Easy Peasy Pita Pizzas

Meal Prep - A First Attempt

Hi guys, long time no type, hope all is well.

Good?

Good.

Me? Oh I’m chugging along just fine and dandy thank you very much.

*cricket chirping ensues*

Well now that we’ve caught up let’s play a quick game of ‘how do the two following words make your soul feel?’

Meal. Prep.

If your answer was either ‘dead inside’ or ‘what the hell is meal prep you complete and utter cretin?’ then you may be reading the right post. You see fellow food enthusiasts, I too have a lot of negative and confused emotions towards the subject and if you’ll like to take a second and sit right there I’ll tell you how I became a prince of a town called bel air for why.

Firstly, in case you don’t know, meal prep is a term used A LOT in the fitness industry as a way to describe when somebody sets aside a good couple of their hours on a certain day of the week to pre-prepare a large sum of their meals for the next 3-7 days in order to help them stay on track in the ever challenging battle to eat ‘healthily’. I completely get that this is a great method to help you in the long run in the sense that it means you can constantly have access to good wholesome food throughout the week and so will hopefully be less likely to rely on overly processed foods out of convenience. I mean why would you reach for Mcvities if you had some healthy home-made cookie dough in the fridge right?

Inner dark voice: ‘Because it’s Mcvities, fool’.

‘Quiet you.’

Anyway, the concept and the time saving aspect of meal prep alone get’s me nodding along like one of those plastic dogs you would normally see in the back of a car window. Oh yes, Oh yes. Me like the idea. Me like very much.

BUT (and it’s a Nicki Minaj-sized but at that), there is one problem that almost can’t be overlooked. I am the kind of person who doesn’t really like eating the same thing in a row more than twice at a push. Even if I love something, I am constantly trying to shake up my diet e.g. I eat porridge multiple times a week its true but it’s always in a variety of different forms ranging from chocolate-peanut butter swirled to peppermint latte flavour. Basically the main problem boils down to that I get bored quite easily. I put this down to a child-like whimsy but I’m pretty sure that everybody else puts it down to something called terminal flitty-ism. It may not be a documented condition (yet) but I know that if there does end up being a pandemic of it, I’m definitely the cause. Sorry.  

So in order to find a way to make meal prepping a little more exciting yet still time effective  I decided to find something to make at the weekend which would be healthy and delicious but versatile enough to stop me getting bored of eating it. After flicking through a Waitrose magazine (probably the closest I’ll actually ever come to Waitrose) I became inspired by none other than a pita pizza recipe. It’s easy, customizable and you can make a bunch at once and stash them away in the freezer for complete convenience. Bloody helly, get in my belly.

 As opposed to an actual recipe, here are some more loose guidelines on how to make them, but do whatever works best for you. That’s what’s good about pizza; it can be whatever you want it to be.

Level 1 – Base

I went for 6 whole-wheat pita breads for my first attempt at meal prepping. Being quick, easy and relatively wholesome are all good things in my book, plus with the whole wheat variety there is the added benefit of the fibre. I got mine from Asda because that’s just how I do but any pita will work. I also pre-baked them in the oven at 350 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes to get them a bit crispy to prevent them getting soggy when they get baked with the toppings. Another trick (if like me you love garlic enough to be able to kill Edward Cullen just by breathing at him) is to rub a piece of peeled, raw garlic over the pita before you start building up your layers. It’s strong, packs one hell of a flavour punch and I personally love it. Yay! Garlic or social contact… There really isn’t a competition.   

Level 2 - Sauce

250ml (1/2 carton) passata. Tip: I sometimes add 1 tsp truvia or a pinch of stevia into the passata to help to off the acrid edge that sieved tomatoes can sometimes have.

Not feeling like tomato as a base – no worries, why not opt for pesto? Curry sauce? Hummus? BBQ sauce? Avocado? Even pureed sweet potato or pumpkin, if it spreads, it can go on pizza! Also, feel free to add in a range of herbs and spices to your sauce. It’s always good to make your own condiments when you can as that way you can be in complete control of what goes into your food and it’s also not as hard as you might think e.g. some added sweetening agent, smoked paprika, cumin, chilli powder and garlic granules will transform any basic tomato base into hot Texan BBQ gold – don’t be afraid to experiment. Also I would only use 2-3 tbsp of sauce per pita as too much can result in a soggy bottom that even Mary Berry wouldn’t be able to forgive.

Level 3 – Toppings

I try to go by the concept that veggies are always welcome in a meal and have started embracing them more like a mother would her first-born. Mushrooms, onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, courgettes, aubergines, sweet corn, broccoli, sprouts, kale, any you can think of. I know it sounds a bit sacrilegious, (broccoli?!) but remember someone was bold enough to put pineapple on pizza at some point and well, that person probably now lives in an enchanted cloud over Hawaii.

Some protein is also always welcome on a pizza be it chicken, turkey, beef mince, bacon, eggs, seafood, sausage or fish and for vegan friendly options - quorn mince, tofu and beans are also all good filling options.

Level 4 - Binding agent

This is really just a fancy way of saying cheese. Whilst most pizzas usually stick cheese on after the sauce, I like to add it last to help glue down the toppings and ensure all the veggies are covered up (handy for picky eaters). Reduced/low fat cheeses are good options, however don’t shy away from the full fat kind if it’s what you enjoy, just be aware of how much you use. I usually prefer a lower fat cheese on the basis that you can add a little bit more without the excess calories. Don’t get me wrong, when ordering from Dominoes I’m all bout dat fat, but when at home and eating pizza daily, it makes me feel a lot less guilty by lightening it up a little. I usually eye-ball the cheese with a sprinkling or so but if you don’t trust either tour judgement or your cheese urges than feel free to weigh it out so you know what portions you’re working with. Also, again for the vegans out there (I’m sure you already know this but if you don’t thank the lord you are reading this) Nutritional yeast flakes are a wonderful way of getting that cheesy flavour into dishes such as this along with a good old dose of vitamin B12. They’re basically just a deactivated form of yeast meaning they’re no longer ‘alive’ and can be found in many health food shops or online (I got mine from Amazon).  

Once created to your liking, simply place in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees Celsius in order to cook the toppings down and ensure the cheese (if using) is delectably melted and gooey. What would the Italians say?

Buon Appetito!

Thanks Google.