Did you know that if you are trying to lose weight, you can still eat pizza and not feel one bit of guilt over it?  In fact, it can be quite healthy!

Sound too good to be true?   Well, let me assure you that it isn’t.

Now, I’m not saying that you can go out and have the typical pizza you find in America dripping with grease from all of the cheese and wreaking havoc on your insulin levels from the big fluffy white dough.  That will NOT help you reach your weight loss goals!

But, there is a better alternative – and it’s gourmet at that!

My wife just made this pizza for our family and I had it today for lunch.

And, trust me when I say that it tastes as good as it looks!

We were short on time when we made it…we tend to always be short on time as small business owners and the parents of 4 small children, so my wife made a few substitutions.  So, I’ll post the original recipe and then I’ll post the variations that we made to save us some time.

Pesto Chicken Pizza
Source:  Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook
Serves:          1 Large (man-sized portion) or 2 Smalls (female-sized portion)

Original recipe:

  • 6 oz. Boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into ½ inch strips)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • Olive oil cooking spray
  • 1 Whole wheat tortilla
  • 3 Tbsp Pesto
  • ¼ cup of Broccoli florets (small)
  • ¼ cup Sundried tomato (thin sliced)
  • ½ cup Asparagus (cut into ½ inch pieces)
  • ½ cup Aged white cheddar (grated)

Instructions:

 1)    Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat, lightly coat with spray and add the seasoned chicken breast.  Sauté until lightly browned all over and cooked all the way through, stirring occasionally.  Remove from pan and set aside.

2)    Preheat oven to 400 °F.  Lightly coat baking sheet with spray and place the tortilla on the tray.

3)    Spread the pesto base evenly around the shell leaving the outside inch free for the crust.

4)    Combine all the other ingredients except for the cheese in a mixing bowl and toss the mixture together.  Spread evenly covering the pesto.

5)    Top with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and the shell is lightly toasted (about 10 minutes).

This was my lunch today thanks to the wifey! She rocks! 🙂

My wife’s modifications to the recipe to save us time and to make a larger batch for our family of 6:

  • 1 Rotisserie chicken with all of the meat pulled from the bone and skin
  • Coconut spray instead of olive oil spray (We prefer to cook with coconut oil because it has a higher smoke point.)
  • 4 Whole wheat tortilla wraps (Publix had Toufayan tortilla wraps BOGO last night.)
  • 1-2 Tbsp. Alessi pesto sauce per wrap (instead of 3 Tbsp. as in the original recipe – this cut down on the calories from the fat in the particular one we used.  You could also make your own if you prefer.)
  • About 15 Sundried Tomatoes slices per wrap (You can use the ones in a bag that you have to soak in water to soften, but since ours were in olive oil, we squeezed them and soak up as much oil as possible with paper towels.)

As I you can see, we made a few modifications to fit the time that we had available to us, but I can guarantee you that this pizza was far healthier and much tastier than most restaurant pizza you would eat out.

Finally…you may be wondering…which is better?  Chicken breast that I cook myself or the rotisserie chicken…

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I’ll answer that very question…you may be surprised at my answer.

Be sure to try out the recipe (the original version or my wife’s version) and leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!

Bon appetite!  🙂

John