All you need is Pizza | Make It Happen
I've been mentally building myself back up, and have wanted to start writing again for a while. As much as I'd love to just jump right into Super Cool Science S#!t #25, I've already tried, and I know I need to take baby steps. Pushing past the lethargy when I actually do have time to write has been my biggest obstacle, but if it's going to happen, I have to make it happen! I have to write about something... So on that note, here's an treatise on why pizza is the most superior food, and why you could literally eat nothing but!
PIZZA!
There's no other food like it. So simple, yet so complex, it has the unique ability to be prepared in over a quadrillion different ways! With that kind of variety, it's not hard to imagine how someone could eat nothing but pizza for the rest of their life. I'd even go so far as to argue that if done correctly, they could maintain a healthy and balanced diet in the process. If you love pizza as much as I do, your mouth is already watering, but before you go preheat the oven, let's talk about what kind of pizza you're going to have today!
The Pizza Trinity
To make a pizza, you simply need three main components: the crust, a sauce, and toppings. Those words are incredibly vague, and none of those components have to consist of specific ingredients. You may notice that most, if not all, of the articles I link to in this post aren't thinking very "out-of-the-box", but I can assure you, the only limit is your imagination!
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- The Crust
Your crust is arguably the most important part of your pizza. It's your starting point, your foundation. The pizza crust sets the tone for the whole dish, and will ultimately determine what ingredients you'll use for your other two main components, sauce and toppings. The pizza crust is simply a bread-like base that's going to hold everything else. Sometimes the outer edge of the crust is thicker to hold more ingredients, or even stuffed with cheese and/or other toppings! It can be any type of "bread-like" food you can think of. Regular old bready bread, cake, biscuits, pita, brownies, tortillas, and way more. You can even make a crust out of some types of fibrous vegetables like cauliflower, and even just cheese!
- The Sauce
Oooooh the sauce... Flavorful *and* functional! Your pizza sauce is the middleman that links the flavors of your crust and your toppings, and will serve to keep the dish from being too dry as a whole. Your sauce is going to wash over everything else once in your mouth, so it's important to choose a sauce that compliments and brings together your pizzas overall flavor profile. The most popular pizza sauces are made with a tomato base and typically spiced with oregano, salt, pepper, or anything else, depending on preference and locale. Most popular doesn't by any stretch mean only, and if you get a little creative, you can substitute that monotonous tomato sauce for *literally any* sauce or even cream you can create! You've like heard of people using Barbecue sauce, Alfredo, even ranch dressing as a pizza sauce, but peanut butter? Custard? *Country Gravy?!?* You might think that sounds crazy, but stay with me. I might just introduce you to your new favorite pizza today...
- The Toppings
Life's boring with just bread and sauce, so to top everything off, we've got... toppings! This is your time to shine, Kid! Of course, you could play it safe and stick to cheese and pepperoni. It's a classic. I don't know one person who doesn't love the smell and taste of a fresh, thick slice of pepperoni pizza. Sweeney's here to tell you though, anything can be a pizza topping.
I know some of you will balk to including pineapple on the list of pizza toppings, but in order for pizza to be your only source of sustenance, you may have to broaden your horizons if you also want to maintain a balanced diet. A lot of us grew up hearing about how important the nutrition pyramid, or "Healthy Eating Pyramid" is. Your body needs a lot of different vitamins, minerals, proteins, and more to do all the amazing things it can do. Getting everything you need to stay healthy is easy if you've got a wide enough variety of recipes!
There's a pizza for every occassion!
When I said you could eat nothing but pizza for the rest of your life, I wasn't joking. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and even Dessert, you can literally have pizza, in one of its many forms, for every meal! If you think outside the box, you can create all sorts of pizzas to switch things up, or fill a gap in your nutrition were you ever so inclined to devote your life to pizza.
- Breakfast
This recipe uses hashbrowns as a crust, straight up cheddar cheese for the sauce layer, and it's topped with eggs and bacon! My personal favorite breakfast pizza has a crescent roll crust, sausage gravy sauce, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese. There's nothing like a hot slice of pizza in the morning.
- Lunch/Dinner
Variety is the spice of life, so you're going to need a strong repertoire if you want to get all the stuff your body needs, and never get bored eating the same things. Looking for something light? Try a Chopped Salad Pizza. Craving seafood? A burger? No matter your taste, pizza can fill that hole in your life.
- Dessert
Ready for the climax? Pizza is not one of those foods that will so readily accept your labels. Pizza is a rebel, and I'm sure many along the way probably never saw pizzas true potential. Substitute your crust for cookie dough, sauce for cream cheese, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top, and you've got yourself an amazing Chocolate Chip Dessert Pizza. From Chocolate stuffed crust pizza to Fruit Pizza, there are healthy, and not so healthy, ways to indulge yourself in the sweeter side of pizza.
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Am I Wrong?
I feel I've sufficiently proven my point, and given all of you pizza lovers an excuse to eat your favorite food any damn time you want! Pizza can be anything you want it to be, and can fit perfectly in place for every meal. If you eat a wider variety of pizza toppings, and eat your fruits and vegetables, you can eat pizza all day every day, and be healthier than those who call you "The Pizza Guy".
What's your favorite pizza topping? Let me know in comments!