pizza – #ThisGirlEats

RECIPE: Pesto Pizza | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 1
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? This pesto pizza makes a great takeaway alternative and, compared to a normal pizza, is much lower in fat and carbs.

We all know takeaways are my vice, particularly pizza. I’ve tried coming up with a bunch of homemade alternatives to curb the temptation of picking up that Dominos menu and, while nothing quite compares to a takeaway slice with garlic and herb dip, there are other options that satisfy my cravings.

Cutting down on price but still delivering on flavour is this delightful pesto pizza. If you use a ball of light mozzarella you can make one pizza for around 53p (you’re looking at a little more if using low fat grated cheese, coming to around £1.23 per pizza) compared to at least £15 if you order in. Ridiculous when you think about it, right? I also use only a handful of low fat cheese when making these pizzas instead of piling it on, and the base is a wholemeal tortilla instead of thick deep crust dough, slashing the carb content too.

Sometimes a good cheese and tomato pizza really hits the spot for me, but there are times when you need to make more of a meal out of it, and that’s where the toppings come in. Really, that part is all down to you. I topped my pizza with onions, peppers and mushrooms, but there’s no limit to the combos you could come up with!

INGREDIENTS
30g (2 tbsp) Tomato Purée
15g (1 heaped tbsp) Light Pesto
1 Wholemeal Tortilla
100g (1/2 cup) Low Fat Grated Cheese OR 1/2 Ball of Light Mozzarella, Torn and Drained

SEASONING
When combining the tomato purée and pesto, season with salt, pepper and half a teaspoon of sugar if you’ve got any. This stops the mixture being too acidic and works to my taste better, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea so give it a try and see what you think. Sprinkle a pinch of dried basil (or fresh if you’ve got it) over the pizza just before serving.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Stir together the tomato purée, pesto and seasoning in a bowl until well combined.

2. Lay the tortilla in a frying pan and cook for a few minutes on one side to crisp up a little.

3. Flip the tortilla over, spread the tomato pesto paste all over, cover with your choice of cheese and any additional toppings and cook.

4. When the cheese has started to melt, pop the pan under the grill to finish off cooking and crisping up for a final few minutes.

Tips & Tricks

If you want a saucier base (ooh-er!) use passata instead of tomato purée. 🍅

For a punchier pizza base, tear some fresh basil into the tomato pesto sauce to really bring out the flavour of that pesto. 🌿

If you’re adding toppings to your pizza, try not to make them too heavy – remember, the base is very thin and too much on top will make this a seriously messy business! 🍕

RECIPE: Pizza Stuffed Bell Peppers | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1 per person
What are the benefits? This is a great low carb recipe, a creative takeaway alternative, and provides you with one of your five a day.

I’m forever on a quest to find a way to eat pizza and be healthy. The two don’t exactly go hand in hand, but I feel like it’s my kryptonite. Pizza is just one habit I can’t kick and, being completely honest, I’m not entirely sure I want to… 🍕

My latest attempt at getting that saucy, cheesy satisfaction without all the, y’unno, grease, is to take classic pizza toppings and load them into a fresh vegetable rather than on top of a thick, doughy crust. I won’t lie to you – no, it’s not the same. You can’t swap a deep dish for a red pepper and expect not to know the difference. BUT, it still tastes delicious.

It gave me the same yummy flavour I was after but also oozing nutritional value, unlike pretty much any pizza ever! Not only that, but I managed to get hold of everything I needed for this recipe for just 80p per person.

INGREDIENTS
2 Bell Peppers, Halved and Deseeded
1 Ball of Light Mozzarella Cheese
4 Large Slices of Pepperoni
1/2 Carton of Passata
Sprinkling of Parmesan or “Hard Cheese”

SEASONING
Mix a good dose of garlic flakes, dried basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper into the passata so the pizza sauce has strong flavour. With the peppers, they shouldn’t need much tweaking – just a touch of salt and pepper on the outside.

So, this is how I did it…

1. First off, add a very small dash of cooking spray or a teeny drop of oil to a baking tray, use a tissue to spread it across the tray and place the bell peppers, skin side up. Don’t let it get too oily, otherwise the peppers will go almost soggy, which is great for a succulent roast pepper but not great for holding their structure when stuffed. Season and cook for 20 – 25 minutes on 200°C.

2. Pour the passata into a bowl and stir in a hefty helping of herbs, garlic and seasoning.

3. Remove peppers from the oven and fill with the pizza stuffing – one layer of passata, torn chunks of mozzarella (drained as much as possible before using!) and the pepperoni, chopped or torn into small pieces.

4. Place back into the oven, stuffed side up, for another 20 minutes or so.

5. Switch on the grill and leave the peppers underneath for a couple of minutes, just until the tops crisp up and the parmesan cheese browns. Delish!

Make It At Home! My Favourite Alternative Takeaway Recipes | #ThisGirlEats

As far as I’m concerned, ordering in is one of the modern world’s greatest luxuries. Okay, so opening that cardboard box and seeing your order slopping all over the place from the dodgy ride in the delivery driver’s car, looking NOTHING like the ad that pinged into your inbox an hour ago, might not look like luxury. But the fact that we can get delicious comfort food without even changing out of our PJs is a marvel.

