Frozen Pizza

[mustang84]

Being in that twenty-something age range, I'm kind of a connoisseur of frozen pizza right now. It's cheap and many days after work I don't feel like making a big meal.

When I was a kid, we used to always get Red Baron. I haven't had it in a few years, but I wasn't really a fan of it when I was younger because all the toppings would slide off and it usually had too much sauce.

Brands I've had recently are Jack's, Tombstone, California Pizza Kitchen, and Totino's. I usually skip the DiGiorno type brands because if I'm going to spend 6 bucks on a frozen pizza, I'll just make my own or order one. My favorite is Jack's, especially the new Naturally Rising crust version. They put just the right amount of sauce and toppings, and the price is very reasonable. I bought California Pizza Kitchen on a whim one time just to try out something new, and it wasn't that great...very bland tasting pizza. Tombstone is usually the fallback, and sometimes I'll buy Totino's if I want something small.

[Satty]

Jenos (those 97 cent pizzas) are fantastic if you're broke, because they're under a dollar and can be microwaved. Sure the outside burns while the cheese on the inside remains frozen, but if you fold it over (taco style) after it comes out and let the cheese melt that way, its perfect.

Jack's and Tombstone are great for what they are, if you just want a quick snack. Going any more expensive, I'll take anything from Papa Murphy's over anything in my grocer's frozen pizza aisle.

All that said, I'd rather not deal with my oven. Papa John's if I want delivery, Little Caeser's if I want to pick it up or only have $5 on me.

[XP715]

I don't believe in frozen pizza as there are great real pizza options everywhere around here (read: NOT chain pizza). So I guess for nostalgia's sake I'll choose the Ellio's Pizza Squares that I ate so many of as a little kid.

[Intrepidation]

California Pizza Kitchen This stuff is awesome. I wish their was a restaurant somewhere in New England. Their frozen pizzas kicks @$$! AT least the Garlic Chicken one, the only one I've had. Smells great and full of flavor...but the thin crust isn't very filling.

Freschetta is very good too.

Digiorno has some really good pizzas, especially the stuffed crust ones.

Plus, at $5-6 it's hard to beat. Even the small time pizza places charge at least $10.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Dodgefan

[Paolino]

I've only had one type of frozen pizza in my life: Ellios.

I make the most slammin' pizza bagels though--of course they take a back seat to my pizza :AH-HA_wink:

[trinacriabob]

I don't think I've ever bought any...even when I was in my 20s. One can always find a cheap place to go to pick up a slice of pizza and a Coke...even Costco. For some reason, in Canada, cheap slices of pizza were everywhere I went. As far as chains go, I've never been to California Pizza Kitchen, but I have been to Xtreme Pizza and thought it was pretty good.

[Intrepidation]

Cheap pizza is hard to find, at least when I look. The one time I found a cheap pizza place the pizza was disgusting.

[mustang84]

Yeah, it's not very common to find little pizza stands around here unless you're in a bigger metro like Chicago. It's one of the big things I miss about Italy. If you want pizza, you either go to a chain or a grocery store (or make your own).

[daves87rs]

Jack's is pretty good.....

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I dont really get into frozen pizza too much. If I get the need I do keep one or 2 that my local meat market makes. Theirs is pretty decent and not too expensive.

[!!!TED!!!]

I love Delissio Deluxe (DiGiorno for you 'Mericans).

[Croc]

Who needs frozen when CPK is in LA?

[Nick]

Who needs frozen when CPK is in LA?

Well, frozen would be a bit cheaper I'd imagine...CPK is great though. We have both the sit-down version and the "ASAP's" version in town.

[ocnblu]

I just made two of my pizzas using a pair of whole wheat tortillas for each as crust with sauteed mushrooms, garlic and red bell peppers, along with ground red pepper and quartered pepperonis. They were fun to make and tasted delicious.

[trinacriabob]

I just made two of my pizzas using a pair of whole wheat tortillas for each as crust with sauteed mushrooms, garlic and red bell peppers, along with ground red pepper and quartered pepperonis. They were fun to make and tasted delicious.

