Low-carb Mediterranean and Margherita Pizza plus "Chips"

If you're going to follow the low carb lifestyle, there's 2 things you need to know: (1) You can't cheat (otherwise you have to start Phase 1 all over again and (2) You need to know how many carbs are in food. A good carb counter is necessary. Use this one. Once you start, you will get to know quickly what is “LOW” and what is “NO”.

I have 2 pizza crust recipes I will try in the future – one with a cream cheese based crust and the other is cauliflower based but I'm not going to post them until I can validate that they are great! Here are 2 that I make regularly:

Mediterranean Pizza – 9 carbs

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Mission Carb Balance flour tortilla – 6 carbs

½ cup shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese – 1 carb

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese – 1 carb

½ cup fresh or frozen* chopped spinach – 1 carb

Oregano

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut a piece of foil to just a bit larger than the tortilla – spray with olive oil or any non-stick spray. Place tortilla on foil.

Heat olive oil in a small non-stick skillet. Once it’s hot, add garlic and sauté for just a minute – do not allow to brown.  Pour onto tortilla and spread across tortilla with a basting/pastry brush. (If you use one of their larger burrito-sized tortilla, adjust the carbs and use more olive oil and garlic, cheeses and spinach.)

*If using frozen spinach, heat it in the skillet, stirring frequently until hot.

Cover the garlic oil covered tortilla with the Italian cheese blend, feta cheese, and spinach. Season with a bit of oregano, or Italian seasoning if preferred. Kalamata olives would be great to add and only 1 carb!

Bake on the highest oven rack for about 10-12 minutes or until cheese melts. If you don’t like the crispy crust, make sure you cover the tortilla with the cheese all the way to the edge.

Use a pizza cutter to cut in 4 slices, or just roll it up for a Mediterranean Wrap on-the-go.

Margherita Pizza

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Mission Carb Balance flour tortilla – 6 carbs

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese – 1 carb

1 T fresh grated Parmesan cheese – < 1 carb

1 Roma tomato – 2 carbs

Kosher salt and pepper

3-4 fresh basil leaves, or dried basil

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut a piece of foil to just a bit larger than the tortilla – spray with olive oil or any non-stick spray. Place tortilla on foil.

Heat olive oil in a small non-stick skillet. Once it’s hot, add garlic and sauté for just a minute – do not allow to brown.  Pour onto tortilla and spread across tortilla with a basting/pastry brush.

Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan and cover the garlic oil covered tortilla with the cheese.

Thinly slice the tomato, season with salt and pepper and place on top of the cheese. Cut basil into strips and add to the top of the pizza.

Bake on the highest oven rack for about 10-12 minutes or until cheese melts. If you don’t like the crispy crust, make sure you cover the tortilla with the cheese all the way to the edge.

Use a pizza cutter to cut in 4 slices, or just roll it up for a Mediterranean Wrap on-the-go.

Other pizza options – low carb

You can make a traditional pizza using the tortilla, but either make your own sauce or find a jarred sauce that is under 7 carbs a serving. Make the pizza upside down – cheese on the bottom and the sauce drizzled on the top,

Other low carb toppings – sausage, bacon, ground meat, green onions, peppers, mushrooms (not too many!)

If you want pepperoni, the best thing to do is to lay it out on paper towels and make sure to cover it with a paper towel and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Much of the grease will be absorbed into the towel rather than onto the pizza.

You can also make "chips" with pepperoni using the same method, but you cook it for a minute. There are great to use as a chip to eat cheese dips, spinach dip,  artichoke dip , or any other low carb dip.

Arrange on paper towels without overlapping. I put 3 layers on the bottom and 2 layers on top.

Place in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds for pizza topping or 1 minute for chips.

You can see the amount of grease that is removed by microwaving. Now you know why your pizza has puddles of grease when you order from the pizza shop.

Place chips in a baggie and store in the fridge. These are also food by themselves when you need something crunchy to eat!