It feels a little odd to be writing about diet planning. For most of my life, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and as much as I wanted. And then my perspective changed. These past two years, my family has been hit with a slew of health problems, and we realized that we needed to change our lifestyles. And quickly. We experimented with quite a few different strategies and then, we found the Ketogenic lifestyle, commonly known as Keto.
Keto fit us like a glove. It went hand in hand with the Mediterranean cuisine that my mom learned from her grandparents, and so on. We just needed to be more diligent with our meal planning. And it is so easy to be creative with Keto. Just check out The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel: she has tons of recipes for you to try.
So what is Keto? It’s a low-carb, high fat diet that is built on the premise that our bodies run much more efficiently using fat for fuel as opposed to sugar. Fat as fuel sounds counterintuitive. But it works, I promise. And it doesn’t happen overnight: it can take anywhere from two weeks to two months for your body to enter ketosis. Once in ketosis, your body’s digestive tract converts fat into something called ketones, which then becomes the fuel for your daily life. Your body will then become a fat-burning machine! The results include decreased appetite, prolonged mental stamina, an increase in overall energy and rapid weight loss.
And so, I give you Cauliflower Pizza. It’s a delicious meal designed to impress, and it’s fully Keto.
Keto Cauliflower Pizza
2 cups riced cauliflower
2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
Seasoned tomato sauce (see recipe, below)
A handful of spinach
One medium sized tomato
A handful of mushrooms, sausage or whatever toppings you like
Seasoned tomato sauce:
4 tablespoons organic tomato sauce
Garlic
Pepper
Salt
Basil
Garlic
- Rice the cauliflower with a cheese shredder into a large bowl.
- Add mozzarella cheese and 2 eggs to create the dough.
- Mix with a fork until ingredients blend into an even consistency.
- Place a piece of parchment paper onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet and spray with olive oil.
- Flatten the dough onto the paper to create a flat thin layer.
- Cook 15 minutes at 375 degrees until brown. Remove from oven and then use a second piece of parchment paper to flip the dough.
- Peel the top sheet off carefully and cook again until golden brown.
- After both sides are browned, let your pizza crust cool.
- Add your sauce and toppings and then put it back into the oven for another 10 minutes to heat up the ingredients.
Make it your own pizza. One of my favorite toppings is lamb meatballs!
Though The Chopping Block doesn't currently offer keto-specific cooking classes, a lot of our curriculum is designed for special diets. From vegan recipes to gluten-free cooking classes to our clean eating classes offered by Wellness Chef Alia Dalal, we provide a wide variety of food and cooking techniques for every type of lifestyle.
Have you tried any Keto recipes? Share them with me in the comments so I can give them a go!
