If you are anything like me, one of the big eye-openers when I started Slimming World was the fact that Pizza, was not just a little bit high in syns...it could take up your syns for a week or more if you managed a whole one!! I was a big fan of thin crust pepperoni pizzas with a side of garlic bread before I read the syn count during my first week on the plan eight years ago. Even so, to this day, I see the takeaway pizza adverts on TV during football matches or films and really have to reign in the urge to pick up the phone.

Imagine my joy then, when I discovered the syn free pizza (you read it correctly - syn free!). This is a great recipe for those nights when there are just a few bits of salad/veg in the fridge and some cheese (I use a Healthy A allowance of reduced fat grated mozzarella for this). If you make sure you have a stock of instant mash in your store cupboard, you can always use up the leftovers on days when you a low on supplies. If you have some syns left you could add the usual favourites like pepperoni to add extra flavour. For the tomato base I often use a tablespoon or two of salsa (0.5 syns per tablespoon), but you could use tomato ketchup (1 syn for tablespoon) or passata (syn free). I find that smaller pizzas work best. You need to de-seed any tomatoes used as they give off water and make the base soggy. Serve with Syn free chips or a 57g wholemeal bread roll, sprayed with buttery frylight, sprinkled with lazy garlic and toasted under the grill.

Syn free toppings - These are just a few examples:
Peppers
Onion
Mushroom
Tuna
Sweetcorn
Diced chicken
Egg
Jalapenos
Mince
Bacon
Basil
Oregano
Assorted cheeses

Share your experiences of using this recipe..or others to create tasty pizzas. Which are the best lower syn supermarket pizzas? Add your thoughts in the comments. You can find branded takeaway and restaurant pizza values in the Food Directory or in the basic product search in Syns Online.


Note: I follow Extra Easy and for simplicity don't reference Green and Red days a great deal here!