Ricotta, Garlic and Mushroom Thin Crust Pizza with Watercress #NationalGarlicDay

Calling all garlic lovers! Welcome to National Garlic Day 2015, hosted by Heather from girlichef. April 19th is a day for garlic lovers far and wide to come together and celebrate the wonder of “the stinking rose”. Whether it’s the ability to ward off vampires (and bugs), its numerous health benefits, or the way it lends flavor to a dish, there are so many reasons for singing the praises of garlic.

It’s a good thing for me (and for you if you share my affection for garlic) that today is National Garlic day and so many wonderful food bloggers have collected their favorite tried and true recipes featuring this little bulbous herb. As an added bonus, Garlic happens to be an amazing natural health remedy and is one of my absolute favorite Super Foods! A huge thanks to Heather over at GirliChef for hosting another fun food roundup!

Thanks to over use and abuse of antibiotics, superbugs such as MRSA are a real problem here in America. If only more people knew how simple and effective home remedies were for curing most viruses, bacteria and fungi we would not have an epidemic of these horrible resistant superbugs. As an antibacterial herb, garlic is more effective against several types of bacteria than penicillin. Garlic is also friendlier to the body than antibiotics because it attacks bacteria without wiping out the body’s normal flora.

Garlic isn’t only one of my favorite, healthy ways to flavor food, it is super effective as an antibacterial and anti-fungal and can help rid the body of everything from ear aches/infections to curing the common stomach bug and getting rid of athletes foot. Allicin, the major component of garlic is a potent chemical that has been proven to get rid of even super bugs such as VRE and MRSA!

Garlic also has extraordinary abilities to lower cholesterol and reduce clotting of the blood. It can also help lower high blood pressure, prevent or help treat food poisoning, is an excellent source of antioxidants and can even get rid of acne!

The best way to get the full benefit of garlic’s healing power is to eat it raw, or close to raw. If you know you’ll be adding garlic to a dish, crush or mince it a bit before you plan to add it. It gives the alliinase enzymes in the food a chance to get working. Changing the temperature or pH of the garlic by putting it in food or heating it prevents this from happening, so you might not be getting the full health benefits of garlic if you toss it in the pot right away. If you do need to cook it, add it at the very end of the cooking process after you’ve removed the dish from the source of heat. 

One of my favorite preparations for garlic is to smash several cloves, let them sit for at least 15 minutes and then add them to a small sauce pan of a good quality olive oil. Simmer over very low heat for about 30 minutes. Use this as a drizzle for pasta’s, pizza, salads, along with some dried oregano as a dipping oil for bread etc. 

One of the best culinary aspects of watercress is its versatility. It can be used as a salad green (a very nutritious one!) in soups for a subtle, peppery flavor. And of course on top of pizza which I add by the handfuls! Watercress really compliments the other Earthy flavors going on in this pizza. 

To help you get in the mood, check out these garlicky good recipes from this year’s National Garlic Day bloggers:

• Black Garlic Chocolate Cake from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic from My Catholic Kitchen
• Epic Garlic Bread from Shockingly Delicious
• Garlic and White Bean Hummus from Kelli’s Kitchen
• Garlic Lovers Focaccia with Shallots and Sweet Corn from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Stuffed Shells for Two from The Spiffy Cookie
• Garlicky Chard Stuffed Flank Steak from girlichef
• Garlicky Lobster Crab Scampi from Food Lust People Love
• Garlicky Rib Eye Steak with Garlic Bruschetta from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• IPA Pickles from NY Foodgasm
• Lebanese Garlic Sauce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Louisiana Garlic Bread from Wishes and Dishes
• Ricotta, Garlic and Mushroom Flatbread Pizza from Simply Healthy Family
• Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Hummus from From Gate to Plate
• Roasted Garlic Cauliflower from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Roasted Garlic Gruyère Pull-Apart Bread from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
• Spicy Garlic Noodles with Pork from Healthy Delicious

sources  {mostly knowledge I have accumulated over many, many years}

WebMD

Dr. Weil

The World’s Healthiest Foods