Prana Lover’s Pizza
Do you often feel bloated, heavy, and icky after eating pizza? Well, it’s time to try a new recipe that will leave you feeling nourished! Maybe you’ll wanna climb a mountain after a fresh slice of Prana Lover’s Pizza.
The reasons traditional Western pizza isn’t so kind to our agni is because of the excessively salted cheeses being used, the mixture of heavy cheeses with heavy meats (poor food combos), as well as our nightshade friend tomato with cheese which is another Ayurvedic suggested no no.
Here’s more context:
This combination is simply too taxing for the digestive fire. A nightshade is a common name for a member of the plant family Solanaceae, which includes potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cayenne peppers, paprika, tobacco, henbane, belladonna, datura, and over 2,500 other plants.
Nightshades contain alkaloids, primarily as a means of defense against being damaged by insects. The alkaloids can be anywhere from mildly to fatally toxic to humans. As a result, diverse cultures around the world have long held an intriguing relationship with the nightshade family. Some have been used to make poisons, some contain incredibly addictive compounds such as nicotine, some are mind-altering, and others create an incredible sensation of heat in the mouth.
The bottom line is that nightshades contain a complex array of compounds that, once ingested, lead to a potentially dramatic cascade of chemical reactions in the body. Ayurvedically speaking, all nightshades are believed to be somewhat difficult to digest and to have the capacity to disturb the doshas.
When we mix these inherently challenging nightshades with cheese—which is heavy, oily, and also difficult to digest—we can quickly overtax the digestive fire.
Together these ingredients create a hot mess! Do you want to feel like a hot mess? Didn’t think so…
Prana Lover’s Pizza:
Serves 2
Preparation time: 20 - 45 minutes
The dough:
AUGMENTING
1 1/2 cup of whole grain wheat flour or any other flour you so wish.
1/2 tsp of mineral salt
That is it. Add some water and roll it out, add some herbs if you’d like to get fancy! There is no need to use leavening agents. Yeast for example causes fermentation in the digestive tract. Baking soda aggravates vata dosha!
The sauce:
EXTRACTIVE
1/4 cup of soaked overnight nuts of your choice, I like using almonds or Brazil nuts! Almonds are great for building ojas! Make sure to take the skin off your almonds for easier digestion.
A mini handful of fresh cilantro
A mini handful of fresh basil
1/4 tsp of fresh ginger
1/4 tsp of fresh turmeric root
1/4 tsp of caraway
1/4 tsp of coriander
1/8 tsp of fenugreek
1/4 tsp of salt
4 tsp of sesame oil or ghee
3-4 tbsp of water
Blend all these beautiful ingredients up and there you have it! No-mato sauce!
The toppings:
AUGMENTING VEG
Beets, carrots, sweet potato, Zucchini
EXTRACTIVE VEG
Cabbage, spinach, kale
Get creative here! I love using seasonal veggies like asparagus in the spring, carrots and beets in the fall and zucchini in the summer.
Use one handful of an augmenting and extractive veggie for each person.
Have a pan ready to give the veggies some flavour and love!
Here’s how:
4 tsp of ghee
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of thyme
2 pinches of rosemary
1/4 mustard seed
1/4 tsp of cumin
A small handful of fresh cilantro
Heat spices until aroma is present, throw in the veggies, give them a quick cook and glaze for no more than 5 minutes, toss the fresh cilantro in there!
CHEESE
I know we like to go a little extra on the cheese, but moderation in all aspects of life is how we stay balanced. So keep it light and simple. Top with a fresh cheese such as goat cheese, paneer, or a fresh mozzarella. Aged cheeses aggravate pitta dosha (too salty).
1/8 a cup is just fine!
Next Steps:
Have your wonderful dough all ready to go, layer that oh-so-yummy sauce evenly. Add the wonderfully spiced vegetables on top with the fresh cheese to follow. Et voila!
Bake Time:
Preheat oven to 425 F, and pop that pizza in the oven for 13 minutes or so. It will have a delicious, thin, and crunchy but soft texture and it will leave you feeling whole and staying wholesome.
Happy eating & healing!
