With a few small adjustments, pizza doesn't need to be unhealthy - as this recipe for homemade pizza shows Most people love pizza and although it is widely considered to be “unhealthy” or “junk” food, it doesn’t actually have to be. There are plently of healthy ways to make pizza in your own home.
You could use olive oil in the dough, and wholewheat flour instead of white, for example. You could have a purely vegetarian pizza and include things such as peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, grated carrots, courgettes, onions and aubergine in your topping. If you’d like to include some meat - skip the oily salami and opt instead for lean meats such as ham or chicken. Finish your toppings off with some lovely fresh herbs (basil works well) if you have any on hand.
Most pizza’s contain a lot of oily cheese. You could substitute full fat cheese for a lower fat or fat reduced cheese and I find that you don’t actually need that much cheese on a pizza – if you use a sharp flavoured cheese (like well matured cheddar) and just sprinkle a little, evenly, over your last layer of topping it still tastes the same – and without all that extra oil, too !
Here is a lovely pizza dough recipe which results in a thin, crispy base. I have listed the toppings which I used on this particular pizza below, but you could use anything that you feel like – go crazy, experiment and enjoy creating your very own healthy pizza right in your own kitchen !
Pizza Dough
2 cups Flour (wholewheat or white)
1 tsp Salt
15 gm Yeast
½ cup tepid Water
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Mix the yeast with the tepid water and add the oil. Then pour into the flour mixture. Turn the dough out of the bowl & knead until it is smooth and elastic. Place (covered) in a warm spot until it has doubled in size.
Once it has doubled in size, roll it flat into a rounded shape and place on a lightly oiled (you can use non-stick pan spray) baking sheet. Let it stand, covered, until it has doubled in size again. Then press indentations all over the dough with your fingers (take care not to press right through the dough) – this helps the topping to hold well.
Place as many toppings on the pizza as you wish. For the pizza pictured, I had very few vegetables in the house at the time, so I used (in this order) -:
Tomato Paste – spread lightly over dough
Tomato slices
Onion rings (it’s a good idea to lightly fry these beforehand)
Grated Cheddar Cheese (or use a reduced fat cheese for a healthier option)
Garlic flakes
Mixed dried Herbs
Salt & Pepper
You could use olive oil in the dough, and wholewheat flour instead of white, for example. You could have a purely vegetarian pizza and include things such as peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, grated carrots, courgettes, onions and aubergine in your topping. If you’d like to include some meat - skip the oily salami and opt instead for lean meats such as ham or chicken. Finish your toppings off with some lovely fresh herbs (basil works well) if you have any on hand.
Most pizza’s contain a lot of oily cheese. You could substitute full fat cheese for a lower fat or fat reduced cheese and I find that you don’t actually need that much cheese on a pizza – if you use a sharp flavoured cheese (like well matured cheddar) and just sprinkle a little, evenly, over your last layer of topping it still tastes the same – and without all that extra oil, too !
Here is a lovely pizza dough recipe which results in a thin, crispy base. I have listed the toppings which I used on this particular pizza below, but you could use anything that you feel like – go crazy, experiment and enjoy creating your very own healthy pizza right in your own kitchen !
Pizza Dough
2 cups Flour (wholewheat or white)
1 tsp Salt
15 gm Yeast
½ cup tepid Water
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Mix the yeast with the tepid water and add the oil. Then pour into the flour mixture. Turn the dough out of the bowl & knead until it is smooth and elastic. Place (covered) in a warm spot until it has doubled in size.
Once it has doubled in size, roll it flat into a rounded shape and place on a lightly oiled (you can use non-stick pan spray) baking sheet. Let it stand, covered, until it has doubled in size again. Then press indentations all over the dough with your fingers (take care not to press right through the dough) – this helps the topping to hold well.
Place as many toppings on the pizza as you wish. For the pizza pictured, I had very few vegetables in the house at the time, so I used (in this order) -:
Tomato Paste – spread lightly over dough
Tomato slices
Onion rings (it’s a good idea to lightly fry these beforehand)
Grated Cheddar Cheese (or use a reduced fat cheese for a healthier option)
Garlic flakes
Mixed dried Herbs
Salt & Pepper
