Biggest Loser Pizza

What do you think of when you think of pizza? 

Sausage?  Pepperoni? 

I think of the garden.

Each week on the Biggest Loser, the contestants participate in the Biggest Loser Challenge.  They haul, crawl, chase, lift, pile, run, reach, bend, stretch. 

To me, that's the easy stuff.  I crave seeing what I consider the real challenge.  I want to see what these people eat!  But I guess that doesn't make for good TV.  And probably wouldn't fill more than ten minutes of air time.

Neither would my personal challenge.  It's a daily thing and not excessively demanding. 

My personal challenge with all dishes is to see how many vegetables you can cram in.

Pizza is a natural.  

Every pizza starts with dough and sauce.  Everyone has his favorite starting line.  

So, are you ready? 

Get set.  

Go!

Biggest Loser Challenge #1:  Use as little dough as possible.

Roll the dough thin.  (Biggest Loser's don't eat much bread.)  Challenge yourself - stretch that dough!  Make it bigger than the pan size, get out the scissors and cut off the excess.  Throw it away.  Or save it for a couple cinnamon rolls - your choice.  Do you want to win this challenge, or what?

Pour on the sauce.  Store bought, or make your own for bonus points.  

Smash a couple garlic cloves, spread 'em around in the sauce.

Biggest Loser Challenge #2:  Veggies equal immunities!  

Pizza is a natural for Vegetarian Day.  A four topping limit usually works, more is asking for a soggy bottom. 

There are broccoli, green peppers and tomatoes in the garden right now.  Sliced mushrooms and mini sweet peppers are a great shortcut from the grocery store. 

Yeah, tomatoes are a little excessive with the sauce, but garden fresh is too good to leave out, and I can't resist adding just one.  (Add 2 minutes to cooking time for a pie with tomato slices.)

Biker notation - Every time I open mushrooms from the store I am reminded of the ten mile smell of the mushroom farms along the Mt Dora Century route.  How can such a stink generate such a mild and meaty veg?  (Do I really want to know?)

Biggest Loser Challenge #3 :  Meat.

The thought of pepperoni just gags me.  Oh it tastes good and all, but once you begin looking at food as fuel, sausage and such just doesn't even come to mind. 

Meat - good lean meat - on pizza is satisfying and very good fuel. 

When meat calls to us, we try to buy the leanest range fed ground beef or buffalo burger possible.  There's always ground turkey breast or chicken if you want to really go for this challenge.

When you brown the meats, tip the pan, use paper towels (handled with tongs if you don't like burned fingers) to sop up any extra grease.  

Biggest Loser Challenge # 4:  Cheese

Ok, if you can make no-fat or lowfat cheese work on a pizza, I concede this challenge!  And please let me know what you use.  Part skim mozzarella or six cheese Italian is about as low fat as we've been able to tolerate so far. 

Pile it all on the dough: sauce, garlic, veggies, meat, cheese.

Bake 20 -22 minutes at 375.

Cut into eight slices.

And then,

Biggerst Loser Challenge #5:  Challenge yourself to eat just one! 

Or, at 300 calories a slice, at least not three.