Pizza....Dieters Nightmare??

I can't think of one person I personally know that does not drool at the word PIZZA.  Not sure what it is but this stuff is incredible.  Yet for a lot of us trying to keep those waist lines small; this food can be our enemy.  Most pizzas can be loaded with saturated fat and very high in calories, especially that it is hard to eat just one slice.

Yes pizza is usually the American go to fast food for delivery or straight from the freezer.  But why not make a pizza?  I guarantee it tastes much better than those quick versions!  Plus this can actually be a really fun activity for families and couples.

The key to making a healthy pizza:

• keep the meat chicken breast or turkey (sausage or pepperoni)
• keep the cheese low fat and light; loading cheese on your pizza will stick to you...promise
• use fresh veggies; either put these on raw or grill or saute before
• keep the sauce to a healthy olive oil based pesto or a traditional marinara (stay away from the dairy based sauces)
• try to use whole wheat dough; available at Trader Joe's for around $2
• make it creative! the more flavors the better your pizza will be

Buy a pizza stone! This will change your life, promise!  Plus you can use it for so many other things you cook.  Here's the one I have (make sure you get the stone and the paddle!):

• http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-4-Piece-Pizza-Stone-Set/dp/B0001SJGAQ/ref=sr_1_13?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1297904014&sr=1-13

Here's my most recent creation (Vegie Whole Wheat Pizza):

Ingredients:

• Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough
• 1/2 jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/2 c- 1 c Trader Joe's Traditional Marinara Sauce
• 1/2 c spinach, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 c olives, chopped
• 1/2 c mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 c crumbled herbed goat cheese
• 1/4 c onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp of corn meal
• 1 tbsp of flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven (pizza stone inside) to 420 degrees.
2. Chop all ingredients, ready to top pizza.
3. Once oven is pre-heated, toss pizza dough in flour, either roll our dough or hand toss; attempting to get it into a rounded shape.
4. Coat pizza paddle with corn meal, place rolled out dough on paddle.
5. Roll up dough around edges to create the Crust.  Stuff rolled crust with sauce, if desired.
6. Spread pizza dough with marinara sauce, all the way to crust.
7. Top with chopped veggies and crumbled herbed goat cheese.
8. Place in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until crispy crust and cheese mostly melted.
9. Serve with warmed marinara sauce.

HEALTHY FOOD DOES TASTE GOOD :)