You ever made any pita pockets with pizza ingredients? That might be interesting...

[regfootball]

back when i ate lots more pizza, i love the cheap totinos and red baron and freschetta and digorno. tombstone is good too. then i got hooked on take and bake, papa murphys.

then i decided all the pizza was contributing to my size too much. does anyone know of any pizza that is not loaded with salt, fat, starch and other bad things.

[ocnblu]

No.

But if you make it yourself, you can control the amount of Bad Stuff that goes on it.

[!!!TED!!!]

No.

But if you make it yourself, you can control the amount of Bad Stuff that goes on it.

But, the reason I buy frozen pizza is so that I don't have to cook!

[Croc]

back when i ate lots more pizza, i love the cheap totinos and red baron and freschetta and digorno. tombstone is good too. then i got hooked on take and bake, papa murphys.

then i decided all the pizza was contributing to my size too much. does anyone know of any pizza that is not loaded with salt, fat, starch and other bad things.

Define "bad." Your best bet would be to find some pizza that is a) thin crust, b) uses light cheese, c) uses meats sparingly, and c) is loaded with veggies. CPK makes several varieties that fit some of these criteria, but just look at the nutrition info and google for suggestions on pizzas that fit your health needs.

[Robert Hall]

Well, frozen would be a bit cheaper I'd imagine...CPK is great though. We have both the sit-down version and the "ASAP's" version in town.

I like CPK...there is one at the mall 5 min from my house, right near the Borders...I go over there pretty often.

I like the frozen CPK pizzas also. For delivery, I like Papa John's thin crust, Western Pizza (Canadian chain that has it's only US branch in Phoenix, I think), and a good local chain--Streets of New York. For a slice at lunch downtown during the work week, I like ZPizza, which is a Cali chain, I think.

I have a couple good local pizza/pasta places close to home that I go to occasionally.

[regfootball]

Define "bad." Your best bet would be to find some pizza that is a) thin crust, b) uses light cheese, c) uses meats sparingly, and c) is loaded with veggies. CPK makes several varieties that fit some of these criteria, but just look at the nutrition info and google for suggestions on pizzas that fit your health needs.

i have tried making pizzas of whole wheat pita crusts with no sodium and low calories.

sauce from puree with no sodium

veggies that do not have oil and such.

parmesan as opposed to mozzarella and used sparingly.

leave the meats off.

even then, the calorie count from the crust alone is enough to double a calorie target for one sitting. some of the TINY premade crusts alone are 200 calories. can't stay under a 500 cal / no sodium meal real easy with ANY kind of pizza.

by the way, check the calorie, sodium, and fat content on that whole frozen or papa murphys pizza you ate. that was when i realized that i love pizza but needed to cut back. A whole red baron or tombstone really can destroy you if you had that 2-3 times a week. or even just as after drinking munchies.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I have to tell everybody that buys Jacks, thank you all for helping support a local economy.

Edited January 8, 2009 by 2005 EquinoxLS

[Intrepidation]

I have to tell everybody that buys Jacks, thank you all for helping support a local economy.

Is the pizza any good?

[Croc]

i have tried making pizzas of whole wheat pita crusts with no sodium and low calories.

sauce from puree with no sodium

veggies that do not have oil and such.

parmesan as opposed to mozzarella and used sparingly.

leave the meats off.

even then, the calorie count from the crust alone is enough to double a calorie target for one sitting. some of the TINY premade crusts alone are 200 calories. can't stay under a 500 cal / no sodium meal real easy with ANY kind of pizza.

by the way, check the calorie, sodium, and fat content on that whole frozen or papa murphys pizza you ate. that was when i realized that i love pizza but needed to cut back. A whole red baron or tombstone really can destroy you if you had that 2-3 times a week. or even just as after drinking munchies.

Hmmm. Well if I were tasked with inventing an insanely low-calorie pizza that maximized the health benefits of every calorie without sacrificing taste, I'd maybe do something like:

Foccacia bread base (can't get lower calorie bread than that!), brushed with garlic and avocado oil (hard to find, Amazon has it, but specialty and regional stores may carry it. Olive oil can substitute.)

