A Week of Meatless Meals Even a 4 Year Old Will Eat :: Part 1 of 7 {Pizza Party}

I’ve mentioned before that I do my very best to live a crunchy-ish lifestyle. We recycle, try to decrease single use plastics (thank you Stasher!), and we have a mostly meatless household. We are technically pescatarians (I just cannot lose crawfish and gumbo), but have mainly meatless meals at home.

The sentiment expressed to me most by my carnivorous brethren is “Well, what in the world do y’all eat?”

My answer, “Pretty much everything!”

The biggest roadblock I find to having successful and healthy meatless meals at home is planning. I’ve heard this from many people embarking on a meatless journey. So, I have put together a 7 part series on meatless meals even my picky 4 year old will eat (at least he says that he’ll eat them today, we’ll see tomorrow). Pro tip – let the kiddo help pick out the veggies and make the meal. The more involved they are, the more likely they will eat it. It’s a pride thang! So, stay tuned because this is just part 1 of 7 to help propel you on your meatless journey!

Part 1: Pizza Party!

I love pizza. Maybe it’s my little Italian Nana talking to me from heaven, but a homemade pizza just puts me right is the ahhhhhhhhhh zone. Plus, do you know how much stuff you can hide in pizza sauce under the cheese?????

I have 1 word for you.

Kale.

Yes, kale. 

I hide kale in my pizza sauce. Kale and spinach.

And no, I don’t tell any of these fools that live here. It’s my secret and now it’s yours too!

I prefer to buy the pre-made pizza crust from Costco for our pizza parties. Molinaro’s has a 4 pack that does come with sauce. I prefer the texture of the store bought crust over homemade crust. I’ve never gotten the hang of making my own. So, I freeze the pre-made sauce to use later in a pinch – it’s good, but not homemade. Homemade pizza sauce is where it’s at, super easy to make, and my little guy loves to help in the creation!

Homemade Pizza Sauce (1 pizza worth of sauce)

Ingredients

1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp honey or sugar
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or for you fancy pants mommas like me, a handful of fresh basil, oregano, and sage, minced)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (less if you don’t like garlic; I basically bathe in it)
2 shakes of onion powder
2 shakes of Himalayan sea salt
6 – 8oz warm / hot water
Any extra spice you like (I’m currently obsessed with Basin Blend Cajun Blend rough cut)
Green goodness of your choice (Kale or spinach are my favorite choices)
Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

1. Combine tomato paste with all your spices, oil, garlic and honey/sugar
2. Add the warm/hot water and mix ’til smooth
3. Let sit for 30 minutes
4. Pour a glass of wine and let the children run amuck (this is a great time to add either the kale or spinach that you ran through the blender with a little olive oil)
5. Add the parmesan cheese and mix.

Voila! Homemade Pizza sauce!

Now it’s pizza time

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature identified by the crust makers.
2. Add a little olive oil to your crust (Daddy Fuselier prefers a decadent garlic butter).
3. Spoon on that yummy pizza sauce that would make Julia Child want to slap her mama.
4. Add the cheese. Mozzarella, Italian blend, whatever, just pile it on. No one likes a diet pizza.
5. Add your toppings (set yourself up for meatless success with 3-5 bowls of fun colorful toppings that can be used to make designs on your pizza – spiders like we did, maybe a face, maybe a rainbow, use your imagination!)

        Topping options

• olives (black or green – Whole Foods has some green olives that are a revelation – even the kids will eat them)
• cherry tomatoes (I have been really into an heirloom variety that are all sorts of colors)
• sweet bell peppers cut into slices
• jalapeños (we like it spicy over here!)
• mushrooms
• purple onion

And, if all they want is cheese … no big deal because you snuck greens into the sauce. SUCKERS!!!!

      6. Stick the pizza in the oven for 15-20 minutes and repeat Step 4 from the Sauce recipe – “pour a glass of wine and let the kids run amuck.”

See!

Meatless meals don’t have to be boring or weird!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of 7 for another yummy meatless adventure!

How did it come out?

Comment with the hashtag #meatlessmama!