Grainless Taco Pizza

What happens when it's #TacoTuesday but you have a huge craving for pizza? Taco Pizza, obviously!

Before you guys think this holistic nutritionist has gone totally bonkers by combining two typically junk food-like foods, hear me out – this Taco Pizza is 100% gluten-free, grain-free and whole foods-based!

Yup - this is what happens when a whole foods lover and a 100% grainless blogger spend a Sunday together in the kitchen and get down to business!

I'm excited to bring you the first recipe of a mini recipe collaboration series that I did with Becka Crowe of Going Grainless. Becka and I were connected through my twin sister (they went to university together) and met for a friendly blind date at Veg Food Fest shortly after. From there, it was all Raw Aura dates, food talk and now Sunday cooking frenzies!

I wanted to bring you guys something new and fresh to excite your palette. It's also important to me that the recipes I provide for you are simple, not too fancy-pants and relatively simple to pull off with the ingredients in your home. As a holistic nutritionist, it's even more important to be able to show you how you can still enjoy some of your favourite comfort foods in a healthified way.

Becka took more of the lead on this one in developing the Taco Pizza idea in itself and of course the grainless crust, given that she has mastered many grainless pizza crusts and breads in the past (trust me, it's a good thing that job wasn't left to me). You can just ask my Mom about all of the recipe fails I've had in the past when it came to baked goods or coconut flour. Don't even get me started on the coconut flour. That's one thing Becka and I agreed on from the get go – we weren't going to mess with coconut flour. We weren't emotionally ready for the potential/inevitable heartbreak that comes about when playing around with coconut flour.

Another fun ingredient we squeezed into this deliciousness is Walnut Meat! Walnut meat is actually quite simple (despite the fact that it sounds super hippie-dippie and intimidating). All it takes is ground walnuts, chilli powder and tamari! Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom! You can certainly make this pizza with organic ground chicken, turkey, diced chicken breast or simply leave it veggie, but we were in the mood to go to town with this 'za!

The best thing about this pizza (aside from its incredible taste) is that it doesn't leave you with that too-fully, icky, belly-aching feeling. It's packed with so much fibre and protein from the hemp seed and ground flax-based crust and packed with loads of fun veggies on top.

Fun Fact (sorry if you hate me for this Becka), after Becka and I started noshing on our first slice, she continued to shoot her share of the photos when I saw little droplets of "water" appear on the blackboard we had the pizza on. I was so confused and said out loud "What's dripping?" I didn't think we made a greasy 'za you'd pick up on your street corner. Turns out, it was Becka's drool droplets from eating her pizza while shooting! And of course, that led to about a 20-minute uncontrollable laugh attack. Thankfully, none of it made it's way into the pizza, although I shamelessly might have gone ahead and ate it anyway. Yes, it was THAT GOOD.

I'm excited to continue recycling this grainless pizza crust recipe for many pizzas and other bread-based creations to come. You could do so many different things with it from bruschetta, pesto pizza, breakfast pizza, a dip with "pita" or simply leave it as the delicious Taco Pizza that it is!

We have a few more recipes coming your way over the next month in the way of smoothies and salads. Got any future requests? Post in the comments! This won't be the last of Rachel and Going Grainless collaborations. Be sure to give Becka some love over on her Instagram – your belly and taste buds will be glad you did!

Grainless Taco Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

• 3/4 cup hemp seeds

• 1/4 cup ground flax

• 1/2 cup tapioca starch

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• pinch of sea salt

Walnut Meat
Feel free to skip this and use organic ground chicken, turkey or beef

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1 tsp tamari

• 1.5 tbsp chilli powder

• 1 tsp cumin

Toppings

• 1/3 cup salsa

• 3/4 cup goat cheddar

• 5-7 cherry tomatoes, sliced

• 1/2 green pepper, sliced

• 1 jalapeno, sliced

• 1/4 cup black beans

• 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Avocado Drizzle
Feel free to simply place sliced avocado on top

• 1 avocado

• 2 tbsp lime juice

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a pizza stone or baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add hemp, flax seed and tapioca starch to a food processor. Pulse a few times until most of the hemp pieces are gone.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine hemp seed, flax seed and tapioca starch. Mix well, then stir in eggs, apple cider vinegar and baking soda.

4. Roll the dough into a ball with our hands and place it in the centre of the pizza stone. Flatten and shape the dough with your hands. *Note* Wetting your hands with cold water makes it easier to work with. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. While the crust is baking, prepare the walnut meat or your preferred protein alternative. Place all walnut meat ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until crumbly (don't pulse for too long, or else it will turn into butter!)

6. Remove the crust from the oven, then spread salsa on as a flat layer for the sauce. Top with goat cheddar, then add tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeño, black beans and walnut meat. Place back in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the crust begins to turn golden.

7. To make the avocado drizzle, add all ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Alternatively, simply slice avocado and lay pieces on top of pizza.

8. When the pizza is done baking, add cilantro and pipe avocado drizzle on top or lay the avocado slices on top at this time.

What's your favourite way to dress a pizza?