In my life, pizza is a quick weeknight dinner, the go-to meal for when friends visit. Although it is a delicious treat, pizza should not be eaten on a daily basis because it has tons of fat and grease. This week, I decided to make a healthier version: portobello mushroom pizzas. The toppings are similar to regular pizza, but mushrooms take the place of the crust. The pizzas I made had mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil, but you can really customize your pizza with anything you like.

By replacing the normal bread crust with portobellos, the pizzas provide many extra nutrients. Portobellos have a great balance of protein and carbs, and they are low in fat. They have a high amount of fiber, which is vital for controlling cholesterol and blood sugar levels. These mushrooms are also filled with vitamin B, which helps with red blood cell formation, energy production, and nervous system functions.

Portobello mushrooms take a lot of the grease and fat out of pizza. As well as having high amounts of fat and sodium, ordinary pizza dough collects a lot of grease because of the cheese dripping through and the dough touching the bottom of the pan. In this recipe you place the mushroom caps on top of aluminum foil so that the grease drips onto a cookie pan and does not collect on the bottoms of the mushroom caps. In this way, you can have regular pizza with a healthier crust.

In addition to being healthier than pizza dough, the mushrooms are smaller, so your servings are still filling but not as large. These pizzas are individual sized and can be eaten for lunch or dinner. They are pretty filling, but if you are really hungry, you can easily down two pizzas.

Another thing that I really like about this recipe is that although there are suggested ingredients, you can customize the dish and use any ingredients that you like or already have left over. Some other combinations you could use are pepperoni and cheese or cheese with vegetables like peppers and onions.

The recipe was easy to prep because the only thing you have to do is chop a couple of ingredients and sprinkle them on top of the mushrooms. I baked the mushrooms for 20 minutes and let them cool for about 5 minutes before eating them. I did not change anything in the recipe and it satisfied my pizza cravings. Enjoy!

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Ingredients:

• 4 large portobello mushroom caps (stems broken off)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil, plus a little extra for garnishing (decorating)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.
2. Form 4 small aluminum foil rings to prevent sogginess.
3. Place the rings on a cookie sheet and put the mushroom caps on top of the rings.
4. Drizzle the mushroom caps with olive oil and sprinkle each one with salt and pepper.
5. Sprinkle a handful of mozzarella onto each mushroom cap (leave a little bit extra to put on later), a few slices of tomato, and a little bit of basil. Then add the remaining cheese to the top of each mushroom.
6. Bake mushroom caps for 20-25 minutes, until the mushrooms become soft and the cheese has melted completely.
7. Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings