Sorta Healthy, Fruity Pizza

With this no-sugar plan I am attempting, I tried and tried to think of something without sugar or flour in it to take to book club.  Sure, I could've taken black bean dip, or a vegetable plate, or a dozen other items.  But it was book club.

You can't possibly understand how impossible it is to eat healthy at book club.  Unless you've been in a book club, especially a book club like my book club.

It's the kind of book club where we members all cook the yummiest-sounding, fattiest recipes we can find. The kind where the host provides lots of yummy drinks.  And it's definitely the kind where we all over-indulge and spend almost no time talking about the books we all actually do read.  You know, it's that kind of book club.

Luckily for my waistline, it only happens once a month.

This particular book club was the last Friday of my spring break.  As you may remember, I teach high school.  On this particular Friday, I had not eaten (much) sugar for almost three weeks.  So I decided to do the logical thing to comfort myself regarding my impending return to work: make fruit pizza.

If you have ever had fruit pizza, you already know that, as healthy as it may sound, it isn't very healthy.  See, it has a lot of fruit on it, so you can look at it and pretend you are being conscientious about your caloric intake.

Then you realize that the crust of fruit pizza is made of cookie dough.

I still am including my fruit pizza recipe here, because honestly it is a great way to encourage picky child eaters to eat a great deal of fruit.  In addition, the topping of the pizza does have nutritional value.  If you don't eat too large a slice, it's not a horrible snack.

Besides, it's pretty.

Fruit Pizza

One package refrigerated sugar cookie dough (low-sugar if you can find it – good luck)

1 1/2 containers 1/3 less fat strawberry-flavored cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

1 tsp. vanilla

a variety of colorful, sliced fruit

Preheat your oven according to cookie dough package directions.  Using cooking spray, lightly grease a round pizza pan.

Unroll your entire package of cookie dough into a crust using a rolling pan.  Bake large, pizza-shaped cookie according to package directions.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

fruit pizza crust, cooling

When considering what fruit to use for the pizza, I like to have a variety of color.  In addition, very juicy fruits, like pineapple, can make your pizza soggy.  For this pizza I chose green grapes, blueberries, strawberries and kiwi.  Kiwi is a must.  Because it's pretty.  

I've also used bananas.  They are not as attractive on the pizza – they turn brown quickly.  However, they taste really good on the pizza.  It is your call.  Depends on whether you are trying to impress someone or you're just going to scarf the entire thing down yourself.  

Cut all your fruit into cute little pieces.  I didn't cut my blueberries, because blueberries already are cute little pieces.  You may want to make sure the fruit pieces of the same fruit are the same size.  Obviously, you can take creative liberty here because the fact you are making this recipe automatically makes you a fruit artist.  Cool, huh?

Have you noticed I never use a cutting board?  Well, unless I am cutting something ooky and gooky like meat.  What's the point of having stone countertops if you don't use them? Am I right?

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.  If you do not add the sugar, your "sauce" will still taste plenty good.  Of course, I like sugar, so I wanted to add sugar.  You could be better, smarter, more disciplined than me.  But then, that's not very fun.  Just sayin'.

Spread your "sauce" on your "pizza crust."

Arrange your fruit in a beautiful, creative pattern.  Get in touch with your inner artist.  And you're finished with a tasty, gorgeous dessert that may or may not be healthy, depending on your perspective.

Changes for the Better

So here's the deal: I have been so busy lately that I cannot even sit down for 10 seconds to write.  I hate it when people make excuses about why they haven't been blogging; don't you hate it?

But seriously.  I have been busy helping with parties for my sister's wedding. Which is in six weeks. When I have to wear a dress the color of my skin.  Standing next to at least four, six-foot-tall, blonde, supermodel types.  Tan supermodels.

And I've also been busy because I'm in charge of planning my 10-year class reunion.  Oh, I didn't mention that?  Yes, this summer is my class reunion.  You know. The one where everyone shows up to see who is rich or overweight.  And I have to go. Because I'm planning it. Because 10 years ago I thought it would be cool to plan.  Before I realized why people attend reunions.

No, I'm not really that cynical.  Actually, I am very extra super excited for both of these events.  But they are motivating me to get my rear in motion.

Except, of course, I'm too busy to move rear.  Because I'm planning all these events.  That I want to look good at.

Come to find out, it takes time to get in real shape.  I needed to find a way to fake it.  Therefore, I decided the best way to make the number on the scale go down, for me, was to quit eating so much sugar.