But takeaway costs a dollar, right? It’s expensive. And it’s unhealthy. And it’s super lazy, let’s be honest.

Making your own “takeaway” sounds like effort, but if you’re willing to put in just a little time you can make something fresh, tasty and satisfying that saves some pennies and doesn’t drown your insides in grease.

I’ve rounded up some of my favourite make-at-home takeaway alternatives, from pizza to a full blown Chinese takeaway. Give them a try and see the savings for yourself!

Tortilla Pizza

Average takeaway cost: £17.99 (based on Medium Pepperoni Passion pizza from Dominos UK)
Average make-at-home cost: £5

Average takeaway calories: 226 calories per slice (based on Large Pepperoni Passion pizza from Dominos UK)
Average make-at-home calories: 470 calories per whole pizza!

This recipe takes barely 15 minutes from start to finish, and it’s honestly such minimal effort. A whole pizza will appear before your eyes before you know it! Check out my tortilla pizza recipe here.

Vegetable Curry

Average takeaway cost: £10 (based on local takeaway prices for a classic vegetable curry, boiled rice and plain naan bread)
Average make-at-home cost: £8.85

Average takeaway calories: 1,020 calories (based on nutritional information from weightlossresources.co.uk)
Average make-at-home calories: 650 calories

Curries are all about the flavour and, sure, you could order a veggie curry with some plain-ass side dishes for a tenner, orrrr you could make it at home, spice it up to your heart’s content, and save some dollar on the side! Check out my recipe for vegetable curry with rice and tortilla naans here.

Cheeseburgers

Average takeaway cost: £11.45 per person (based on standard cheeseburger and small fries from Five Guys UK)
Average make-at-home cost: £8.35

Average takeaway calories: 1,126 calories per person (based on standard cheeseburger with grilled onions, grilled mushroom, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard and small fries from Five Guys UK)
Average make-at-home calories: 742 calories per person – includes everything in the Five Guys burger, plus avocado and a roasted vegetable side salad.

Five Guys is the God of fast food. It’s what places like McDonald’s and Burger King should aspire to be. But you can slash the price and calories by almost half if you make a piled-high burger and chunky veg side salad at home. Check out my recipe for home made beef burgers with roasted vegetable salad here.

RECIPE: Pepperoni Pizza With a Tortilla Base | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 1
How much does it cost? This cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? This makes a great takeaway alternative, provides one of your five a day with the passata and mushroom, and is low carb compared to a normal pizza.

We all know pizza is pretty low on the scale of nutritional food. Even I, a dedicated pizza lover, can accept that.

But we also know that it’s probably the best food on God’s given earth and life without it just isn’t worth living – and no, I’m not being dramatic, this is genuinely how I feel about pizza.

So I’ve come up with an alternative so we don’t miss out by sticking to a balanced diet. By making a pizza at home you’re already cutting calories, but using a wholewheat tortilla as the base instead of going full-on deep crust is also lower in carbs and sugar content, plus the fresh toppings help contribute to your daily dose of vegetables.

I’ve done the maths and this recipe equals out to less than 500 calories for a WHOLE. GODDAMN. PIZZA. I know calories don’t count for much but it’s the most obvious piece of nutritional information on any takeaway menu (you have to go on a proper hunt to find full nutritional info) so it’s an easy comparison – my favourtie pizza takeaway, for example, offers one single slice of pepperoni at 226 calories. It’s not the be all and end all, but it gives an idea.

INGREDIENTS
1 Wholemeal Tortilla Wrap
1/3 Carton of Passata
1/2 a Ball of Light Mozzarella (approx 65g)
Sprinkling of Low Fat Cheese
5 Slices of Pepperoni
2 Mushrooms, Chopped

SEASONING
There is a hefty dose of seasoning that goes with this recipe – but don’t worry, it’s nothing complicated! When preparing the passata, pour it into a bowl and stir in some dried garlic flakes, mixed herbs, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, salt and pepper. When you’re adding toppings to the pizza, sprinkle over a generous helping of dried basil.

So, this is how I did it…

1. The last thing you want is a soggy bottom (shout out to my fellow GBBO fans) so spread the tiniest amount of oil or cooking spray across a frying pan and heat it up.

2. The oil/spray shouldn’t take too long to heat. Once it does, lay the tortilla flat in the pan and immediately spread the passata sauce all over it, right to the edges, then top with torn mozzarella (make sure it’s drained otherwise you’ll get a puddle on your pizza!), pepperoni, mushroom and dried basil.

3. When the mozzarella begins to melt, sprinkle a light layer of low fat grated cheese on top – I used cheddar, but it’s personal preference really.

4. The toppings will begin to cook and the grated cheese will begin to melt. Once everything looks like it’s almost cooked, pop it under the grill for a couple of minutes to crisp up the tortilla and ensure everything melts together nicely. And that’s it!