subject: How to Make Healthy, Inexpensive Pizza At Home [print this page] Making pizza at home should be a fun, rewarding experience. For a long time, I didn't think I could make a good pizza at home. It just always seemed like one of those foods that was best left to the professionals.
But that really isn't true.
Homemade pizza is easy, fun, cheap and completely customizable to fit your tastes. The sky is the limit when making your own, personal pizza. One of the great things about making homemade pizza is being able to control the quality and amount of the ingredients. You can create a very healthy pizza by just altering a few ingredients.
First, let's focus on the crust...
One way to make your pizza healthier and lower fat is to use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose or bread flour. Whole wheat flour will give you a nice, wheat crust, which is healthier than a doughy, white crust.
Also, try making a thin crust instead of a thick crust. This will save you calories in each slice, while giving you a nice, crunchy crust for your pizza.
If you are in a time crunch,use a refrigerated pizza dough or even a Boboli pizza crust. Boboli makes wheat crusts which are great as an easy, healthy crust option.
Now for the sauce...
Pizza sauce in general isn't full of fat. It's mostly tomato sauce (plus some sugar). Try making a healthier sauce by using fresh tomatoes andchopping them in the blender or food processor (leave them chunky). Put them in a sauce pan and add some seasonings and you have a simple, healthy pizza sauce.
Other sauce ideas include garlic and olive oil or barbecue sauce. Also try a pesto sauce or a spinach sauce. Remember, the sky is the limit.
Toppings...
To make a nice, healthy pizza, keep your cheese on the light side. A thin layer of 2% mozzarella is all you need. Or leave the cheese off completely.
Choose from all types of vegetables to complete your healthy pizza. Slices of tomato, grilled mushrooms, artichokes or green peppers add flavor and nutrients to your pizza.
Try to use only lean meats or no meat at all to keep the fat content down. Replace sausage with lean ham or grilled chicken for a healthy meat-lovers pizza.
Baking...
Follow a simple dough recipe to create your crust...or, as suggested above, use a prepared crust such as Boboli.
Bake according to your crust instructions. Enjoy your homemade pizza!
Remember that it's okay to experiment and try different recipes. Your homemade pizza may not be perfect the first time, but it will get better each time to you make it. It's pizza, have fun with it!
