Winter Comfort Food: Easy Homemade Pizza

It has been a while since I shared a delicious food post but this week has been so cold in Toronto that comfort food was a must! Yesterday the temperature dropped to -30 C˚/ -22˚ F and we were under an extreme cold weather alert.

When it’s this cold outside some ooey, gooey goodness is a nice treat and although pizza may not exactly coincide with all those weight loss resolutions, you can get creative and make it as healthy or as hearty as you like.

I usually don’t care for ready-made, bread-like pizza dough because I find them dry and unappetizing. When I make homemade pizza I like to use fresh dough because it tastes amazing! If you don’t have time to make your own, you can purchase raw dough at the grocery store, let it rise at room temperature and proceed with your toppings.

Homemade pizza

I like to use spicy tomato sauce and top my pizza with: fully cooked extra lean ground chicken, sautéed onion, mushroom, red or green peppers, black olives, a bit of cilantro and a blend of cheeses. You can always go with low-fat cheese and a thin, multigrain crust if you want to cut back on some fat, carbs and calories. Sometimes I swap the olives for sun dried tomatoes and I also like other greens like arugula or spinach.

Since I love pizza I am usually up for trying different types. In California I had a pizza with a salad on top! I wasn't sure I would like pizza without traditional tomato sauce but it was actually very good!

Pizza I had at: California Pizza Kitchen

Some of the best pizza I've eaten was during my trip to Italy where pizza and pasta can be found on almost every street corner! In Italy the pizzas are quite basic, tasty and traditional, my favorite being the margherita. Many restaurants and cafes only carry a small variety but I love the simplicity which allows the flavors to shine through without overwhelming your palette with an overload of toppings.  

Pizza I had in Rome

There is nothing better than sitting outside on the warm cobble stone streets of Rome and Venice, watching the crowds pass, listening to the accordion player perform and eating delicious pizza with a bottle of wine.

Pizza I had in Rome 

What is your favorite comfort food?