Back in 2007, my first summer in Puerto Rico as a resident, my nephews came to visit my house from the U.S. and encountered a strange phenomenon when it came to Auntie Lucy’s cooking. She didn’t cook any meat in any of her dishes because her partner was
Vegetarian. They didn’t understand what that meant because they were used to fried chicken that Grandma made at her house. My partner explained his reasons why eating meat was not important as long as you received proteins from vegetables and soy products. Of course he simplified the conversation for them to understand. What I tried to do was incorporate them into the vegetarian cooking experience so they could see how the benefits of eating vegetables was more important than cheeseburgers at a fast food restaurant.
A recipe that was a hit with them was making Vegetarian Pizza with all sorts of vegetable toppings on tortillas or flatbread. My nephew Daniel wanted to be a bit more creative with his toppings and added chocolate and olives besides just the broccoli. I chopped all the ingredients and had him build both of our pizzas. While we waited for the pizzas to make, we talked about nutrition and what vegetables he liked to eat. My nephew didn’t miss the pepperoni he always because he made it with his own hands. When you involve children in the cooking process, they are more apt to eat what they make and it will taste better than if you made it for them. Vegetarian pizza is a quick and easy recipe that can be served as an appetizer or individual dinners. Below I provide the recipe.