For the Love of Pizza: 2 Simple and Easy Pizza Recipes

There probably is not a person around who does not know what a pizza is or hasn’t tried it.

Tradition has it that pizza originated in Naples, Italy, yet some forms of pizza are dated back to ancient Greece..From there somewhere in the early 1900s, pizza made its way to the United States most notably through the states of Chicago and New York. In today’s culture, however, pizza is considered to be American fare even though it got its roots in Italy.

Have you ever heard anything really good about pizza?

Most individuals associate pizza with bad carbohydrates and too much grease or calorie laden with cheese and pepperoni. However, there are so many forms of pizza; you are bound to find the right fit for your nutritional value as well as your caloric intake needs.

If you are buying pizza from your frozen section at the grocery store, chances are that you are buying pizza laden with preservatives and calories. If you eat out and order a pizza topped with every topping and double extra cheese, then, yes, you will be taking in a lot more calories than if you were to make it at home to your individual style or preference (and it is way less nutritious too).

Do It Yourself Pizza

By making your own pizza, you can reduce or control the sodium, reduce the calories and control the nutritional value. A slice of pizza from a pizzeria or restaurant typically has anywhere from 10 to 30 grams of fat depending on the toppings such as meat or extra cheese. If you make your own simple, easy and quick pizza, you eliminate that caloric intake drastically and up the nutritional value significantly. A piece of basic homemade pizza with sauce, and cheese and olive oil topped with basil typically runs around 160 to 180 calories per slice. When you start to add meat it goes up from there with personal pan pizza’s having a whopping 750 calories or more. Using a portobello mushroom (recipe below) to make personal size pizza can make it as low as 55-65 calories each that’s quite a big difference wouldn’t you say.

When you make your own pizza you can make a healthier crust (use 100% whole wheat, spelt or even almond flour) and add any variety of yummy vegetables such as broccoli, mushrooms, and green or red peppers adding much in the way of nutritional value. If you are dairy free, use a non-dairy cheese. See options below.

TWO DELICIOUS PIZZA RECIPES

Simple, easy and quick pizza recipes for you to enjoy.

Portobello Mushroom Pizza

Using a portobello mushroom as your pizza crust is not only delicious, gluten-free and friendly to all eating styles, it also shaves a ton of calories off too.

Ingredients

Large portobello mushrooms
2 tbsp marinara sauce per slice (make your own so there aren’t any hidden sugars)
Basil, whole, chopped or chiffonade
Arugula, chopped
Grilled chicken (optional but adds some good protein)
Part-skim mozzarella cheese (or a non-dairy cheese)
other optional toppers like olives, peppers, onion, tomato

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the slices of portobello mushrooms on a lined sheet and bake for 5 minutes to tenderize a little.
3. Remove from the oven and top them with marinara sauce basil, arugula, grilled chicken and part-skim mozzarella cheese to each slice (about 65 calories each). Adding fresh chopped olives can add a little more fat but it’s good healthy fat not fat from sausage or pepperoni.

4. Place the slices back into the oven for 15-18 minutes until cheese is good and melted.

Pizza Margherita

Supposedly, according to the traditional tale of Naples Italy, Pizza Margherita was created by a chef in honor of Queen Margherita using the colors of the Italian flag of red, white, and green. The red represents the tomato sauce, the white the mozzarella cheese, and the green represents the basil used to top it.

This recipe (adapted from The Pioneer Woman) will have a few more calories than the portobello and is a bit more work to make but it is a great recipe for an at-home pizza night with the family. Serve a side veggie salad and enjoy a slice or two of the pizza at about 165 calories per slice.

Ingredients

For the dough (If you don’t have the time, find a good pizza frozen pizza dough or use whole wheat or other bread rounds (choose the healthiest version. See some options below):

1/2 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose or gluten-free or whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

For the pizza:

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, halved
4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup (4 oz) fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped or whole
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
chopped chives (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Sprinkle yeast over warm water. In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt. On a slow speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just combined with the flour.
Pour in the yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined. Form the dough into a ball.
Coat a separate bowl with a touch of olive oil and place your ball of dough into the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to use, at least 24 hours in advance. If you don’t have the time, find a good pizza frozen pizza dough or use whole wheat or other bread rounds (choose the healthiest version).
Preheat oven to 500′ F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (or utilize a pizza stone if you have one) and get a bit of flour on your hands.
Work your dough and stretch it into a long rectangle on your baking sheet, pressing with your fingers to finish forming. Your dough should be very thin.
Brush your dough with about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and rub your crust with the cut sides of the garlic. Arrange tomato slices over crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly throughout.
Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle pizza evenly with chopped basil, salt and pepper and feel free to drizzle a bit of balsamic if desired. Enjoy!

A Couple Simple & Easy Margherita Pizza Crust Options: