Living real in the kitchen...and making pizza

As a mom and a health conscious adult, it is soooo hard to keep it real in the kitchen.  I make small changes here and there, but sometimes the less healthy choices win out.  Like when I have not gotten around to making bread, and I pull out the generic white bread from the freezer.  Or the fact that my son loves frozen ravioli...which does not have a whole wheat option.  Or when I choose the cancer causing Hunts spaghetti sauce at a dollar a can--you know, the one with that dangerous coating on the inside--instead of the glass jars that are at least 60 cents more.  We eat a lot of pasta, so it can really start to add up!  Or when I look for frozen fish fillets, I choose ones that do not come from China, but I am not sure the other Southeast Asia countries are better.  I like the idea of trying fresh from the cow milk, but having a milk cow or driving to town an hour away just to get some does not make sense (neither does the price when I am on a budget!).  I would even go for organic, but at $6+ a gallon and almost 3 gallons a week...not gonna happen.  I always try to have fresh fruit and veggies around, but sometimes I just have to reach for the cans in the cupboard.  And don't even get me started on the eggs...we go through a lot of those too.  Free-range, cage free, natural, omega 3, organic, white, brown...how do you choose without going over on the budget? 

I become conflicted because I know what I grew up eating, and I turned out fine.  But then I think about how high cancer rates are, and I think maybe I can help us eat in a way that will help us not get it.  Except for the fact we cannot live in a bubble.  Who is to say it is not pollution or the paint on the walls that prevents our bodies from being strong enough to stay healthy?  So I tend to balance out the bad with an effort to make the right choices for my family...without becoming the food police.  I buy organic sometimes just to support organic foods and hopefully help to bring its cost down more.  But I can't do it all the time because money is tight when raising a family.  Do we eat at McDonald's?  Yes.  Do I feel guilty about it?  Sometimes.  But sometimes their fries or a Dr Pepper hit the spot.  And the kids get a toy fix...something that makes the long drive home a bit more bearable.  Plus, sometimes I just don't want to cook, and I don't want to pay a lot to eat somewhere else that might be better when we are out running errands.

On top of everything else, I have a terrible sweet tooth.  When sweets are in the house, it is hard for me to resist.  My personal favorite is sugary cereal as a late night snack.  And I don't think getting everything all natural and organic will keep the pounds off my hips...but that is another post. At the same time, I also don't want to keep my kids from enjoying dessert.  The newest addition to our kitchen is coming in the mail...an ice cream maker.  At least I will know what is going into my ice cream and frozen yogurt....

Eating real food in the kitchen is quite a challenge, but changing one thing at a time will hopefully get me there down the road.  Until then, when I try a new recipe that is a healthier choice or I have adapted an old favorite, I will share with you the good...and the not so good as I get more adventurous.  I may even share a few I like that may not be the healthiest but the ingredient list will be one you can probably feel good about eating...after all, it will be homemade!

Today at my house, we are having pizza for lunch.  Who doesn't like pizza? This it the recipe I use to make dough.  I use my bread machine, and after an hour and a half, I roll it and stretch it out onto my 16 inch pizza pan with holes in it.  I shred mozzarella cheese so there are no added ingredients to prevent caking, and I use pizza sauce that comes in a jar or spaghetti sauce if there is no pizza sauce cupboard.  I recently started buying the organic Wild Oats products from Wal-Mart (it is a step in the right direction, even if some people are against the brand!), so I may start using their spaghetti sauce just to make it a bit healthier.  I have already tried it a few times for pasta dishes.  Sometimes I add flavoring to the dough like garlic powder or Italian seasoning, but I don't think it adds much to this dough (other recipes I have tried, I HAD to add because the dough had no taste).

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (original recipe found here) 

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use Prairie Gold White Wheat), plus more for dusting

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (I use Fleischmann's BreadMachine)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

Directions (I have listed how I make it...if you want to make it without a bread maker, check out link above)

• Add to bread maker in this order: water, olive oil, flour, salt, sugar around edges, and yeast into a well in the middle created by your finger.  Then close the lid and press the dough setting and walk away until the machine beeps...about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  I make sure I do this at least 20 minutes before I want to get the pizza in the oven because it takes about that long for it to get that hot with my propane stove.
• Take dough out of machine, shape into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a circle of desired crust thickness and let rest about 10 minutes (at this time you can put on your desired toppings-we usually do just cheese, but sometimes we do ham and pineapple or turkey peperoni).
• Place pizza in oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are baked. Let pizza rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. 

Now it is time to dig in and enjoy!