Tortizza - a healthy pizza for toddlers and the young at heart!

This is really more of an idea that I wanted to share than an actual recipe, but since time has gotten away from me for the last couple weeks again, I decided to go for it. Do you ever have those days when your best laid plans just don't pan out, and you are left wondering what to feed your little one(s)? Well I certainly do, and this idea came to me on one of those days. I didn't make it to the grocery store, I had run out of time to make anything substantial, and all I had that was quick was frozen blocks of puréed veggies. Then I noticed that I had a couple whole grain tortillas, shredded rice cheese, and ham as well, and I decided to try out pizza of sorts for my little guy and see what he thought. 

I popped a tortilla in the toaster oven while I thawed a cube of puréed broccoli. Once the broccoli was soft I spread a nice thick layer over the tortilla, sprinkled on some shredded rice cheese and topped with a bit of ham, and popped it back into the toaster oven to melt the cheese just a little and warm the ham. You could also heat this in a sauté pan on the stove as you would a quesadilla if you do not own a toaster oven, just don't flip it! My little man is still in the phase where he will take a bite of something if I hold it, but if I give him something that I intend for him to take bites of, he will just try to stuff it in his mouth whole. So I cut it into little bite size cubes and gave him a few of those at a time. He absolutely loved it! 

This is a really versatile 'recipe' that could be made with just about any purée that you have on hand, or if you are far enough past the purée stage that you no longer keep them even for quick travel pouch use, just mash soft cooked veggies until you can spread them. And, just as you would customize toppings for a regular pizza, you could top these with whatever you have around. You might even get lucky with a 'picky' eater, and get someone to eat something they might not normally want, simply because it's a new approach. 

For those of you who really need a recipe to work from, here ya go:

Tortizza

Whole grain tortilla, as many as you have mouths to feed

Puréed or mashed cooked veggies, a few tablespoons per tortilla (depending on diameter), enough to cover tortilla fairly thickly

Shredded cheese or substitute (I actually tried this again with some crumbled goat cheese and it was even better!)

Toppings: diced or shredded meats or additional veggies, use what you or your littles like

Spread purée to cover tortilla in a fairly thick layer. Top with cheese and any other toppings. Heat in toaster oven or sauté pan just until warm, longer to achieve crisp crust if age appropriate. Cut into bite size pieces for toddlers, or slice into triangles as appropriate. 

Enjoy!                                            

Sue