Make your pizza healthy way!

As low sodium dieters know well, some foods are hard to make in a healthy way. Susan Devitt of GalloLea Pizza Kits has asked me to share with you her recipes to make healthy and tasty pizzas. I thank her for her useful tips and hope that you find them useful too...
Umit


Grill Your Pizza!
Healthy and Tasty, Our Favorite Recipes
by Susan Devitt

Most days, dinner time at my house has to stay simple and quick, and with summer
still blazing ahead turning on the oven is a big turn-off. When I'm too tired to
think about cooking I can always fall back on grilling a pizza. Since husband Tom
and I are the owners of artisan food company GalloLea Pizza Kits, pizza remains a
favorite and a staple in our kitchen all year long. But whether you have a Pizza Kit
or not, here's the skinny on grilling your own pizza. It's so simple, and the
results are not only delicious, but healthy with some of our suggestions below.

Along with the grill, for best results, you'll need a pizza stone.

Grilling pizza takes about 7 minutes at the lowest grill temperature, or 450º. Keep
the grill cover on, but do keep an eye on it, it may cook quicker and you don't want
it to burn.

TIP: DON'T build your pizza on the stone, but place the stone on the grill BEFORE
you turn it on, so it heats up with the grill. That hot stone is the key to getting
a great crust, and it will prevent the stone from cracking. Just transfer your pizza
from the prep counter using a pizza peel or baking tray. Use corn meal on the
counter, and on the stone, to make the transfers easier.

Begin with your favorite dough and sauce. You may already have that time-worn recipe
but if not, don't despair. Just pick up a pre-made fresh dough-ball available from
many places like Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Trader Joe's, or your local healthy
market. Buying the fresh made dough will help you avoid a processed product that may
have too much salt and preservatives. Keep it simple and healthy. Pick up pre-made
fresh sauce too, and the toppings.

Alternately, if you're looking for a great shortcut to a homemade pizza, our
GalloLea Pizza Kits come with the crust mix and homemade sauce all in one package
(and it's organic, no preservatives). The Low Sodium Pizza Kit boasts only 24 mg. of
sodium in an entire pizza (crust AND sauce) leaving you a lot of wiggle room for
toppings. It also comes with a high-temperature cooking paper to build it on and
cook it on, so you won't need a pizza stone: pizza + paper go right into the oven or
on the grill.  (www.gallolea.com)

Begin by putting-out your pizza dough on the kitchen counter then top it with the
sauce. Now you're ready for any of our great recipes listed below. Then onto the
grill for several minutes and WOW! Amazing pizza! So go ahead: don't build a pizza
oven, just turn on the grill!

Horderves Pizza-
Instead of a red sauce, spread a fig preserve on the crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup
mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese. Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. This
one will really impress your guests!

Breakfast Pizza
Spread spinach over the red sauce, then top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2
cup Feta cheese. Instead of an omelet, try a pizza! Add a side of fruit and it's a
great summer brunch.

No-Cheese Favorite
Slice into pieces and saute in a cast iron skillet on the grill, or your stove: 1
red sweet bell pepper, 1 sweet onion (Vidalia or other sweet onion) in a small
amount of olive oil, just to keep from sticking. When it's browned and done add a
couple of tablespoons of aged Balsamic vinegar. This will caramelize the peppers and
onions in 2 minutes or so. This makes a generous amount to top a pizza and it's
super satisfying, sans the cheese!

Harvest Pizza
Peel a sweet potato, cube it and place it in a glass covered dish in the microwave
for 3 minutes till tender.
Sprinkle pizza with the cooked sweet potato, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup walnuts
or pecans. This combination is simple, and a real surprise when you taste it. At our
demo's, it's everybody's favorite!

Smokin' Pizza
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated smoked Gouda, 1/2 cup walnuts and for
the meat-eaters add crumbled bacon. Perhaps not the lowest in sodium, but with a Low
Sodium Pizza Kit you might just be able to make it a treat.

Farmers Market Pizza
It's not just grilling season; fresh veggies abound. So go ahead and get creative.
Pick up what's in season at your local tailgate market: tomatoes, garlic, summer
squash, broccoli, corn, you really can't go wrong on a pizza. With all these fresh
flavors, you can easily skip the cheese.

Have fun and make healthy pizzas! You'll find it's a simple meal with a big reward
in flavor and goodness.

Susan Devitt is owner, along with her husband Tom Gallo, of GalloLea Pizza Kits, an
artisan food company in Asheville, NC. Their organic Pizza Kits come in whole wheat,
gluten free, or low sodium. The Pizza Kits make a homemade pizza in 30 minutes, come
with the cooking paper and go straight into the oven or on the grill. You'll find
them in stores and on-line at their website or amazon.com. www.gallolea.com.

