Homemade Pizza

Last fall, Adam and I decided to try to lose weight together. We knew we would have to make a lot of changes to our diet and be more active. I plan on posting more about my weight loss journey later, but it was mostly about counting calories and making healthier choices.

One of our favorite dinners, like a lot of families I'm sure, is pizza. We loved getting Pizza Hut on Sunday for the football game, or having some frozen pizzas for a quick and easy dinner during the week. There we times I ate an entire frozen pizza by myself - which is nearly 1,500 calories! Yikes!!!

So, with my new eating philosophy, I thought I would try to make our own. I like to take one step at a time when, so I started out using pre-made pizza crusts. I added some Italian seasoned tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. (To keep it low calorie we usually stick with veggies and either turkey pepperoni or turkey sausage. Sometimes if we have leftover chicken, I will use that, which is super yummy!) Everyone loved it! It tasted really good, plus it was a lot better in the calorie department, which made me feel a lot less guilty about eating it.

Then I decided to take it a step further (again, taking one step at a time), and make my own pizza dough. So, I consulted my favorite websites, and found what sounded like a yummy, healthy, and easy dough recipe. So we tried it, and everyone agreed that it was WAY better then the pre-made crusts we were eating! Plus it was way easier to make then I thought it would be. And again, I felt much better eating this and feeding it to my family.

With the recipe I use, I get 2 good sized pizzas (enough to feed our family of 5 or 6, plus a couple slices left over). When I make it, I usually make 2-3 batches (1 at a time) and I freeze the extra batches. Then the day we need them, I just throw one in the fridge that morning and it's thaw by dinner. I have also used this recipe to make calzones, one of Adam's favorites, yum!

Homemade Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
(adapted from MoneySavingMom.com)

1 Tbsp - Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup - Warm Water (105 -115 degrees)
1 tsp - Sugar
1 tsp - Salt
2 Tbsp - Olive Oil
1 Cup - Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cup - All Purpose Flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix (I use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer).

Dump dough onto a floured surface, and knead for about 5 minutes into a smooth dough. (I leave it in my Kitchen Aid, switch to the dough hook and let it go on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Then dump on to a floured surface and knead a couple times. This is a huge time saver! I just let the machine do all the work while I get the rest of the ingredients for the pizza.)

Roll out and press down onto a greased pizza pan (or baking sheet). Then add your toppings. (Our favorite is turkey sausage with Roma tomatoes and black olives)

Bake at 450 degrees for around 12-15 minutes until the crust is starting to brown and looks crispy.

Nutrition Comparison: (per slice)
Our Favorite Homemade Pizza (with this dough, and above mentioned toppings)
Calories: 139
Tombstone Sausage Pizza
Calories: 182
Pizza Hut Italian Sausage (with Thin Crust)
Calories: 220


Price Comparison: (price per pizza)
Our Favorite Homemade Pizza...........$2.43
Tombstone Sausage..............................$3.98
Pizza Hut Italian Sausage....................$10.65
SAVINGS: at least $1.55/pizza (ABOUT 40%)

This is probably one of the best changes I have made. Since we usually eat pizza about once a week, I'm glad to have found a healthier version that I can feel good about feeding my family.