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Chef Wendell: Healthy tacos and pizza

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Everybody loves taco’s and pizza: the most common American fast-foods. While $1 tacos and cheesy pizza slices are temptingly delicious, cheap and easy processed food probably isn’t worth risking your health. Make nutritious, unique wraps and pizza crust at home with fresh, vitamin-packed zucchini and other healthful ingredients for a familiar favorite.

Chef Wendell says:

  • When you prepare cook at home, you can control the quality of the ingredients and create health.
  • Eating close to earth allows yourself to be a little more you.
  • When you change the way you look at food, you change your life

1st segment: A display of the finished product. What is in a taco / tortilla wrap? What’s in pizza dough? Preparing zucchini soft taco shells and pizza crust for the oven.

2nd segment: Assembling pizza and filling tacos. Zucchini shells vitamin nutrition content.

· Typical restaurant or fast food tacos and pizza can be loaded with fat calories.

· Pizza crust is typically made with refined AP flour, sodium, unhealthy fats, and preservatives.

· Eating AP flour increases your risk for a riskier type of abdominal fat called visceral abdominal fat according to “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” in November 2010

· Visceral abdominal fat increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer according to Harvard Medical School

· Grocery taco wraps: Enriched wheat flour, canola or soybean, salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, potassium sorbate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium propionate, monoglycerides, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, fumaric acid, cellulose gum, carrageenan, maltodextrin.

Tips:

  • Keep it simple when you order fast food.
  • Pizza: choose fresh veggies for your pizza.
  • Less cheese and bacon
  • Pizza: whole wheat crust when available.
  • Tacos: omit extra cheese and sour cream.
  • Tacos: salsa, beans, cilantro, guacamole, Pico de Gallo.
  • Eat smaller portions.

Zucchini soft taco shells or pizza crust

  • 3 cups. grated zucchini (about 3 small zucchinis)
  • Himalayan salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cups grated low-fat mozzarella or Daiya non-dairy mozzarella cheese
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp. oregano leaves
  • 2 tbsp. ground flax or chia seed
  • Parchment paper

· Heat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put zucchini in a strainer and lightly salt. Let sit in the sink or over a bowl to squeeze and drain as much moisture as possible, about 20 minutes. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

· In a large bowl, mix zucchini, almond flour, oregano, flax or chia, cheese, egg, and garlic powder. Season with pepper.

· For soft tacos: Scoop 1/4-cup portions of onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, then press each gently down until 1/8-inch thick. Bake until shells are lightly browned and crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.

· Fill tacos with pinto beans, salsa, sliced avocado and guacamole.

· For pizza crust: Transfer “dough” to parchment-lined baking sheet and pat into a crust. Bake until golden and dried out, 25 minutes.

· Spread pizza sauce over crust then top with more mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted and crust is crispy, about 10 minutes more.

· Garnish with red pepper flakes and basil.

Don’t forget, you can learn from the Chef himself at the Irsay Family YMCA at CityWay Teaching Kitchen on February 22 at 6 p.m.