A Recipe from Rachel Gutierrez: Quinoa Pizza Crust

Not only is she the manager at one of Dallas' favorite boutiques, Cotton Island, but Rachel Gutierrez is a lady of many well-rounded talents and passions, which include but are not limited to health, new out-of-the-box recipes, and creative cooking methods. Her excitement about the purpose of food in relation to the health of our body is contagious, and today she has shared with us one of her favorite recent recipes!

Quinoa Pizza Crust

Makes 2 thin 8 inch crusts

What You'll Need:

1 1/2c. quinoa, soaked overnight and drained1/2 – 3/4 c. pure water1 tsp. celtic sea salt1/4c. olive oil(of course you are using organic ingredients!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450º F. Place the quinoa, water, and salt in a blender and blend until creamy. The consistency will be thick ( like pancake batter). Start with 1/2c. water and see if you need more.Divide the olive oil and cover the bottom of 2 8-inch cake pans. Place the pans in the oven until they are shimmering hot (not smoking). Remove from the oven. At this point, you can add some minced garlic and/or herbs if you would like. Divide the quinoa mixture evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the crusts over and return to bake another 10 minutes.  They should be brown and crispy.

The Final Touches

At this point, let your imagination take over. Top with classic pizza ingredients, or try something new. I have recently renewed my love of pesto, but not your typical pesto. This one is made of arugula, parsley, walnuts, olive oil, hemp oil, and garlic. Delicious! Pesto is a nutrient dense food that assists the liver in detoxifying the body and helps lower blood fats. So, on went a hearty layer of pesto. I topped this with some caramelized onions and sauteed red chard, mixed with some pine nuts. Lots of vegetables! That deep red color is so good for us.The “icing on the cake” is a few dollops of kefir cheese. I strained some goat’s milk kefir to get the liquid whey for some fermenting that I am doing this week. What is left is a thick sour cream like substance that is delicious! AND it contains lots of good bacteria/probiotics.

Rachel's Personal Review

I tried this recipe over the weekend, and it's so insanely easy and DELICIOUS!! I split the recipe in half to make just one pizza crust, and it came out perfectly. I only had a 9" round cake pan, and it was a really good size. After I flipped the crust I cooked it for about 5-8 minutes, put on the toppings and stuck it back in the oven for a few minutes.  I have had it twice now, once with a pesto topping and the other Margherita-style.

Source

Kevita: A Sparkling and Delicious Probiotic Refreshment

It look a summer in New York City to get me completely hooked on probiotic drinks. They were so new to me, and being a non-energy drink drinker, these were the perfect alternatives to provide a boost of natural energy in addition to healthy flora for digestion.  Not to be confused with Kombucha, KeVita is made using a fresh new approach. Water or tea is combined with the proprietary Organic KeVita Culture; a blend of probiotics and subtle flavors. They combine organic cold extracted plant extracts and organic fruits in a variety of flavors for your drinking pleasure. Oh, and did I mention it's raw, vegan, gluten free, soy free and organic?

KeVita Fun Facts

It has multiple strains of probiotics, including those originating from kefir derived cultures. For thousands of years these cultures have been cherished for supporting beneficial digestive flora.It is available in 8 delicious flavors: Strawberry Acai Coconut, Mango Coconut (my favorite), Coconut, Pomegranate Coconut, Pomegranate, Lemon Ginger, Living Greens, and Green Tea!

• Proven to promote digestive health
• Proven to maintain the immune system
• Proven to deliver 10 times more probiotic cultures than common yogurt through the gut and into the intestine where they are needed
• 4 Billion Probiotic Organisms at time of Bottling. 4 strains.
• Refreshing and thirst-quenching
• 4 flavors certified organic, 4 flavors made with organic ingredients
• Made with LOVE in small batches in California

Why Drink KeVita?

For radiant vitality and health, duh! KeVita is the only sparkling, probiotic refreshment of its kind. It contains 2x the probiotic content as Kombucha, plus it has a much milder flavor and is created from a different culture called Water Kefir. These drinks are very low in sugar as they are lightly sweetened with Stevia. The coolest part: it is handcrafted and cold-processed at KeVita’s own organic plant in Ventura, CA. (Take me here please!)

KeVita Suggestions

• If you have an upset stomach: go with the Lemon and Ginger flavor.
• Drink as much or as little as you want any time of day, with or without meals.
• How much you need to drink to enjoy the benefits varies. Everyone is unique. Listen to your taste buds and your body. Some drink 2 bottles a day others make a bottle last all week.

Kevita is available at Whole Foods, health and gourmet stores nationwide. You can spot a local location here.