Organic Pizza Recipe

The Disney Family website (http://family.go.com/) recently posted an article titled "20 Budget-Friendly Organic Meals". I would like to post my favorite which is #5 of 20: Smoky Pepper Pizza!

Makes 2 12-inch pizzas

Ingredients
2 large red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs: basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, cilantro, or some combination (in a pinch, you can chop celery leaves)
1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade (recipe follows)
Cornmeal for dusting the peel or pan
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound smoked mozzarella, grated


Directions


Heat the oven to 500 and, if you're using a pizza stone, set it in the oven to heat.
Roast the peppers: cut them in half, remove the stems, seeds, and white membranes, then place them, cut-side down, on a baking sheet lined with foil. Roast them under a preheated broiler, as close to the flame as you can, until they are mostly blackened, around 10 minutes. Bunch the foil up around them so that they steam as they cool, then, when they're cool enough to handle, slip the blackened skins off of them (it's fine if some of the skin clings to them).
Slice the peppers thin and place them in a bowl, then dress with the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and half the herbs.
Now shape the dough: the idea is to stretch it in a kind of coaxing way until it's thin but not tearing. Begin by using the heels of your hands to flatten dough as much as possible, then hold the dough down in the middle with one hand while using the fingers of the other to gently pull the dough outward around its perimeter. If it stops stretching, let it rest for a few minutes. Try holding the dough aloft on your knuckles and gently stretch and turn it, letting gravity do some of the work for you, until the dough is more or less 12 inches in diameter. If a hole forms, pinch it closed.
Place the stretched dough onto a wooden pizza peel that has been heavily dusted with cornmeal (if you're using a pizza stone) or onto a pan that has been brushed with olive oil, then sprinkled with 2 tablespoons cornmeal (any large pan -- a cookie sheet, with or without sides -- is fine; a round pan works too).
Top the dough with half the onion, half the peppers along with half their juice, and half the cheese. Slide it onto the pizza stone (or slide the pan into the oven), and bake until the bottom is crisp and the cheese is bubbling, 7-12 minutes. Top with half the remaining herbs and cool it on a baking rack while you top and bake the other pizza.

For the dough:


Ingredients
1/2 envelope (1 teaspoon) active dry yeast
1 cup warm (not hot) water
Pinch of sugar 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour mixed with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 

1 tablespoon each toasted wheat germ and ground flaxseed (optional)

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

1 tablespoon olive oil


Directions

Sprinkle yeast over water in measuring cup, add sugar, and let dissolve for about 5 minutes. If any dry yeast remains on the surface after that, stir briefly to mix in. Proceed with one of the following three methods:


Food processor: Pulse flour with wheat germ and flaxseed, if using, and salt. Add oil to yeast mixture and, with processor running, pour liquid slowly into the feed tube. The dough should cohere and form a ball that sits on top of the blade. If it doesn't, it's either too wet or too dry, and you should add water or flour accordingly, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the ball forms. Scrape dough (it will be sticky) onto a lightly floured counter, sprinkle with flour, and knead 2 or 3 times to form a ball.

Stand mixer: Pour yeast mixture and oil into bowl of mixer. Using paddle attachment, mix in dry ingredients on low speed (adjust dough with flour or water as directed above if it seems too wet or too dry) then switch to dough hook and knead about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and springy.

By hand: Pour yeast mixture into a large bowl with oil, and stir in dry ingredients until the mixture coheres into a mass of dough, about 1 minute. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, then knead, adding as little flour as possible, until dough feels smooth and springy — 8 minutes or so.



Next, whichever method you've used, place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size.
Flour your fist and punch down dough, then turn it out onto a lightly floured counter, knead once or twice, and use a sharp knife to cut it into two pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, cover balls loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for 5 minutes.

The Macrobiotic Diet

One-quarter of what you eat keeps you alive.
The other three-quarters keeps your doctor alive.
(Hieroglyph found in an ancient Egyptian tomb.)


The Macrobiotic Diet

Ok, so I was surfing some creative blogs when I came across this poem a young lady wrote and in the poem she speaks of a man’s skin and how it glows reflecting the healthiness that only a person dedicated to a Macrobiotic Diet could radiate. So naturally it made me wonder. What is a Macrobiotic Diet?

Here is a little bit of what I found out…

The Macrobiotic Diet was developed by George Ohsawa, a Japanese philosopher. Ohsawa cured himself of tuberculosis of the lungs and intestines by eating a diet which was based on brown rice, soup and vegetables.

The Macrobiotic Diet primarily consists of whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Many cancer patients use this diet and some claim that it has actually helped them recover from cancer. These foods help to create a balance inside our bodies. This is why when on a Macrobiotic Diet you must factor in your region, season, and climate. Eating only organically grown foods and locally grown fruits is also a very important factor.

The Macrobiotic Diet varies from person to person but is closely aligned with The Standard Macrobiotic Diet designed by Michio Kushi. The diet can easily be made vegan by simply not eating fish. The amount of fat consumed on this diet is very low and comes from grains, beans, seeds, nuts and the use of a little cooking oil or sesame oil. Most meals eaten have grains such as pasta, noodles, couscous, rolled oats, sourdough bread, wheat, rice or barley flakes. Around 25-40% of the macrobiotic diet is composed of fruits and vegetables. The preferred cooking method is stir-frying, boiling or steaming.

Yes, you can actually have desserts on this diet, however they are usually fresh fruit, fruit jelly, fruit crumble, or cooked fruit with a soya custard. Seeds and nuts are frequently roasted to make snack, or they can be eaten as nut or seed butter or used with desserts. The most popular beverages are spring water, apple juice, twig, mu or bancha tea, and grain coffees.

Everyone can create their on version of this diet by keeping in mind the essentials of the macrobiotic approach. Anyone who chooses to follow a macrobiotic diet should do their own research on the diet and nutritional facts.

Introduction

I am starting this blog to track and discuss health and wellness as I learn more helpful information that can help others going through the same struggles I face on this journey to become healthy mentally and physically.

Just to tell you a little about myself I’m a 26 year old female born and raised in Texas. Yes I did manage to get out of Texas for a while at the age of 21. I went to Maryland where I learned how to speak without my Texas twang and then on to Florida where I meet my fiancé a native Floridian who taught me how to finally swim. We fell in love and moved back to Texas and we'll be married in late September 2009.

Sadly it’s 50 days until my wedding and I have not loss a single pound that I had planned on losing when we got engaged back in May 2009. So here I am 5’9 weighing 275 pounds trying to Turbo Jam my way in to a size 20 Alfred Angelo wedding dress that I found a good deal on.

This has made me incredibly frustrated and I’ve decide that this is the last summer of unhealthy eating and sitting on my big butt. I have got to change what I’ve been doing and get to work now. It’s not like how some people think… Oh she’s fat so she must eat Ice Cream, Twinkies, and sit on the sofa watching TV all day. I actually don’t eat Twinkies and I have Ice Cream maybe once every other month and I go walking with my fiancé and dog quite often.

So I have decided to do some research and see what I can find out about what I’m doing wrong and what I should be doing to get my body healthy as well as my mind. This is a new passion of mine and I hope I can help others learn more about health and wellness as I get on the move!