A Major Pizza Announcement

Ya'll, I ate pizza last night. I bet you thought I couldn't have pizza since I'm on that pesky break with dairy, right? Well Shaun T wouldn't leave me stranded without pizza for 30 days.

Behold, the "Tofu Ricotta Cheese Veggie Pizza":

Veggie on the right, regular old mozz on the left for the kids. I didn't eat any cheese, I promise!

Now before I'm struck upside the head with a projectile thrown by a Pizza Purist, just give me a chance to explain.

In the Asylum Get Shredded Meal Plan, there is a recipe for Chicken Pita Pizza that shows you how to make "Ricotta Cheese" out of tofu. I like tofu and am willing to experiment with it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It was really simple. All you do is take 4 tablespoons of firm tofu and smash it with a fork. Then you add a dash of garlic powder, pinch of dried oregano, a pinch of dried basil, dash of salt, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. You mix it all up, and low and behold you've got a ricotta-looking substance. And it tasted like ricotta, too!

Before you turn your nose up, let's compare the nutrition info between a half cup of tofu and a half cup of mozzarella cheese:

Tofu
Calories: 88
Fat: 5 grams (1 gram saturated)
Sodium: 15 grams
Protein: 10 grams

Mozzarella Cheese (shredded, part skim, low moisture)
Calories: 170
Fat: 12 grams (9 gram saturated)
Sodium: 298 grams
Protein: 14 grams

So tofu has half the calories, less than half the fat (especially the saturated kind, which is the bad stuff), virtually no sodium, and some good protein (although less than the cheese).

Now, did this taste like Pizza Hut pizza? No. Did the grease pool in the middle of the pie? No. And were there strings of cheesy goodness stretching between the pan and my plate? No and no. But this was good pizza.

It had great flavor (part of which was due to my new homemade sauce, which I'll share below), and good texture. It kept me in line with my 30-day non-dairy goal, while still allowing me to have some pizza. It was worth the effort, and I would fix it again. I would even suggest using the tofu ricotta in a lasagna, but probably as a way to reduce the amount of total cheese that you use, not as a complete replacement. (A lasagna's got to have cheese!)

The other great new thing about this pizza was the fresh tomato sauce that I made in about 3.5 minutes. I found the recipe in this month's Southern Living, and it could not be any easier or more delicious. All you do is get a 14-oz. can of Italian stewed or diced tomatoes and mix it in a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. It tasted so fresh and tangy! It was one thousand times better than Ragu. Seriously.

It's Friday! Make some tofu ricotta cheese pizza for me. And also, have a great 4th of July, everyone!

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Workout of the Day

Asylum: Relief

Nearly a week of Asylum in the books, and Zach and I are loving this workout. Vertical Plyo yesterday was some crazy jumping, and I was drenched in sweat at the end. Usually Zach's the only one standing in a pool at the end of the workout, but I had my own little pool yesterday, too. I even saw some drip off the end of my hair. Crazy!