Whole Foods to Thrive recipe review: Black bean chili pizza

I love Brendan Brazier. lol I take a few of his products, follow his advice, read his books....etc etc etc. I don't really know why I haven't made any of his recipes yet. I finally decided to make one this weekend. The book is called "Whole Foods to Thrive". It has GREAT information in there about nutrients and foods to eat to get them. And essentially the foods to eat to thrive in life and health. A must read if you ask me. My only complaint for the book is that the binding broke part way through.....could be bc of manufacturing or the fact that I bought it at a used book store.

I made a "pizza" and marinara/pizza sauce. Now, I put pizza in quotations because its not a pizza like how we all know and love pizza. The "dough" is made out of black beans, brown rice, and spices. You can't pick up a slice and eat it; it must be eaten with a fork and knife. BUT all that being said, its DELISH. And I'm not sure what else you would call it anyways. It is def pizza-esque. And I've make a Mexican lasagna that doesn't have noodles and I still call it lasagna so whatevs.

Black Bean Chili Pizza

Crust:

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 1/2 cup black beans

1/4 cup coconut oil (I subbed olive oil)

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp chili flakes (I added 1.5 tsp)

Sea salt to taste (I added 1/2 tsp)

Topping:

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 onion, diced

1 cup chopped bell peppers

1/2 cup grated beet

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300

2. In a food processor, process all crust ingredients until the mixture starts to ball up

3. Lightly oil the baking trail and spread mixture on tray to about 1/4 inch thick (or whichever thickness you prefer)

4. Top with your choice of sauce (marinara/pizza sauce to follow)

5. Spread toppings evenly on crust

6. Bake for 45 minutes.

NOTE: I didn't use beets. I used 2 sliced Jalapeno peppers. And I forgot the oregano and thyme.

Marinara/Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 sun dried tomatoes

2 Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp oregano

1 handful basil

2 tbsp palm nectar granules

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Soak sun dried tomatoes for about 15 minutes (omit if using ones soaked in oil or water). Blend all ingredients except for sun dried tomatoes. Add sun dried tomatoes and blend again.

NOTE: I do not like to use a lot of oil, so I just added 2 tsp of olive oil. And I didn't have palm nectar or any other sweetener in my kitchen, so I just omitted. But if I did, I would have added agave nectar. Also, I used a bit extra basil as fresh basil is so yummy.

Raw dough with marinara sauce

Raw pizza before baking

Cooked and ready to be eaten!

Gobble gobble

I would definitely make this pizza again, or one of the other pizzas in the book. And there are quite a few other recipes that look delectable. So I better get cracking! This was a great spin on a meal that is normally so glutenous. Its gluten free, vegan deliciousness. I felt great after eating it. Not the usual food coma that accompanies such a typical heavy meal. This wasn't heavy at all. Filling and covered all the nutrients that I need.

Good work Brendan!

Peace

xoxo

K