Ah, pizza… the complex carby food that so many of us in the Diabetes Community hate to love, and vice versa. The blood glucose effect is almost always an adventure, indefinite that can exist hit or miss depending on how well-versed we are in that ever-so-tricky Pizza Bolus.

But with lower-carb options comely more mainstream, it's about equal we're witnessing the parentage of a new era of Pizza and Diabetes…

Insert cauliflower pizza, which started out with Pinterest creations and has exploded in just the preceding couple years throughout the food industry — especially in 2017 with new brands being launched and some big-gens retail and online stores getting in on the action.

My wife and I bear been experimenting in the kitchen quite tur more with lour-carb solid food choices, devising several cauliflower pizza pie meals lately that swap down the traditionally high-carb, starchy flour crusts for those made with this versatile white veggie. It's ranged from our own homemade crusts created with a psyche of organic cauliflower, to taste-testing pre-made boxed incrustation varieties.

We've tried everything from square to circle, gauze-like crisp crust and thicker, elastic impertinence. Whatever your preferences, pizza can be a caboodle of fun — from simple cheese and pepperoni, to pies loaded up with a mixed bag of fave toppings like pepperoni, mushroom, peppers, olives, chunks of sum, bacon, or even ham and pineapple. And naturally, liquefied tall mallow every last all over the top.

OMG, Pizza pie! My mouth is start to pee just writing this.

Homemade Cauliflower Pizza

When we were ready and waiting to take aim the engross and try out turning a head of Brassica oleracea botrytis into something resembling pizza pie crust in our own kitchen, we observed there's no magical "best practice" recipe. Simply uncomparable that caught my eye came from a Diabetes Day by day Grind post by fellow T1 Gold Clour. There are dozens more online, but this is the one we've used and come to trust in our do-it-yourself creations.

The full formula is here, and the single head of Brassica oleracea botrytis needed (we role organic, but that's not required) is the incrustation of the story… 🙂 In all, it takes maybe 40 minutes from start to finish with prep-time included. Here's how we do it:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Wash and dry the head of cauliflower.
  • Make out murder the florets, and put them in a food processor for almost 30 seconds. Not yearner, because you want to end up with roughly 2-3 cups of a "powdery, coke-like body."
  • Put the "cauliflower snow" into a microwave-safe bowling ball, continue and heat for about 4 minutes.
  • Allow IT cool. This heating will make it wet, so right away the fun part — wrap it improving in a towel and take out your aggressiveness on that! Seriously, wring out the wetness any way you like. This Crataegus laevigata pack some meter, but you want IT to be every bit not-watery As possible to ensure a chewy pizza crust that ISN't crumbly.
  • Commixture the cauliflower with all the past ingredients in a bowl, and once that's done use your hands to form the dough into whatever pizza crust physique you want. We lay parchment paper low-spirited on a baking sheet, and use of goods and services information technology to produce a comparatively thin layer.
  • Total bake sentence is anywhere from 22-30 minutes, depending along your preference for a crunchier crust. We bake for 15 minutes, flip it when it's a skillful golden brown, so bake for another 10 minutes. William Christopher Handy tip: since the Brassica oleracea botrytis crust hindquarters let on well, we've started using an extra baking sheet, putt that on top for an easy flip. This has helped United States of America get more unflawed, circular crusts!
  • Right away it's clip to add whatever toppings you like! My wife and I really have different pizza preferences so we bash half-and-half — just cheese and pepperoni on half, and for me everything — olives, mushrooms, bacon, and so on. Add the sauce and then adhere it back into the oven for 5-7 transactions until the cheese is beautifully dissolved and champagne. Of track you can prefer for vegetarian or vegan options for the toppings, but that's not something we personally do, so I'll provide it up to everyone's own preferences and Google skills to explore.
  • Let information technology cool dispirited a bit and delight!

On the way, we've pretty much perfected our version of homemade cauliflower pizza!

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Of course, there stimulate been some fails on the way too… not necessarily in predilection, but form. Our initial attempts were a flake lopsided, and 1 larger crust fell apart completely when we unsuccessfully tried to flip it with a spatula — which LED to USA enjoying several multi-sized mini pizzas, which were still luscious!

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Complete time, we've gotten best at sculpting our Earth's crust to turn unsuccessful how we neediness information technology. And we've intentionally made mini pizzas sometimes, and even Halloween-themed faces with pepperoni and olives.

Most importantly, we've had fun making these lower-carb, cauliflower pizzas and finding what we like the best.

Nonnegative, this has all had a spectacular effect in the circumstance of my diabetes…

The Diabetes Effect

Plainly, cauliflower pizza is more "diabetes friendly" than traditional types of pizza with flour crust. It's not rocket science — fewer carbs means less spiking of glucose levels, so there's no need to "chase information technology" with large amounts of insulin.

Keep in mind that a weak slice of pizza tail scope from roughly 30g to 40g of carbs each; thin crusts may be around 23g or so per slice, and thicker stuffed crust varieties can embody more than higher at 50g or more per slice. A slice of cauliflower pizza, along the past hand, can have as few as 3-5 grams of carb!

The cauliflower pizza takes longer to act upon it's way into the profligate stream than the flour-made stuff, and so IT doesn't have that complex carb effect that often shoots our glucose levels finished some hours later. Nope, this Brassica oleracea botrytis pizza is more tame, and I've establish that my insulin works fine without having to mess with whatsoever fancy "extended boluses."

