Fat Free Cheese

Think Outside the Pizza Box

Are you among the many people who think pizza is a “bad” food – laden with fat and the indulgent item you eat when you binge after being on a low or no-carb diet? 

Well, think again. 

Consider how a pizza can be a perfect representation of the new MyPlate (which I still don’t love) - grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and protein - and you can even eat the dish!

The All-American Food Still skeptical about it being good for you? Domino’s Pizza Smart Slice program was developed for schools, and uses ingredients – sauce, cheese and crust – containing less sodium and fat, with half the flour being whole wheat. Here’s the kicker, Jaime Oliver: It works within the USDA nutrition guidelines and is well within the school cafeteria’s budget. I had the chance to taste it last week and it is much better than the pizza I used to eat in school.

“Paint” Your Plate There are more restaurants providing healthier options – along with being sensitive to food allergies. Crusts can be just about anything - whole wheat, rice flour, gluten-free, and get this – probiotics added. Yes, there is one chain called Naked Pizza , which boasts gut health in every bite. Think of the crust as your canvas for your meal. You can put anything on top… fresh veggies, low-fat cheese, yogurt (yes, I tried a whole grain pizza with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit at the Culinary Institute of America), tomato sauce, salsa, beans, fish, chicken, beef, hummus, along with salad. If you put your mind to it, you could make a breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert pizza.

Hold That Cheese! This is where I have to admit my weakness – cheese. Cheese provides only five percent of the calories of the U.S. diet, yet 21 percent of the calcium. Low-fat cheeses have come a long way, but skip the fat-free cheese for lack of melting factor. Even people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate cheddar and other hard cheeses. Mozzarella is a lower-lactose cheese and often found among a variety of cheeses used on pizza.

Make Your Own  If you’re like me, the thought of making dough from scratch is frightening. Luckily, we have options. Grocery stores and warehouse stores, like Costco and BJs, are the No. 1 place where people buy pizzas – simply bring home and bake in your oven. You can even put it on the barbeque this summer to add some variety to your grill. A great way to get kids to eat food is to include them in the cooking process (this includes big kids, too – like parents). So consider, having a pizza party where everyone gets their own dough and uses their imaginations (and fresh ingredients) to create a signature pizza. We did this at my friend’s home in the Poconos after a day of frolicking in the snow – cooked on the barbecue (no pizza stone needed).

Fat-free Cream Cheese: The WD-40 of my healthy-eating toolkit ...

I love lists.  To-do lists, project lists, itineraries…..my everything-in-its-place mind somehow feels much more empowered when I’m armed with my own hand-scribbled instructions than when I’m just “winging it.”

And no other list trumps the others like my almighty grocery list, which is always up and running in The Hungry Runner household.  It’s either being built vis-a-vis my handy countertop memo pad or it’s tucked away in my purse, ready to give purpose and direction to my next shopping excursion.  And if I must be honest, it’s also the only way I know of to keep me from spontaneously thinking, “Ooh, special-edition chocolate-covered raisins, excellent,” or, “Crunchy dessert that thinks it’s breakfast cereal, great idea!”  T’aint on the list, t’aint going in the cart.  DONE.  Move along.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice that one particular item keeps popping up on my magic list, at an accelerated rate from before.  No, it’s not carrots or apples.  OK, it’s that too, but that’s nothing new — I love those foods and am gnawing constantly on one or the other.  It’s not tuna, though that’s a close runner up (my middle name really should be Charlie).  It’s fat-free cream cheese.

Huh.  Fat-free cream cheese.  Who’da thunk?  And trust me, it’s not because Mr. Hungry Runner is suddenly draining my stash (by now I know better than to offer him fat-free anything, short of using it as a threat in heated argument).  So I decided to take a look at all of its occurrences over the last month alone.

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