Healthful Bites

A couple weeks ago, I learned about Revd Up Pi, a fairly new pizza joint in NYC that promises that it is “leading the pizza revolution” as “the first healthy pizzeria in Manhattan.” With those strong claims, how could I not check it out?

After checking out the menu, I opted for a piece of Vim & Vigor Pi (eggplant, artichokes, mushroom, zucchini and red pepper) and a piece of Revd 3.14 Pi (part-skim mozzarella). Both are served on the restaurant’s signature crust, which contains seven grams of fiber per slice and is sugar-free.

The verdict? I’d give Revd Up a B. Points for menu creativity, though! (Mac and cheese or eggs and turkey bacon are among the other topping options.) The crust was my favorite part of the order—thin, yet substantial. The “lightened up” cheese was still a little greasy for my taste. (Although I admit, I don’t miss the topping on other pies and often prefer to go cheese-less. Weird? Maybe.) I would have loved more sauce. The veggie slice was actually just crust and toppings with no tomato. And the cheese slice was very light on the red stuff. But the veggies were tasty, especially with some red pepper flakes sprinkled on top.

While I wish that the sauce was heavier, I certainly am glad that the price tag wasn’t! With a buy-one-get-one coupon (snag yours here, while they’re available, if you’re interested!), my bill came to about five dollars. Depending on what you compare this to, say, NYC street pizza or a sit-down meal at a health restaurant, the regular price of a couple Revd Up slices is either surprisingly high or reasonable. I certainly am willing to invest in more nutritious food, but I don’t know if I’ll become a regular at Revd Up. I’d love to learn how to recreate the crust at home though so I could create a masterpiece like this!

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Although it’s nice, you don’t need pizza parlors in your area that cater to health-minded folks to nosh on a guilt-free slice. Stay tuned for the next post, coming on Tuesday, to test your knowledge and learn more about the lightest slices available anywhere.

Since I’m anything but on a schedule with my blog lately, I wouldn’t be interrupting by tossing in a new feature, right? I’m hoping to offer “Your Healthful Hints” weekly or biweekly as quick, distinct action steps you can take to live a more wellness-filled life. Away we go!

1. Hit the weights before you get your flu shot. This is not new research, but I stumbled across these findings while web searching about how long I should hold off strenuous lifting after getting my vaccine. It turns out, the immune cells that go to your muscle tissue increases after exercise, which may improve your overall resistance to the virus. It was a small study, but a little time strength training before the shot certainly can’t hurt!

2. Sweat for 10 minutes. That’s all it takes to boost metabolism for an hour or more, Women’s Health reports. The more fit you are when you do workout, the easier your body breaks down the energy stored. But everyone gets the metabolic benefits that last past the time you leave the gym, even after just a short burst of exercise. String together a few of my Good for You Moves videos to simply squeeze in your time today!

 (Image from Science Daily)

3. Keep an eye on your cheese. Dairy Management, a lobby for the popular pizza, sandwich and pasta topping, is spending millions of dollars to promote increased cheese consumption. The study the organization often sites to claim the healthfulness of dairy products (“Eat three servings of dairy each day to lose more weight when on a lower-calorie diet!”) was actually funded by (guess who!) Dairy Management. 

Anyway, cheese is not the devil and can certainly be enjoyed in moderation. Just don’t let yourself be duped into ordering that additional slice of extra cheese ‘za or believing that multiple servings of full-fat dairy is going to make you slim!

(One cheese we can surely get behind: The Packers! Go Pack Go :) )

I’m setting my alarm now to wake up and do a circuit training workout DVD before heading to the office. What small steps are you going to take to make it a healthful week?

Ever since I discovered Laughing Cow cheese in my local grocery stores, I have had fun experimenting with the wonderful cheese wedge. I’m generally not a huge cheese fan. However, the flavor and nutrition of Laughing Cow is right up my alley! 

So when Daniel, a representative for the new Weight Watchers cheese products (very similar to Laughing Cow) contacted me about trying them, I of course took him up on the offer! True story: I had just learned about these new cheesy products for the first time from an ad in the People magazine just the day before Daniel contacted me about these new cheese offerings. What a coincidence!

He generously sent a package of each flavored wedge product as well as a box of the company’s reduced fat cream cheese. 

When I saw a flavor that Laughing Cow doesn’t offer, I knew that was the first I needed to try. I’d come back and compare the two brand’s similar flavors later—but I wanted a new experience :)

I spread the cheese on some Wasa crackers…but I have enjoyed spreadable cheese in pasta, as the filling for a grilled cheese or as part of a veggie-filled quesadilla.

The taste was great! I loved the spice and little pieces of pepper distributed throughout the wedge. The texture? Not the best. I believe Laughing Cow is made from more cheese and a little less “other stuff,” so it is easier to spread and a bit softer.

In corner number one: LC weighing in at 3/4 ounce. In corner number two: WW weighing in at 2/3 ounce. Let’s get ready to rumble!

Another interesting thing to note is that, unlike the eight wedge per pack Laughing Cow, Weight Watchers cheeses come six to a box (can you call that round thing a box? Anyways…). The WW wedges are slightly wider (above left, WW is on bottom) but thinner (above right, WW is on right) than a Laughing Cow wedge. After checking the weights of each—the only true way to tell in tricky portion situations like this as triangular slices are among the most difficult portions to measure up—the Laughing Cow comes out with a 2 gram edge. This also probably explains the five calorie difference between the two: WW has 30 calories while Laughing Cow has 35. All other nutrition facts are nearly identical for both…

• 2 grams of fat, 1 gram saturated
• Less than 10 mg. cholesterol
• About 10 percent of your daily value of sodium
• About five percent of your daily value of protein

The top of the WW package says “pasteurized process cheese product” while the Laughing Cow package is classified as “pasteurized cheese.” I’m not totally sure what the difference is between a cheese product and cheese, but WW seems to be slightly more processed and has about three more ingredients. (Or as my Mom likes to say ever since the “Food Revolution” show, Jamie Oliver would probably prefer Laughing Cow).

Overall, after trying a wedge of each of the flavors (Garlic & Herb, Original Swiss, Jalapeno Pepper and Parmesan Peppercorn), I believe that the WW cheeses would get a solid “B+” from me if I was grading them. The jalapeno and garlic flavors were my favorites so I recommend biting those first! The extra ingredients and slightly stiff texture kept these wedges off the “A” pedestal.

I whipped open the reduced fat cream cheese to mix up one of my family’s favorite semi-nutritious desserts. This is a fun item to bring to a potluck in place of a buttercream-frosted cake or fudge brownie recipe when you are looking to sneak in some fruit and add a visual punch to the table.

It’s a very simple dish. You can follow the play-by-play below or simply tell me in the comments if you’re interested and I’d be happy to share the entire recipe! 

Fruit Pizza! Feel free to experiment with the design and fruit toppings included. The WW cream cheese worked well in this. 

Thanks to Daniel and the Weight Watchers team for sharing the new cheese products! Now I’d love your feedback: will you or have you tried Weight Watchers cheese? If so, what are your thoughts? If not, are there other health-conscious cheese products you enjoy?