Studios and Blizzard Beach

I really couldn’t find anything at either of these places besides the popcorn, pretzels and fruit. The only thing I could find was an Asian salad at the ABC Commissary you just have to ask for it vegan.

 

*Bonus*

Babycakes – Downtown Disney. I almost had a heart attack when I walked in. I had heard of Babycakes before and understood that they had vegan baking but I didn’t realize that EVERYTHING they had was gluten free-vegan baking! I was in sugar heaven. So naturally when you find something this amazing you over indulge and get a whole whack of treats. This whole box was just for me to eat and it included: chocolate chip banana bread, 2 brownie cupcakes (one chocolate the other mint icing), a carrot cupcake and a lemon load slice. It was all so good and definitely worth the calories.

 

I know, I know I didn’t get to try that much food in, but for the most part we packed lunches and snacks for the day. With a group of 14 going out for lunches 7 days in a row can get expensive, so why not pack something to save some dough. Before we left I bought a box of Lara bars, and they were the perfect grab and go snack. They didn’t have to be cold, they were pre packaged and were filling, so I kept one in my fanny pack at all times for those moments of hangryness. Also for lunch I often made a quinoa salad with tomatoes, dates, cucumbers, onion and peppers, it was filling, delicious and got me through until supper. We kept ice water bottles in the backpack stored in the locker so it kept it kind of cold until lunch. I know that their are other food stands and restaurants out there that I didn’t get a chance to see but for the most part I was really satisfied with the amount of food and service I received at the Disney World Resorts!

 

If you have any tips or ideas of where to eat while there please comment below!

 

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N

 

 

 

 



Spaghetti Pizza Squash Boats

I love pizza! For those of you who follow my blog you can attest to that with all of my pizza posts. And I can guarantee that this will not be my last rendition of this amazing dish, more on this at a later date!

Last Friday night we went to Jen and Sean’s house for a deck warming party and we decided to order a whole bunch of pizza instead of doing our traditional TGIF party where everyone brings an appetizer. I loved this idea because I really didn’t feel like making anything. There was probably 12-14 of us, so we decided to get 6 extra larges for everyone to share, me getting my own pizza because I am special! I always order from Family Pizza because I know that their crust and sauce is vegan and I think that they have the best pizza for the best price. So what did I order? a tomato, onion, hot pepper pizza and when its delivered I sprinkle some Daiya on top and throw her in the oven. BOOM awesome pizza… and its extra large! Now I didn’t eat it all, don’t worry, I only had about 5 pieces leaving some for a snack later and supper the next day.

We planned on going back to their house the next day for the Rider game so I didn’t feel sad that I left it there over night. Knowing that it’s a meatless, cheese-less pizza, makes me feel pretty safe that no one would eat it. Well I was wrong, dead wrong. Not only was it eaten, but there was only 1 piece left! Out of almost a whole pizza!? I was super shocked! Who would eat this? Then I realized that there were drunk men, still drinking after we left and really who really cares what kind of pizza it is… when you are drunk pizza is pizza.

So what is another way to satisfy your pizza craving… spaghetti pizza!! Well Spaghetti Squash Pizza! I was originally going to do this on a large zucchini but Devon said he would rather have it in the squash so I complied because that also sounded great! It is super simple to make and even easier to devour! I would HIGHLY recommend, like super highly, baking the squash before hand for at least 25 mins. Or else you will end up playing the waiting game like me…I waited an hour and a half for mine to be done. Apparently they cook A LOT faster when they are face down in the oven.

 

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Boats

1 large spaghetti squash

1 can pizza sauce

1 tomato, diced

¼ cup hot bell peppers, diced

½ onion, diced

½ cup black olives

1 cup Daiya, mozzarella

** you can substitute any ingredients for your favorite pizza flavors

Split the Spaghetti Squash in half and de-seed. Lightly oil the halves, lay them face down on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 25 mins at 375 degrees. Chop up the veggies and once the squash is almost fork tender layer inside with the pizza sauce, veggies and then top it off with the Daiya. Bake for another 15 mins. Take out of the oven and start scraping away at the sides so the squash turns into spaghetti, throw it into a bowl and enjoy!!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo -Nikki

The New Cauliflower Pizza, Vegan Gluten Free

This weekend we had the pleasure of babysitting our nephews, Brody and Carson. I always look forward to spending time with them because this is the age when they still want to hangout with us and they will still give us hugs and kisses. However, I think the one who benefited the most out of this get together was our dog Lucy. She is an attention whore and can con anyone into giving her a scratch on the head or belly. So when two young boys who love to hug and pet her come over, she is in doggy heaven! 

We had them for a good portion of Sunday, so I had to decide what to make them for supper. The first thing that came to my mind was pizza! What kid doesn’t love pizza? So I asked them what kind they would like and their response was:

Brody: Ordered in pizza

Carson: Cheesy bread.

