Two Years Meat Free + A Recipe

Today marks two years since I stopped eating meat. I had been struggling with accessing sources of high quality meat and watching documentaries like “Forks Over Knives” and “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”. I distinctly remember on the morning of February 3, 2011 eating a turkey sausage breakfast sandwich and having trouble physically eating it. That’s when I knew I wanted to give up meat. Two years later I am fully plant based and eating an incredibly healthy diet. More on that when I hit my two year animal product free anniversary in July!

In honor of my veggie-versary I wanted to share a few recipes. First is the Mexiquinoa I ate last night which was quite popular on Instagram. I actually posted a recipe in June 2012 for it here. Last night’s version had chayote squash instead of zucchini, corn, and I used a blend of black beans and chickpeas because it’s what I had leftover! I served it on a salad with romaine, mixed baby greens, jicama, bell pepper, and scallions with a side of roasted plantains.

On Sunday I made a pizza based on the Thrive pizzas that Brendan Brazier makes. It was excellent, and I wanted to share that recipe as well.

Beet & Chickpea Pizza

Crust:
1 roasted beet, sliced
1 C chickpeas (canned or cooked from dry)
¼ C tomato sauce
¼ C sunflower seeds
¼ C sundried tomatoes
¼ C buckwheat groats (can sub oats)
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder/clove, harissa)

Toppings:
Tomato sauce
Broccoli, small chop
Red onion, thinly sliced
Bell pepper, thinly sliced
Sundried tomatoes, sliced
Kalamata olives, sliced

Preheat the oven to 300.

Combine crust ingredients in a food processor. Process until the mixture comes together. You will likely have to scrape down the sides a few times. If it is too wet add more buckwheat/oats, if it’s too dry add more tomato sauce.

Spread the crust onto a nonstick cookie sheet. This was enough to fill a small cookie sheet with a thin layer. Bake for 5 minutes.

Crust, pre-baking - love the color from the beets!

Remove crust. Add toppings to your preference, just make sure everything is small so it will cook at a lower temperature. Bake for another 35-45 minutes or until your toppings look done. Top with vegan parmesan if so desired.

You will need to eat this with a fork!  I cut mine into 4 large pieces, 2 per serving.

Served with some steamed broccolini