There, I typed it.  Now that you all know about it, I can no longer cheat.  Very much.

And since I decided to cut back my sugar intake, I also decided to quit white flour altogether.  (Which reminds me, I was making a cupcake recipe – they weren't for me, don't worry – from Martha Stewart's Web site, and she spelled cake flour, "flower."  Oh, it just cracked me up. I mean, she thinks she's perfect, but she's getting her flowers mixed up.  Sounds like something Amelia Bedelia would do: Plant cake flour in the garden.  Hehe.)

I don't eat very much white flour anyway.  Whole grains are tasty.

I remember back in the day, five years ago, when I was living in northeastern Kansas, they came out with whole grain pasta.  It tasted like absolute sandpaper.  (Or maybe it just seemed that way because that entire year leaves a sandpaper taste in my mouth, but that's a different post.)

Whole grain pasta has improved so much that I can barely tell the difference between it and the real thing!  Whole grains metabolize so much differently than processed grains; you should all switch to whole grain pasta immediately.

Anyway, here's the good news: I lost two whole pounds last week, and that's really all I did differently.  It's the sugar.  I eat. A lot. Of sugar.  This no sugar thing stinks, but it's awesome. And just so you know, I WILL be having wedding cake at my sister's wedding.  An entire, frosting-covered piece.

In other news, I am probably going to be changing my blog to three sections soon: Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, and Healthy Little Ones.  It's going to be so much fun. I can hardly wait.

Creamy Tomato Soup – Without the Cream

My dad, being the sweet man he is, purchased me a really cool magazine called The Best of America's Test Kitchen: Best Recipes and Reviews 2010.  It's really fun to look through, because basically the authors of the articles have worked to create the "best" version of this or that.

Since I decided today I was giving up white flour and sugar until my sister's wedding (don't worry, we'll discuss and debate this idea later this week), I was thrilled when I found a neat recipe for tomato soup that appeared almost healthy.

The author of the article accompanying the recipe claimed he (she?) wanted to omit cream because cream mutes tomato flavor.  Secretly I think the author was thinking about homegirls like me who want to at least pretend to cook healthy food for their families.

I love soup ... well, homemade soup anyway.  I also really enjoy tomatoes in the summer, and I seem to be on a summer eating kick.  The neat thing about this soup is it uses canned tomatoes, so you can make tasty homemade tomato soup year-round.

This soup was so easy to make, that I think I even got it right the first time.  I may love to cook and bake, but it seems like I never get it right the first time.

I'd give you my husband's recommendation, but when we sat down I learned he does not like tomato soup.  Married four years and you think I'd know everything he doesn't like... but the list is just so long.

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
pinched red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 T brandy (optional)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped chives

-J Kenji Lopez-Alt from Cook's Illustrated


Heat your olive oil in a Dutch oven.  By the way, I did not use all the olive oil the recipe called for, because goodness that is a lot of olive oil.  You are welcome to do as you please.

Heat the olive oil until it simmers and add the onions, garlic and bay leaf.  I did not use the red pepper flakes, because I wanted this to be all about the tomato.

Open up those cans and pour in all those tomatoes.  Mmmmm they smell so good.

I sort of fell in love with this tomato.  Can you guess which one?  It was just so perfect, with all its skin perfectly removed.  I really, really didn't want to smash it with my potato masher, which is what comes next.  Mash those tomatoes until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain.  So says Lopez-Alt.  But don't mash the bay leaf... it gets to live.  But not my poor tomato.

Stir in the sugar.

And the bread.  OK, time out here.  Since I am not eating sugar or white flour, I decided I had to choose one to eliminate.  Since I love sweet, I chose white bread.  I used whole wheat bread instead.  I also used the crusts.  I do not recommend using the crusts.  But I thought the wheat bread was just fine.

Bring the soup to a boil.  Cook, stirring occassionally, until the bread starts to  break down.  This is about 5 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf.

At this point I am missing a photo, because my blender exploded.  I was too embarrassed to take photos of my blender shooting tomato all over my kitchen, so please excuse the lack of illustration.

Put about half the mixture from your Dutch oven into your blender, add a little more olive oil and mix until mixture is smooth and creamy.  The recipe says this is 2-3 minutes, but I think you can do it for about 1 and be just fine.

Return the first half to a bowl and put the remaining mixture from the Dutch oven in the blender.  Mix until smooth.  Put both halves back into the Dutch oven. Add in your 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then you are ready to serve.

Serve with black pepper and chives if you wish.