I suggested the dinner menu– cheese and sausage pizza with mixed greens salad– and my daughter was excited, at first. Then I told her we would be using flatbread instead of traditional pizza dough.

I expected resistance to the idea. We’re eating too much healthy food, my 15-year-old complained. She already fusses periodically about having to eat brown rice and whole grain bread all the time. And the only reason she doesn’t grumble about eating Raisin Bran and other grain-based cereals is the deal we made some years ago. She gets to eat all the Froot Loops and other sugary cereals she wants during trips but doesn’t get them at home.

In teaching my daughter cook, I’m also trying to help her understand how to make healthier eating choices. Though she’s doesn’t particularly like all the changes over the past few years, I know that with time they’ll become a part of her normal eating habits.

Several months ago I began an effort to teach my teenager to cook, finding time in the rush of everything else she’s doing to spend time in the kitchen. I have been wanting to improve my cooking skills too so I enlisted the aid of  my mother and Martha Stewart. My daughter and I are using “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School” cookbook as a guide.

For our flatbread pizza, my daughter and I picked up low-fat mozzarella and cheddar cheese,  turkey Italian sausage, a tasty tomato sauce and fresh spinach. It was a quick and easy process: She spread all the ingredients on the flatbread and broiled it for a few minutes.

In the end, my daughter liked the flatbread pizza. She said she’ll make it again, using different ingredients. But, she asked, what about regular pizza? My advice: Eat it sparingly and on special occasions.

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