October is National Pizza Month! ๐
Everyone loves a pizza, and just because youโre on a low carb diet doesnโt mean you canโt enjoy it too!
To celebrate National Pizza Month here are some low carb pizza ideas for youโฆ
See the beautiful photo?? Thatโs a low carb pizza creation from Joey & Jake at SleepLoveEat.com, made with a cauliflower crust.
See her easy low carb pizza recipe here. This is one I definitely want to try for myself! To make it even better, I thought I might try making a pizza crust from my low carb bread recipes instead. A cheesy, garlicky crust made from Almond Meal sounds so much better than cauliflower! The key of course will be to experiment with the pre-bake time on the crust, then simply broil once the toppings are added.
Speaking of Pizza, Dominoโs Pizza has a cool Cal-o-Meter on their website that allows you to build a pizza and see the nutrition facts for the end result. Credit goes to Hungry Girl for this cool find!
I tried out the Cal-o-Meter on a small thin crust pizza with pepperoni & extra cheese, and it comes to 20 net carbs per slice. Obviously the majority of that is in the crust. When I order a pizza, I ask for โlight on the sauce, pleaseโ and then just eat the cheesy toppings only โ and toss the crust.
A waste, you say? Hey, Iโd rather it go to waste than go to MY waist! ๐
Happy National Low Carb Pizza Month!
Sounds great, will certainly give both options a and let you know why is best. Have have only had the Meatzza version. Yes basically itโs just about all meat, base made of mince beef and egg, layered with gluten free sausage, bacon, anchovies and tomato, of course with a little cheese and whatever veg on top if you want.
Hey Mike! That sounds like a good option, similar to Howardโs suggestion below. I love my almond meal bread recipe so much that I think thatโs where Iโll start. I havenโt checked the labels for tomato sauces/pastes, but Alfredo Sauce is low carb and would work for me (Iโm not sure if you eat cheeses on a Paelo diet??)โฆ
I look forward to hearing which low carb pizza versions you try & like!
There is a pizza chain in this area (Ciciโs) that will do a breadless pizza in a pan for you on request. We used to carry pre-printed lists of our preferred ingredients, and visit there a couple of times every month. Unfortunately, they discontinued their salad bar a couple of years ago, so we quit going there. But that is always something to check for if you are travelling. Just call ahead to a pizza place and ask them if they do โtoppings only in a panโ for gluten-intolerant people; an increasing number of pizza places will do that on request.
BTW, Georgene makes a better pizza than Ciciโs. She uses an almond flour crust, which works pretty well. Another variation that is popular in the low-carb community is the โmeatzaโ which, as you might imagine from the name, uses a โcrustโ made from hamburger or other chopped meat (mixing in eggs will help the hamburger stay together when baked). Google โmeatzaโ for a large variety of delicious recipes.
If you arenโt concerned with the โpizzaโ appearance, or donโt want to take a lot of time figuring out how to make the meat crust just right, mix the normal pizza ingredients (you might want to chop the pepperoni slices) with hamburger and eggs, and bake a pizza-flavored meatloaf.
Great options, Howard โ thanks! ๐
Tried the LC Foods Crust Mix a few nights ago. Delish! (If you can get past the โwholewheatโ after taste).
We were both so hungry for Pizza that we ate the whole thing. The bag makes a nice large pizza if you use it all! Otherwise follow the instructions and make a personal pan pizza size.
My guess is that this would be toooo much work for most. But let me tell you โ have a yeasty dough rising was good for the soulโฆ if nothing else.
I want to try a recipe for Pizza with the Almond Flour โeasyโ style next. Iโd make more Pizza if it didnโt take so much work!
I checked out the LC Foods Crust Mix nutrition label. It uses the dubious term โnet carbsโ, and lists โresistant starchesโ in the ingredients list. These are terms that, while legally permissible, are mostly meaningless. Iโve mentioned this before, but it is legal to understate the carbohydrate content in the โnutrition factsโ because your government is afraid you might not get enough.
This sort of fast-and-loose-with-the-truth labelling is typical of junk food. Another junk food purveyor (Dreamfields: selling โlow-carbโ pasta with โprotected carbsโ) was recently outed by Jimmy Moore for doing roughly the same thing. See his article on that subject at http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/dreamfields-president-mike-crowley-we-stand-behind-the-nutritional-claims-of-our-product/10785
I would be willing to bet that LC Foods Crust Mix is *not* significantly lower in carbs than straight wheat flour, and is certainly not any healthier. You might want to check out what Dr. Davis has to say about gluten, gliadin, and lectin (http://guestdietblog.com/2011/09/an-open-letter-to-the-grain-foods-foundation/) before you eat any more of that junk.
Thank you for the links & info Howard, but it should also be noted that the owner of LC Foods has lost 115 pounds. I have also successfully lost weight (25 pounds so far) eating low carb โ including Quest Bars, sugar alcohols, and products from LC Foods that I like.
I understand that people with specific health issues (such as diabetes, as just one example) might be more sensitive to certain ingredients. But for those that are in good health and simply want to lose weight, itโs less of an issue.
