This Tomato Spinach Mushroom Pizza is chock full of ingredients rich in antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients all thought to fight cancer. Recipe and suggested variations below.
We have all been touched by cancer at some point in our lives. Friends, loved ones, family members, colleagues… Chris over at Mele Cotte says that her own diagnosis eight years ago, coming close on the heels of the loss of her beloved grandmother to cancer, “rocked my world in a way that profoundly changed my view on many things.”
First, she made some changes in her own life, quitting smoking and making other healthy lifestyle choices. Then she set out to help others make changes too. In March of 2007, she launched an annual food blogging event, Cooking to Combat Cancer. Now in its third year, this event is both a celebration of her beating the disease and a call to arms to eat healthier. Chris invites bloggers—and even non-blogging food lovers—to submit recipes using cancer-fighting ingredients for a round-up she then posts. The deadline for Cooking to Combat Cancer III is Wednesday, April 29, so get cooking!
Turns out eating healthy really is good for you. It seems that every day, we hear that eating good stuff and avoiding bad stuff is even healthier than our mothers ever imagined. Choosing the right foods can lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, fight the onset of Alzheimer’s… And according to a growing list of scientific studies, a whole raft of foods can help fight cancer.
Some of the usual suspects make the list, of course. Leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, brightly colored fruits, for instance. But there are some surprises on the list too. Garlic, mushrooms, tapioca, rosemary, spicy peppers… You’ll find a couple of fairly comprehensive lists of cancer-fighting foods at Web MD and The Cancer Cure Foundation.
My first thought, I have to admit, when I decided to join Chris’ round-up was a sautéed Swiss chard I’d recently cooked. It really was quite delicious, but it just sounded so, well, cancer fighting. A little too expected in a good-for-you sort of way. So when Marion threw out the idea of pizza, I was all over it. I mean, when you say “cancer-fighting foods,” pizza sounds like it would rank way down at the bottom of the list, along with smoked sausages and maybe tobacco sandwiches. But with the right ingredient mix, you’ve got something that’s not just tasty, but downright good for you unless you’re a cancer cell.
Here are the cancer fighters I used in my pizza:
- Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that attacks free radicals, which are suspected of triggering cancer. They also have vitamin C, an antioxidant which can prevent cellular damage that leads to cancer. Lycopene has been linked to a reduced risk of breast, prostate, cervical, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. And you still get loads of lycopene even if you use canned tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes.
- Spinach is packed with cancer-fighting substances—chlorophyllin, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin—believed to help prevent stomach, liver, breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, bladder and even skin cancers. Wow.
- Red bell peppers add lots of fiber, a great cancer fighter. They also contain lycopene—see Tomatoes above to see why that’s good.
- Mushrooms are rich in antioxidants. They also contain polysaccharides, powerful compounds that help in building immunity, and a protein called lectin, which attacks cancer cells and prevents them from multiplying.
- Onions’ powerful sulfur-containing compounds are responsible for much of their health benefits as well as their odor. They’re also very rich in chromium, a trace mineral that helps cells respond to insulin, plus vitamin C, and numerous flavonoids, most notably, quercitin. Onions are associated with a significantly reduced risk of cancer in seven different areas: oral cavity and pharynx; larynx; esophagus; kidneys; colon and rectum; ovarries and prostate. Again, wow.
- Olive oil, a proven source of antioxidants, has been shown in a number of studies to possibly help prevent breast, ovarian and colon cancer—and this is on top of studies indicating that it may fight heart disease too.
For some ideas for other cancer-fighting ingredients for pizza, check the Kitchen Notes below.
Tomato Spinach Mushroom Pizza
Serves 3 to 4
Pizza dough [I used prepared dough from Whole Foods]
2 small tomatoes, cored, halved and thinly sliced [see Kitchen Notes]
Flour, corn meal [optional]
6 to 8 ounces mozzarella, sliced [see Kitchen Notes]
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for tomatoes
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces [1-1/2 cups] sliced mushrooms—I used button mushrooms
1/2 large red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2-1/2 cups spinach, packed
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Let pizza dough sit out as you prep your vegetables; it’s easier to roll out if it’s not overly cold. Place sliced tomato in a colander over a bowl. Salt it lightly to leech out excess moisture.