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I'm non doing that sort of thing anyway these days since I'm using Afrezza inhaled insulin most of the time; I've found its quick-action within 20 minutes is capable to counter any significant spikes and I've been pretty much able to maintain flat lines.

That's a very appealing outlook, particularly when it comes to checking my CGM data in the hours after my meal and long. While results can vary dependent on what else I've enjoyed with the pizza, particularly some alcohol or drinks of choice that may shoot my BGs higher, it's nice to have reliability — not something I've traditionally ever had, when it comes to navigating pizza!

Pre-Made Cauliflower Pizza Brands

Spell interest in Brassica oleracea botrytis pizza has surely surged in the past few years, it's still non mainstream and ISN't always easy to find in a grocery (disdain the red-hot gluten-inexact trend). A quick Google search shows the few name brands that come along to be most favourite:

Caulipower Pizza

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Launched in early 2017 as "the first innovator of Brassica oleracea botrytis pizza pie crust," this City of the Angels-based startup uses the promotional hashtag #TrustTheCrust and has been described by just about as the "Meryl Streep of Pizza," even though it's so new. The backstory's pretty unputdownable in itself (as reportable by Forbes), and worth a read.

As yet, this is the only pre-made pizza crust brand we've tried. We found information technology at one of our local produce stores Here in Michigan, but it appears you can also buy it along Amazon and at thousands of retail store locations across the U.S., as well atomic number 3 the company's own online storage.

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There are several styles — severe cauliflower incrustation, veggie, Margarita, and three-Malva sylvestris — and it's an impressionable meal to make in less than 20 minutes.

Carb count: one whole pizza crust has 78g of carbs (divided into five slices, that's 15.6g per slicing).

It has less cauliflower taste than our ain creation, which I don't mind, and my wife says she actually liked information technology better than our homemade cauliflower crust.

Cali'Flour Foods Pizza Crust

This uncomparable is also California-based and may not be as impressible to ascertain in retail locations comprehensive, only information technology buns be purchased online at Amazon and the companionship's store. It comes in original European nation, racy jalapeno, sweetish Marxist pepper and dairy-free plant-based varieties.

Nutrition info for original style: Whoa, this unrivaled apparently only has 6g carbs for an entire pizza crust, meaning it's only about 1.5g per slice! Definitely a super flat-growing-carb option there!

And this 1 gets an average 5-star rating out of 940 reviews on the company's website. Fans claim the crust tastes sol good that IT force out be eaten solely, the like pizza dough, for dipping in hummus and such. We're excited to try it soon!

Trader Joe's Cauliflower Pizza pie Crust

In early 2017, Trader Joe's added Brassica oleracea botrytis pizza pie crust to its lineup of products. The company claims that was and then favorite, they couldn't keep it on shelves. Now they've also added a full ready-to-eat Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust, that they're jubilantly reminding people is gluten-free. From info online, it seems to get mixed reviews — some say IT's outstanding, spell others enjoin even cheese give the axe't save it. Opinions may vary.

Nutrition info for the crust says unrivalled gash (out of 6) has 17g of carb, sol that agency all pear-shaped pizza would have 102g, non count toppings.

'Mine editor AmyT and her family have dependable the TJ's cauliflower crust, and she says they all rather like the body — chewy with crunchy edges if cooked right, and not too mealy. She says they suchlike to add Mediterranean toppings, like sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta cheese.

Absolutely Gluten-Free Blade

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This 1 is meticulously gluten-free, without a trace of flour or wheat berry, rice, soya, corn, etc. Online info says there's a classic tall mallow and dairy-free edition. Greenbac that instead of one pie, each package contains three mini pizzas, "all barely bigger than a Bagel Pungency," according to whatever reviewers.

The nutritional info shows these mini pizzas turn back 21g of carbs each.

Again the taste got mixed reviews, with some describing the crust as having a "soft pillow-like body" whereas much retributive said information technology was "mushy and flavorless." The Amazon reviews connected this one are particularly cringy.

To go for yourself, you hindquarters detect IT online likewise As in nationwide stores equal Whole Foods, Walmart and Sir Thomas More.

Paleo Pizza pie Encrustation Mix

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For some other selection that's not made with cauliflower but is plant-based, there's also this Paleo Pizza Impertinence Mix from General Bakery. IT contains almond flour, achira flour, pumpkin pulverise, dried orchis whites, Xantham gum tree, and some nuts. That may sound funky, but it gets an average of 4 stars out of 339 reviews along Amazon, so it can't be all bad.

Really reviewers aver the taste is pleasant — if a bit Amygdalus communis-y — but you pauperization to be foreordained to bake it long enough that it doesn't stay raw in the center.

IT has 15g of carb per one ounce of the powdered intersection, which is a little hard to translate into an individual pizza slice, just information technology's pretty low-carb without doubt.

These are just a small sampling of what's on offer in the growing cauliflower trend. We've also heard suggestions for other low-carb pizza options that aren't needs Brassica oleracea botrytis-based, so much as Flatout Flatbread that some PWDs claim doesn't even command insulin dosing! It also comes gluten-free.

So, D-Friends: Have you time-tested any Brassica oleracea botrytis pizza, and what diabetes effects hold you seen? We'd hump to hear your experiences and definitely whatever recipes you might equal to share.