I would venture to guess that even my โlow carb junk foodโ is MUCH healthier than the *crap* I was eating before. ๐ And itโs not like I live on these products, but simply enjoy them as a treat when Iโm craving something I miss โ like dinner rolls, or banana bread.
Itโs a great company, with a great personal story and real family behind it, and the products are enjoyable. Not for everyone, but definitely an appreciated product line for low carb dieters. ๐
I have met the owner of LC Foods, and yes, heโs a nice guy. And I am certain that he doesnโt believe that wheat is toxic, or he wouldnโt be selling products that contain wheat.
I had the opportunity to sample some of the items that he sells on the last Low-Carb Cruise. They tasted wonderful, especially the brownies. So good that I ate more than one of some of the products, and had to stop myself when I realized that the old โaddictionโ triggers had been activated. The next day, I felt the bloating that I used to feel all the time back when I was doing the unhealthy low-fat fad diet. I also started to feel the arthritis pain in my left hand for the first time in years.
He gave out several free samples to the group. When I got home, I read the nutrition labels, then tossed them into the trash.
Yes, he has lost over 100 lbs, just like I have โ and, just like me, heโs having trouble getting rid of those last extra pounds. In fact, most of the folks in the LC cruise group are having exactly that same problem (something that the low-fat fad true believers trumpet loudly as โproofโ that low-carb is bad). I currently suspect that it is because they have damaged their metabolism, and the prime suspects are wheat, transfat, and fructose. The damage is cumulative, and gets worse as you get older โ and it takes decades to repair.
Sorry if Iโm coming across as preachy, but Iโm trying to warn people about one of the traps I fell into.
LC Foods does recognize that some people are gluten-sensitive, and has a line of gluten-free items. I strongly recommend you stick with those.
Hey Debra ๐
Easy is my middle name! LOL I have avoided the yeast products from LC Foods for that reason alone โ and use the easy mixes they offer instead. I especially like the low carb bread that you just mix & bake. ๐
Iโll definitely try it on the almond meal bread recipe, and let you know how it turns out. Should be super quick & easy, just like the bread/cookies!
I like to order pizza about once a week from PizzaVille, not sure if you have them there in the US? According to the website their xtra thin crust pizzas have between 8-10 carbs each so I usually have one but sometimes have a few more (as weโve talked about).
It solves my pizza craving though and I donโt have any need for the 30 carbs per piece kind (guessing but I figure itโs probably that high on the regular ones).
Angela ๐
The main problem with the crust on a pizza is not the carb count. Itโs the gluten, gliadin, and lectin content.
I like to order a pizza with โvery little sauce pleaseโ and just eat the topping off the entire thing. ๐
Howard โ for those of us in it JUST to lose weight, counting net carbs just plain works. Especially in the beginning, when most of us are cutting out *tons* of junk from our normal daily diet.
I know you have years more experience with eating low carb than I do, but for somebody that wants to lose 30-50 pounds easily and has no other health issues, are those three ingredients really a big issue??
They are a HUGE issue. They are the things that will 1) prevent you from reaching your weight goal in the short term, and 2) damage your health in the long term, making it necessary to consciously restrict your diet for the rest of your life in order to prevent yourself from blowing up like a tick. The way the latter usually manifests is that you โslip off the wagonโ for a while, and then when you go back on low-carb, it no longer works as well for you as it did before. Each time you slip off, you accumulate more damage, making it that much harder. Plus, the mainstream medical community that sold you on that garbage in the first place is more than happy to blame the victim.
It sneaks up on you. It doesnโt damage your body in such a way that you can see it overnight. If it did, it would be more obvious what is going on. Itโs a bit like cigarette smoking, when you suddenly discover after 20 years of smoking that you have about 10% of your lung capacity left, and you can no longer function normally. If cigarettes killed people more quickly, nobody would smoke.
Dr. William Davis just published at article about the damage done by a once-a-week โcheatโ with pizza, entitled โFriday is my Bad Day.โ I encourage you to read it for a glimpse at the subtle damage done by eating wheat products just once a week. http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog/2011/11/friday-is-my-bad-day.html
I think Dr. Davis is one of the celebrities who will be on the Low-Carb cruise in May.
Absolutely, however unlike cigarette smoking sugar addiction is nothing like that of nicotine, with most cravings gone in a few days. Having said that, while watching some TV with the wife last night I suddenly thought of how nice a white chocolate magnum would beโฆof course it was a nightmare as I had nodded off ๐ Seriously though education is whatโs needed, I had no idea what damage grains and sugar were doing, no idea they were the reason we have all those nasty autoimmune and degenerative diseases, not to mention obesity. That is until I did some research, well allot actually, over two years and still digging. What I discovered was shocking, amazing, exhilarating, exciting, fulfilling, controversial, confrontational and politically sensitive. But above all, very worth the effort and all the hard work. I felt so passionate about what Iโve learned, I quit my day job and set up Paleoworks to help as many as we possibly can.