Don't Sacrifice, Substitute!

My girlfriend and I have been enjoying the remarkable benefits of a 100% raw food diet over the last 5 weeks in our pursuit of weight loss and health goals. We easily and gladly accomplished our first goal of going 30 days on 100% raw fruits and veggies. We were very pleased with the results and decided to continue on that trend, but we have really been craving pizza lately.

One slice of cheesy, gooey, greasy pizza on a gluten-rich crust would easily undo all of the painstaking detoxification that we have accomplished in the last 5 weeks. Bummer, right? Wrong!

Luckily, our vegan friend told us about a local pizza shop called “Red Brick Pizza” in Port Orange at the Pavilion. Red Brick offers up several alternatives for health conscious people. At your request, they will gladly substitute a dairy-free (Daiya) cheese. They have a gluten-free crust option as well. I was also impressed that they use heart-healthy olive oil in all of their other crusts too. Red Brick Pizza is proving that truly healthy options can (and should) be included on all restaurant menus. If a pizza parlor can do it – why not all other dining establishments too?!

Our mouths watered as we waited for our “Veggie Gourmet Works” pizza to come out of the wood-fired oven. The thought of the mushrooms, red onions, red bell peppers, black olives, artichokes, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs in something other than a salad tempted our taste buds beyond belief! The gluten-free pizza option only comes in a smaller crust size, but the small pizza turned out to be BIG on flavor! In fact, we enjoyed it so much – we ordered another (two)!

Having not had the pleasure of dining out for over a month, we ate slow, people watched and took in the whole dining experience, savoring each delicious bite in a whole new mindset.

We left Red Brick very satisfied with our dining experience, but we realized that, although priced fairly, this pizza substantially lacked a couple of things – the bloated, belly-bomb sensation usually associated with pizza consumption – as well as the GUILT! We felt energized and light the rest of the night – and pretty good about the fact that we were able to “splurge” by substitution and not derail ourselves from our goals.

Thanks Lou – and RBP crew for a delicious (and healthy) dining experience! By the way, your crew definitely delivered service with a smile too. We'll be seeing you again soon.