Who Doesn't Love Pizza?!

Most of us probably eat pizza at least once a week.  Who doesn't love a super cheesy pizza?

I want you to visualize a large cheese pizza.  It's cut into 8 pieces.  How many pieces do you normally eat?  I'll be honest, I can put away half of a pizza - easily.  That's 4 slices.

Wanna take a stab at how many calories that is?  How about the fat?   Just one slice of Papa John's cheese pizza is 320 calories and 13 grams of fat.  I'll give you a minute to do the math in your head.  OK, I'll give you a minute to laugh at that statement then I will tell you that 4 pieces comes to 1,280 calories and 52 grams of fat.  That leaves me with only 520 calories for the rest of the day.

It's enough to make you want to cry!  It's enough to make you want to give up pizza for the rest of your life, but that isn't doable.  That's why so many diets fail.  You should never give up the things you like.  That's a recipe for failure.  The better approach is to find options.

One option would be to have 2 slices of pizza and a nice big salad.  A side salad with light ranch is only 70 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.  Keep in mind that does not include cheese or croutons.  Croutons alone will double the calories and fat!  Of course, even with the croutons, you would still be ahead at only 790 calories for the 2 slices of pizza and side salad with croutons and light ranch dressing.

Another option is to make your own pizza.  Grown!  You mean I have to cook?!  Trust me when I say this is easy, tasty, and so low in calories you will not believe it!  This is an Amy special!

Start with Flat Out Bread.  I prefer the multi-grain.  If you have never had Flat Out Bread, you can usually find it around the meat and cheese counter on those low shelves with various buns and specialty breads.  Some stores will have it in the bread isle.  I think Wal-Mart keeps it in the bread isle.  Flat Out Bread is not only great for pizzas but also for wraps and sandwiches.  But I digress!  Back to the pizza!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, use it!  Spray each side with butter Pam and bake for 10 minutes.  This gets the crust good and crunchy and able to better hold the toppings.

Now comes the fun part!  Time to make your own pizza!  I start off with half a cup of sauce.  We absolutely LOVE Mids brand, and it is actually lower in calories.  One thing I've learned from diet after diet after diet is the importance of measuring.  One of my Weight Watcher leaders from years ago told a story about how easy it can be to "overestimate" a serving.  She said she was making a peanut butter sandwich and had dipped out what she thought was a table spoon of peanut butter when her son walked in the kitchen.  Seeing the spoon of peanut butter, her son said, "That serving looks fat."  Out of the mouths of babes . . . she decided to put it in a measuring cup and discovered it was almost 3 times as much as she thought! 

I like to buy several different pre-cut toppings to make things easier.  I generally like 2 tablespoons of bacon, 2 ounces of chicken, 1/2 cup of mushrooms, 8 turkey pepperonis, 1/2 ounce of sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/4 cup of low fat mozzarella cheese.  Look at how hardy and tasty my pizza looks!  I've even convinced the hubby to try it!

Bake for 10-15 minutes - just enough to get everything hot and the cheese melty.

Check it out!  How good does this look?!  For just a few more calories than 1 slice of Pap John's cheese pizza, I can have this ENTIRE pizza!  It cuts nicely into 8 pieces about the size of Donatoes' pieces.  Let me tell you, it was tasty!  The hubby agrees!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  Here's the nutritional details: