Need very low fat pizza ideas

[Ratty]

Since I started eating better I've been spending a lot more money. I would have thought I'd spend much less, not eating out so much, cooking more at home, not eating hardly any meat. Maybe part of the reason is that I've been buying a lot of kitchen gadgets.

Anyway, I just got myself one of these:



Isn't it weird looking? The pizza rotates under the heating element. There's also an element on the bottom that can be set independently for a crunchier crust.

Now I'm itching to try it out. Anybody got any interesting ideas for toppings I can try? Sorry, no pineapple, eggplant, or tofu, but anything else would be great. The lower the fat the better. What's a good lowfat cheese that goes great on pizza?

[BlueJazz]

1. You can buy Ham Slices that are 98% fat Free.

I get mine at Publix (Market).... chop them into squares and enjoy.

[Philostopher]

2. We've had good luck with Kraft's reduced fat cheeses.

They have a 2% skim Mozzarella that melts pretty well. Sargento and Healthy Choice make them, also, but we like the Kraft best.

What's good on pizza, if you eat meat, is turkey bacon or turkey pepperoni. Hormel makes a turkey pepperoni that's pretty lowfat, I think. Butterball and other kinds of turkey bacon, just diced and tossed over the top, also are good.

Good luck with the pizza machine -- Mr. Nownow was drooling over one of those, but we really only have pizza a few times a month at home, and we already have a pizza stone that works pretty well.

[Ratty]

3. Apparently it does frozen pizzas to perfection

I guess the frozen store bought variety never really turn out that great in the oven, or results vary. Supposedly you can plop the frozen pizza right on it and let it go to town and center won't be goopy and the crust will be perfect. Since I'm cutting down I wanna make my own for awhile but it will be fun to finally get a frozen pizza at the store and actually have it turn out great. I have this recipe for cornmeal crust I want to try (made in my new breadmaker, natch).

Thanks for the tip about the Kraft. My favorite meat topping has always been sausage. I think I'll check out turkey sausage and see how that works. Also in the mood for something shi shi, you know, goat cheese, basil, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, something like that ...

[Philostopher]

Once in a while, when we're feeling industrious,

I make a handmade crust and the Mr. makes pesto by hand, and we make a 'Greek pizza' with Asiago and Parmesan on top. It's good, but it's a lot of effort for something you eat in one meal!

The pizza stone helps with store-bought pizzas, and if we ate them once a week, the machine would have been worthwhile for us, too. Or, if we had more counter space -- our kitchen counters are jammed with gadgets. We use them all, but there's no more room for stuff we don't use fairly often.

[Fridays Child]

4. Part-skim mozzarella, red bell pepper rings, tomato slices, ...

...sweet onion rings, crumbles of cooked 96% fat-free ground beef, and your favorite sauce. Add a healthy sprinkle of Italian herbs to the ground beef, while you're cooking it. You don't have to drain the fat from the ground beef because there really isn't any, to speak of. Also, if you make a thin crust, that will reduce your fat per serving, too.

Let us know how that contraption works out. It looks interesting.

[Ratty]

5. Oh yeah, red bell peppers

I love those. Luckily I really do like thin crust, thanks for the tip.

I'll report back in on how it works. I got it for $40 used. Isn't it weird? I sent a picture (without the pizza in it) to friends and nobody could figure out what it was supposed to do, though some of the guesses were fun!

[tridim]

7. I don't understand those pizza machines

I'm sure they work okay, but what's the advantage over a pizza stone and a hot oven? Seems to me that alot of the heat that thing produces would radiate into the air to be lost forever. I'd bet that a normal oven would be more efficient, and only slightly slower.

As for lo-fat toppings, I'm the wrong person to ask. I make my pizzas with ham, full-fat (but pre-cooked and drained) sausage and real mozzarella. I sometimes make pizza with just black olives, onions and cheese, but I always use real cheese.

[sbj405]

6. Veggies galore

Broccoli, Mushrooms, Tomatoes (regular or sun dried), olives, Spinach, Artichokes (I buy frozen and nuke them a bit before topping). Also, they make veggie pepperoni which is a lot lower in fat.

[Atlas Mugged]

8. Purchase one regular Mama Rosa's pizza

1. Discard pizza

2. Eat box

[Ratty]

13. Heh

[AlCzervik]

9. I like BBQ sauce and chicken and load of red onions.

[Nevernose]

10. Know what the unhealthiest part of the pizza is?

While it can be argued it's the crust (go thin) or the cheese (go low-fat), most commercial pizza/marinara sauces are the worst.

I spent years making pizzas at a little shop. The biggest ingredient in the sauce, after water, is sugar, then tomato sauce. Pure granulated white sugar.

In addition to cheeses, I'd look into making a good marinara sauce (instead of pizza sauce) from scratch. A large batch can be frozen and reused in any of a thousand dishes.

[Ratty]

14. I learned a little secret about pizza sauce many years ago.

Instead of sugar use carrot pulp, like what gets pooped out of a juicer. Adds a wonderful, thicker texture and sweetness.

[chaska]

11. Think Greek.

Feta cheese is low fat. Have that with some good olives maybe, or some fresh basil or oregano or rosemary. Skip the tomato sauce. I'd make up a good venigrette from garlic, olive oil, herbs and balsamic (preferably) vinegar to top it with instead - balsamic vinegar goes great with any sort of bread. Pizza ain't diet food. Maybe you should make your own dough with whole grain flours.

[cliss]

12. Ratty, that pizza looks great!

I make my own home-made pizza, and I've used most of the toppings that others have recommended. I actually use chopped celery, and I also add artichoke hearts, along with olives.

Re: your costs going up: I'm surprised that you would be spending more since you're eating better. We gave up meat because we thought it was too dangerous. This includes: meat and pork. We will eat (very rarely) chicken. Sometimes fish.

Our grocery bill now comes to around $200/month for 4 people. Now, all of this is meals made from scratch. In other words, no frozen meals or partially made foods. This means dry beans, canned tomatoes, dried pasta etc. No gourmet stuff. But we still have enough for everything we need. Nix to alcohol.

In addition, we have take-out every Friday night because I get tired of cooking. So that adds about $40 per month.

You really should be spending less, not more.

Now here's another really important thing to remember: now that you're eating healthier, you will become more healthy. You won't get sick, and won't need those expensive prescription drugs. Or hospital visits.

Being healthy is SO MUCH CHEAPER than getting sick, even if it costs more. Good for you, Ratty!!!

[Race4Peace]

15. shrooms, artichoke hearts, mild bannana pepper rings...

am I making you hungry yet?