This has been a very positive couple of weeks.  First of all I had my annual endoscopy on Friday and my bariatric doctor gave me a green light - my stomach is free of erosion, my band is in a perfect place, and all is right with my weight loss surgery world.  THAT is always good news for a WLS patient 12+ years post op.

Then! I discovered that I can have pizza back in my life.  What could be better than that?  So how does this pizza thing work?  Do I need to prep food for hours to make the crust and then bake it and then add the toppings?  NOPE - I’ve done that and while it is delicious, I am far too lazy to do that too often.  I saw an ad on, yes you guessed it - Facebook, for a premade cauliflower crust for pizza so I had to check it out.  Oh my goodness.  The stats were great, the ingredients were simple and real and I just HAD TO TRY IT.  I waited anxiously for my box to arrive and when it did I opened it, read the labels again, and proceeded to pop my 4 crusts into the freezer.

I had 2 of the “regular Italian crusts” which were made of cauliflower, cheese, eggs, basil and garlic.  One third of the 9 inch pie provides 70 calories and 5 grams of protein and then you top it as you choose.  One 9 inch pie is perfect for a dinner for 2 at my house - I get 1/3, hubby gets the rest.  I also ordered two of the red pepper crusts which are cauliflower, cheese, eggs, roasted garlic and red pepper seasoning.  One third of one of these is 60 calories and 5 grams of protein.

My order arrived in a priority mail box, wrapped in a foil packet that had an ice pack in it, with the crusts double packaged in plastic so that they didn’t get wet.  The instructions on the website tell you that the pizza crusts will probably arrive thawed and they can be refrigerated for 5-7 days or put back in the freezer for up to 9 months.  I popped mine in the freezer and then planned my dinner.

My pizza was to include sliced cremini mushrooms, sliced black olives, pizza sauce (Trader Joe’s 40 calories/2 grams protein per ¼ cup), Lite shredded Mozzarella cheese (also Trader Joe’s), Quattro Formaggio blend (asiago, parmesan, fontina, and provolone cheese shreds (also Trader Joe’s) and either Chicken Sausage (Hot Italian) or Turkey Pepperoni.  We wound up with a third party at dinner so I made both varieties.  Loaded with sauce, cheese, mushrooms, olives and either sausage or pepperoni 1/3 of the pie was 186 calories with the sausage - and 18 grams of protein, and 178 calories with 17 grams of protein for the pepperoni.

They were both fantastic.  Here’s the prep work - place the crust on parchment on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.  Meantime slice up the goodies to put on it then measure out the cheese and sauce.  Top the pizza, pop it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbling and edges are golden brown.  Set the table while it cooks.  You will NOT need to call your family to the dinner table because the aromas escaping the oven will do it for you.

My 1/3 of the pie was filling, tasty and brought back memories of my teenage years in Brooklyn NY hanging out at the pizza place down the street.

If you miss pizza, you must try this.  It’s not New York pizza, but then nothing is that good except the original, but it is worth trying as you expand those meals that are both weight loss surgery friendly AND delicious.  Here’s a link to order direct from Cali'flour Foods:  Cauliflower Pizza Crusts.  Tell them Sandi sent you.  ;-)

So I am a Weight Loss Surgery patient, I eat burgers (black and blue burgers are my fave) and pizza, and maintain my 270 pound weight loss, my tool is in perfect working order and my new cookbook, co-authored with Wendy Campbell is at the publisher.  More to come soon on Eat Your Way To Success And Learn How To Control Hunger.  Meantime, have some great pizza!