In my Reader Recipes series, I am highlighting one F&F reader a month so they can share their favorite recipes with all of you.  This month’s recipe comes from Melanie over at Beautifully Nutty.  Thank you, Melanie, for guest posting and sharing your recipe!

Hello all you wonderful F & F readers!  I want to start off by thanking Athena for inviting me to write a guest post for you all today.  I have a fun recipe to share with you all, but first, here’s a little bit about me.

My name is Melanie, and I am a Registered Dietician and author of the healthy living blog called Beautifully Nutty.

I am all about clean, whole food living and try to do as much of that as I can.  I also have a big ole sweet tooth, so I make sure to include that into my healthy lifestyle too!  Lately I’ve been experimenting with homemade dark chocolate.  Mmm mmm!  I have been living gluten-free for about a year now after finding that it helps alleviate bloating and other not-so-fun symptoms that can often go along with having Ulcerative Colitis.  Someday I may incorporate gluten back into my diet, but for now I am content without it.

That being said, I have been having a blast experimenting in the kitchen creating fun new gluten-free recipes that are full of flavor.

The recipe I am going to share with you today was inspired by this recipe I saw for a carrot crust pizza!  I am a huge pizza lover and have experimented with cauliflower crust pizza and veggie nut pizza crust, but never carrot crust pizza.  I can’t wait for the day when I can sink my teeth into a piece of good old fashioned pizza (I do miss my bread a little bit), but until that time comes, I’ll be making my substitutes!  I must say, the end product of this carrot crust pizza did not let me down!

Here’s how I made it:

I began by washing six medium-sized carrots.  I chopped them into big chunks and put them into a microwave safe bowl.  I added about 1/3 cup of water, covered the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwaved for about 8 minutes or until I was able to pierce through the carrots with a fork.

Next, I food processed the carrots until almost smooth.  I scraped the carrots onto a thin kitchen towel (you could use a cheesecloth as well), folded up all four corners, and wrung out the liquid from the carrots into the sink.  This was a major arm workout!  There is a LOT of water in carrots.

I put the carrot mash back into the bowl and added one egg, 1/4 cup of cheese, and one grated garlic clove.  I gave it a good mix.

On a baking pan lined with parchment paper, I spread out the carrots into a 1/4 inch layer.  I spritzed the top with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Next it went into a 400 degree F preheated oven for about 30 minutes.

I removed the pizza from the oven when the outsides were starting to crisup up, and the center of the pizza was firm.

Then I added the goodies!  I added marinara sauce, cheese, red bell pepper, onion, olives, and mushrooms.  Feel free to add any of your favorite toppings.  Back into the oven it went for about five minutes to melt the cheese.  I finished by putting it under the broiler for three minutes for extra crispiness.

And there you have it.  Carrot pizza crust pizza!  Skeptical?  Don’t be!  It is absolutely delicious!  If you are looking for a grain-free substitute for pizza, you must give this recipe a go.

Carrot Pizza Crust (Grain-free)
Serves 2 people

Ingredients

• 6 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg
• 1 garlic clove, grated or minced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce (no sugar added)
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
• Toppings of choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place parchment paper on large cookie sheet.  Set aside.
2. Place carrots in a medium microwave safe bowl and add 1/3 cup of water.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 7-9 minutes, or until carrots are fork tender.  Remove from microwave and let cool slightly.
3. Once cooled, place carrots in food processor and pulse until pureed.
4. Scrape carrot puree onto cheesecloth or think kitchen towel.  Gather all corners and wring out excess water from the carrots into the sink.
5. Add carrots back the bowl, add 1/4 cup cheese, egg, and grated garlic clove.  Mix well.
6. On a prepared baking pan, spread the carrot mixture to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Spray the top with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until outer crust begins to turn golden, and middle of pizza is firm.
8. Remove from oven and add sauce, the remainder 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, Parmesan, and toppings.  Bake for 5 more minutes.
9. Turn oven to broil and broil for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy warm!

I hope you enjoy!  Feel free to stop on over to Beautifully Nutty and say hi!

Thanks again, Melanie, for guest posting this month!  I love trying new pizza recipes and will give this one a go for sure.

Let’s chat – What kind of different pizza crusts have you experimented with before?

If anyone is interested in being featured on Reader Recipes, please email me at fitnessandfeta@gmail.com.  I’m open to any recipes (healthy or not), you just need to be willing to write up a little post about it and photograph your food.  Would love to feature you, and you do not need to be a blogger to participate!