Hello my adoring fans! (and if you're not, shhh, I can disable the comment feature and stay in my happy little world). I've had a great week playing with 4th graders. I have been hooked to grammar videos on YouTube that students beg me to replay and if I break into song, they sing it in their following classes (one child, I'm sure, is doing it to see if he can get on that teacher's nerves...but ahem, if you wanted a grade, you should have put your name on it to the tune of Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies"...that's too fun to get mad at).
I feel that it's important to write that I enjoy pizza. I don't enjoy wheat pizza because I get instantly sick and basically deal with fatigue so severe I can't fight falling asleep; however, I crave it and I walk past foods in the store and long for the days of my youth when my Daddy made me cast-iron skillet sized pancakes and homemade syrup. Breakfast isn't as fun anymore.
Ever stubborn (or determined), I've found a few solutions along the way. I don't have tons of pizza solutions, but I'm always a budgeting fanatic because of my three children (and since I like eating, I make sure to keep to the budget). I crave pizza like anyone else. I crave pancakes and biscuits and cake, too. I know the majority of my daily nutrition does not include those items, and let's be honest, any healthy nutritional plan should not be heavy on treats. Those items are all treats, but wheat? It's asking me to eat cardboard. I know it smells heavenly, but I don't feel my symptoms remind anyone of heaven. It's easy for me to abstain for that reason alone: avoiding those horrid thyroid symptoms. However, what does one do when they really crave the treat, but not the evil side effects?
You get creative...especially when I once looked up how much it'd cost to get a veggie-topped gluten free pizza from Pizza Hut. $18 had me closing the window (in contrast, Domino's is cheaper). My meal shouldn't cost half of our entire check for a household of five. Course, I figure I'd just have to get used to the slightly chewy crust and have less veggies than I really like. That's my life now, right? Well....maybe not.
Mama Mary's Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
Found at both my local HEB and Walmart, I have frequently made my own pizza using this pre-made pizza crust. I add a plethora of my favorite vegetables like jarred mushrooms, and always, always pepperoni. For the most part, this has been my go-to for pizza cravings. The crust itself is about $4 or $5 and since I pick up the cheaper wheat crusts to make my children pizzas at the same time, the other items I purchase (shredded mozzarella, tomato sauce) are already feeding my minion army. We're set! Thing is, I have to be willing to do some preparation. Isn't the joy of pizza having someone else prepare it? Many times I choose NOT to pick up the pre-made pizza crust because I don't want the cost and the effort.
I recently noticed my small-town grocery stops have frozen gluten-free pizzas. That's changed up a few options and I wanted to share it with my audience. Yes, it's not diet food, but it's also not thyroid-filled allergen foods that cause the thyroid to struggle to function. I can live with that.
Udi's Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza
I found this at my local Walmart. The crust is not as chewy as Domino's and whatever their seasoning is, I was pleased. As price goes, it cost me about $5.76 (since locations can vary). After paying $7.99 just for a Domino's pepperoni and cheese gluten free pizza (no other topics because the price goes sky high), I'm loving this pizza.
Russo's Frozen Pizza
I recently tried the Russo's Mulberry and I'm in love. Though it's a tad pricier with a $6.99 after-coupon deal at HEB, I'm still going to fork over that cash. While Russo's has a nice variety of pizzas, I chose the Mulberry for a taste-test. The crust is not chewy. Not one bit, Sam I Am. It's the best gluten-free crust I've ever had. The mixture of flavors and seasonings have me gladly dropping $7 for that baby.
Half of the pizza filled me up, and I couldn't say that of Domino's very flat-crusted, sparsely topped pepperoni pizza. I didn't consider the Domino's sparsely topped until I checked out Russo's toppings. The Mulberry has Italian sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, and uncured pepperoni, I like it so much that I could exclusively purchase that variety of Russo's pizza, though that may be unfair to not try the others. I might find a variety of new menu options if I'm willing. With such a limited nutrition plan, finding a new food item in the restricted plan that's an actual treat? An option that's actually not "cheating" on your health? That might bring a tear to my eye.
Other Options
I haven't delved too deep in the various ways to have gluten-free pizza. I'm running full-tilt from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I know there's other pizza options. I have books with gluten-free pizza crust recipes, like George Stella. Other brands offer pre-made crusts and crust-mixes. There's a growing collection of frozen gluten-free pizza by California Pizza Kitchen, Freschetta, and Amy's Organic. I know my lifestyle and its restrictions. For example, I have my stock-pile of agave syrup and coconut flour, but as much as I'd like some low-carb coconut flour muffins, I'm swamped with work. I'm hoping an up-coming 3-day weekend will offer an opportunity to bake coconut muffins or carb-quick cheesy biscuits. I like that I can purchase frozen pizzas and stock them in my deep freezer for those nights when tutorials runs late and I meet a parent walking out the door and do an impromptu conference...and my stomach is nagging me and my children melodramatically act like they're dying of starvation. I have a go-to pop-in-the-oven on late-work days option again. Yes! Put on PJs and start checking my own children's homework after working with other people's children and their homework.
Always Test-Testing New Items
As I finish this post up, my husband hands me a can of Libby's Skinny Fruits made with Splenda. I'll have to try that out and see if it's a fit since I limit one of our daughter's sugar-intake because it spikes her anxiety. I wouldn't suggest eating an entire can in one sitting, because I can do math fairly well. One serving is 6g of sugar (found naturally in the fruit), but a 15 oz can has 3.5 servings. That's 21g of sugar and I'd be taking a forced nap. Course, in contrast, that's also 2.5 cups of fruit. If I keep to the 1/2 cup serving for my daughter and myself, we can enjoy a few more fruit options.
I thanked my husband as he walked away and his response was, "I'm trying." I wonder if he knows how much that means to me: how he goes to the store for me, how he looks for new products, and how he's learned to limit foods that affect the girls in his household. I know I would not be as successful in my healthy pursuits if I lacked his support.
With that, I hope you enjoy some of the consumer items that are popping up these days. If my town is finally offering these choices, then these options are becoming more prevalent. It becomes a matter of scoping out aisles you don't always look at anymore. Eating healthy shouldn't be boring. It should not take Betty Crocker effort, either. I'd starve if that was the case (or eat dressing-less salad because 99.9% of dressings are made with soybean oil). Gluten-free living is looking up.
Happy eating!
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