Prepare pizza base or dough for topping. Dust a counter or tabletop with cornmeal or flour to keep dough from sticking. I used cornmeal because I like the hint of it on pizza crust. Roll the dough out to a circle roughly the size of your pizza pan. Wrap lightly around rolling pin and transfer to a lightly oiled pizza pan.
Arrange sliced mozzarella on pizza crust, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the crust. I tore some of the slices into smaller pieces, covering the crust and leaving little gaps in the cheese here and there.
Prepare pizza toppings. Heat a large nonstick skillet over a medium flame. Add oil and sauté onion, mushrooms and bell pepper for about 3 minutes, tossing to coat evenly with oil. Add spinach and toss, cooking until it is just wilted, 1 or 2 minutes. Turn off heat, season with salt and pepper.
Using a slotted spoon [okay, and your fingers], distribute topping mixture evenly over pizza crust and cheese. Do this with an eye for a nice visual mix of ingredients. Drizzle a little olive oil over sliced tomatoes and distribute over pizza.
Place pizza pan on middle rack in the oven and bake until the the crust is a deep golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let pizza rest for a few minutes, then serve.
Kitchen Notes
Tomatoes, any way you slice it. Round, thin slices of fresh tomatoes look beautiful on a pizza. Unfortunately, when you bite into one, the entire tomato slice often comes off together. Halving the slices maintains a beautiful appearance and makes them more manageable for eating.
Good pizza mozzarella is like a good martini—dry. Mozzarella comes in a bewildering variety of forms, though, from fresh mozzarella packed in water to block, sliced, shredded and even pearls. Whatever variety you use, one key to success with pizza is to have it as dry as possible. Block, sliced and shredded mozzarella are drier varieties to begin with, so there’s no problem working with them as is. If you use the water-packed style, blot it dry with a paper towel after slicing.
Variations on a cancer-fighting theme. First, if you make your own dough, try using whole wheat flour and maybe adding a little flaxseed meal. For toppings, try garlic, chili or jalapeño peppers, Swiss chard, kale, rosemary and even cruciferous vegetables like broccoli florets. And for an added anti-cancer boost, wash your pizza down with a glass or two of red wine!
And finally, a quick thanks to Susan over at Food Blogga. She turned me on to Chris’ Cooking to Combat Cancer III and got me thinking about ways food can help us live better deliciously.
Wow, i’ve a wonderful reason to enjoy my favorite food.
Your pizza looks very pretty and tempting.
Oh man, Terry. That looks soooo good. This is just brilliant. My favorite food. Beautiful colors. Nice variety of textures. All this and healthy too! It’s like a modern-day miracle.
You know I’ve been hooked on doing a faux pizza using naan bread or multi-grain pita, pecorino romano, sharp cheddar, onions, avocado, olive oil and pepper. But this raises the stakes. Back to the kitchen I go.
One question: Would adding healthy dark chocolate to it be going a little too far???
Ronnie Ann
This is so good Terry! I have lost a couple of people, my grandmother and my 1st husband to the disease so this post really puts it in perspective how we need to eat more healthier! Besides, I want my clothes to stop feeling so tight! UGGH! AND, the pizza… man just looks so dang good! Pass me a slice please!!!!
This is the best time of year for gardening in northern Virginia. Alas too often I’m reminded of an old English gardening program’s adage: “The answer lies in the soil.” Imagine that said with a crusty old timer voice of experience.
That’s how I think of pizza…the answer lies in the dough, well crust. Which is why I avoid making pizza. I know little of both amended soil and pizza dough. but you, dear divergent thinking chef, totally by-pass that problem by using a ready-made one. Many thanks. (The photo’s clever too, with the missing slice, the wayward tomato segment, the oil and crumbs on the cutter. And it’s healthy to boot!)
This looks SO AMAZING. I love fresh-tasting pizzas, and this one is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing! And I agree with Carol, your pic is great!
Thanks, Ramya!
Ronnie Ann—While moderate amounts of dark chocolate are indeed good for your health, it’s probably not so good for pizza. But there’s always dessert!
I would pass you a slice, Kim, but it disappeared pretty quickly.
carol—I think we’re finally beginning to wise up to the idea that, indeed, “the answer lies in the soil.” The further our food gets from its origins, the more processed things are, the worse off our diets are for it.
