Cauliflower Pizza Recipe for Medifast

Cauliflower Pizza Recipe for Medifast

Ever since Chris and I started Medifast I have been scanning the web for lean and green Medifast recipes. I found a few recipes for Cauliflower Pizza and I decided I had to try it. It was a little time consuming and requires some dedicated and finesse, but it was SO worth it. It came out freaking delicious and it more than satisfied my cravings for pizza or other “cheat food”.

So, so, so good!

So, here you have it –

Medifast Cauliflower Pizza Recipe with Pictures

What you need:

Crust:

1 cup shredded cauliflower (2 Greens)

1 oz low fat ricotta with 2 - 3 g of fat/oz (1/8 Lean)

1 oz light mozzarella with 3 - 6 g of fat/oz (2/8 Lean)

OR

2 oz of one or the other cheese

1/4 cup Egg Beaters (1/8 Lean)

1/8 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp dried basil (1/4 Condiment)

OR

1/4 tsp of dried Italian Seasoning

OR

Use ½ tsp total of all of your favorite seasonings – I added Garlic salt

Toppings:

1/2  cup diced tomatoes from the can - less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup (Instead of counting this as a Green, I counted it as a condiment so I could have "green" toppings)

2 oz light three cheese blend 3 - 6 g of fat/oz (1/2 lean)

1/2 cup of your favorite greens (peppers, mushrooms, spinach, etc)

Recommended for Cooking:

A food processor or automatic chopping device (I have an old school Chopster) – If you don’t have, you will need a cheese grater

A digital food scale or at very least a big measuring cup

Pizza Trays or Baking Sheets

Parchment Paper

Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 (one user did it at 400, another user said 440 – I did 425)

*Note, oven temperatures vary – so watch your crusts!

Steam your cauliflower – be careful not to overcook it. You want it to be tender NOT mushy. Drain it, cool it…. (be patient, you want it to cool off). Then grate 1 cup. Trust me on this one, using a food processor/Chopster is worthwhile – manually grating it would suck.

Mix your grated cauliflower with your eggbeaters, seasonings and cheese.

Prep your pizza pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper (NO wax paper – parchment only) and spray generously with cooking spray.

Evenly spread your mixture onto the paper so that you make a nice round cauliflower crust – thinner will make it crispier. It should be about the size of a round dinner plate (about 10”).

Bake for about 20-25 min (it should start to brown). *Note – just watch your crust – I read 40 min per side and I read 15. I did about 25.

Remove, carefully flip and bake for another 15-20 min. Don’t overcook it, but let it brown. If you leave it in a little longer the edges will burn, that’s okay, you want your crust to be crispy!

Remove.

Add your tomato sauce. I processed my chunky tomatoes to make a spread – you can also use your favorite no-sugar-added pizza sauce.

Add your cheese.

Add your other toppings. I wanted a variety, so I used:

·         Low fat ground turkey – precooked
·         Spinace
·         Mushrooms
·         Fresh Tomatoes
·         Bell Peppers

Just a little of each thing.

Other ideas: Olives, turkey pepperoni

Now put it back in the oven under the broiler and watch it  carefully – keep an eye on the cheese and once it’s melted and your veggies wilt, it should be done.
*Note: At this point remove the parchment paper, otherwise it will burn!

I let mine rest for a minute the edges did taste a little burnt (some users said it may look burnt but doesn’t taste burnt – mine did) so I cut off the edges a tiny bit, sliced it into 4 pieces and put it on a dinner plate.

*Note – each Pizza is about 405-420 calories each (less if you use low fat cheese and take it easy on the toppings)

This whole process took like 2 hours, so by the time it was done I was STARVING.

We picked it up and ate it like a “real” pizza. I don’t think we talked once the whole time, except to say “OMG, this is so good!”.

It was AMAZING and worth the process, although next time I will do what some other users did and make a whole bunch at once and then wrap them in foil and freeze them. Since they will be fully cooked (you can even add the sauce and cheese) you can top it with fresh veggies (or freeze them too) and cook it for about 15 min to heat it from frozen at 425 degrees. Much easier than the 2 hour process again (which BTW, is the only reason I haven’t made this again yet).

I hope you enjoy! If you try it, let me know how it turns out! 

Baked Spinach & Mushroom Frittata - Medifast Recipe

So, I have now over the last week spent at least 5 hours researching recipes and shopping for ingredients for the lean and green meals for the Medifast diet. I think the best part about the diet for now is the lean and green - so I find it extremely important to make it fun!

Tonight we had our 6th lean and green. I found a recipe for Baked Spinach & Mushroom Frittata, I modified it as follows:

Baked Spinach, Tomato & Mushroom Frittata - Medifast Recipe

2 cups of egg beaters (egg whites)
1 cup of baby spinach
1/2 cup of fresh mushrooms sliced (I used portabella)
1/2 cup of tomatoes (I used heirloom) 
1/4 tsp of onion powder (I didn't have this so I left this out and use pepper)
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
2 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (healthy fat for the day)
*Optional: 1 tbsp of salsa and/or hot sauce (such as Sriracha)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425

Slice tomatoes and mushrooms
Saute spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms in 1 tsp of olive oil
Lower the heat once everything begins to wilt....add onion and garlic powder

In a separate baking dish (I used what I had - a square, glass dish. Another used a pyrex pie pan) use remaining 1 tsp of olive oil to coat (Next time I will probably just spray the whole dish with Pam cooking spray). Shake and measure out the 2 cups of egg beaters and pour into pie pan (or whatever cooking dish you are using). Add sauteed tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms to the eggs and spread out evenly. Top with Parmesan Reggiano cheese.

Bake at 425 for 15-25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before eating.
*I added a tablespoon of salsa on top before eating - and some Sriracha (Because everything is better with hot sauce!)

This ends up becoming a huge fluffy delicious frittata.  It makes a BIG portion, so don't be alarmed if it ends up looking huge. The nice thing about baked egg whites is they are fluffy and filling, so if you are in the mood for some comfort food or something hearty, this is a nice choice.


Since I am cooking for 2 I doubled the recipe - Here are my pics:

Sauteing my veggies:

Veggies added to the egg whites, ready to go in the oven:

Fresh out of the over (the double portion took about 25 min. in this smaller pan and almost overflowed!) - smells yum!!

I cut the double portion frittata into fourths and gave us both 2 pieces. As you can see I added the salsa to the top:

 

A close up of my plate, notice the Sriracha:

It was seriously filling and I practically didn't finish it. This is definitely a lean and green you could split into 2 meals.

Try it out and let me know what you think!