Pizza Bagels for a Special Occasion
Who doesn’t love pizza? It’s one of those favorite comfort foods that can feel hard to let go of when you start changing your diet for your health. I often get asked as a health practitioner, “But what about pizza?”
The truth is—you don’t have to leave it behind completely. With a few mindful swaps, you can still enjoy something that feels pizza-like, but in a way that’s gentler on your body and supportive of your healing journey.
I like to make meals like this on special occasions, for example when we have guests or when my family is craving some mindful comfort foods. Pairing it with a simple green salad and topping the bagel with vegetables means that this recipe incorporates healing foods that help balance the plant-based cheese and bagel.
On this particular occasion, my daughters had some friends over, and it was a fun and nourishing meal to share together. These pizza bagels are good and help satisfy that pizza craving.
What’s in This Recipe
This recipe is made without dairy and gluten. From a Medical Medium® perspective, gluten and dairy are level 1 troublemaker foods which means that they, more than any other type of food, will feed pathogens in the body that underlies disease and chronic illness. That is why it is so important to find alternatives!
This pizza bagel starts with gluten-free millet bagels from Sami’s Bakery. They’re made without industrial ingredients and are one of the cleanest options I’ve found and for this reason I recommend their products. However it is important to note that recipes are apt to change and to always double check product ingredients, even if it is a company you are familiar with!
They also make a millet pizza crust, if you would prefer to make a more traditional pizza, or you could use this almond flour pizza dough from Simple Mills.
The dairy-free mozzarella I used when I first created this recipe, is from Miyoko’s and is an impressively clean option. I used to like their pourable mozzarella but they recently added natural flavors to it but their classic cashew milk mozzarella block still works. Both are cashew based, organic, and free from industrial food oils, natural flavors, and other harsh additives. There is always the possibility of this changing and there being discrepancies so make sure to always double check!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Gluten-free bagels (from Sami’s Bakery)
- Marinara sauce or pizza sauce
- Plant-based mozzarella I like the pourable one from Miyoko’s best for this recipe
- Your favorite toppings such as fresh red onion, cherry tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, bell pepper, shallot,
- You can add herbs for more medicinal qualities and to help with digestion: basil, oregano, parsley, pure Italian seasoning
- Check out my Amazon pantry for all products I recommend and my Ultimate Clean Food Guide for more food inspiration!
You can make homemade pizza sauce from combining tomato paste, olive oil or water, with a pinch of salt and Italian seasonings such as garlic, rosemary, oregano, and pepper to taste. Add that to your pizza bagels, pour on a serving of mozzarella, then add your toppings. I baked these in an oven at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
What Makes A Special Occasion Recipe
This is an example of a recipe I put together for special occasions. That’s because some of the ingredients—like the bagel and the mozzarella—are higher in fat, more processed, higher in sodium, and contain grains. Depending on where you are in your healing journey these foods can be more of a burden on your system as combining fat and carbs isn’t perfect for digestion.
When I do make it, I make sure to balance the meal with plenty of fresh, healing foods and herbs, like fresh pizza toppings and a salad on the side.
I like to serve a green salad to go with the main dish. On this occasion I made a honey-lime dressing and added fresh pear slices to green lettuce for some sweetness. I recommend creating your own preferred green salad to have on the side or to top your pizza bagel with. This helps balance out the “filler foods” aka the cheese and bagel. Filler foods are those that neither feed pathogens nor heal chronic illness. Examples of these are grains like quinoa, oats, millet, beans, and higher fat options like cashews, sunflower oil, and walnuts.
A Healthy Way to Enjoy Pizza Bagels Again
This recipe is a great example of how to bring back a favorite food in a healthier way. It’s not going to be exactly like the traditional pizza you remember—you’ll have to make a few concessions—but it’s satisfying, delicious, and made with your well-being in mind.
It’s thanks to brands like Sami’s Bakery and Miyoko’s that these comfort foods are even possible. If it weren’t for them caring about the quality of their products and the feedback of their customers, making comfort foods like pizza would take a lot more time and effort to create. Supporting brands such as these helps keep these options around. Our product demand helps shape which products are available on the market.
Think of it like the Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie becoming available in Erewhon- his following created enough of a demand that the smoothie showed up in stores on the menu!
If you’ve been missing pizza, this is your reminder: you can still enjoy it—just in a way that supports your health instead of setting you back. Try this pizza bagel recipe, make it your own, and see how it feels for you! You might have a new go-to comfort food recipe.
To your healing and happiness,
Muneeza
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Transitioning from a Standard American Diet? Ready to elevate your healing lifestyle? Find more healthy options like the bagels and cheese featured in this blog- there are over 60 pages of healthy food swaps in this FREE download.
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