Conquering Binge Foods

In my last meeting with my nutritionist, we talked about some of my binge foods. I was at a loss about how to be able to eat these foods, which I love, without them being a binge food. My biggest binge foods are pasta, pizza, Chinese food and wings. Pasta I've got figured out. I only buy whole wheat pasta... and it's easy to make a single serving, and I try to make a veggie rich sauce, so I'm really making it a meal rather than a snack (I know, sad but it was a VERY LARGE snack...).

Pizza: I thought I had it figured out. Put a serving of the pizza on my plate, put the rest away. Not so much. It sets me up to fail - having the temptation of "just one more piece" 1 minute in the microwave away. The nutritionist suggested that I have only single servings in the house - personal sized pizzas. Also, only eat pizza if it is accompanied by a side vegetable - thus making it a complete healthy meal. I decided to add on to that and do away with my habit of ordering pizza. Not only does it "set me up for failure", it's an expensive habit. I decided to make my own crust, and freeze it in personal pizza sized balls... taking one out when I feel the need for pizza. I get more satisfaction from making my own food anyway, and tend to savor each bite more than I would if Papa Johns made the pizza.

I think I've also mastered my pizza crust recipe (AWESOME!). Makes 1 large pizza or 4-6 personal pizzas (depending on how big you want them).

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
• 1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
  3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
  5. If freezing, cut dough into 4-6 balls, and individually wrap each in Saran wrap. Place in freezer. To defrost, take out of freezer the night before using and place in refrigerator. Allow 30 min-1 hour for dough to do a final rise before making pizza.
  6. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.