I was interested to hear that a new no-dough pizza was released a few days ago. Although I'm not a big (wheat free) pizza eater, it's always good to know that there's a readymade wheat free pizza available to buy off the shelf, for those “must have pizza but haven't got the time to make it” moments.
So I wanted to know the low down on these new pizzas, as I'm sure does anyone else that loves pizza but can't eat wheat.
The pizzas are the brainchild of WHO radio personality Van Harden who lost his appetite for bread after an accident with a lawn mower. Don't ask me what lawn mowers have to do with liking bread, it's a new one on me.
The upshot was that he really missed pizza, so with his wife set about trying to make pizza without the dough base. From this the no-dough pizza was born.
For everyone now thinking, “but how does the topping stay together without a dough base?” I'll tell you. He uses cheese. Yes, cheese. So you can now buy a pizza that has a cheese base, and is then topped off with more cheese, and to add a bit more to the old artery hardening recipe it comes in pepperoni, sausage and beef versions.
Evidently these pizzas are “a little rich”, a little rich? Who are they kidding? It's a dietary nightmare.
The nutrition stats for 1 slice of the pepperoni no-dough pizza are:
Calories: 330
Carbohydrates: 5g
Total fat: 24g
Sodium: 910mg
Calcium: 600mg
If you look at 1 slice of an average traditional pizza it would give you:
Calories: 150
Carbohydrates: 12g
Total fat: 8g
Sodium: 380mg
Calcium: 90mg
So while you might be getting more calcium, you are also increasing your fat intake by three times, doubling your calorie intake, and more than doubling your sodium intake. And of course what they do exactly to the cheese to make it into a pizza base is a closely guarded secret.
Wow, eat one of these pizzas and you could satisfy all your calorie needs for the entire day, you won't need to eat another thing, which as we all know just isn't going to happen.
But of course this type of pizza is also going to appeal to people on the Atkins diet, where calories and fat are seen as the good guys, and carbohydrates (or any other aspect of a balanced diet) are seen as the bad guys.
So if you are looking for a wheat free pizza and don't mind the fact that it is a calorie and fat laden snack then these pizzas may be for you. However if you are on a wheat free diet because you have a genuine wheat allergy or intolerance then you'll probably be far more health conscious anyway, choosing to eat a healthy, balanced diet to optimise your nutrition needs.
Me, I'm sticking with my own homemade
pizza bases, I know what's in them, how they were made, and that I'll be getting a balanced mix of carbohydrates as part of the whole deal.
