Asparagus, Mushroom, and Ricotta Pizza

It’s a dreary day in Boston, and I’m back in the office. I really just wish I were still in NYC celebrating Erica and Chris and having just the best time. Their wedding weekend was so wonderful, and I am super jealous that they are in GREECE now while it’s back to the grind for the rest of us.

I have a new recipe for you guys today. This one is perfect for a Friday pizza night in!

Asparagus, Mushroom, and Ricotta Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 cup ricotta cheese, split into two 1/2 cups
• 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch asparagus spears, sliced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for coating
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, depending on how thin or thick your crust is
• Pizza dough of choice (when we buy store bough, we like getting the multi-grain from Whole Foods)
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a medium-sized skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Add the asparagus, and season with salt and pepper. Par cook the asparagus until it just starts to get tender, about 3 minutes, and remove from heat.
3. Coat your pizza stone or cooking surface with olive oil, and spread the dough.
4. Spread half a cup of ricotta evenly over the pizza dough, and then add the sliced mushrooms, sliced onion, and asparagus spears on top. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese, and dollop the second half cup of ricotta on top.
5. Cook for 15 minutes or until dough is crispy.

You all know that making different kinds of homemade pizza is one of my favorite things to do on a Friday night at home. Tim and I really enjoy making non-traditional kinds too, ones that use different ingredients than the traditional tomato sauce and pepperoni. Boring.

We made this one a while ago because the asparagus was from our summer CSA. For the record, CSA asparagus is twenty million times better than from the store. Someone at work even said, “this is what asparagus is supposed to taste like” after cooking it. Truth.

In this pizza, the crispness of the dough pairs well with the creaminess of the ricotta. Plus, you can never go wrong with mushrooms on pizza. Am I right?

If you try this one, I want to know!

–Let’s chat–
What’s your favorite thing to do on a Friday night? What’s your favorite kind of pizza to eat? To make?

For more F&F pizza recipes, check out:

• Cauliflower crust pizza
• Chicken burrito pizza
• Fall harvest pizza
• Fig and gorgonzola pizza
• Hawaiian bbq pizza
• Magic mushroom pizza
• Shrimp pizza with spinach, basil, and mushrooms

 

F&F Friday Favorites ~ 09.26.14

Happy Friday! My weekend started early this week. I’m currently in NYC and on the way to a pre-wedding weekend barre class with my friend Bridget and our BRIDE TO BE. I’m excited to get one last sweat on before the craziness that is about to ensue. I can’t believe Erica’s special weekend is already here. How did that even happen!?

Anyways, since clearly I can barely contain my excitement, we’ll just jump right in to this week’s links.

If you missed any F&F posts this week, here you go:

• BostInno #BosFit event and ticket giveaway
• Recipe redo: roasted pork and caramelized apples
• Journey to fit: Jen and Kelly’s story
• Inspiring people is what it’s all about

And here’s your weekly round-up of fun stuff around the web. Enjoy!

Fitness

• Helpful: How to pick the right kettlebell
• Fun partner workout: Tag team bodyweight blitz
• I have never been good at this: Five reasons to keep a fitness journal
• Lift Weights Faster challenge workout: The spark
• For when you can’t make it to class: Do it yourself 45 minute spin workout
• For the group ex folks: How to maximize your results in a group fitness class

Recipes

• Some ideas for using red peppers: Red pepper recipes
• Interesting! Smoky black bean beet burgers
• Yes please: Sweet potato and five spice muffins
• Great roundup: Ultimate healthy breads and muffins
• How fall is this? Kale and asian pear salad
• Cool: Roasted chickpea ratatouille
• Yum: Pumpkin maple pecan granola
• More pumpkin: Pumpkin spice chocolate chip bites
• And even more pumpkin: Pumpkin pie breakfast bake
• OMG: Pear cookie crisps

Worksite Wellness

• The big worksite wellness debate: Rethinking incentives
• Would you do this at your desk? 10 minute work break workout

Self Image and Inspiration

• Important: Embracing physical and mental rest
• I needed this one this week: 10 things to remember when you’re feeling stuck
• Great read: The day I stopped saying I don’t have time
• Love: I wear large bikini bottoms
• Agree: Why I believe everyone should fail

Wedding

• Fun idea: Preserving memories while wedding planning
• Truth! Socially awkward moments you encounter at every wedding

–Let’s chat–
What’s going on in your worlds this weekend? Any links you loved this week?

