Meatless Monday Recipe: Rice-Crust Healthful Garden Pizza

My husband used to insist on making his own meaty, pre-made packaged pie on pizza night. But here’s a meatless pizza recipe that he loves and, in fact, everyone in your household will enjoy—even without the fatty Italian sausage, pepperoni or salty tomato paste contaminated by BPA that usually dons tasty pies. This gluten-free, Mediterranean-style pizza will not only tantalize your taste buds, but it also will give the body a nutritional boost. In fact, here’s a list of the ingredients and how good each of them are for you.

Garlic: This food has calcium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. The recipe calls for three cloves, which equals 30 calories.

Kalamata olives: This food gives you a small boost in your iron intake -- each serving provides 2% to 3% of the daily recommended intake. Iron promotes adequate levels of oxygen in the body. The recipe calls for 12 olives, which is 70 calories.

Mushrooms: This food has protein, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, zinc, manganese, dietary fiber, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, potassium, copper and selenium. This recipe calls for ½ cup, which equals 10 calories.

Olive oil: This food may help lower your risk of heart disease by improving related risk factors. For instance, it may lower your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Some research shows it may benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control. This recipe calls for 6 teaspoons, which equals 220 calories.

Red onion: This food has dietary fiber, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and manganese, and is an excellent source of vitamin C. This recipe calls for ¼ cup for about 10 calories.

Rice-based crust: This food has vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin and iron. Each slice has 100 calories.

Spinach: This food has niacin, zinc, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese. This recipe calls for 1 cup, which is 15 calories.

Tomato: This food is low in sodium and is a good source of vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium and manganese. This recipe calls for one tomato, which is 40 calories.

Parmesan cheese: This food has phosphorus, protein and calcium. This recipe calls for ½ cup, which is 216 calories.

#MeatlessMonday Rice-Crust Healthful Garden Pizza

1 package King Arthur pizza crust mix

½ cup hand-shredded Parmesan cheese (has no preservatives this way. Vegan cheese as a substitute.) 

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup spinach, chopped

¼ cup red onion, chopped

6 teaspoons olive oil

½ cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Pizza stone

Follow directions on King Arthur pizza crust. The package makes two crusts. Place the two balls of dough on parchment paper, large enough to form each into a circle. Take one of the halves, wrap it in the paper, wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Pour olive oil over the working dough and use your fingers to form it into a thin circle. Let it rise for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees with pizza stone inside for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, place pizza crust with the parchment paper onto the pizza stone and cook for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, chop all the ingredients. Shred the cheese using a cheese grater. To make it easier, spray the grater with cooking spray.

Remove crust. Drizzle with olive oil. In layers, add garlic, mushrooms, onions, spinach and tomatos. Add some of the cheese. Add olives. Add rest of the cheese.

Bake for another 6-10 minutes, until the cheese is browned around the edges.

Makes 8 pieces.