Saturday, March 1, 2014

Pear and Arugula Pizza

A year ago my family and I ate terribly.
I was the queen of  Fettucinni Alfredo frozen dinners, convenience foods, processed foods, and going out to eat. A lot. We got sick every winter. Me with bronchitis, Cortney with Pneumonia. I had a cough that would last for months. Cort had a ton of bowel issues. 

Then one day I talked to a lady who works in a cancer center. We talked for hours about nutrition, gluten, and general health. A light bulb clicked. Even though I wasn't heavy, I wasn't healthy. So last June I made a decision to eat better, read labels, and cut out gluten from Cortney's diet. Almost a year later I can tell you that neither one of us has gotten sick this winter. (knock on wood!) And believe me, with the amount of sick kids we are both around, we have had every opportunity to get sick! ;) 

She has had no bowel issues. I cook more, we eat out less, we eat more whole foods, and have cut out processed foods completely. I wish I could say my husband and son are as dedicated as us girls, but I am still working on it! I have to say that I have been experimenting more with my cooking, trying new things, and I think my cooking has improved tremendously. (If I do say so myself!) 

Last summer I had a pear/gargonzola pizza at The Cheesecake Factory and wanted to recreate it at home.
 I gathered these ingredients to create my pizza:

INGREDIENTS:

Gluten Free Pizza dough  (I used Scaar brand)
Gorgonzola Cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Arugula
Pear 
Olive Oil
Toasted Pecans or walnuts
I brushed a bit of olive oil on the crust,piled some Arugula on top.  I layered Mozzarella and Gorgonzola on top of that.  Sliced up my pear and placed it on top.  Sprinkled my toasted walnuts, broken up in pieces.  I finished it off with a bit more Mozzarella and Gorgonzola and a spritz of olive oil. I baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

It was absolutely delicious!


4 comments:

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

The pizza sounds delicious…will have to try it! Thanks for sharing:)

Debby said...

I have been gluten free for four years. I have Celiac and so does my son. I think anyone can benefit from not eating gluten. Glad you found a good pizza. I went a year without pizza and it was what I missed the most. Good luck but sounds like you are already doing well with it all.

Susan Lankford said...

The pizza looks very yummy...and I'm with you in the dietary changes....have ulcerative colitis, but have no symptoms after cutting out wheat and sugar (refined)...
Good for you for your cooking skills....eating this way is not as convenient, but I know it is so much better for health!

Rose in Chester said...

Now you see, Michelle,
none of that is for me....... hate pizza and don't have ready-meals in my house, BUT I also eat not always what I should...............
LOVE STIR-FRY.
By the way, I really love your creations.
Good luck, keep up the good work.
Hugs, Rose