pizza

Once Fall farmers market hits, I always buy at least one bunch of beets just about every week. Week after week I roast the bunch, but beet salads can become a little tiresome. I skipped the salad bowl and started experimenting with this Fall root vegetable as a pizza topping. My first attempt resulted in pizza — a creamy, earthy and a delicious meatless meal complete with roasted beets, goat cheese, mozzarella, scallions and a drizzle of basil olive oil.

For my second attempt at perfecting a beet pizza, I skipped the olive oil and added fresh and easy arugula pesto, which added a little more color and even more dimension to this pizza. With a little planning you can easily add this pizza into your fast and easy weeknight dinner routine. Just roast the beets and prepare the arugula pesto the night before. If you want to skip both of these steps, Trader Joe's carries roasted beets in the refrigerator section and a store-bought basil pesto would work just the same. Give these earthy roots a try on your next pizza pie and keep reading for this easy recipe.

Call it a 21-pie salute to the best pizzas our country has to offer. In honor of National Pizza Month, we've teamed up with our expert taste testers in NYC, Chicago, LA, and San Francisco to pinpoint our 21 favorite pizza places in four major cities. Read on, then eat up.

YumSugar's Top 5 Pizzas

1. Motorino: New York's East Village is lucky to have this neighborhood spot, which makes a memorable, chewy-blistery crust (pictured above). Try the brussels sprouts and smoked pancetta pizza.
2. Pizzeria Mozza: The luscious toppings and creative flavor combinations at Mario Batali's Los Angeles pizza outpost will leave any pie lover hankering for more.
3. Gino's East: Chicago's deep-dish pizza wouldn't be what it is without the precedent of Gino's East. Do as a Chicagoan would do: order a pie with an entire layer of the joint's famous sausage.
4. Pizzeria Delfina: San Francisco's favorite neighborhood pizza house makes solid pies across the board, but the panna pizza — with sweet-tart tomato sauce, cream, basil, and thin shavings of parmigiano — will change your life.
5. Grimaldi's: There's a perpetual line around the block at this Brooklyn institution, and for good reason. Don't pass up an opportunity to try a classic New York slice, made in a historic coal-burning brick oven.

Check out 20 more favorites from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, after the jump.

Some nights, you can't resist your craving for an ooey-gooey bite of your favorite pizza. A basic slice of cheese pizza clocks in around 270 calories, but if you order your pie with toppings, check out how many calories they add to your slice.

Don't see your favorite topping? Keep reading to find out the calories in meatballs, pineapple, and sun-dried tomatoes.

When you need a quick meal, pizza is always a crowd pleaser, but unfortunately it's not the most nutritious food on the planet. The next time you order from your local pizzeria or pull out your rolling pin to make your own, try these healthy tips.

• Whip up your own whole wheat dough and mix in flaxseeds for added fiber and omega-3s. If you don't have time, look for frozen whole wheat dough at the grocery store you can roll out and add your own flax to the dough.
• If you have a frozen pizza in your freezer, top your pie with sliced fresh or roasted veggies like tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms before popping it in the oven.
• Go cheese-less. Whether ordering out or making your own, hold the cheese and add flavor with veggies instead. Or if you can't live without the stretchy, melty goodness, sprinkle Daiya Mozzarella Style Cheese on top for a cholesterol-free option.
• If you're ordering a pie from your fave pizza joint, always go for thin crust and top with at least three veggie toppings for added fiber.
• Instead of pepperoni or sausage, sprinkle on some meat-free nibbles such as Smart Sausage, smokey tempeh strips (Fakin' Bacon), or cubes of marinated tofu.
• Blot the top of your slice with a napkin to soak up extra pooling grease.

How do you healthify your fave slice? If you have any other ideas, share them below.

Homemade pizza is a great dish to add to your weeknight repertoire. Especially when using a store bought dough, it can come together in under 45 minutes. If you enjoy creative toppings, you'll love this hearty chicken pie. Actually, it's really more of a flatbread, since there is no sauce. This recipe makes perfect use of the season's ripe tomatoes. The toppings are simple: spicy blackened chicken, chunky tomato salsa, and tons of pepper jack cheese. It's an unusual, yet scrumptious pizza that's packed with flavor and heat. This blackened chicken pizza would taste even more delicious when cooked on the grill, so if it's hot in your neck of the woods, take it outside! Get the recipe now.

If you're craving pizza but want something less fattening and calorie-laden, try this "pizza" fish recipe from FitSugar reader Dara8182. She posted this in the FitSugar Healthy Recipe community group.

This super quick and tasty dinner is one of my childhood favorites! Light and flavorful, it combines some of my favorite things, fresh fish and pizza! Try it tonight.

Learn more about this recipe after the break!

I'm currently obsessed with making homemade pizza, so when I sat down with Michael Chiarello last week at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, I asked the chef how he makes pizza at his house.

Here's the method he shared:

1. Chiarello pointed out that like most skills, practice helps, so the more pizza you make the better at it you will become. Start by following his recipe for basic pizza dough.
2. Make sure that the dough has enough moisture. Once it's well combined, knead it with both hands in a counterclockwise motion until it's very smooth like a baby's bottom.
3. Coat the bottom and top of the dough in olive oil and place in a bowl with a damp rag covering the top. It should double in size.
4. Knock it out of the bowl, and with a scale, measure out 4-5 ounces of dough. Knead it with both hands again, then form into a ball. Oil all sides of the ball and place in a bowl to rise a second time. It should double in size.
5. Roll it out and bake on a floured baking sheet. If you want to freeze the dough, place it in the freezer right after the second rise.

Do you make homemade pizza dough? What's been your experience with it?

Source: Flickr User I'm George

In the mood for a savory strawberry pizza? Yes, you heard right — this pizza is not for dessert. I wanted to make something that took advantage of one of the season's best berry highlights without feeling like I was overloading on sugar, and this strawberry pizza — with basil, arugula, goat cheese, and prosciutto — fit the bill.

The strong flavors of all the savory ingredients complement the sweetness of the strawberries to make an easy healthy pizza that's a little unexpected. Of course, you can play around with proportions to your liking, like omitting the prosciutto and adding less goat cheese for an even healthier pizza (I found that the prosciutto added a nice salty counterpoint to the strawberries, but as with the goat cheese as well, a little goes a long way). Next time I'll roll my dough out to be a little thinner, but other than that I was pleasantly surprised!

Get the recipe after the break!

• The secrets to making perfect pizza. — Eatocracy
• Freaky eaters who are addicted to maple syrup. — TLC
• Must make: shrimp and grits with arugula. — Serious Eats
• How going gluten-free changed the life of one girl.— Gilt Taste
• 60 awesome images from this weekend's Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. — Skollie Magazine
• Things you need to know about the food crisis. — Food Republic
• Tips for a budget-friendly destination wedding. — The Daily Meal
• Top Chef's Dale Talde has got a new gig. — Grub Street NY
• Watermelon! 14 Summer recipes. — Kitchen Daily