Can pizza be part of a balanced diet?

Let’s be honest, ladies — if there’s one thing we find hard to give up, it’s pizza, right? And yet, it’s not exactly the best friend of a balanced diet… Often too fatty, too salty, too sugary and too calorie-dense, shop-bought pizzas are best kept to a minimum if you’d like to look after your everyday wellbeing.

Well, that was before we shared with you3 light pizza recipes! These alternatives to the classic four-cheese pizza are about to become staples in your weekly menu. Delicious, easy to make and genuinely good for you — these lighter pizzas tick every box. Tempted?

Cauliflower pizza

For this light pizza recipe, we’re swapping out the traditional dough for a… cauliflower base! As surprising as it sounds, cauliflower bakes beautifully in the oven and makes a fantastic alternative to your usual crust.

Tip: feel free to mix things up with different toppings — chicken, aubergine, peppers, tuna… the possibilities are endless! Just be mindful not to overdo the cheese or other rich ingredients: your pizza should stay light so it can remain part of a varied, balanced diet.

Ingredients

Makes 1 pizza, about 3 slices

• 500g cauliflower, boiled or steamed
• 1 egg
• Salt, pepper
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 handful of olives
• 8 slices of bresaola
• A few slices of mozzarella

Method

1. Once the cauliflower is cooked, drain it thoroughly then blitz in a blender until you get a smooth paste.
2. Add salt, pepper and the egg, then mix well.
3. Preheat your oven to 170°C.
4. On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spread the mixture out to form your pizza base (about 5mm thick).
5. Place the base in the oven and bake for around 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven, spread over the tomato sauce, then add the bresaola, sliced tomatoes, olives and mozzarella.
7. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

And it’s ready — enjoy!

Light polenta pizza

Ingredients

Makes 1 pizza, about 6 slices

• 250g polenta
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 20g sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 handful of sliced button mushrooms
• 1 handful of baby spinach
• 4 tbsp tomato sauce (check there’s no added sugar if you’re not making it from scratch!)
• Dried oregano
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. In a saucepan, cook the polenta with the vegetable stock cube according to the packet instructions.
3. Spread the polenta evenly across the base of a non-stick tart tin, smooth it out and bake for about fifteen minutes.
4. Meanwhile, wash and slice your vegetables.
5. Spread the tomato sauce over the polenta base, then add the vegetables. Season lightly with salt and pepper, sprinkle with oregano, and bake for a further 7 minutes.

Dinner is served!

Pepper pizza

Ingredients

Makes 1 pizza, about 6 slices

• 1 pizza dough
• 2 yellow peppers
• 1 red pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 ladle of tomato passata
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Fresh basil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C.
2. Prepare your peppers by washing them, slicing them into strips and removing the seeds and white membranes.
3. In a non-stick frying pan, sauté the crushed garlic clove over high heat.
4. Lower the heat, add the peppers and cook gently with a lid on for around 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, roll out your dough onto a baking tray and spread over the tomato sauce. Add the peppers, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with oregano.
6. Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Meal idea: for a balanced meal, serve one slice of light pizza alongside a green salad. Round things off with a pot of plain yoghurt and/or a piece of fruit.

These light pizza recipes prove that eating well and looking after yourself doesn’t mean giving up the things you love, ladies!

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Useful categories: Nutrition.