"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."I'd heard about this product from the gfcf lists I belong to but had never seen it anywhere. Today, I found stock had arrived at one of the local health food stores we frequent. Gluten free/casein free pizza. You're kidding, right?
First, frozen pizza is awful. We'd tried every single brand of "regular" pizza I could find in the frozen food aisles of various grocery stores before the kids went on the diet.
Second, there's SPINACH in this. Lots of it and very little of that camouflaged under cheese.
Third, it's rice-based crust and soy "mozzarella
and ricotta type" cheese. The soy and rice cheeses I'd tried I could barely choke down the first bite. I was also warned that the cheese would not melt like in the picture. And I hadn't yet found a gluten free bread that didn't have the texture of cardboard.
I thought there's no way in heck my kids will eat this. But a number of the moms on the lists said theirs liked it. So, what the hey...
I tried hiding the box but Dana found it. "Mom, that's not a vegetable is it?"
"Spinach... you know like what Popeye eats to make him stronger."
"I don't like spinach."
"You're going to try it!"
"But, Mom..."
"NO BUTS."
Once the aroma wafted through the house, Alex came running down the stairs. "Pizza. Pizza!" I cut up a few pieces not expecting him to eat it. But it passed his is-this-safe-?-smell-test and he took a bite. And he smiled. And he jumped up and down. And he happily took his plate of cut up pieces and a bottle of water upstairs to munch on while he played on the computer.
While Dana was distracted playing Bionicle on her XBox360, I snuck a piece in her mouth before she could see "green stuff." I walked out, waiting to hear "I don't like it." But, nope. Her next words were, "Can I have two slices?"
Don't get me wrong. For someone addicted to NY style pizza, putting this on a table next to "the real thing" would be sacrilege. The crust does not have the texture of wheat flour bread. The cheese does not melt well. But, as my brother agreed, it is tasty. Somewhere between the spinach and sauce there's a touch of pesto that's very nice.
Just don't think of it as "pizza."
Think of it as some kind of "healthy Italian-style treat."
Note: Only Amy's very clearly marked in green "Gluten free, Non dairy" Spinach Pizza, Rice Crust product is gfcf.
