Recipe:
Unlike traditional pizza, this “pizza” has a crispy polenta crust, fresh vegetables, and a savory cashew topping. Cashews are a source of zinc, a mineral that offers beauty benefits for skin, hair, and nails. They also contain arginine, an amino acid which boosts circulation to make your skin glow. Tomatoes are one of my top ten beauty foods, as they are an excellent source of the anti-aging antioxidant lycopene.
This is a really easy recipe to make and it has lots of flavors and textures. The polenta crust gets crispy on the outside but is still soft on the inside. The cashew topping makes a great vegan “parmesan cheese” because it has a cheesy flavor from the nutritional yeast.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 18 oz tube pre-cooked polenta
1⁄4 cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1⁄2 cup basil, chopped
Instructions:
In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and slightly browned. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
In a food processor, combine cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt until a coarse meal is achieved.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape and press polenta into a flat circle like a pizza crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top this “crust” with the sautéed onions and garlic, cashew topping, and tomato slices. Bake for another 30 minutes. Top with chopped basil and slice.
Yields: 2 servings
Per serving: 339 calories, 11.3 g protein, 54.5 g carbohydrates, 6.1 g fiber, 9.8 g sugars, 8.6 g fat, 1.4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1096 mg sodium, 65.3 mg calcium, 0 g omega-3 fats, 1841.5 IU vitamin A, 36.2 mg vitamin C, 0.4 mg vitamin E, 2.7 mg iron, 0.5 mg zinc
Lisa Drayer, M.A., R.D.,
is the author of THE BEAUTY DIET and STRONG, SLIM, and 30! For more of Lisa’s Beauty Bites, visit www.lisadrayer.com.