Oil-cured Black Olive + Smashed Garlic Pizza with Herby Oregano ‘Parm’

As a health coach, I get asked {a lot} about what I eat. And the truth is this. I eat gluten-free out of necessity and I try to limit my animal product consumption as much as possible. I just feel better eating mostly plants. Food trends and fad diets, I don’t do them. I just eat what my belly and my brain want/NEED by consuming mostly fruits and vegetables and seeds and legumes and grains. These foods make me feel alert and energized and full of life. These are the foods that fuel me.

I try to drink a green drink everyday, but let’s be honest that doesn’t always happen. I support local agriculture, I’m inspired by seasonal produce, I buy organic whenever it makes sense. Because – food miles you guys. And while there’s always room for improvement, I try not to take all of these food stuffs too seriously. If I eat a bag of non-organic, shitty potato chips from a gas station – who the hell cares? If I don’t drink green juice for a week, seriously oh well. If I want french fries from a food truck I eat them, always.

Food is our power. It has the ability to fight and prevent illness, unite people from all over the world and turn a grey day blue again. Food should be celebrated, not restricted. I eat as consciously as possible whenever I can. This makes room for other things that might not serve me so well. I try to find movement everyday, even if it’s a 5 minute dance party. I drink a glass of wine {usually} every night and I’m not gonna beat myself up about it. I’m a work in progress. I’m a real person.

And  if I want pizza, I eat pizza. My relationship with pizza is pretty personal. Pizza is one of those foods, kind of like tacos, that everyone loves and needs in their life. So after I went gluten-free {almost six years ago} I had to break up with the pizza I loved the most. I said goodbye to the New York slice, my number one mama and it was like a dagger in my heart. With all the gluten-free options available this one just can’t be replicated. The closest I ever came to it was the last time I was in Rome and this was definitely {very definitely} the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever had. I still dream about it. But I don’t eat pizza out enough because even though there’s a ton of gluten-free pizza options available, most of them are gross. Additionally many of these options don’t take the necessary precautions to avoid cross-contamination {very important for celiacs}.

A few weeks ago I got an email from Udi’s Gluten Free – a brand I know and love. They asked me if I wanted to head down to Dallas and try out the new pizza they were launching with Pizza Hut. I had all sorts of mixed emotions. Most of me was like heck yes! Free pizza? I’m in. A random break from St. Louis? Totally in. But, Pizza Hut? Eh, well I don’t eat fast food, it ain’t really my steeze. But also, I love pizza and I know this partnership {done right} could mean big things for the celiac community.  Also who the hell cares? – {see above, stop taking self so serious and eat the damn pizza}. So glad I went. Udi’s and Pizza Hut are doing it right. They’re taking all the necessary precautions to make this a super safe option for celiacs and gluten-free intolerant people alike.

SIDE NOTE – nominations for the Saveur Blog Awards 2015 close tomorrow, time to go vote for your favorites now!!

Oil-cured Black Olive + Smashed Garlic Pizza {print me!}

Inspired by, Bon Appetit

Notes: my method of roasting the garlic bulbs doesn’t include aluminum foil – yay for less toxins. You can build this pizza on anything you wanted: non-gf pitas, regular/vegan pizza dough, Udi’s gluten-free pizza crusts or tortillas, etc. I used oil-cured black olives, these little guys are my favorite. They’re also super salty, keep that in mind when layering them on and when adding additional salt into your other pizza components.

Ingredients:

• pitted + chopped oil-cured black olives
• super thinly sliced red onion
• 2 garlic bulbs
• 2 Udi’s large tortillas {or any crusts of your choice}
• pizza sauce {see below}
• herby oregano ‘parm’ {see below}

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare your garlic by removing most of its layers of skin and by chopping off the tops. Place them in a square of parchment, drizzle with a little olive oil and ball them up. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes in a dish or muffin tin or until super soft. Allow them to cool a bit and each clove will pop right out.

While the garlic is roasting you can prepare your sauce + herby oregano vegan parm {see below}.

After the garlic, sauce + ‘parm’ are made you can start assembling your pizzas. Spread a thin layer of sauce over your crust of choice, smash on the garlic cloves and then top it with the olives and onions. If you are using an Udi’s tortilla, first poke it a few times with the tines of fork, this will allow any trapped in air out and prevent fewer bubbles from rising. Each crust will yield different baking times, so cook accordingly.

Pull the pizza out and sprinkle generously with the vegan ‘parm’, cut and serve hot.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounce can plain tomato sauce

In a small sauce pan heat the olive oil + spiced over low heat for 1 minute. Then add in the tomato sauce and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes, sauce complete, it’s that easy.

Herby Oregano ‘Parm’

Notes: I didn’t reinvent the wheel here with this vegan parm. I was inspired by this classic recipe + this zesty little guy too. But with the addition of the fresh herbs + a wee bit olive oil things got pretty serious. You can store this in a jar in the refrigerator for a week or so. It’s super yummy on pizza, pasta, popcorn, salads + roasted vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano

In a food processor combine together the cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, olive oil + fresh oregano. Pulse into a fine, desirable texture.

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This post is sponsored by Udi’s Gluten Free; all opinions are my own.