No food in history has derailed more diets than pizza.
The soft, doughy base dripping with melted cheese. The mouth-watering sauce. The aromatic, caramelized toppings. There’s no wondering why pizza is one of the most universally loved cheat day meals, offering that holy trinity of high-fat, high-salt and high-carbohydrates.
The takeaway pizza has forever been the enemy of the waistline-wary lifter, however with a few adjustments, a DIY pizza can still be part of a healthy diet.
We’ve joined forces with Accredited Practising Dietitian Victoria Matkovic from Thrive Nutrition to bring you a fitness friendly pizza recipe that’s as flavorsome as your favorite takeaway spot, while still fitting your macros.
2 Ingredient Pizza Base
Serves: Makes 2 pizza bases
Time: 30 mins
You’ll never buy a takeaway pizza again after trying this recipe! This pizza dough is higher in fiber, packed full of protein and lower in fat than typical takeaway pizzas. What’s even better is that you get to choose your favorite toppings!
Ingredients
Pizza base
-2 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for rolling (can use white or wholemeal self-raising flour or a combo of both)
-1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
Toppings
Below is suggested ingredients for a ‘Capricciosa’ style pizza, but feel free to use your favorite toppings.
-1x 140g tub tomato paste
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 capsicum, thinly sliced
-5 white mushrooms, thinly sliced
-½ red onion, thin sliced
-10 pitted kalamata olives
-150g leg ham, shredded
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (or 180°C fan-forced).
2. Place flour and yogurt into a large bowl and mix with a knife until the dough starts to form a ball. It will look a bit dry and crumbly at first but keep mixing. If the dough continues to look dry, just add 1 tbsp of water as needed until it forms a rough dough.
3. Place the mixture into a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms (around 8 mins). If the dough is sticking, add a light sprinkle of flour on the board and on top of the dough as many times as required. However, don’t add too much flour as this can make the dough dry again (the dough should be slightly sticky).
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal balls. Lightly flour your working surface again and roll the dough into a circle around 1.5cm thick. Transfer the pizza base on a lined baking tray. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
5. Place the toppings on the pizza bases starting with tomato paste, cheese then ham and veg.
6. Bake in the oven for 8-10 mins until the base is golden brown underneath and the cheese has melted.
7. Slice each pizza into 6 pieces and enjoy!
Try these other flavor combos:
-Roasted pumpkin, spinach, onion, pine nuts and feta cheese
-Cooked shredded chicken, spinach, mushrooms and bocconcini cheese
-Shredded ham, sun dried tomatoes, capsicum, mushrooms, freshly shaved Parmesan and rocket (placed on after baking)
-Grilled zucchini, grilled eggplant, olives, onion and feta cheese
Want to flaunt those healthy pizza gains? Grab yourself something from our men’s or women’s collections before your next workout!
All recipes sourced from Thrive Nutrition - Victoria Matkovic, Accredited Practising Dietitian.
