Just a little over two weeks ago, my husband had a major heart attack. While genetics played a large role in the cause, diet certainly contributed to it as well. SO . . . I have totally changed my way of cooking. While I used to cook low fat, from scratch and used very little red meat before, I now know that one of the worst health culprits is SODIUM. And trust me, it's in just about everything! Being limited to just 4g (4000 mg) per day is no easy task, just read a few labels even on low fat, "healthy" foods and you'll see what I mean! We've gotten along very well so far but PIZZA has been at the top of our "most missed" list. I finally came up with this pizza that really IS healthy, unlike all of the Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, etc. that are jam-packed with sodium!
Crust and sauce being the worst culprits here, I was able to find Mama Mary's pizza crust at Walmart and it really IS low sodium, fat, cholesterol and carb. You get two thin crusts per package for around 3.98. The best store bought sauce I found was Prego Heart Smart which has about half the sodium of other brands. If I have time, I'll always make my own and really cut the sodium but this is a great alternative if you want to save time. Kraft makes a 100% fat free mozzarella which I used. Note though that fat free cheese does not melt like other cheese so be prepared for that. To me, it's worth the texture change to save all the fat. For toppings, I went to my garden and grabbed yellow and green peppers, tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano. I added some sliced onion and mushrooms too.
Let me tell you this was one magnificent looking pizza before it was baked (look how high it's piled with all of that fresh goodness!) . . .
and it not only looked good after baking . . . it tasted fantastic!! You could also add turkey sausage, grilled chicken, pineapple, turkey bacon or turkey pepperoni.
Here's the recipe and nutrition information:
1 Mama Mary's Whole Wheat Crust
3/4 c Prego Heart Smart Spaghetti Sauce
1 c Kraft Fat Free Mozzarella
Vegetables of your choice
1 t olive oil
Brush crust with olive oil. Top with sauce, then vegetables and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees 8-10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Cut pizza into eight slices.
Nutrition Info. for four slices:
425 calories, 8 g fat (1/2 g saturated), 47g carbohydrates, 500 mg sodium
That pizza does look delicious! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe try to eat a healthy diet but it's a challenge to keep the salt low...and the sugar OUT of our diet! I buy the small cans of Hunts tomato sauce with NO salt for pizza. Pizza is a favorite at our house, too! I've made it from scratch for more years than I can say...over 40! lol Sounds GOOD right now! Your photos are making me hungry!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this! My youngest just headed back for her senior year in college and I have been looking for easy healthy things to make for dinner that my husband and I both would like I love pizza and can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteYummy looking pizza. To get your FF cheese to melt just spray a little Pam on it - it will even brown up a litte. On pizza I use the Olive Oil Pam. BTW - Pam will help almost anything "brown". Try it you will be suprised.
ReplyDeleteYum!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! Thanks for the heads up about the pizza crust. I had never noticed it before. I just picked some up at Walmart today after seeing your post (via my Google search for healthy pizza crust.) I plan to make it on one of our busy nights next week. Thanks again for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI hope your husband is doing better.