Paleo Survival Recipe—Pizza Peppers

Guest writer, Elissa, shares her favorite Paleo pizza creation with us. Thanks Elissa – we can’t wait to try this one! 

When beginning with Paleo I was overwhelmed.  What was I to do with all the new information I have learned with the new cooking staples in my pantry?  These things I had not experience with, could I even call them staples?  I knew I had a task laid before me if I were to survive this much needed lifestyle transformation.

I will be the first to admit, I don’t follow rules and directions well.  Unlike my mother who strict follows every recipe down to the last granule, I cool and bake with my gut.  Recipes are simply for time, temp, and ingredient suggestions that you can take or leave.  When I am creating something delicious there is a thing that happen inside of me, something magical turns on and more often than not the thing that results is a culinary delight.

PIZZA……who doesn’t love PIZZA?!  A favorite American treat loved by many from the time they could ingest until the time they can do so no longer.  Pizza…..one of the very first things I knew I was going to have to get down right, there was no way I could or wanted to go without it.

When it came to creating the delicious I knew I was going to have to dissect the recipe full of wheat and dairy to determine what exactly is was that made pizza so desirable.

Crust:  Even as a child, I never had much use for the stuff.  It was just like a plate for the gooey goodness.  Who eats the plate?

Cheese:  Oh cheese how I loved thee, but cheese in all of its gooey glory was in NO WAY worth the grumbling in my tummy (insert vision of Winnie the Pooh).

Things of Importance:  Meat, vegetables, and the amazing sauce with its desirable seasoning.

What was a girl to do?  I had absolutely no desire to Paleoize (to make a food dish that is in no way Paleo include Paleo ingredients; these are often high in natural sugars, nuts, and starches), resembled a crust. I try to steer clear of Paleoizing anything, to me, often takes away the deliciousness and nutritious things Paleo offers.  There had to be a simple way, some sort a vessel.

As I stared blankly into my fridge searching for an answer, there is stood in its green glory!  A green pepper!  Of course it made sense, so simple, a green pepper with bowl potential.  Not a new theory, stuffed peppers have been around for decades!  All of the AMAZING pizza toppings stuffed inside of a common topping itself.  No wheat or dairy and nothing was Paleoized in the creation.  Simple ingredients, combined.

cheesy note:  Cheese.  For me it was nearly impossible to give up completely.  But I simply refused to allow non-food, man-made chemicals to enter my clean body.  I went on a hunt for a treat in hopes of what I found didn’t cause any digestive distress.  On my hunt I found raw cheddar cheese.  Cheese with no unnatural ingredients made out of raw, unpasteurized milk.  I gave it a whirl and to my surprise there was NO digestive issues!  Now from time to time when I stray the non-dairy path I indulge in raw cheeses from cows, sheep, or goats.