How to Make Healthy Homemade Pizza

What is your favorite kind of pizza? Do you know how to make a healthy pizza? We adore pizza at our house, and my girls love when they get to make their own and choose their own toppings. Lots of people have asked for my recipe and how we do this, so I wanted to share how we do it and give you a delicious pizza crust recipe.

With the kids starting back to school, healthy school lunch ideas have been on my mind. My daughters love to take a make-your-own pizza kit.

Here’s how we do it: When we make pizza for dinner, I roll out a few extra crusts, brush them with olive oil, and then bake until just barely golden on top. After they cool, I cut them in wedges and throw them in the freezer. All leftover pizza sauce goes into ice cube trays, and then the sauce cubes into a zipper bag in the freezer.

At night as we are packing lunches for the next day, we grab a handful of pizza crust wedges and 2-3 sauce cubes, and put them in the fridge to defrost. We also grate a little cheese or add a string cheese.

We add some carrots, cucumber, pineapple, or other fruits and veggies on the side.

At lunch, they scoop a little pizza sauce onto a crust wedge, sprinkle a little cheese, and voila! Pizza! It’s cold, but my girls don’t seem to mind.

I would suggest using white whole wheat flour, it is still whole wheat but is lighter flour.

Store bought sauce is usually really high in sugar and other unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients. Making your own is super easy, and you probably have the ingredients right in your cupboard! Here is the recipe I use, I just leave out the sausage when making it for pizza.

Also, think about your cheese. Did you know that wood pulp (cellulose) is used to keep pre-shredded cheese from sticking together? Sawdust, yum! Instead, we shred our own cheese, preferably using cheese from grass-fed cows.

How many veggies can you pack in? The best way to make something more nutritious is to add as many veggies as possible!

We like to roll the crust into individual sizes and let the kids top their own pizzas. I provide them each with their own plate of veggies to choose from and just let them go! I’ve been surprised by how many more veggies they will eat this way!

Simplify the meats. Eat healthier and clean out your fridge by using leftover meats you may already have. We love shredded chicken on our pizza or nitrate/nitrite free bacon instead of processed pepperoni or sausage.

Healthy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

 

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Author: Emily - www.healthbyemily.com

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• 1-1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing crust
• 3 cups white whole wheat flour
• Your favorite sauces, cheese, and toppings

Instructions

1. Combine water and honey in a large bowl, stir until honey has dissolved.
2. Add yeast and stir, then allow to sit for about 10 minutes until frothy.
3. Add in salt, oil, and 1 cup of flour, stir to combine.
4. Add in remaining flour ½ cup at a time. I like to transfer to a floured surface and knead in the last of the flour. You can also use a stand mixer.
5. Allow to rise until double, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
7. Divide into 8 pieces for making personal size pizza.
8. Roll each one into a circle, dot crust with a fork, and place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper.
9. Brush the edges with olive oil to keep crust from drying out.
10. Add your favorite sauce, toppings, and cheese.
11. Bake for 10-20 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

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