Heart Healthy Pizza: Review + Cookbook Giveaway!

I first mentioned Heart Healthy Pizza: Over 100 Recipes for the Most Nutritious Pizza in the World on my blog last week. Now I want to tell you more about this breakthrough cookbook (and also give you the chance to win a free copy!)

Heart Healthy Pizza is the first and only cookbook dedicated to the fine art and science of making vegan pizza.  In this book, author Mark Sutton guides the reader on how to make a variety of innovative crusts, sauces, and toppings, with separate sections in the book dedicated to each component. Heart Healthy Pizza has been five years in the making – I know this because I’ve been in touch with Mark as he was developing his book, so I know firsthand how much effort he has put into it.

All of the plant-based recipes contain no added oil and many of the crusts are gluten-free.  The toppings and sauces are made with a wide variety of vegetables, grains, beans, and other plant-based ingredients and include many “cheesy” sauces in a variety of textures and flavors. Sauces include a Quinoa, Artichokes, and Dijon Mustard Sauce, shown in the top photo (photo by Valerie Wagner); as well as a Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Chiles Sauce shown here:

There is also a chapter devoted to innovative pizza creations made with different combinations of the crusts, sauces, and toppings.  Readers are encouraged to “mix and match” the various components, allowing for seemingly infinite variety.  The recipes are super-nutritious, cost-effective, easy to make, and delicious. 

If you like the idea of making delicious, inexpensive, no-added oil, plant-based pizza, then you’ll love Heart Healthy Pizza -- Mark Sutton's gift to vegan pizza-lovers.  You can buy the book direct at HeartHealthyPizza -- where you can also see more pizza photos (there are no photos in the book) -- or you can buy it through Amazon.  Below is a sample recipe from the book for the Millet, Sunflower Seeds, and Oregano Sauce shown in this photo: 

(Note: Recipe and photos ©2012 by Mark Sutton.)

Millet, Sunflower Seeds, and Oregano Sauce

For the sauce:

1 cup cooked millet

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 T. corn starch

2 T. dried crushed oregano

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup water

Pizza dough
Toppings of choice

METHOD:

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients except the sunflower seeds and water in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times, gradually adding the seeds and water until the mixture can be processed into a smooth and thick pancake batter-like consistency.
 2. Pour the sauce over prepared dough and pizza toppings, then bake at 425 to 450 degrees F. (depending upon your oven) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe makes a very thick sauce. As blobs on top of the pizza, it is reminiscent of raw mozzarella slices on a Margherita-style pizza. Works well for one 12" to 14" pizza.

• Soaking the sunflower seeds for 2 to 4 hours, then draining, will make the sauce a bit more fluffy in texture.

COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY:

And now one lucky winner will have a chance to win a copy of Heart Healthy Pizza.  Here’s what you need to do:  Leave a comment at the end of this post telling me what your favorite pizza topping is.  That’s it!

For extra chances to win, do any or all of the following and then leave a separate comment for each, telling me what you’ve done:

* Mention this giveaway and link to it on Facebook.

* Mention this giveaway and link to it on Twitter.

* Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

* Friend me on Facebook.

* Subscribe to my blog.

The contest closes Sunday night 2/26 at midnight.  A winner will be chosen at random and announced on this blog on Monday morning. Enter now: What’s YOUR favorite pizza topping?