Party time!

Inspiring People Is What It’s All About

Sometimes it’s tough working in the world of wellness. Those of us who are fitness instructors, registered dieticians, personal trainers, wellness coordinators, health coaches, massage therapists – the list goes on – we are PASSIONATE about what we do. We work hard at getting others to work hard. We so desperately want our clients and the world around us to realize the importance and value of eating nutritiously, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and managing stress levels. And then we want everyone to take the actions that will lead to long term behavior change. It’s our jobs to make health and wellness more manageable and accessible for the people we work with.

But not everyone is ready, not everyone wants health to be a huge part of their lives, and not everyone is going to be where we as wellness professionals want them to be.

It’s tough sometimes when we KNOW our clients/staff/loved ones have the drive in them. When we have faith in them, but maybe they just don’t have the faith in themselves. It’s tough to plan wellness events and programming, only to get minimal participation. It’s tough when we pour our hearts into our work — our passion — only to feel discouraged when it seems like we really aren’t making that much of a difference.

Anyone else ever just take a step back from the daily grind only to throw your hands up and ask, WHY?!

I recently did. But then in the same week, two people came forward in different ways. And their simple, yet genuine words served as a reminder to me. A reminder to keep on keeping on. A reminder that even if your message and intentions only hit one or two people at any given time, it’s worth it.

Today I am going to share their messages with you.

The first is from a girl who recently moved away and had to stop taking my group exercise classes. She was a regular in my class since 2012, and on her last day, she gave me the nicest handwritten good-bye/thank you card.

“Athena, I wanted to take the chance to thank you! Back in 2012, all I ever did was cardio, but I rarely saw results. When I joined the Y back in October 2013, my fitness life completely changed. Within months of your strength classes, I was in the BEST shape of my life. Thank you for teaching me how important strength training is. More importantly, thank you for making 6am workouts so FUN! I always looked forward to your class and was excited to find out what crazy workout you had in store for us. Your passion for fitness is contagious and I’m so grateful I was part of it. It will be impossible to find an instructor as motivating, fun, and sometimes awkward (as we all are) as you. I’m so sad to be leaving your class, but I will still be a dedicated F&F reader. Thank you for all your 5am wakeups, even when you almost lose an eye like that time with your car door. Best of luck with everything!”

The second is from someone at work who follows this blog. She recently reached out to me to tell me about a tough conversation she had with her daughter.

“Just had a long conversation with my daughter about healthy, mindful eating. And focusing on strong, not skinny. It was a great talk, and it made me think of you and how you inspire people. The conversation started by her off-hand comment that she sometimes felt fat and didn’t like her body. Then we ended on such a good note, and the whole thing empowered me to continue my renewed efforts to set a good example. Just wanted you to know.”

You guys. Amazing. Even though these two women reached out to me about how I inspired them in a certain way, they honestly helped me feel re-charged that week. After reading their words, I didn’t feel as discouraged.

Because inspiring people is what it’s all about.

And I never want to stop doing it.

–Let’s chat–
What helps you feel inspired? How do you inspire others? What keeps you going when the daily grind gets tough? What’s your own motivation, or your WHY?

Before I go, I just want to announce the winner of my BosFIT giveaway. The winner is LINDSEY! Congrats! Email me today at fitnessandfeta@gmail.com to claim your registration code. Have so much fun at the event. I’ll be thinking of you!