Fresh diced cherry tomatoes

Freshly shaved parmesan

Fresh baby spinach

Finely chopped onions

Chopped Kalamata olives

Sliced mushrooms

Basil

Oregano

Cracked black pepper

Seriously, something with those ingredients will be very calorie-efficient. The tomatoes will have a few calories, the parm obviously will, and the olives will have some, as will the oil--but all of those calories will be from unsaturated fats that ARE NOT BAD FOR YOU. Foccacia bread is the lowest-calorie bread ever, too.

As far as cooking, toast in a toaster oven if using pre-made foccacia bread...otherwise bake the foccacia dough with toppings VERY ATTENTIVELY. I just made this up, so I don't really have much for prepping/baking, but you couldn't go wrong with these ingredients. Let me know if you can make something decent out of it!

[regfootball]

now that is a good pizza. the olive oils etc are good for you.

your biggest health killers

SODIUM - cannot stress this enough

BAD FAT (not olive oil or nuts)

that high fructose corn syrup

excess starches (eat wheat or whole grains)

[Robert Hall]

Didn't feel like cooking or going out last night, so I ordered Pizza Hut's new 'The Natural Pizza'...plain w/ pepperoni, italian sausage, bacon bits and mushrooms. Supposedly, all natural ingredients. Pretty tasty, better than I remember the Hut from the past...

[Nick]

Didn't feel like cooking or going out last night, so I ordered Pizza Hut's new 'The Natural Pizza'...plain w/ pepperoni, italian sausage, bacon bits and mushrooms. Supposedly, all natural ingredients. Pretty tasty, better than I remember the Hut from the past...

I still don't get that whole "natural" thing....

That just irks me...It is basically saying "We're offering you an option now...You can choose the "natural" version with real ingredients, or you can just have the regular old "fake" crap we normally dish out."

[Robert Hall]

I still don't get that whole "natural" thing....

That just irks me...It is basically saying "We're offering you an option now...You can choose the "natural" version with real ingredients, or you can just have the regular old "fake" crap we normally dish out."

Ya, trying to go after customers that are into the organic or natural foods market, rather than the usual processed, made-in-China plastic ingredients. I've had supposedly 'natural' pizza slices from Whole Foods and Wild Oats that are pretty good.

[Nick]

Ya, trying to go after customers that are into the organic or natural foods market, rather than the usual processed, made-in-China plastic ingredients. I've had supposedly 'natural' pizza slices from Whole Foods and Wild Oats that are pretty good.

Yeah, Whole Foods is pretty good. That buffet section of theirs is great. Very overpriced though. Trader Joe's is a favorite of mine as well...In fact, I made a frozen pizza the other day from them.

[Robert Hall]

Yeah, Whole Foods is pretty good. That buffet section of theirs is great. Very overpriced though. Trader Joe's is a favorite of mine as well...In fact, I made a frozen pizza the other day from them.

Ya, I used to get take out dinner from Whole Foods all the time--there's one really close to my condo in Denver. When I was working close by, I used to run over there and grab sushi for lunch...they had decent prepackaged sushi boxes.

There's a Trader Joe's near me here in Phoenix, haven't been there yet...will have to check them out.

Edited January 9, 2009 by moltar

[regfootball]

nothing can help pizza hut get a good rep. i happen to like their pizza, but i cant guess its the healthiest out there.

[Cory Wolfe]

Currently enjoying Digiorno.

[Croc]

nothing can help pizza hut get a good rep. i happen to like their pizza, but i cant guess its the healthiest out there.

It happens to be the least healthy pizza chain.

[regfootball]

It happens to be the least healthy pizza chain.

right which is why i dont eat there lately

[Intrepidation]

I had Pizza Express (some local place) while at a movie shoot today.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I have to tell everybody that buys Jacks, thank you all for helping support a local economy.

I dont really know. I dont buy it all that much but it is from memory fairly decent. I always get frozen pizza from my local meat market. It just seems like it is a cut above the rest in terms of quality.