Better than Domino's

The finished lightened up white pizza.

We've been on a kick of eating from recipes we've gotten off of Pinterest. (And to clarify the "we", Chef cooks and I find the recipes--as if you hadn't guessed that already). I was thinking of trying the cheesy quinoa tonight, but we ran out of milk. So I was kept late at an appointment and Chef was left to try to make something else--without any protein thawed or ready. We have a weekly list of recipes that we use to pull our nightly selection from. Typically, I've pulled chicken or beef or whatnot from the fridge to have it ready.

In this case, Chef whipped up a white pizza that I'd pinned recently from the blog Emily Bites. Being that I know my husband, I told him to look it over and jazz it up. And jazz it up he did.

He seasoned the crap out of the chicken breasts and cooked them in a pan then de-glazed the pan with a little white wine. He then carmelized some garlic (like 3 times as much as the recipe calls for because I LOVE garlic) and added some red pepper flake. He then added that to the Classico Light Alfredo sauce the recipe called for. He substituted basil for spinach (because he could just pluck the basil from our patio) and it was a masterpiece. Seriously it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had and definitely the best pizza I've had in LA. It was cheaper, more delicious, healthier and quicker than any delivery or frozen pie. And that's saying something. From the moment I walked in the door to the moment I was stuffing my face with pizza, it was 15 minutes (he did, however, cook the chicken and prep the topping before I got home to keep me from getting hangry).

Results are pictured and my waistline is still the same size, yet completely satisfied. It felt so decadent. I feel like Oprah when she had Bob Greene and Dr. Phil and the whole damn team helping her lose weight. Except I've got Chef and he's all of them rolled into one. I'm so lucky.

If the picture doesn't convince you, your stomach will--you should be following me on Pinterest.

You Always Want What You Can't Have

For me, it's good deep dish pizza. Or even just good pizza. And nothing fancy. Although Greek pizzas have been a favorite as of late, I'd totally just take a great slice of pepperoni. Doughy crust, but not too doughy. Nothing cheese-filled or with garlic and herbs baked in. Just a good slice of Pepperoni pizza. One where the Pepperoni is crisp at the edges and the cheese has some nice brown bubbles.

But that's something that I can't have. Mostly for two reasons: 1) I'm still watching what I eat and trying to avoid no-no food as much as possible. More than seven pounds in three weeks is a good start. I think another week and I'll be in a different second number which makes me happy. It's been a mental hurdle since I've been in LA for some reason. And while I indulged in a burger yesterday I also went back into th

e gym and put more time in to compensate. 2) I still have yet to find what I'd consider to be good pizza in LA. We've kind of given up trying lately. One because we're both dieting and two because we faced lots of disappointment. If we're gonna splurge on calories, we've been veering towards the safe bets.

Speaking of us dieting, I've got to give a shout out to Chef. He's lost

about 40 pounds since we've moved to LA. Yes. That's 40. Like four zero. He's looking super hot. Even more than usual.

But I digress. If anyone knows of a great pizza place in southern California, please let us know. At this point, I'm even willing to travel to get a slice of heaven. If you need a reference point, I love Jet's pizza. Especially the deep dish kind. I'd probably kill someone for a slice of that. Okay, maybe not kill, but seriously injure. The pictures should also help. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Yelp hasn't done us very well so far.

Korean Pizza. Yes, you read that right.

Chef and I have been on a quest to find decent delivery pizza in LA. I say quest because we have literally tried about 8-10 different non-chain places since we've been here and have yet to find a real winner. At least when it comes to delivery pizza. There's a great place we love, but you have to eat at the Farmer's Market to get it.

So tonight in our quest, we decided to try something different. Pizza from Koreatown. The place, again, had great recommendations on yelp. It's called Mr. Pizza, which honestly just had me thinking of the Mr. Plow song from Homer's snow plow business on "The Simpsons." And I liked that they had some really unusual pizzas. Some seafood combinations, some potato pizzas and even a concoction that they put whipped sweet potato in the crust and bake with cheddar cheese.

We tried our safety pie, the pepperoni pizza. I mean, if you can't do a proper pepperoni, then you shouldn't be making pizza at all. I also had an order of their "Gold sticks." These are basically cheesesticks with cheddar on top and the whipped sweet potato filling.

It was the best delivery pizza we've had in LA, but still only a B+. The good thing is that Chef actually went back for seconds and we even kept the leftovers. The other pizza we've been throwing out. I liked the Gold Sticks, but I love sweet potato. There was enough in there to have a nice sweet and savory mix, but not enough to have the filling oozing out with each bite.

So thumbs up for Korean pizza. However, even the best Korean pizza can't hold a candle to the fast Mexican place we are now addicted too. It's called Poquito Mas and the pork there is divine. Seriously, we tried it last weekend and went back this weekend because of its awesomeness. Also, I made a mid-week stop there too. And the best part is it costs less in calories and dollars than McDonald's. Oh, Poquito Mas. We do adore you.

An early birthday present

Chef took me to the beach today. It was the warmest day this week and nearly perfect weather. I mean, who can really complain if you're going to the beach in your swimsuit in January?

I say Chef took me because it was his idea to go today. The beach is my favorite place. He likes it, but not as much as I do. And really, the beach on a Thursday is awesome because it was pretty deserted. I got to work on some things and then lay in the sun. Get my daily dose of Vitamin D. And maybe get a little tan, but not too much.

I love the beach because it's one place where you can lay down and not be deemed a weirdo. Aside from a bed store, there aren't too many places you can do that and not raise an eyebrow. Well, unless you're homeless. Then you've pretty much got free reign to lay down anywhere without a lot of attention.

So, after a week of job interviews, working freelance on projects, taking volunteer phone calls, and trying to be a good partner around the house, I was ready for a day on the beach. I know that my life isn't all that stressful right now, but I have a feeling I'm going to need to cram in my relaxing while I've got a chance. And today was a great chance.

Now, I'm "off" the job hunt AND calorie counting tomorrow and Saturday for birthday celebrations. Chef got me a massage for Saturday morning and tomorrow is PIZZA DAY!! (Have I mentioned that I've been watching calories like a hawk and have lost 10 lbs in the 2 months that I've been here).

I'm a lucky girl. Not only do I have a good life, but I've got a partner who knows what I need --sometimes before I do!

Struggling with the Four Food Groups

I'm trying with or without success to get back on the bandwagon to healthy eating. I'm still working out and running/ walking twice a day, but I'm back sliding on what I eat. Today, was no exception.

I started out with oatmeal and ended up with pizza. Free pizza to be exact. Two words that I can't seem to resist. Free delicious pizza on a day when I had exactly three minutes to shove food down my gullet between meetings and deadlines.

As I was molesting the pepperoni off a slice, I thought back to when my mom used to argue with me about my diet. I had a junk food habit and despite being active in up to three sports a year, I was still overweight. As a grade schooler, I used to argue with her that pizza was a great way to get all four food groups in at the same time. The crust provided grains, the cheese dairy, the pepperoni provided meat and the sauce vegetables. And if you had mushrooms, pineapple or anything else that didn't have eyes at one time, then that was a bonus.

She didn't buy it then and I'm not really buying it now. But tomorrow is another day and there's little chance that free pizza will make its way into my life two days in a row.