Healthy Pizza??

I have been really good about what I am eating and all that fun stuff, but I am craving pizza. Not like crazy pizza, I even like making my own pizza with whole wheat crust and lots of veggies. Is this really that bad for you? I want pizza any other ideas??

I usually make a mini cheese pizza or two and then eat a pound of broccoli with it.  I've tried making my own with toppings, but I just end up with a gooey cheese mess that's impossible to eat without a fork.

I make pizzas with whole wheat pitas - a lot fewer calories than regular pizza crust.  Add your sauce (I typically use a good jar of marinara type, check the sodium though), and your toppings.  Just don't go crazy on the cheese and other greasy stuff!

i like to make my own pizza with whole wheat tortillas as che crust. i usually add some marinara sauce, part skim shredded mozzarella, a little bit of good parmesan, and maybe some spinach. i spray aluminum foil with olive oil spray, put the pizza on top of it, and bake it at 425 until the cheese gets bubbly. sooo good!

For a quick pizza snack I take a light whole grain english muffin, cover them with 1/2 cup ish (I usually use less) of tomato paste, and sprinkle less than an ounce of part skim mozarella on top. I put it in the toaster oven for about a minute and it's really yummy and quick.

My mom makes a healthy pizza for the family the same way except using a whole wheat crust and topping it with TONS of spinach and usually grilled chicken (this way it's filling so I only need a piece)

you should try the kashi or south beach pizzas they are really good and made with whole wheat crust

I found that ololets are good sustutes for pizza. just load them up with cheese roasted tomatos, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. you can cut even more fat by using egg whites.

I am assuming you meant to say omelets, I think I am going to just make my own pizza and make sure to portion everything out. But, thanks for all the suggestions!

I've been meaning to try one of these A.C. Larocco pizzas but haven't had the chance yet.  They look good, and the thin crust ones don't have many calories (170 per 1/2 pizza).  

http://www.aclarocco.com/products.htm

Has anyone out there tried any of these?

I had been craving pizza too, and last week I knew I'd reached my breaking point, I just HAD to have some pizza!  I diced a small butternut squash, tossed it in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper and roasted it, while also roasting a boneless skinless chicken breast.  I made whole wheat bread dough, added flax seed to the recipe, and used that as my crust which I pressed onto a pizza stone, then spread hummus on the dough, topped that with the roasted butternut squash and the diced up roast chicken breast.  I added some red onion slices, black pepper and a tiny bit of feta cheese.  Baked for 25 min at 425 degrees, then when it came out of the oven I sprinkled fresh shredded basil leaves on top.  It was AMAZING, totally satisfied my pizza craving, and one slice works out to 247 calories (cutting the pizza into 8 slices).  I served a big salad on the side of my one slice and was happy.  The best part was having another slice for lunch the next day!  My husband and kids loved it too.

I read in a weight-watchers recipe book about some kind of portabella pizzas, i.e the pizza crust is the portabella mushroom.  It had the sauce, cheese and all kinds of veggie toppings, and each pie was like 170 calories and pretty healthy in comparision to the real thing.  I unfortunately do not have an oven, so I could only look at them in the pages.  Check it out online, if it sounds good to you.

Original Post by lostalykat:

 I think I am going to just make my own pizza and make sure to portion everything out.

 That's by far the best solution.  Here's my recipe for a 'back to basics' Ham and Cheese Pizza with a few olives etc.    It's not a massive greasy, stodgy thing like you'd get from a pizza chain, it's closer to the original Italian pizza, but if you divide it into 4 portions it's less than 370 cals a serving, not too bad on things like salt and fat .... add lots of salad etc., and it's a good-sized, perfectly healthy meal.

my favorite pizza is my own homemade version.

whole wheat crust (thin)

homemade salsa...i buy a pico de gallo chopped veggie mix at the store, add a bit of tobasco and some sweet corn to give it some extra flavor.

shredded up chicken breast

reduced fat/cal cheese of some kind.

Its amazing. I usually cut up the crust into individual pieces that way i only make what im going to eat and ti cuts down on the urge to binge on the whole pizza.

I use Chapattis for a pizza base - They're lower calorie than tortillas and taste better as a pizza. A good sized chapati is about 125 cals.

For the pizza cheese I take a block of 2% fat cheese (250g @ 55 cals per 30g = 458 cals) and a tub of cottage cheese (300g @ 45 cals per 60g = 225 cals) and mix the two together to make enough cheese for 8 pizzas (85 cals of cheese per pizza).

The 2% fat stuff is a bit rubbery on it's own and cottage cheese doesn't melt properly but mixed together they produce a lovely pizza cheese. I like to wash the cottage cheese in a sieve first to remove the whey but that's just my personal taste.

I tend to simply mix some tomato puree with chilli sauce for the pizza sauce but you can use any tomato-based sauce you like.

For toppings I generally go with mushrooms and onions because they add a lot of bulk for very few calories.

I like garlic sauce on my pizza so I blend a bulb of garlic into a squeezy bottle of salad cream and apply a few drops prior to serving. It's strong stuff so you don't need much.

A generously-loaded pizza usually comes in at under 250 cals, a quarter of the calories of most supermarket ones.

Original Post by meganr:

I make pizza with whole wheat pitas - a lot fewer calories than regular pizza crust.  Add your sauce (I typically use a good jar of marinara type, check the sodium though), and your toppings.  Just don't go crazy on the cheese and other greasy stuff!

 That's exactly how I make my pizza! I also put pineapple and low fat cheese on mine. It's very tasty!

I love pizza, too.  I make a large, filling healthy pizza using whole wheat flour.  For the "sauce," I use sliced fresh tomatoes and medium salsa on them.  I add diced colored bell peppers and diced white onions.  I often add sliced mushrooms.  I top it off with nonfat Kraft shredded cheese.  I make a 15" pizza which is quite filling, healthy, and very low in calories. 

http://www.examiner.com/x-355-Low-Carb-Examin er~y2008m6d4-Cauliflower-Pizza-Crust-Worth-it s-Wow-in-Gold

http://caloriecount.about.com/holy-moly-best- creation-ft113811

I've made it with cauliflower and once with zucchini - amazing.

Just be sure to really strain the veggies or it'll turn out soggy and stick to the pan. Using an egg substitute and lower fat cheese cuts the calories even more.

After cooking the crust I'll usually add a very thin layer of sauce, then fat free ricotta, then finally some sauteed spinach and a sprinkle of mozzarella and toss it in the oven for a few minutes.

There are so many different toppings/combinations you can play around with and it doesn't taste like 'diet' food.

Try the Flat Out flatbreads. I use the Whole Wheat version, 100 cals. Then i use about 40g of mozzarella (part skim, low mosture) some basil (either fresh from my garden or dried from my spice rack, and then load it up with all sorts of veggies (usually tomatoes, green peppers, stop light peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, all sorts of veggies...maybe some grilled or baked chicken cut up really thin) then bake it for about 10 minutes and slice it up and eat it and oh it is soooo yummy!!!! with no chicken its about 250 to 275 calories for the entire thing. I usually buy a big thing of the flatbreads at costco and freeze them and eat about 3 or 4 a week!!!! 

La Tortilla Factory has low carb tortillas with ONLY 50 calories for the 8 inch size.

Can't beat that!