The Envelope Please...

And the winner is...

Whole Grain crust Pizza!

Yeah, I know, pizza on a weight loss
diet?

You bet!

As with many occasions, it is customary
for my friends and I to get together
and EAT! The Academy Awards are no
different. Any reason to get together
and have a little party.

I am officially down 23.5 pounds and don't
want to blow it. I've found many ways to
eat some of the foods I love by adjusting
the original recipes.

I made my first pizza ever from scratch
during the Superbowl. I was the only
calorie counter at the event, but the
pizza was a huge hit. I thought I would
share the recipe with you.

The key to the whole thing is a whole
grain wheat crust.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 teaspoon white sugar (can substitute honey)
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon good quality Extra Virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water.
Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for
about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture,
then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup
of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together.
Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the
remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour
has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes
smooth, about 10 minutes.
Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface.
Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm
place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a
lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust,
or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a
tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes,
until doubled.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch
any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently
pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the
circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan.
Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese,
meats, or vegetables.

I added some garlic powder, oregano and basil
to the flour mixture to give the dough a
nice flavor.

Then using low fat cheeses sparingly I
heaped on the veggies and used very
low fat ham slices cut to bite size piece
for the the meat. It is fine to use
veggies only.

For the veggies I used green and red bell
peppers, fresh mushroom slices, sliced
black olives, a few fresh basil leaves
scattered about, chopped onions and on one
of the pizzas some jalapeno peppers.
We love those here in Texas!

You can use any veggies you like. I'm
going to put some fresh spinach on one
of them this time.

Until tomorrow where I share my low fat,
low calorie pizza sauce...Bon Appetite!