Healthy Cheese and Veggie Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 12 inch prepared whole wheat pizza crust – you can buy these prepared and packaged at your grocery store
• 1 6oz can of tomato paste
• 1/3 pounds of cheese
• topping suggestions
  • onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives
• optional
  • oregano, garlic powder, parsley, basil

Calories

• pizza crust: 1,080 calories, 6g fat, 168g carbohydrates, 30g protein, 1116mg sodium
• tomato paste: 150 calories, 0g fat, 30g carbs, 10g protein, 100mg sodium
• cheese: 550 calories, 45g fat, 5g carbs, 35g protein, 700mg sodium
• vegetables: add as many as you would like, they contribute very few calories
• total (entire pizza): 1,780 calories, 51g fat, 233g carbs, 75g protein, 1,916mg sodium
• total (cut into 4 slices): 445 calories, 13g fat, 58g carbs, 19g protein, 479mg sodium
• total (cut into 6 slices): 297 calories, 9g fat, 39g carbs, 13g protein, 319mg sodium

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Dice up the vegetables you are using and mix them together in a bowl.
  • If you are using olives, rinse them off with warm water to remove some of the salty solution that they are stored in. This will help reduce their sodium content.
• Grate the cheese using the large holes on the grater.
• Evenly spread the tomato paste onto the crust.
• Evenly spread the cheese on top of the tomato paste.
  • Putting the cheese under the vegetables keeps the cheese from burning and helps dry out the vegetables so you won’t have a wet pizza.
• Evenly spread the vegetables over the cheese.
• Evenly sprinkle oregano, garlic powder, parsley and basil over the vegetables. Be careful with how much you add if you are using dried herbs (or garlic powder over fresh garlic bulbs) since they are much more concentrated than fresh ones.
• Place the pizza in the over and leave it in for 15-20 minutes or until the crust reaches your desired level of crunchiness.
• Let the pizza cool for about 10 minutes and then cut it up.

Substitutions and Additions

You can substitute any of the dried herbs for fresh ones but you may need to use slightly more. You can also use fresh garlic over garlic powder.

You can replace tomato paste with pizza sauce but tomato paste is used in this recipe because of its low sodium content. Check the sodium content of the pizza sauce before you buy it, some can be very high.

If you want to make this into a deluxe pizza, just add any kind of meat. Make sure the meat is fully cooked before placing it on the pizza. Place the meat under the cheese since it does not need any further cooking. All the ingredients on top will prevent it from getting burned. You can use chicken, ground beef or pepperoni.

To decrease the calorie content, try using a thin crust. You can also replace the whole cheese with a low fat version.

Mixing flax seeds with the vegetables will give your pizza a crunchier texture as well as adding some essential fatty acids.

Why is this healthy and who is this for?

This meal is a healthy option if you love pizza but do not want to go out or order one. Pizza is usually thought of as an unhealthy food. It has a lot of cheese, white crust and little in the way of good vegetables. If you make it right, it has the potential to be a very healthy food.

This recipe calls for a limited amount of cheese, no meat, a whole wheat crust, tomato paste and a lot of fresh vegetables. The vegetables and whole wheat crust add vitamins, minerals and most importantly fiber. Fiber is healthy and can help keep you full so you won’t eat as much as you would with a white crust.

Tomato paste is also used because the only ingredient in it is tomatoes. Unlike pizza sauces, it is very low in sodium and still contains some vitamins and minerals. This pizza can be enjoyed by people who are on a diet or those who are trying to gain weight. The total calorie count will depend on how many slices your divide the pizza into.