Give Up Pizza? No Way,...

...but I will find alternatives to enjoy.  My husband and I used to eat pizza once a week like we're kids or something!  I see it as a reward for doing so well during the week and since I count calories*, I only eat one serving to one and a half servings of the regular stuff.  It's no fun just eating one serving all of the time so it was finally time to for me to find a clean recipe for pizza (next, it's pancakes!).  I found this recipe for Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pizza at the Clean Eating Magazine site.

Spinach & Turkey Sausage Pizza

My local grocer was out of chicken sausage, so I substituted with turkey sausage.

Ingredients:

6 oz spinach leaves

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (drained)

1 whole wheat thin pizza crust

1 1/2 cups of sliced turkey sausage

3 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese

10 minutes at 450 degrees and it was done #saan!

One slice is 194 calories

Hubby's Verdict: He loved it, so this will be a staple in our dinner rotation (He requested chicken breasts for next time though).  Wifey Verdict: It looks good and tastes good.  The next time I'm going to make several at a time and freeze them.

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Finding substitutes for foods I already love were key to my weight loss success.  If you love food and are just starting out, I suggest you do the same because it's easier to stick with in the long run. In my opinion, majority of the recipes I've tried over the course*, have tasted just as good as the unhealthier versions.  I gradually learned what I should eat and what I shouldn't.  I started small by switching to lean ground beef in my Hamburger Helper, then I turned to ground turkey, and now Hamburger Helper is a no-no in this house and ground beef makes rare appearances.

*counting calories for now is helping me with portion control.

*it took me a 1 1/2 year to reach my first weight goal of 50lbs.

What foods can't you "live" without?  Any suggestions for clean pancakes?