All Pizzas Are Not Created Equal Part IV

Today I'll talk about the various levels of quality of meats that you find out there.
Pepperoni: This is by far the #1 topping of choice in North America and there are various grades of quality out there. At Diana’s, we use a premium dry cured pepperoni, comprising of a mixture of 50% beef and 50% pork, our cost is over $4.50/pound. There are pepperonis out there that are less than $0.50/pound, and I don’t want to gross you out, but suffice to say we all know what cheap hot dogs are made of, it’s not much different. I wouldn’t feed these pepperonis to my cats, much less my dogs whom I’ve even seen eat some pretty gross stuff.

Chicken: There’s 100% white meat, and there's dark meat, then there’s mixtures of each. Then there is ‘whole muscle chicken’ which is exactly what it sounds like: whole muscle as opposed to chicken meat that has been ground up and reformed to look like pieces of whole muscle chicken. At Diana’s, we only use the top quality 100%, whole muscle chicken breast, which has gone through an extensive scanning process to ensure all the bones have been removed and we hand slice it before it’s ready to go on your pizza.

Beef: Here’s a scary fact for you. Years ago, we were shocked to find that the leading ‘beef topping’ used at many pizza places does not contain any beef. Way, way down on the ingredients list, past the yellow dye #68, past the fillers and by-products, you’ll find ‘beef  flavouring’. At Diana’s, we start with 100% lean ground beef, then we cook it and drain the fat off, then it’s ready to use. From there we add a special blend of taco spices to create our ‘Taco Beef’ and that becomes the base for our ‘Hot & Spicy Beef’ which we add Frank’s Hot Sauce and let it marinate for at least 24 hours before it’s ready to use. All of our beef is 100% real beef, there are no ‘beef toppings’ or ‘beef flavouring’ allowed at Diana’s.

In the summer season we source as many fresh vegetables as possible from a local farmer including, green peppers, red onions, Roma tomatoes, zuchinni, spinach and Basil.

A few months ago we purchased an Aerogarden hydroponic garden and we set that up in the dining room to grow fresh Basil for our Marguerita pizzas. It grows Basil very well, which is great because the shelf life of fresh Basil is very limited, usually only lasts 3-4 days after it’s been cut.

Perhaps one of the things that make us most unique is that we’re always adding and looking for top quality unique toppings to expand the palette and create interesting yet tasty pizzas for you, our customer. Even though neither Pierre nor I compete in baking competitions anymore—it’s a huge honour to be on the judges’ side:), we are always open to your suggestions and on the lookout for something spectacular to share with you.

All Pizzas Are Not Created Equal part III

Enriched white flour vs. unbleached flour vs 100% Whole Wheat vs Whole Grain

Many pizza crust recipes are made with enriched white flour, which on the surface sounds like a good thing, but the fact is that it’s not. When your digestive system breaks down enriched white flour it because sugar, which gives you some energy, however doesn’t provide you with many nutrients, and also leaves you still feeling hungry. Try to avoid simple carbohydrates like enriched white flours and refined grains. North American diets are severely lacking in fiber. Fiber comes from whole wheat and whole grain breads. Fiber takes longer for your digestive system to break down and as a result leaves you feeling fuller longer. Also a source of complex carbohydrates (starches) and a major source of B vitamins, magnesium and many other minerals. Most flours are also bleached, which leaches nutrients from the flour. Why do they do this? Good question—apparently at some point in time in North America, someone decided that natural coloured flour wasn’t ‘white enough’ and added the bleaching process. I don’t know about you guys, but I usually try not to bleach any of my food before I eat it.

At Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria, we use a high protein, unbleached white flour for our White and Moosehead beer dough recipes. It’s an industry specific product, you won’t find it on the shelves of your local grocery store. The higher protein content ensures the crust will have a crispier bottom and be able to support layers of sauce, cheese and toppings that North American pizzas are known for. This flour is more expensive than the standard all purpose enriched white flour, but it’s key to a better North American style pizza.

Who knew there was so much to know about great pizza? Twenty-one years in the industry has taught me a lot, and I’ve also taken pizza baking courses at the Italian Scuola Pizza and the American Institute of Baking to advance my knowledge and skills. You could say I love pizza.

