The Biggest Loser Pizza

It's a family thing, we all love watching the show The Biggest Loser. It is far from what I would've guessed to be the show my kids look forward to watching with me but I have to admit it, I love it! I love that this show tees up these conversations on the importance of having a balanced lifestyle combining exercise and healthy eating. These folks who have gone on this show have decided to be real about their situation and let us watch as they aim to create a new life for themselves. It is so incredibly inspiring to watch and I'm guaranteed to cry each week as I see these folks bravely press forward!

A friend of mine sent me this funny cartoon this morning. It's something that totally made me laugh but also was a real eye opener regarding the change in how kids are growing up these days.



I know it's my job to keep this in mind and not let my kids fall into the trap of a sedentary lifestyle coupled with freezer food filled with all the stuff that's horrible for us. I'm guilty of this. We are an active family but I knew I needed to raise the bar with things we were eating. Dad travels each week for work and well, that's when I like to take a little vacation from making full dinners for the family. I'm working on changing this :) It's no excuse not to offer them something healthy.

Earlier this week we all watched this weeks installment of the show and watched the nutritionist walk them through the grocery store and she pulled out the frozen pizzas and had a short rant on them. I wanted to duck as all my kids looked at me and said, "Mommy we should stop buying those" She offered a simple idea and we decided to try them last night.

We had all the ingredients on hand so the kids and I made Biggest Loser Pizzas. Talk about easy, like no time at all and they loved them. Of course the nutritionist suggested topping them with various veggies. I figured we'd start with basic cheese pizzas and not push my luck. For our first time trying them, I want them to eat them not stare at them like I've tortured them with veggies. My youngest tends to stare at a plate with tears welling up if too many veggies lay in front of him. We had enough other good stuff so kept it simple.



We were working with what we had on hand. Whole grain tortillas and these are the larger burrito size. Some shredded part skim mozzarella cheese and then some marinara sauce. I had a partial jar still in my fridge but next time I shop, I may start paying closer attention to the sodium and sugar content in the various brands. We've always used this but we are certainly willing to check out other brands if they still taste great.


My little helpers wanted to make their own dinners. Score!! I haven't found my love for cooking yet so I like helpers and like even more they're starting to take an interest in eating healthy. Here it is, ready to go in the oven.



And voila! The tortilla wasn't super crisp through the center like you might find with a pizza but my kids absolutely loved them. I bet if I made these on a pizza pan the tortilla might crisp up a bit more but I had these on my Southern Living baking sheet. We ate these with a mixed bowl of fresh fruit and I'm feeling good knowing this was miles better than pulling that boxed pizza out of the freezer.