12 Weeks & Pledge to Be Veg

Well, there are officially 12 weeks until the Boston Marathon.  That also means that I begin training TODAY!  Today also marks the start of the Pledge to Be Veg 30-Day Challenge.  As I said before, for 30 days I will:

…refrain completely from the following food items:

• Meat
• Fish
• Poultry

…I will moderately consume:

• Eggs
• Dairy products  (milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc.)

Yes, I did make a slight change.  Before I said that I would not consume cow’s milk at all, but now I decided that I would moderately consume it.  I am really looking forward to this challenge to see if the change in my eating style will have a positive effect on me.  I was glad to see that some of my readers will be joining me through this 30-day challenge!  

Last night for dinner, I made homemade pizza.  Pizza is no doubt about it one of my favorite meals.  It had been a while since I had made my own pizza so I was very excited.  For the dough, I use Jenna’s recipe.  She uses part whole-wheat and part white flour.  It’s the best dough that I have tried thus far.  

For the sauce, I make my own sauce.  The recipe that I have posted  on my blog is for pasta sauce.  The only difference is that I will add Oregano for pizza sauce.

My favorite combination is Broccoli, Spinach, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, & Parmesan.  So good…and in my mind, healthy!

So here is the process of making the pizza:

• Make the dough.
• Make the Sauce.
• Roll the dough out.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Place Pizza dough onto Pizza Stone dusted with corn meal in preheated oven.
• Cook for a few minutes & remove from oven.  
• Place tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice on dough.
• Place back into oven and cook until crispy!  This does not take long at all…less than 10 minutes.

Along with the pizza, I made one of my favorite salads…Baby Spinach, Candied Pecans, Pink Lady Apples &  Feta Cheese tossed in a mixture of Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Salt & Pepper.

 The perfect dinner!

I will also give you the recipe for the Candied Pecans.  You can find them pre-packaged in your food store but there are so many added ingredients that you might as well just make them yourself!  They are so simple to make.  

Candied Pecans

• Sugar
• Pecans
• Salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 5-10 minutes making sure not to burn them.  Put about a 1/4 of a cup of sugar in a pan and cook over medium heat stirring frequently.  When the sugar begins to melt dump the pecans into the pan and stir until melted sugar is evenly distributed.  Pour on a plate and allow to cool.

*Note:  Unfortunately, I did not take pictures (except for pecans), so these pictures are from when I made this same meal back in the summer!