…..

Well that didn’t get me very far. So I asked again, clarifying that we are making our own and that they could put WHATEVER they wanted on it. Carson still answered cheesy bread and Brody answered pepperoni. Success! I got one of them to answer. Now I just had to explain to Carson that he was going to get cheese pizza instead of the cheesy bread. He took it well and continued to jump off the stairs.

As I was driving I thought about the what kind of pizza I wanted and I really didn’t feel like eating all of that dough. I still wanted all of the toppings that comes with pizza, I just wasn’t feeling the bread part. Well, what about the cauliflower pizza crust that everyone is talking about? Meh, I have tried and it wasn’t that successful, plus with two boys in the house I didn’t feel like experimenting with something like that. That’s when an idea so awesome hit me! Like, so genius I had to look it up to see if anyone else had thought of it before, and to my luck I couldn’t find any other example!

Why not just skip making the crust and just put everything on top of the cauliflower?! Instead of making the crust and getting it to stay firm and crispy, just pile it all on a chunk of cauliflower! So I went from eating a whole pizza crust to myself, to eating almost a whole head of cauliflower to myself. What a great idea, and a healthy one too!

 

Okay so now you are thinking how do I do this? Well, you just take a sharp knife and cut out 1’’ steaks from the middle of the cauliflower you can probably get around 3 or 4 ‘steaks’ from each head, depending on how big it is. And yes I know, there are going to be holes in the ‘steaks’, but that’s okay, only some of the sauce will leak through. 

So the next time you are craving pizza, but want to eat a little healthier, try this out and see what you think. I personally loved it and they are really easy to throw together!

Ingredients – 2 servings (4 pizzas)

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tsp coconut oil

1 can of pizza sauce

3 mushrooms, diced

1 red pepper, diced

4 kalamata olives, de stoned, diced

1 cup spinach

1 cup Daiya cheese, mozzarella

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

With a sharp knife slice through a whole head of cauliflower and make 1” thick ‘steaks’, about four individual chunks.

Lightly coat bottom of cauliflower with coconut oil and bake in the oven for 10 mins.

Chop up veggies while they are baking.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven. They should be slightly fork tender.

Spread the sauce all over the top of the cauliflower and put on the toppings. Finishing it off with the cheese.

Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N

Homemade Vegan Pizza

I have done a couple posts about pizza because well I LOVE PIZZA! Most of the time we order Family Pizza and I get mine without the cheese. However lately I have been wanting to make my own crust, to see how the two compare. Luckily my sister in law Jennifer had an awesome recipe that she shared with me, and  now will share it with you today! 

I really loved how this crust turned out, Jennifer was right it is awesome. I tried to roll it out until is was as thin as possible because I am not a big fan of thick crust. Basically the reason I eat pizza is for the toppings, the crust is just a vessel, but this crust actually tasted really good! The recipe does call for whole grain flour, so thats what I used this time. Next time I will try my hand at a gluten free version and post how it compares! Also I used a Italian and Herb Olive Oil that I really think added the perfect flavor to the crust. If you don't have flavored olive oil but would like the flavors of herbs feel free to add fresh herbs to the dough! 



When you actually think about it, the time it takes to make and rise the dough plus bake it in the oven, is the same amount of time it takes to make this pizza. And it definitely doesn't cost $30 or $40 to make them. So I hope you can take the time to make this for you and your family one night because you wont be disappointed, I know I wasn't. 



Pizza Dough - Makes 1-12inch pizza1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp ground flax
2 1/4 tsp quick-rising yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup very warm water
2 tsp olive oil 
2 tsp. date honey *recipe below

In a medium bowl, combine flour, flax, yeast and salt. Mix well.
Measure warm water in measuring cup, then stir in olive oil and honey. 
Pour mix over dry ingredients and mix using wooden spoon to form a ball. 
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 mins. 
Grease inside of another bowl with olive oil and place dough inside. 
Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until double in size (about 20mins).
While the dough is rising I cut up the vegetables to have ready.
Roll out dough over lightly floured surface into a circle. 
Pinch the outer edges up into a crust.
Put on toppings and bake at 425 for 15-20 mins.


For the toppings I used:
1 sm can tomato sauce
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 cup zucchini, diced
7 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 handful of baby spinach 
1/2 pkg of shredded Daiya mozzarella 

Date Honey - makes 1 cup
10 dates
1/2 cup water
Blend in high speed blender until smooth





Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Quinoa Pizza Bake, Vegan Gluten Free

I wont lie, I have already tried making this before, but last time I made them I put them into a cupcake pan. They didn’t turn out that well. Not that they didn’t taste good, they just didn’t hold their shape and they were hard to get out. I think if I had a mini cupcake pan, it would have worked a bit better, but all I have is a regular one.

