Mastering Pizza Cravings: Satisfy Your Taste Buds and Stay Fit with Healthy Choices

Mastering Pizza Cravings: Satisfy Your Taste Buds and Stay Fit with Healthy Choices

Healthy Pizza Choices: Savoring Pizza Without the Guilt

After years of working at our Fitness Retreat, it’s hard to say we haven’t heard it all. Healthy pizza choices are very important to most people, and rightfully so. Pizza is a delicious, sinful little treat that we need to have. This is one of the many scenarios that happen all too often…

It’s Friday afternoon, you are leaving your office after a long hard week, and you are looking forward to a much-needed break. As you begin your drive home, you are thinking about being home, relaxing, and maybe even rewarding yourself for all of the hard work you have done. Maybe it even occurs to you that you are feeling as if you have earned it.

Surely everyone deserves a reward now and then, you think. As this thought crosses your mind, you pass by a Pizza Hut that seems to be calling your name. With your eyes fixated on the big red and white sign, your car appears to be steering itself into the driveway. Before you realize it, you have devoured several slices of the delicious deep-dish pizza, and as a feeling of guilt washes over you, it occurs to you that this does not feel like a reward.

That is what many pizza lovers struggle with, which is why we are here to help with healthy pizza choices.

As with most rewards, the tendency to go overboard with pizza, or any food for that matter, is ever-present. While we have all used food either consciously or unconsciously as a reward at some point, we have all probably also abused it as well.

As you can see from the example given above, without conscious awareness of what we are doing, this tendency becomes magnified. Much of the reason for this is due to the fact that when we are not aware of what we are doing, we are at a loss to change it. As you can see from above, the reality of our actions does not occur to us until after we have already done them. Clearly, at that point, it is much too late. It is usually then that we feel overwhelmed with guilt.

The difference between using something, food or anything else as a reward, and abusing it, is being consciously aware of what we are doing. With this awareness, we are armed with the power of choice about what we do. This, of course, enables us to evaluate our decisions, negotiate for what we want, and leave the situation feeling satisfied. This sense of choice applies to everything we do, and in the area of weight loss, it becomes invaluable.

Applying a sense of choice to foods, we are able to evaluate every decision we make, weighing the impact of what we want to eat, against where we want to be. If we want to eat a hot fudge sundae, yet we want to fit into that pair of pants currently collecting dust in our closet, we are going to have to make some serious choices.

The reason this choice becomes so important is that without evaluating it clearly, one of two things will inevitably happen: we will either avoid the sundae, telling ourselves we can never have it, feel deprived, and end up overdoing it later, or we will avoid thinking anything, just have it anyway without thinking about it, and end up overdoing it and feeling guilty.

Avoiding both of these negative situations then becomes dependent on our ability to think clearly through the decision-making process. Obviously, we can neither avoid the sundae totally nor have all of it right now, as neither one of these choices satisfies both of our wants and goals. So, we are going to have to be able to negotiate with ourselves for both these wants and goals and look for a third option.

When it comes to pizza, healthy pizza choices come in many slices, pardon the pun. We can either have less of the dangerous deep-dish version, reducing the total caloric impact of it, or we can come up with a healthier version. That is just what Fitness Retreat has done. Offering tasty, yet surprisingly healthy versions of the foods we love is what this company specializes in. Imagine pizza that is fresh, healthy, and guilt-free!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds cauliflower florets, riced
• 1 egg, beaten
• ⅓ cup soft goat cheese (chevre)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. To make the cauliflower rice, pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor until a rice-like texture is achieved.
3. Fill a large pot with about an inch of water and bring it to a boil. Add the “rice” and cover; let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Drain into a fine-mesh strainer.
4. This is the secret: Once you’ve strained the rice, transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel. Wrap up the steamed rice in the dishtowel, twist it up, then squeeze all the excess moisture out! It’s amazing how much extra liquid will be released, which will leave you with a nice and dry pizza crust.
5. In a large bowl, mix your strained rice, beaten egg, goat cheese, and spices. (Don’t be afraid to use your hands! You want it very well mixed.) It won’t be like any pizza dough you’ve ever worked with, but don’t worry– it’ll hold together!
6. Press the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (It’s important that it’s lined with parchment paper, or it will stick.) Keep the dough about ⅓” thick, and make the edges a little higher for a “crust” effect, if you like.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400°F. The crust should be firm and golden brown when finished.
8. Now’s the time to add all your favorites–sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you like. Return the pizza to the 400°F oven and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
9. Slice and serve immediately!

Servings: 4
Calories: 117
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 7g
Protein: 9g

Afternoon Delight: Italian Chicken Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 (3 oz) pieces naan (or comparable flatbread)
• 1 cup low-fat sugar-free pizza sauce
• 4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella
• 10 oz roasted chicken breast (skinless), diced
• Nonstick cooking spray

Method:

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
2. Spread each piece of naan with ½ cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, ½ cup shredded mozzarella, and 5 ounces diced chicken.
3. Lightly spray the grill grate with cooking spray.
4. >Place the pizzas on the grill and cook until the crust is lightly charred and crusty and the cheese is completely melted, about 2 to 5 minutes. If necessary, move the pizzas to a cooler part of the grill to prevent burning.
5. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board, and allow to set for 1 minute. Slice each pizza in half, and serve hot.

Servings: 4 (Serving Size: ½ naan pizza)

Calories: 291.5

Fat: 10.9g (sat 4.2g)

Protein: 24.6g

Carbs: 25g (sugar 2.6g)

Cholesterol: 52.5mg

Calcium: 22%

Sodium: 611mg

With these recipes and a conscious approach to your cravings, you can enjoy the delicious taste of pizza without the guilt. At Fitness Retreat, we believe in making healthy choices delicious and satisfying, ensuring you never feel deprived while staying on track with your fitness goals. Enjoy your pizza the right way!