Pizza becomes a high-protein meal when a proprietary Parmesan chicken crust is used instead of a traditional flour, corn or rice base.
As one of the best sources of high-quality protein, innovative food manufacturers are getting creative with ways to incorporate meat and poultry into all types of foods. Often their objective is to displace carbohydrates, making the product attractive to specialty dieters, such as those following paleo and Whole30.
That’s one of the appeals of the latest offering from Real Good Food Co., Los Angeles. New Real Good Pizza is a disrupter in the frozen pizza category. It’s made using a proprietary parmesan chicken crust instead of a traditional flour, corn or rice base. The gluten-free pizza provides a mere 4 grams of carbs and a whopping 25 grams of protein per serving.
The crust is made using all-natural antibiotic-free chicken breast, which gets combined with all-natural parmesan cheese into a smooth mixture. This gets pressed and formed into a crust with the baked product not possessing any of the stringy, fibrous attributes of cooked whole chicken breast.
Real Good Pizza’s Parmesan chicken crust does not have any of the stringy, fibrous attributes of cooked whole chicken breast.
The frozen pizza comes in three traditional varieties — Three Cheese, Pepperoni and Supreme (sausage, pepperoni and vegetables). The same crust is also used to make breakfast pizzas, which include scrambled eggs and cheese along with bacon, pepperoni or sausage.
Launched in 2016, the company was inspired to create “real food you feel good about eating.” All offerings are high protein, low carb and naturally gluten free. Also in the company’s product portfolio is Real Good Enchiladas, which are made with parmesan chicken tortillas. Varieties are: Shredded Beef, Cheese, Chicken and Pork.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer recently introduced some hearty dips ideal for Super Bowl snacking. Merchandised in the self-service deli department, the “fresh from Meijer” line of meat-infused dairy-based dips come in All American, Buffalo Style Chicken and Pepperoni Pizza varieties.
Having meat as the number-one ingredient keeps calories and fat content down while boosting the protein content of what is normally a high-fat chip accompaniment.
The All American Dip is the most unique. It has fully cooked beef crumbles as its first ingredient. The dip description is “hearty dip made with beef patty mix, cheese sauce, cream cheese and bacon.” Sold in 7-oz. clear plastic containers, with a callout to serve hot or cold, having meat as the number-one ingredient keeps calories and fat content down while boosting the protein content of what is normally a high-fat chip accompaniment. A 2-tablespoon serving (28 grams) contains 50 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of protein. This is not your typical chip dip. It’s a paleo follower’s indulgence.
All the dips carry a US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) inspection stamp of approval because of the meat ingredients. It is important for non-meat processors to note that including meat and poultry ingredients in non-meat foods often requires USDA inspection.
The regulations exempt meat and poultry products from inspection if they contain very small quantities of meat and/or poultry ingredients. These quantities are 3 percent or less raw meat; less than 2 percent cooked meat or other portions of the carcass; or 30 percent or less fat, tallow or meat extract, alone or in combination. In the case of poultry, these quantities are less than 2 percent cooked poultry meat; less than 10 percent cooked poultry skins, giblets or fat, separately; or less than 10 percent cooked poultry skins, giblets, fat and poultry meat (limited to less than 2 percent) in any combination.
Non-meat companies bringing meat into their facilities to produce protein snacks may require U.S. inspection.
For dried products containing poultry, these percentages are computed based on the moist cooked chicken in the ready-to-serve product when prepared according to the directions on the consumer package. Also, these are not international exemptions; therefore, foreign countries may require USDA inspection stamps if a product contains any amount of meat or poultry ingredients.
