A Healthy Guilt-Free Pizza Recipe for the New Year

I’m all about carbs but as a vegetarian (at times pescetarian) I have been trying to keep my carb intake low because too much isn’t a good thing. As such, I know that sometimes I like to just throw a frozen pizza in the oven and be done with it, especially after a long day of work, am I right? With the New Year upon us comes resolutions and self-awareness, and that’s why I wanted to share with you one of my fave recipes I learned to make from 2016. Read on for what it is.

This is seriously one of the healthiest pizza recipes you can dare to make, I customized it just a bit to take out the pancetta and instead substituted mushrooms. It tasted delicious, but if you’re a meat eater, I’m sure the pancetta tastes great too. This Butternut Squash Pizza is from The Food Gays who make amazing (and healthy!) meals that you can make in a few steps. Here are the details to make your own butternut squash pizza.

Ingredients:

1 prepared or fresh pizza dough 2 cups steamed butternut squash, pureed 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 cup sunflower oil salt and pepper, to taste

6-8 slices pancetta 6-8 sage leaves 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella, torn

Method:

Heat oven to 400. Toast pine nuts 3-5 minutes, just until they become golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a food processor, combine butternut squash puree, garlic powder, sunflower oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Blitz until smooth, then set aside.

Spread 3-4 tablespoons of puree on the pizza dough, leaving half an inch or so for the crust. Spread the mixture around evenly with a back of a spoon. Bake in the oven uncovered for 15-17 minutes, or until the crust begins to brown.

Meanwhile, heat up a frying pan on medium. Cook pancetta until crispy, then use the oil to crisp up the sage. Set aside.

Once 15-17 minutes has passed, remove the pizza from the oven. Top with crispy pancetta and dot with fresh mozzarella. Bake for another 2-3 minutes, until cheese, has melted. Top with crispy sage and toasted pine nuts and serve immediately.

And there you have it, bon appetit!