All Pizzas are Not Created Equal Part II

Tomato bases
We start our award winning marinara recipe with grade ‘A’ premium quality crushed tomatoes that are bright red in the can, naturally sweet and full of lycopene which studies have shown prevents prostate cancer. We use fresh packed tomatoes, not from concentrate. There are grade ‘B’ through ‘D’ quality tomatoes available, which many pizza places use as a base for their sauce. Lower quality tomatoes are orange & sometimes even brown in the can. The increased acid makes them bitter to the taste, especially compared to the premium grade ‘A’ tomatoes. Many of these lower grades of canned tomatoes have plastic liners inside the tin cans because the acid from the tomatoes is so strong it will eat the tin and leach tin flavor into the tomatoes. Pizza places that use low quality tomatoes try to overcome the bitterness and orange colour by loading the sauce with sugar and red dyes to mimic a better quality tomato. I’ve tasted some pretty bad sauces, some that seem more like cheap ketchup than a pizza sauce.

Real cheese vs. fake cheese
A lot of places that sell pizza mix their real cheese with fake cheese. Non dairy products called ‘pizza mozza’ and ‘pizzarella’ are being used at many chains and low quality independents. Some of these fake cheeses are made from soy, others from oils. While I don’t have any issues with soy cheeses, in fact I’ve tried to source good quality ones for a segment of my customers, I do take issue with pizza places using these ingredients but not disclosing it to the public in an effort to keep their prices unrealistically low. Since the 1980’s two large pizzas with two toppings are often advertised for $19.99 (or less) and come with a free 2L? Everything and I do mean everything; minimum wages, dairy prices, wheat prices, fresh vegetables, top quality meats, real estate, and especially gas prices has gone up since then. But the math for mainstream pizza has stayed the same. More and more savvy consumers are questioning how that’s possible. Some people have found that they have allergic like reactions to these kinds of food like substances. Again, know what you're eating, know what it's made of.

I often hear from people in their 50's that they don't like pizza, to which my next question is, "Is it real-deal pizza, made with the best ingredients that you don't like, or cheap pizza made with stuff you normally don't eat or enjoy in the first place?". Taste the difference from an award winning, gourmet pizzeria.

Full fat cheese vs. low fat cheese
A lot of pizza places will use a full fat mozzarella, sometimes mixing it with low-fat or soy cheese. They do this because the full fat mozzarella adds a lot of flavour, (fat=flavour) and many people find it palatable, but then don’t feel well afterwards. Typically, pizza places that use full fat are trying to add flavor to a cardboard tasting crust and low quality meats and vegetables. Personally, I can’t eat pizza made this way. Rather, I can eat it, but my body doesn’t digest it well unless I chase it down with a big bottle of the pink stuff. And that’s no way to eat, much less a way to live.

Next post I'll talk about different flours used in making 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.