So once again, I have found myself in need of losing a few pounds. Only this time, it’s doctor’s orders because of high blood pressure and being about 20-25 pounds overweight. I like South Beach because of how easy it is…i.e. you don’t really have to count calories or weigh food. But after the brutal two-week period in which you eat no carbs, you have to gradually add carbs back in. That’s hard if you like eating fruit, cereal, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, even if it’s the healthy versions of those things. And your breath stinks during those two weeks as well. So this time, my wife talked me into doing Weight Watchers. She told me I did not have to go to meetings, but that even though it’s a pain to count points and log everything, you can eat anything you want. And I figured, why not? If Charles Barkley can do it, why not me?
Luckily, someone told me about Pizza Free, a fat free pizza company in Ohio. I love pizza as much as anyone, but when I first heard this, I thought, “Fat Free is so 10 years ago!” But alas, since the single serving pies are just 6 points on Weight Watchers (a number listed proudly on the website), I had to try them. So we ordered the smallest quantity available, which was six pizzas, and they were $39.99 including shipping.
But regardless, I was still extremely skeptical. Fat free cheese to me is like rubber, and since we live in Wisconsin now I was even more skeptical about that. But hey, the pizza is delicious, and the cheese isn’t flavorless rubber! You can’t overcook it or the crust and cheese will burn, but if you do it until the cheese just melts, it’s perfect. The tomato sauce has a nice flavor as well, not the processed flavor that dominates frozen pizza or Italian meals.
Of course, Pizza Free does not taste like traditional pizza, but as healthy pizzas go, and especially THIS healthy, you absolutely can’t beat it. And not only is the cheese and crust fat free, but the whole 6 inch pie comes in at just 248 calories.
Intrigued? I figured you might be. Check out www.pizzafree.com for more information.
My sister made a lunch of chicken spiedies on the grill. These are marinated chunks of meat that are popular only in the central part of New York State for some reason. I mean, kebabs are everywhere, but only in this region are they called spiedies. And man, they are delicious. They are served on bread, often with sauteed hot peppers–this is especially awesome during the summer when my sister and brother-in-law grow the peppers and garlic in their garden. Yum. Oh, and don’t use whole wheat bread. As my brother-in-law says, who wants to put spiedies on “sawdust?” Sorry, Ellie Krieger.
For dinner, we ate at the place that, in my opinion, has the best pizza in the free world — 
Finally, we stopped for ice cream at The Big Dipper. I was so full from pizza that I could only stomach the “lite” stuff called Dole Whip. Now, I wish I would have had the custard instead, but the pineapple whip wasn’t too bad. Still, we do have good custard places in Madison such as Culver’s and Michael’s.