Regarding the dough, one of these days I really should try to make dough from scratch. But when you can get a nice ball of dough already made from Whole Foods for about $2.50, the time, effort and—toughest part for me—actually planning ahead just don’t seem worth it. For another quick weeknight pizza option, I used a refrigerator case pizza crust from Pillsbury to make my Mostly Wild Mushroom Pizza.
And regarding the photo, thanks! I shot it first as a whole pizza, but then when I served up the first slice, I thought it looked even more interesting with the slice missing.
Thanks for stopping by, Alta!
This looks irresistible and so professional! It is a wonderful contribution to CCC3. Thanks for participating. 😉
It is so refreshing to see a blogger who cooks, and is not a pastry chef all the time… just read your blog today for the first time, and am very impressed.
Thank you…
Thanks, Chris! Glad to help.
zenobia—Thank you—and welcome to Blue Kitchen! I know what you mean about the pastry chef thing—bloggers do love to bake, don’t they?
Terry – good to see you on board with this recipe! I’ve been a proponent of healthy eating now for about 18 years, and sometimes I worry about sounding too….well, boring. Now I can turn my patients on to your pizza idea and watch them light up – thanks!
Just saw this interesting blurb today: “Scientists at Italy’s Institute of Sciences and Food Production developed GM tomatoes that express high levels of resveratrol, which has anti-inflammatory, antiviral and cardio- and neuro-protective potentials. It has also been shown to prevent tumor growth in animal cancer models. ” Scientists Develop Tomatoes with Increased Antioxidant Levels
So, tomatoes with resveratrol, a total undermining of the need to sip wine with the pizza.
Toni—Well, there’s still the fat in the cheese, but it’s part skim mozzarella, so even that’s not too bad. Hope your patients enjoy it!
Carolyn—Very interesting news indeed! Still, I think I’ll stick with the red wine regimen. You know, just to play it safe.
GORGEOUS pizza indeed! Thanks for talking about the event… I participated last year, but have somehow missed it this year. I’ll try to get something together by next week!
I love that you made pizza for this event. What a great example of how, when done correctly, Italian food can be so beneficial to your health. I agree on the “dry” mozzarella for pizza – part-skim works well. Pecorino and parmigiana-reggiano are good choices as well, they both have a strong flavor so you don’t need to add as much.
Easter weekend, after 2 trips to the grocery store, 1 for forgotten items, while cracking and peeling a dozen colored eggs I discovered i was out of mayonnaise, for the intended egg salad. I could NOT face another trip to the store so got out Elizabeth David’s 2-page instructions on how to make mayonnaise from scratch. It took 10 minutes, tasted divine but no way will I be able to spend 10 minutes and 30,000 wooden spoon stirs whenever I need mayonnaise. So too with the pizza crust. I had no idea one could buy ready made dough!
Yes! A virtuous reason to eat pizza!
This is a great entry for Chris’s cause, Terry.
Not only are these all cancer-fighting, healthy ingredients, but they’re such tasty ingredients, too!
I agree there are so many baking blogs out there, and as someone who is much more of a cook I appreciate blogs like yours!
I’m always going back through your blog for inspiration… You bring great ideas to practical application- thank you for that.
I have a question/problem though: I cannot seem to make a decent pizza dough. I’ve tried several times and the result is usually something close to cardboard. I make great bread, but it somehow doesn’t translate into good pizza dough. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much, Carey! So far, I’ve remained a fan of store bought dough when it comes to making pizza. But Deb over at Smitten Kitchen is a pizza maven. You’ll find tips on making dough, plus a couple of recipes, in this post of hers: 10 paths to painless pizza-making
i love tomatoes nw dis…….!!!!!!!!!
You are right, these foods can help fight cancer. I’ve researched and read something like 5 to 6,000 abstracts about studies that have demonstrated how various foods and compounds can aid in the fight against cancer. My list contains almost 400 and I am working to get them all out before the public. I HAVE CANCER. This is my soul. Know WHY onions are good for you, KNOW why WHOLE tomatoes are good for you.
see thousandfeathers.com
martin miller
Thanks, Vivek!
Good luck to you, Martin. And you’re right, food plays a huge role in our health overall.
Hi Terry B,
If there is anything I can do to help you get the word out there about simple effortless choices that improve one’s chances at being healthy
please let me know.
Martin Miller
ps tapioca is a new one for me and I am adding it to my list for research.
Do you sell whole wheat pizza dough ? I want to buy some for home use.