Clean Eating Meat Lovers Pizza (and dough!)

We've read so many negative things lately about food doing our whole CLEAN EATING CHALLENGE that I wanted to throw in a couple of recipes to show you how normal food is totally possible. Pizza is a favorite around here (as I'm sure it is everywhere?) that I even found ways to eat during my gluten-free season. I still have to eat it without cheese, but it's really just as delicious, believe it or not! Especially when loaded with the good stuff! Making pizza at home (dough included) is really easy. Often I make huge batches at once and freeze them in pizza sized portions. If you toss the dough in the fridge, it should that within 24h or less. I wanted to share my current favorite dough recipe and how we turned it into a meat lovers pizza that was still clean! 

DOUGH*:

4 c. organic whole wheat flour (I use either bread or pastry, which can be purchased at whole foods)

4 tsp. yeast

4 tbs olive oil 

1 tsp. sea salt + more for the crust edge

3 large cloves of garlic, minced/chopped/pressed

1 tbs. organic seasoning mix**

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1.5 c. hot water

Mix all ingredients together. Roll dough into a ball, place in a bowl and cover to allow it to rise until it has doubled in size (45-60m). 

**You can purchase organic seasoning anywhere these days, including Meijer. If you can't find an organic Italian mix, create your own by combining basil, onion powder, oregano, thyme and rosemary. 

*This recipe is enough for a large pizza to feed a family of 4. If you have less people or want a thinner crust, halve the recipe. 

*** this recipe was adapted from the book Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson

On to the toppings! First, I sauteed 1/4 of a white onion and 3 large baby bellas (both chopped) in a pan with a little olive oil and ground pepper. Once they were looking good, I added 1 lb of organic ground chicken + 4 strips of Applegate Organic bacon. You don't really need this much meat, but I wanted to make extra so that half could be used for a pasta dinner the next night. Maximizing time. However- if you like your pizza super topped, use the full portion. 

You can use any meat you'd like, as long as it's organic. Applegate organics has a large selection, including sausages! Ham, turkey, whatever you want! I haven't seen organic pepperoni, though. 

Once your toppings are ready, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and roll out your dough to the desired thickness. I like to treat the edges of the dough to flavor them. Usually this means sprinkling some fleur-de-sel around the edges, but you can substitute sea salt in a grinder. Rubbing in fresh pressed garlic, ground pepper or even a little onion powder is delicious. For extra points, use a brush to put melted Kerrygold or organic butter around the edges before adding spices!

Next we throw on some organic pizza or spaghetti sauce, which can be found in most groceries these days. Meijer has their own brand that's very inexpensive! One side has cheese (organic, self shredded is the cleanest you'll get) and the other half is without because of my allergy. If you want the pizza to be more clean, omit the cheese entirely. It really is still good!

Pop your pizza in the oven for about 30 minutes, less if your dough was spread thinly and more for thick crush. Check it around 25 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.

Here's my cheese-free slice. I already miss it. Yum.
If you have any clean eating recipes to share, feel free to post below! All the best, and as always, thanks for reading!