Ever see this at a pizza joint?

Veggie Lover’s Pizza! Contains: Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms!

I get so disappointed when I see that!  How generic can you get?  Plus mushrooms aren’t even a veggie!  Perhaps just using onions, peppers, and mushrooms is cheaper but it is very much of a let down when you love veggies.

I don’t even consider that a veggie pizza!  Three toppings?  Pleeeze.

I love veggies on my pizza and I love experimenting with new toppings.  Some of my favorite veggie toppings are:

• Spinach
• Shredded Carrot
• Shredded Zucchini
• Chopped Broccoli

Spinach is just fantastic no matter what.  Carrot and zucchini get nice and crispy as the pizza cooks and roasted broccoli is one of the most amazing things.  All of them make excellent pizza toppers! And uh, adding cheese to the mix just makes things that much more awesome.  That includes soy cheese! I have had some very yummy soy cheese on pizza before.  Mmmm veggies and cheese!

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Veggie Pizza…

One of the best things about pizza is that it is a vehicle for whatever you decide to do to it.  It can carry whatever toppings you want and it can also have whatever sauce you want.

Trying out different base sauces for pizza can be a very rewarding experience! And while something might not turn our perfect, the chances of it still tasting mighty fine are high.

While I do love old school style with straight up pizza sauce, I also enjoy testing out new sauces as well!  Pesto works really great as a pizza base and it’s something that can easily be made at home with honestly, whatever ingredients you have on hand.

Heating up some olive oil with a few cloves of cracked garlic, then brushing that on top of the dough can be used as a base to great pizza.  Simple and very easy! Plus it helps keep the pizza really light and airy.

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Trying different pizza sauces…

Remember it’s pizza month!  Sunday I posted my very favorite dough recipe that we always use for pizza night.  Today I’m passing on the tip of freezing pizza dough.

Perhaps you don’t have the extra 10 minutes in a day to make your own dough.  This is okay!  There is still a way you can have fresh homemade pizza dough ready when you are, all you have to do is freeze it!

There has to be a day when you have some extra time.  Perhaps it is during the weekend?  Maybe it’s Sunday evening when you are prepping everything for the upcoming week.  Use this time to make some dough!

Once the dough is made, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  Then just toss in your freezer.  This way it is ready and waiting for you when you need it.

The day you want to make pizza, pull out the dough, unwrap and stick in an olive oil coated bowl.  Let it thaw and it will rise as it thaws.  When you are ready to make pizza, roll out the dough and get to it!

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Freezing pizza dough…

Hey gang!  This post is spawned from my most recent encounters with drivers as me and my running shoes are navigating the roads in the mornings.

Because I run early in the morning, and by early I mean, I am the sun’s alarm clock, I get to encounter sleepyheads on their way to work, school, store, dealer, where-ever they happen to be going.

First things first, I run on the road.  The road is softer on my knees and it’s easier.  The sidewalks tend to be uneven and have stuff on them.  Including snow when people don’t feel like shoveling.  Anyway, because I’m on the road that means I’m sharing space with drivers.

Sometimes this can be a little dodgy because I have discovered that early in the morning people aren’t really paying attention to where they’re going.  They are on autopilot.  When you are on the road and someone in a huge metal box is approaching you at a high rate of speed and you realize they are not paying attention, yes things can become tense there for a few seconds.

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Tips for Drivers Regarding Runners…

Drinks on us

Most of us drink water throughout the day right?  Sure we might have some coffee or tea at some point as well but water is what makes the day.  Or at least it’s always on my mind, making sure I get enough water.

Taking in enough water keeps my system running smooth and believe it or not, helps keep the bloat at bay.  But you want to know a secret?

By the end of the day I am sometimes very tired of drinking some flipping water.  I want something a little different to shake up the day.  A squeeze of lemon or a slice of cucumber added to the water for zing, doesn’t cut it.  I want something more.  Something with UMPH! Something that keeps my mouth from being bored.

I started having evening drinks.  I’m not talking about wine or beer or something alcoholic.  I just mean something different that I didn’t have all day long.

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Grab a drink…

Despite the fact that I can’t stand Valentine’s Day and would rather celebrate Zombies instead, if you think I’ll pass up all the cutesy decorations you are totally wrong.  That stuff goes on sale fast and you can get it for el cheapo!  Stores treat Valentine’s decorations much like Halloween decorations, once the day is over they are worthless and marked down like crazy.  That’s when I make my move and snatch that stuff up like Britney at a drive-through.

Valentine’s Day decorations and whatnot don’t have to be just for Valentine’s Day.  I promise, it’s totally true!  I use this stuff all the time for our birthday celebrations and our anniversary.  I have nice red wrapping paper with hearts all over it that I use to wrap up Scott’s birthday presents.

For nice date night dinners I pull out the candle holders and heart plates.  Use the heart champagne glasses and maybe pull out the heart mugs for the next day’s coffee.

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Repurposing Valentine’s Decorations…

Ever meet one of those people who hates vegetables?  Or they only like certain vegetables like corn and potatoes?  Or they come back with, “Yeah I had that once and didn’t like it.”, therefore totally dismissing the veggie never to try it again.

I’ve come across many people like this.  Most of them are very hard to convince to try something.  Shaking their head and pushing it away like they’re a toddler.

What I want to tell them is try the veggie again using a different cooking method.  Different cooking methods bring out different tastes in the vegetable.  Roasted cauliflower tastes totally different than steamed cauliflower, which tastes totally different than boiled cauliflower.

The best example I have for this situation is the relationship between me and carrots.  Oh cooked carrots were vile vile things.  Mushy and totally flavorless unless you were lucky enough to get some that tasted like basement.  Mmmm tasty!

But raw carrots I love!  Love them!  So I thought, “Andrea this is ridiculous, you love carrots so there must be a way to enjoy cooked carrots.”  And I worked on it till I found out what I liked.  I love roasted carrots.  I also love carrots that have been roasting with something else, like a chicken or porkchops.

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Eat Your Veggies…

Hi gang!  I am creating a short series on Winter Running Tips!   So many people tend to hibernate in the winter and a lot of people complain about the cold and how they cannot exercise in it.

I’m calling BS on you! Lovingly, of course!  But I’m still looking at you!   You can run in the winter just like you can any other time of the year.  The key is to prepare yourself for it!  Yes, it’s cold.  And, yes, sometimes it’s really cold, but you can totally do this thing.

When I decided to create this short series, I contacted two of my fave girls who are winter running bad-asses.  There are few of us out there and we need to up our numbers!  So we are sharing some of our Winter Running Tips with you to help you get out there and beat the cold into submission!

I know some of you Canadians will have even more tips since you battle some serious cold, so feel free to share your tips!  Or you can email me and I’ll add them to the series.  Let’s help each other get out there and make winter run for cover!

Read more on Tuesday Tip: Winter Running Tips Part I…