Pizza your way

Homemade pizza means you control the calories

Pizza is a big deal in our house. It's on the menu every Sunday night and has been for years. I used to buy some of the popular store brand pizzas when they were on sale, but when I'd bake them up and see all the oil on the surface and taste all the salt, I really questioned whether I was doing myself or my family any favours by serving it. Sure homemade pizza is more work, it's probably one of the more involved meals you make during the week, but when you think about the control you have over the ingredients, it's a classic case where the pros (health benefits) far outweigh the cons (time it takes to prepare).  You're in control of the calories and in the 'big picture' approach to your new habits for a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle, this goes a long way. Health is not about sacrificing and self-denial, it's about being smart; cooking smart and eating smart. 

This is the pizza I made last night. It has "no vegetables" on the kids' half, orange and yellow peppers on our half and hot hot hot peppers on my section. Made to order. Which is a lot easier than picking off the toppings the kids don't like from the store bought pizzas.

Pizza making tips

• make your own dough. Switch some of the all purpose flour for whole wheat (no more than 1/2 cup) and add some oregano. You'll have a crust way better than any you can buy.
• use your favourite pasta sauce with vegetables instead of pizza sauce. They boys throw a fit if they think there are any vegetables on their pizza. By using pasta sauce with the chunks of tomato and carrot in it, they have no idea there are veggies lurking under the pepperoni and cheeses
• buy skim milk (or light) mozzarella cheese, NOT the mozzarella cheese that's marked 'For Pizza'. The 'For Pizza' cheese is much higher in fat and adds nothing but calories so choose the light cheese instead
• store the mozzarella cheese in the freezer and defrost it when it's time to make the pizza. The lower fat content in the cheese makes is very easy to crumble when it's been frozen. This is a big time-saver because instead of grating the cheese, all you have to do is rub 2 chunks of it together and it falls apart into little beads. Super easy to spread.
• be smart when you choose your toppings. Orange peppers, yellow peppers, green onions, anything goes. If you're using mushrooms, cook them in the microwave first to get rid of the moisture, then put the cooked mushrooms on the pizza. Zucchini is the most gutless vegetable out there, it has absolutely no flavour so adding slices of it to your toppings doesn't ruin your pizza but it does give it more vitamins.
• slice the pepperoni THIN and if you like, cut each slice in 1/2 (so they look like 1/2 a circle). Spread them over the pizza but not so they're touching. The pepperoni is adding flavour and you don't need a lot of it.
• cover the entire pizza with fresh ground black pepper. It adds a really nice twist.

So when you're doing your grocery shopping this week, plan ahead and pick up a few extra things so you can make pizza on the weekend. I guarantee it will turn into a family tradition.