Taste versus Calories.
Most people would agree that you can smother almost anything in heavy cream and full fat cheese and it will taste good.
Most people would also agree that it's, just perhaps, not the healthiest way of making food taste good.
If you want to make some changes to your diet, because you have high cholesterol, are diabetic, pre-diabetic or would just like to get into last year's clothes, it's important to make the foods you eat full of flavor.
It's not that you can never eat the heavy cheese sauce (or whatever) again.
It's that you want to get to the stage where you no longer think of that type of food when you're hungry.
Impossible you say?
If your new diet consists of dry hay with a dash of oats and a sprinkle of warm water, yes, it will be impossible.
It's not difficult to add flavors and still keep your diet healthy.
As in most things, the key is moderation.
Take my very favorite: Prosciutto.
I buy it, sliced, in 100gr (about 3.5oz) packages. There are 4 slices in the pack and it costs about 4 US dollars. It's expensive.
During the week I might chop up a slice and add it to a sauce for pasta, or the green beans or the carrots, or a frittata. It's amazing how much flavor one thin slice can add!
The same works with a few Greek olives.
Or capers.
Or anchovies.
If you use something with a strong flavor to start, a little goes a very long way (especially with anchovies...)
I wanted pizza last weekend.
A European style pizza - a few ingredients, a lot of flavor, no extra sauce or cheese or pepperoni or anything. (If you have so much stuff on the pizza you can't lift it... How can you taste what's there?)
I didn't want to make the crust... I wanted easy.
The problem was, since V's diabetic, he has to control his carbohydrates... not rigidly, but reasonably.
If 30 is the target, 40 is okay (on occasion), 130 is not.
I went to the refrigerator section at the supermarket. I checked out both pizza crusts and puff pastry crusts.
While the pizza crust had fewer calories and carbohydrates per serving than the puff pastry, the puff pastry had fewer in the entire crust. (The old serving size trick.)
I know, regardless of the facts, we have never, ever not eaten the whole thing.
I needed to exercise the control with the purchase 'cause is wasn't going to happen with the finished pizza!
The puff pastry was easy, delicious, lighter than the traditional, met V's requirements (pretty closely) and mine(to not stuff myself).
Puff Pastry and Prosciutto Pizza
1 puff pastry
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup (4oz, 125gr) shredded or sliced mozzarella
4 thin slices Prosciutto, (3.5oz, 100gr)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Lay the pastry crust out on a baking sheet.
Slice tomatoes as thinly as possible, 8 - 10 slices per tomato. Tear Prosciutto into small pieces. Arrange the tomato slices on the pastry. Lay the Prosciutto on top. Sprinkle with herbs, then cheese. Bake in a preheated oven, 400F (200C) for 20 - 25 minutes, or until crust and top are golden brown.
Strawberries with Greek Yogurt for dessert?
