Freshman Fifteen

I'm taking over the Bachelor Nutrition Series. Yes, Eric is a bachelor. But he's always someone's bachelor; as such, he's carefully tended and well fed. The Simple Nutrition Series (its new name) should be geared toward those who know something about the body and, as such, desire nutritious fare but who, for whatever reason, find themselves independent, and culinarily challenged for a spell.
 
Proper equipment, fresh ingredients, adaptable recipes, sufficient time and talent -- all components of good nutrition -- are in short supply when one finds herself alone, on a big college campus, in a dorm room, hungry for both food and companionship. Yes, the hot pot is small consolation, and stands in the way of starvation. But wouldn't it be great if a moveable feast was a genuine possibility? If the way to the heart is truly through the stomach, shouldn't a girl come prepared for the journey?

My lovely Julia graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School this weekend. [Slight brag fest: Cheyenne is a Blue Ribbon School -- one of only 33 in the nation -- selected from a pool of 28,000 public and private high schools!] While Julia was voted Most Likely to Win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Best Sense of Humor -- both make me so happy! -- she did not win the Next Rachael Ray title. So begins my Fifteen Freshman Recipes Cookbook.

Freshman Fifteen #1 -- Tortilla pizzas
I will not sing the praises of the lard/bleached-flour combo known as the tortilla. Pure dreck if you ask me. But, in a pinch, it can be the foundation for a nutritious gourmet pizza.

The PRESTO Pizzazz Pizza Oven is a stand-alone device that can cook a fresh or frozen pizza in minutes. We experimented with it tonight and discovered a few nutritious alternatives to Totino's, using flour tortillas as our crust.

I placed the following items along the counter:
marinara sauce
olive oil
chopped fresh garlic
chopped fresh cilantro
chopped fresh basil
chopped fresh spinach
black beans
sliced black olives
turkey pepperoni
sliced roma tomatoes
sliced green pepper
sliced green onions
pineapple tidbits
shredded cheddar
shredded mozzarella
shredded swiss

We used the above ingredients in various tasty combinations and had a really lovely time of it.

A few combinations we discovered:
-black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, cheddar
-olive oil, spinach, garlic, basil, swiss
-marinara, pepperoni, pineapple, black olives, mozzarella

Each pizza took about six minutes, was chock full of fresh ingredients, and ended up crisp and delicious. Not exactly haute cuisine, but definitely a step up from the Top Ramen of my era!