Next post I'll discuss the quality of meats that are used in the most popular toppings found on pizza.

Healthy Pizza is in Demand

Pierre and I started watching Village On A Diet on CBC Monday nights and I have to say that I'm not surprised about the pizzeria owner. I was surprised that the chef created a pizza dough with flax seed because flax often cuts the gluten in the dough and creates tears when you slap it out, but I would've like to work with it and taste it. I'm a little disappointed that CBC didn't call me because I'd love the opportunity to showcase & share healthy pizza making recipes and tips. And although I've been told many times that I don't look like a award winning pizza chef, I think I'm a pretty healthy one. It may surprise you to know that Winnipeg doctors have been referring diabetic patients to us for over ten years. Our 100% whole wheat crust and low fat mozzarella is diet friendly and diabetic diet friendly.

Pizza can be delicious & nutritious, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Although not all pizzas are created equal and not all pizzas are made to be healthy.

On the show the pizzeria owner said they use a full fat mozzarella, which are usually around 35% m.f. whereas our mozzarella is a nice low fat one at 15% m.f.

For those of us who love real dairy cheeses, I always recommend a cheese blend; mix our low fat mozzarella with our medium sharp cheddar (30% m.f.), or with the garlic n chive havarti for something different. That way you get the additional flavour of the specialty, higher fat cheese without all of the added calories & fat which quickly turns into grease in the hot ovens.

Pile on the fresh veggies and you've got a great tasting and good for you meal.

The pizzeria owner on the show was resistant and seem to believe that if she adopted the healthy chef's suggestions she would be out of business shortly. She talked about her 'Northern style pizza' being in demand and while it may still be she is shortsighted in that her community is crying out for change, otherwise they would not be participating in this ambitious and important lifestyle change challenge.

I would offer an entire new line of healthy pizzas and invite the village to sample 'California style pizzas'. I'd make our whole wheat thin crust and our award winning marinara, low fat cheese and add some spinach with sundried tomatoes and a few fresh veggies from their garden - Yummeh! A couple of slices are perfect to snack on and great portion control too. Maybe throw some grilled pesto chicken breast on there or chick peas for added protein. I bet even the biggest guy in the village could get used to that kind of meal! You may also be surprised to know that we have many body builders who visit us regularly without spoiling their diets. Maybe one them would be willing to offer the villagers some helpful advice too.

That was the inspiration behind our 30 day pizza diet challenge. Not only do we believe that someone could lose weight by eating only our healthy pizzas for 30 days, but we also believe that because of the variety of sauces, cheeses & toppings we carry, they wouldn't get tired of it. This is a diet that anyone can stick to, which is one of the most difficult parts of dieting. As a side note I must say that not every pizza we make is healthy, for some of our clients it's not the primary reason they order a pizza from us. And I personally don't only eat our whole wheat pizzas with low fat mozzarella, there are days where I crave our deep dish Moosehead beer crust with double pepperoni and triple cheese and I satisfy that craving. BUT it's about balance.

We put our pizza diet challenge on hold because by the time we got things in place it was already October and the holidays were right around the corner so we thought we should postpone our challenge until the new year.

And here we are, January 2011. Seems that it's the perfect time to showcase how healthy pizza can be part of a healthy lifestyle. We will choose our candidates and launch our pizza diet challenge shortly. It'll be interesting to see the progress and the ongoing results, so stay tuned!

BTW if someone from CBC's Village on a Diet is reading this I'd be happy to offer my services (gratis) to the pizzeria owner of Taylor BC. I realize that filming is over, but the residents may or may not have reached their goals and good health is too important to give up on. Ever.

Tour De Pizza

A pizza guy in the US has is on a 1,300 mile mission dubbed the “Tour de Pizza” on his bicycle. He’s promoting that pizza is actually very healthy and that it’s all about selecting your toppings wisely, portion control and exercise.

I’ve been saying that for over a decade, our menu is loaded with healthy choices like low-fat mozzarella, lean grilled chicken breast, fresh veggies not to mention our 100% whole wheat crust option. On more than one occasion, I’ve been told “you don’t look like an award winning pizza chef”, which I always have to ask; “What does an award winning pizza chef look like?” The answer is always that I should be as round as I am tall.

