Pocketmole's Pizzas & Paninis

I was going to just make a post about the flatbread pizzas I make, but upon realizing I could do some corny alliteration with my name I decided to throw in a little panini talk as well. :]

I suppose I should say a little about my methods of cooking before going into all of this, because I know some people have very strict ideas about what "diet" food is. My philosophy has been to cook things that I know I'll love. If I feel deprived I quickly fall off of the bandwagon. I love food and if I didn't care about my health I would probably eat a 2000 calorie block of cheddar cheese for breakfast every morning, haha. For this reason I try to use quality ingredients that pack a lot of flavor. I often cook with real butter, cream, fancy schmancy cheeses, good quality chocolate, etc. The key is not to go overboard with the ingredients, to mind my portions to get the flavor I want from the good stuff while filling out with some lighter options like light cream cheese or yogurt. For most of my meals I aim to keep things around 300-400 calories, which on my 1200 calorie budget tends to allow for some snacking during the day. On the days when I work out (I do boot camp three days a week) I go up to more like 400-500 per meal. If I go over my calories for the day I don't freak out about it, as I'm trying to keep my eyes open to the big picture. Just in case anyone had any doubts about eating pizzas and paninis on a diet, I've lost 45lbs eating these foods and I don't feel like I'm starved everyday. I always feel satisfied after a meal, which is what is one of the most important things for me.

Aaaaand enough of that!

So lately I've gotten really into making these thin, crispy flatbread pizzas because they are so quick and easy to do. The calorie count will obviously change depending on how you make them, but mine tend to fall between 250-300 for half of a pizza. Basically all you do is construct a pizza on a piece of lavash bread. Other types of flatbreads would work fine (pita, naan, tortillas) but I've become a big fan of the whole wheat lavash by California Lavash. Half a sheet is only 60 calories.

Heat your oven to 375F. Spray each side of the flatbread with cooking spray, or brush lightly with olive oil (I find the olive oil is worthwhile even though it's a little more "expensive" calorie wise) and put directly on the rack for just a couple of minutes until it dries out a tad. Pile your toppings on, but don't go overboard. The crust is very thin and wouldn't support a mountain of heavy, wet ingredients very well. Then just pop right back in the oven (I often use a cookie sheet for the second round of baking) for a few more minutes. Total cook time is probably around 10 minutes, maybe with a tiny bit of broiling at the end if you want to brown your cheese some more.

Here are some pictures of some of the ones I've made:

porcini mushrooms, garlic, fontina cheese, truffle oil, and fresh thyme


cherry tomatoes and fresh basil


mozzarella, feta, mixed tomatoes, kalamata olives, and spinach


veggie italian sausage, chili pepper, and arugula



If there is one thing I love as much as I love pizza, it's sandwiches. I'm crazy about paninis so I'm always trying to find ways to make them for lunch. My paninis tend to fall between 350-450 calories, which is almost all from the bread. The filling is quite cheap and you can definitely get lower calorie bread to use, but I'm all about using good bakery-fresh bread when I make grilled sandwiches. I've used Ezekiel bread, regular sliced whole wheat, and various types of seeded multigrain breads all to great effect.


this one is tomato and gruyere on french bread, which is about 335 calories for the whole thing



very similar sandwich, but made with a seed bread



shredded veggie chicken w/ tomato sauce, spinach, and hatch chili marinated mozzarella



broccoli and veggie chicken w/ asadero cheese - i made this one for lunch today and it was really delicious.