Ceci est une recette pour la pizza, or The Pita Pizza Photoshoot

Every month, my work comes out with a newsletter for our clients, and every newsletter I like to share a recipe, along with the article. Obviously the recipe will require a photo, which gives me an excuse to try it out and make some last minute tweaks.

For February, instead of going for the obvious theme of Heart Month, we decided to go with a family health theme, as Alberta celebrates its Family Day on the second Monday in February (this year, it's February 15th). For my article specifically, I chose to focus on picky eating, and for my recipe, this quick and easy "pizza".


Pizza is a pretty kid-friendly food that can be made a little healthier if you make it yourself. Making your own crust can be a lot of work, so putting it on a whole wheat pita saves time and may help cut a few calories - a pita is usually less dense than crust anyway. I love the idea of laying out some ingredients and letting the kids have fun with it - they'll be more likely to eat their own creations and they get to touch and taste the raw ingredients (though you should make sure any meats are cooked) which could help with picky eating as well.


I must say that it did help with this "picky eater" here - I've never liked olives, though I'm the type of person who will try them every once in a while to make sure that I still don't like them. Recently I'd moved up to being "OK with having them in things", but here I tried a whole black olive by itself and... I think I like them.


Of course I would never buy olives myself or have them in my home - B. was kind enough to lend out his space, his ramekins, his cutting board, his time, his stomach, his olives, etc. and we did the "photoshoot" at his place. Being the photography buff that he is, he also shot some photos of his own on his DSLR - if he ever puts them up anywhere I'll let you know.

I should also note that this recipe is appropriate for kids of all ages - B. and I ended up eating a whole bag of pitas worth of pizzas over the weekend!

Pita Pizzas

• Whole wheat pitas
  
• Homemade tomato sauce (Recipe here)
  
• Toppings - i.e. Cheese (cheddar, feta, provolone, etc.), Mushrooms, Olives, Onions, Peppers (banana, bell, hot, etc.), Pineapple, Spinach, Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Lean Ground Meat, Chicken Breast, etc... we used honey ham, but I would suggest avoiding deli meats if possible ;)
  
• Mozzarella cheese (preferably low-fat), grated
  

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375°F (190°C).
   
2. Spread 2-3 heaping tablespoons of tomato sauce over pita. (The homemade sauce is chunky! If you're using store-bought, you can probably get away with less.)
   
3. Add desired toppings and top with grated cheese.
   
4. Place pizza on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into slices before serving if desired.