Pizza has been getting a bad rap for years, while it’s true that many low price pizzas are made with fake cheeses and imitation meats loaded with fillers & by-products, the essential, all natural ingredients found in high quality pizzas are indeed healthy.

This guy has lost 25 lbs in 30 days...does anyone need more proof than that?
Check out the full story here;
http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/06/15/1275199/bicyclist-fueled-by-pizza.html

Now I’m not supposed to diet while breastfeeding, and the truth is that I’ve already lost most of my pregnancy weight, but when it comes time to drop the rest you can bet that I’ll be on ‘the healthy pizza diet’.

In the meantime, this gave us an idea for a great way to showcase the healthy nature of our menu so we’re looking for a couple of individuals to participate in ‘the Diana’s 30-day healthy pizza diet challenge’.

The successful candidates would be motivated to lose pounds while eating our healthy pizza for at least 2 meals of the day. We’ll provide the healthy pizza for the 30 day diet and monitor daily/weekly weigh ins. Proper portion control and moderate exercise is also a key component of this plan.

So how about it, do you know someone who’d be willing to take the ‘Diana’s 30-day healthy pizza diet challenge’ ?

Healthy Pizza in Demand

More and more Canadians are demanding healthier meal options for themselves and their families. Like it or not, most Canadians do read the nutritional labels on products before deciding whether or not to purchase the item. Women, who still do the majority of household shopping, are the most likely to read the nutritional information.

Food manufacturing companies have noticed and are even adding things like Omega 3, DHA and extra iron to everything from yogurt to bread. Health Canada is demanding that restaurants reduce the amount of sodium in their dishes, although so far they’ve neglected to impose the same threats on all the ‘heat & serve’ meal options at the grocery store and the recommended levels of sodium are still in debate. There is a lot of discussion of banning trans-fats, which New York City did this past year. It makes a great deal of sense, a healthier population means less dollars need to be spent on health care and an overall better quality of life; call it preventative health care.

The movement toward healthier meals was instigated by the consumer. Back in 2000, we began making a line of 100% whole wheat pizza crusts and while it took time to catch on, today it represents 40% of our sales. Paired with our low fat mozzarella, a few vegetables and our lean grilled chicken breast it’s not just healthy, it’s also quite delicious. These days, Canadian consumers expect to find heart smart and heart healthy meal options on our menu – even on fast food menus. More and more chains are adding these options to their menus and are having positive feedback.

Most places are reactive about this change in the marketplace. Several companies thought that it was simply a trend which would pass quickly and failed to accommodate what’s now an expectation. The companies that are constantly asking and exposing their customers to different options which they may not have previously known about are in a better position to be ahead of the curve and profit from this change in consumer tastes.

At Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria, we have always polled our customers and created pizzas and menu items to cater to them. Our whole wheat crust began in very small batches, with free samples slices to gauge our customers’ reactions. About a year ago we started getting calls requesting gluten-free pizza. The number of calls increased every week, so we decided it would be wise to invest time in creating a recipe. We spent about 6 months developing a from scratch recipe and then incorporating it into a busy pizzeria that specializes in wheat pizzas. The day we launched our gluten-free pizza crust, we already had a list of customers who were eagerly anticipating it.

Back in October 2009, we had the fortune of working with some folks at the Canadian International Grains Institute on perfecting a barley flour pizza crust. Barley is beneficial by providing both soluble and insoluble fibre, whereas whole wheat flour only has insoluble fibre. North American diets are severely lacking in fibre and our initial batches have had very positive tasting results from staff and customers alike. Just a little more tweaking to our recipe and we’ll likely add it to the menu as a taste of the month later this year. Depending on the response, it may end up on our menu as a permanent heart healthy choice.

We’ve also been taste testing turkey bacon as another heart smart option. Many of our regular customers are baby boomers and like my husband, have been told by their physicians to cut down on red meat. Customer reactions to sample slices with turkey bacon have been extremely positive, so positive that it’s been one of our featured ‘taste of the month’ since December 2009.

Regardless of whether you thought healthy pizza was a fad or a fleeting trend, you have to be living under a rock not to notice the increased demand for healthier meals in 2009. 2010 will no doubt be more of the same.