Devon then suggested that we put it on a baking sheet instead, mainly because he likes it when the cheesy edges get all crispy. Also the last time I didn’t put in the ground flax, which really helps bind things together. If you need an egg replacer, ground flax is an easy substitute. For one egg its 1 tbsp of flax and 3 tbsp of water, mixed well and let sit for 10 mins. For my recipe I just put the flax into the pot with the quinoa right before its done cooking, that way I eliminate adding more water to the quinoa after its done cooking, and why not save a step.

The ingredients I have listed at the bottom are only guidelines to what could be put into this. If you like pineapple, olives, hot peppers, go for it. You don’t have to mix them in either, you could top the quinoa mixture with the olives and pineapple too. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 heaping tbsp ground flax seed
2 cups of water
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 red pepper
1 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 pkg of shredded Daiya cheese

If your quinoa is not pre washed, you will need to run it under cold water to remove the extra starch. Then add one cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water and cook until almost all of the water has evaporated (it cooks just like rice!), then add the 2 tbsps of ground flax and mix until well blended.  

Pre heat a large frying pan on med/high heat and add the oil. Saute the onions and garlic first until browned. Chop up all of your vegetables into tiny pieces and sauté them for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine quinoa/flax mixture with the vegetables, tomato paste, seasonings, and Daiya Cheese and stir until well combined. 

Grease a cookie sheet with coconut oil. Pour the mixture onto the pan and using your hands or the back of a spoon spread out until even. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve! 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Family Pizza - Vegan?

I know, I know...two pizza posts in a row!! Funny thing is I never used to love pizza. Back in the day of birthday parties or family fun nights I would eat it but I would never crav it. I am not sure why, maybe because I don’t like crust and most pizza places have thick crust with no toppings, or because we only ordered from Houston’s Pizza and it was always super greasy? I'm not too sure, but what I do know is that I crave pizza now and my favourite is Family Pizza, or as I call it Family Pie.

When first switching to my vegan lifestyle I would order a pizza with just peppers, tomatoes and pineapple, no cheese, no meat and I loved it…it kind of reminded me of bruschetta. Then I was reading online about how some pizza restaurants use chicken and beef broth to flavour their pizza sauce… SHIT! My heart dropped, this was something that I never thought about, and was mad at myself for not thinking of it sooner. So I stopped eating Family Pie and emailed the company asking about the ingredients. It unfortunately took a couple months to get a response but I finally received a reply on Tuesday saying that their dough and sauce were dairy, egg and meat free!! WOO HOO!

So naturally on Thursday (Wednesday was vegan lasagna night!) Devon and I ordered pizza, and I was so excited! I ordered the peppers, tomatoes, and pineapple pizza and when it arrived I turned on the oven to broil and dumped a crap load of Daiya cheese on it! I baked it for about 5 minutes and the final product was pure heaven! I feel like this is a double edged sword type thing, on one hand I get to eat my favourite pizza, on the other hand I get to eat my favourite pizza! Oh well, its not like I am going to eat it everyday….right?



Thanks for reading!!
xoxo-N

Vegan Pizza Rolls

Super Bowl Sunday was hosted by my sister in law Brittany this year which of course means a lot of fricken food. I was undecided on what I was going to bring until I remembered that we had a can of Pillsbury Grand Crescent Rolls in our freezer. I had recently learned that they were vegan and wanted to try them out, I am not a fan of breads but I bought a can anyways just to have on hand for such occasion.

What to do with the crescent rolls? Pizza of course! I have been craving pizza lately and thought that pizza rolls would be the perfect Super Bowl snack. So I took the can out of the freezer to thaw and got the ingredients for our stuffing!

I decided to roll out the dough instead of using the precut shapes they provide. This way I can have the shape I want (a rectangle) and the dough goes farther seeing as I didn’t want it to be really thick. I got about 12 pizza rolls out of one can and thought I should get another because there was going to be a number of people there. So we did one can of vegan and one can of regular.

In the midst of football madness and the fact that I devoured most of them,I didn’t get a good picture of how they turned out and I apologize for the pitiful picture that I did take. Please don’t judge me!! Trust me, they taste way better than they look in the picture!

Vegan Pizza Rolls

1 can of Pillsbury Grand Crescent Rolls

1 can of pizza sauce

1 cup of Daiya Cheese

1 cup of mushrooms, chopped

Mash the dough into a ball and pull off ½ cup-chunks to roll out. Using a floured rolling pin, or wine bottle (whatevers handy) roll out on a floured counter to desired thickness. Cut into rectangles about 3’x6’, layer pizza sauce, mushrooms and Daiya cheese. Roll up making sure all sides are tucked in and pop in the oven!

You can put anything you want into your pizza rolls, I just had mushrooms handy!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo-N