Pizza on a Stick

Oh pizza. Pizza is such a big weakness for so many people—myself included. But it doesn’t always have to be completely unhealthy.

The recipe I came up with for pizza on a stick is low in fat and loaded with veggies.

As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I am currently going to school to become a registered dietitian. And even though a lot of the recipes I share on my blog are desserts and other indulgent treats, I am very passionate about childhood nutrition.

I obviously don’t have any children of my own, but I’ve been around enough kids to understand the struggle parents face when trying to get them to eat nutritious foods.

Fortunately, there are certain “tricks” to making vegetables and other healthy foods more appealing. One way is to get kids involved with the preparation of the meal. This pizza on a stick recipe is a great way to do that because kids will enjoy sticking the veggies and meats onto the skewers.

Also, it’s a lot more enjoyable for kids to eat food off a stick rather than a pile on their plate. And as you can imagine, anything is infinitely more fun when you attach the word “pizza” to it.

This recipe would also be great as an appetizer for a party because you can grab one and eat it while standing up and chatting.

Pizza on a Stick

Yield: Makes 8 pizzas on a stick

Ingredients

• 1 (13.8 ounce) tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 16 cherry or grape tomatoes
• 8 small mushrooms, sliced in half
• 6 sausage links, cut in thirds
• 1 (7-ounce) package pepperoni
• 1 large red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 teaspoons oregano

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; if you are using wooden skewers as opposed to metal skewers, soak them in cold water while you prepare the ingredients.
2. Unroll pizza dough onto flat surface and use pizza cutter to cut dough lengthwise into 8 equal strips.
3. Pierce 1 tomato, 1 mushroom, 1 sausage, 1 or a few pepperoni, 1 pepper, and 1 onion onto skewer. Repeat process so there are 2 of each on the skewer.
4. Spiral-wrap dough around each skewer, securing in place by piercing dough on either end.
5. Repeat process for each skewer until no pizza dough remains.
6. Place skewers onto prepared baking and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and oregano on top.
7. Bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until pizza dough begins to turn golden brown.
8. Remove from oven and serve with pizza sauce or pesto.

 Recipe adapted from My Turn for Us