Kick-start a year of healthy eating with thin crust spinach artichoke pizza

If you are on detox from the holidays and planning healthier and lighter meals, I’ve got your side dish covered with this asparagus and spinach flatbread.

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t It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s full of greens bursting with all things good for you.

t To keep it on the healthier side, the flatbread is made with a whole wheat blend and topped it with spinach, artichoke, leeks and some feta cheese.

t As you can quickly tell, this recipe is highly adaptable, so if spinach isn’t your thing then switch it to a green that is. For the artichoke you can use fresh or jarred, but to keep this side dish under 30 minutes, I used jarred. The leeks lend a deep savory flavor, so try not to skip those. For the cheese I used feta since it’s lighter in calories than most other cheese, but not short on flavor.

t And there you have it, a healthy, lighter side dish to kick start your new year.

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t Spinach and artichoke flatbread recipe

Ingredients:

t Serves 4-6

t Crust

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water

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• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

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• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour

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• 1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

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• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

t Topping

• 1 (14 ounce) jar of artichoke, drained and rinsed

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• 2 tablespoons butter

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• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided for use

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• 1 cup leeks

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• 1 pound spinach, stemmed and roughly chopped

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• 1/2 cup feta cheese

Directions:

tPreparation:

t Place ceramic stone on the bottom third oven rack. Heat oven to 500 degrees F.

t To make crust:

1. Preparation: Place ceramic stone on lower middle rack. Heat oven to 500 degrees F.

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2. Combine and stir water and yeast in a mixing bowl until mixture resembles miso soup. In a second bowl, combine and mix both flours until well blended. Add combined flour and salt to yeast mixture and mix until dough just comes together and looks shaggy. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until the flour is incorporated, about 3 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be moist and slightly tacky. (If it’s too sticky, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth).

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3. Place dough into a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Move bowl to a warm spot to rise. In the meantime prepare topping.

To make topping:

t Place butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium high heat. Once butter has melted add in leeks, stir and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in artichoke and cook and stir until well combined with the leeks, about 2-3 minutes. Add in spinach and stir until wilted, about 1 minute.

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t Assembly:

1. Remove dough from bowl and divide it in half. Refrigerate one half for another time or double the topping to make a second flatbread.

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2. Lightly grease a sheet of parchment paper with olive oil. Transfer one ball of dough to parchment. Stretch out dough by hand as much as possible, then lightly brush with olive oil and cover with another piece of parchment. Use a rolling pin and work from the middle of the dough outward to flatten dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Peel off top parchment paper.

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3. Layer crust with topping and slide flatbread with the parchment on the bottom onto to the heated ceramic stone. Cook for 3 minutes and remove parchment. Once removed, continue to cook flatbread for another 3-5 minutes or until edges start to turn golden. Serve immediately.

Note: If you do not have a ceramic stone, use a baking sheet.

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t Disclosure: This post is part of a collaboration between Fiber One and SheKnows.