Stay Healthy with Cancer by Eating Right

The following article has been written by Jillian Mckee, a fellow blogger and complementary medicine advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. It is about the benefits of eating healthy during and after a diagnosis of any kind of cancer. Ms. Mckee believes that although each different cancer has its limitations, if one can keep a healthy body, they can have a better chance to overcome this awful disease. I certainly agree with her and am glad to share with you her article on the subject. So without further ado, here is the article...

Stay Healthy with Cancer by Eating Right
by Jillian Mckee

The phrase “you are what you eat” has always dominated in the nutrition field.  What happens when you can’t stomach the foods that you normally eat or you are too sick to eat because of cancer? Now it is especially important to take notice of nutrition and plan to eat a well-balanced diet. Eating well will help improve your quality of life and increase your energy levels.  

It is important to approach your illness in a holistic way. Besides taking your medication, you should also take time for yourself and eat well. There are several benefits to good nutrition.  Eating nutritious foods can change your energy levels and improve your overall health.  

It is very important to consider your nutritional intake at every stage. Whether an active stage or remission, the diet of a patient is very important to their recovery. Appetite may change or have an experience where their former diet is unaffected.  

No matter what happens, it is important to eat a well-balanced diet that includes all food groups.  Eating well is not just important for your body, it is also important for your mood.  If the items that the patient would normally eat are no longer appetizing, then try something new. Exotic fruits, vegetables, and new flavor combinations can sometimes revive the palate. Seasonal fruits will taste the best and be sweeter than items that are out of season. Exploring different spices can also make a common food new and exciting.

When going through treatments, you may have to change what and how much you eat during a day. One way to ingest food easier is to plan smaller meals. Small, more frequent meals give you the chance to have more selection in your diet.  

Whether a person is adjusting to their nutritional plans because of a mesothelioma diagnosis or in order to stay in remission, it is important to plan for a balanced diet.  Having a balanced diet will help keep your body running and make you more happy. Eating a well-balanced diet can make your body perform better than you ever thought it could.

Healthy Eating Tips for Travelers

Recently I have been travelling and staying away from home often.  I should admit that eating healthy while away from home is not easy. Here are few tips I learned from experience. Hopefully you will find them useful during your trips.

1) Drink more water than the usual on flights. Circulated air in airplanes, especially during longer flights, gets drier.

2) Also on flights, drinking too much coffee and tea causes more dehydration. Packaged juice products include too much simple sugars, therefore sticking with water would be the healthiest.

3) Try to find hotel rooms with kitchenettes. Even a small kitchen would help you prepare snacks and sandwiches yourself, which can be healthier than those you buy from supermarkets. Plus the more home-made foods you consume, the less you dine out, which is good not only for your health but for your pocket too!

4) Some residences rent out their condo units on nightly basis. These units come with fully-equipped kitchens where you can cook comfortably. These residences offer fully-equipped gyms which most hotels do not (or offer at lower quality). Extended Stay hotels are also available for travels in the U.S. and Canada.

5) Keep healthy snacks like granola bars in your bag. When hunger attacks while visiting an unknown area, you would not have to eat at the first restaurant you come across.

6) The first day you arrive in your hotel room, get bottled water and healthy snacks from a grocer and store them in your room. Some hotel rooms provide them as extras, however they overcharge.

7) Choosing a hotel that offers full breakfast (rather than continental breakfast) can help you find healthy foods early in the day when we usually are the hungriest. Speaking of breakfasts, if you eat a big breakfast, you can skip lunch unless the breakfast is very early. I tend to feel healthier when I eat big breakfast, small afternoon snack and then decent (not big enough to make me sleepy) amount of dinner.

8) Investigate not only the travelled area`s cuisine but also the restaurants nearby the area you will stay before travelling. Sites like Travel Advisor, Yelp and Zagat are very helpful. I personally use their mobile apps more as I tend to do more search while travelling instead of before.

9) Take your stomach and digestion medicines with you.

10) Avoid tap water at all times.

11) Order your meat cooked at least one grade higher than the usual.

12) Get smoothies and vitamin juices at every opportunity (from a clean store!). I tend to consume less vitamins and vegetables while I am travelling and unfortunately most restaurant meals are meat (rather than vegetable) based especially in English and Spanish speaking countries.

13) At the first day of your trip, avoid eating too much or adventuring into new tastes. New spices and condiments may upset your stomach. Try to get yourself accustomed to foreign cuisines slowly.

Please feel free to add other useful tips you know in the comments section. Let`s help fellow travelers eat healthier :-)

Thank you,

Umit