This is one of those recipes that you make according to your taste and what ingredients you have in the house.
It's like a slice of live, this meat crust pizza.
When I made this recipe for five people to have with a salad, I used about two pounds of ground beef.

You can make this a small pizza for just you or a giant pizza to share by adjusting the amount of beef. Anyway you make it has the potential to be your favorite new recipe. 

 Ingredients
  • 6-8  cloves of garlic
  • black pepper
  • 2 pounds of ground beef
  • tomato sauce
  • Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded, or Feta cheese
Topping Suggestions
  • sliced mushrooms
  • sliced bell peppers (any color)
  • Italian sausage, cooked ahead
  • sliced pepperoni
  • sliced onions 
  • chopped green onion
  • chopped fresh basil 
  • chopped garlic
Preparing the Pizza
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400.
  2. Chop garlic and mix into ground beef; add black pepper at this point too.
  3. Flatten the ground beef as thin as possible into a circle; this will be the pizza crust.
  4. Place the meat on a baking pan.
  5. Bake the crust until the meat is cooked all the way through; do not let it get hard and tasteless by overcooking.
  6. Remove the crust from the oven and use a paper towel to dot off any moisture or oil on top.
  7. Spoon on favorite tomato sauce.
  8. Sprinkle cheese over sauce.
  9. Add veggies.
  10. Add pepperoni and/or sausage.
  11. Top with chopped fresh basil.
  12. Bake until toppings are bubbly hot.
A variation of this recipe is to use ground chicken instead of beef and to use Alfredo sauce (from a jar or fresh) instead of tomato. I haven't made this yet.

Meat Crust Pizza in Restaurants?

I took photo of the pizza slice above and below at a restaurant Julie recommended, Roma, which is in East Hartford. The owner Emilia was a client of Julie's and she will make this pizza for you but you must call and order it a day or two ahead. There are two size options, we chose the largest and had plenty of leftovers to take home. Excellent service.

Meat crust pizza.
I am a little discouraged today. I still feel like I am on a plateau. I have been on the program for 11 weeks - and for the past few weeks I feel like I am going no where. I am still down the sizes - but it feels like I am stuck. How long do these last? Does everyone eat meat until they are full? Or do you watch your portions? I know we can have meatballs, are the frozen ones from the store ok? or should I be making my own? I know I need to watch the veggie meat ratio, does it really impact the program that much? and if and when I have eaten more veggies it isn't a huge amount past. bite for bite works sometimes, but not in all situations.

Today I will be only eating meat, no veggies. Also, no added fats whatsoever,though I hardly use fats anyway.

Not hungry so I won't be eating breakfast. Do you eat breakfast or do you just eat when you are hungry? What is a typical day of food and eating for you?

I will be calling to make an appointment today and see when they can get me in. I just feel like I must be doing something wrong to be stuck for so long?

I need suggestions. I haven't strayed off program at all and don't want to!!!
My version of coffee
Following Julie's weight loss program has been an incredible experience for me. "The first three weeks will be hard", she told us. Hard? Not for me. None of this past year has been hard at all. Well, there was one hard thing: giving up coffee.

I gave up coffee, because I couldn't drink it without sugar; I preferred no coffee over coffee without sugar. Years ago, I reduced the amount of sugar in my coffee from three teaspoons to one.  I enjoy coffee with frothed milk or cream, but I can't handle it without sugar. So, I gave it up.

Fast forward three months after I started this program. I was visiting an old friend in my favorite coffee shop in southern California (the Pannikin in Encinitas),  and I decided to try coffee without sugar. I knew if anyone could make me a nice coffee without sugar, it was my favorite coffee shop. They did not disappoint. After that,  I enjoyed coffee with hot frothed milk or cream and no sugar. When I returned home, I began making frothed milk with my own gadgets, well at least on the weekends. Most days, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast: french vanilla coffee with extra cream and no sugar, and a bread-less meat sandwich, which confused most employees for a while, but now they have my number.

That has changed. Thanks to a Christmas gift from a friend at work, I have a wonderful Aroma milk frother. I just two minutes, while my coffee is brewing, I have thick and delicious tasting foamy milk to add to my cup of coffe.  I use every drop of it and then do it again for my second cup.

Dunkin Donuts has lost one of their best customers and they'll never know what hit them. It's often difficult to get a coffee with lots of milky foam and this gadget does the trick every time. Bye-bye DnD.

Aside from giving up coffee, following this program has not been difficult for me. This is not to say I haven't had my challenges along the way. The challenges, however,  have been more about me getting in my own way than anything being hard.

Being tempted to get on the scale has been challenging. That urge comes and goes. This is a lifestyle change and eventually I will find my way to resolving this issue. It may not happen for a few years. Change sometimes takes that long.

Wanting the process to go faster is challenging. I know it is going to take as long as it takes and I continue to work with myself to remember this. Some days I'm better at this than other days. Sometimes weight drops off quickly and their are times when I'm maintaining my weight. This is all part of the process. Julie reminds us the weight didn't come on all at once and it doesn't come off that way either.

I know that when I reach my goal, and yes-I will reach my goal, my next challenge will be to maintain my weight. I also know maintaining it is not a whole lot different than what I'm doing today. The more successful I am today, the easier maintenance will be. I'm not kidding myself, maintenance will have a whole new set of challenges, but what I'm doing now will strengthen what I need to do to maintain my weight.

Eating meat has certainly be challenging. I disliked meat and I had to get over that. I have found I do like meat now.  At first I just liked how it made me feel. I felt full and satisfied and I know not being hungry is mainly due to the fact that I'm eating so much meat. My body has been craving meat all these years and the reason I became obese is because my body wanted more nutrition (meat) and all I heard was "I'm hungry".  Eating meat satisfies for my hunger.

Cooking was a challenge too. Not only had I been eating out for most of my meals, I no longer was eating anything I ordered out, so I had to learn new things to cook. I kept eating out, but more and more started making things at home. I found a good sausage patty that I can cook while my eggs are poaching. I place the patties on my plate and top them with an egg and I have a breakfast that tastes a whole lot better than DnD ever served me. The savings is nice too. Well, I will need a new dishwasher soon, but it's due to be replaced sooner or later anyhow.

Expanding my recipes is the latest challenge. But guess what? This is really nothing new. I was tired of my recipes before I started this program. Menu changes are a part of our life cycles. We want to change things up from time to time. This time, working this program, is no different. I'm going to find a handful of new recipes, cook them to death like I always do (meaning: cook them again and again and again), and then say I need more new recipes. Or, I'll do this differently too. But for now, a handful of new recipes is a good start.

How about you - what have been your biggest challenges on this program? What are your favorite program foods? Any new favorite recipes?

Have any of you tried making Julie's meat pizza?  It has hamburg for the crust and anything else you want on top.  It's yummy.  I haven't made it for a while either.  Perhaps Aime and I can make it again, make a video along the way, and mix the older video with the new - weighing less now than last time we made the pizza and that video.

Hey Aime---time to make another pizza??


If you haven't seen Julie's recent TV interview, she's on Simply Living on fox at 6:30 pm tonight.  It's been on a few times the past few days, so if you can't catch it now. Or, you can see it right here....I added the video below.

Also, if you've been trying to get in to see Julie, be patient. Her office handles a lot of clients, but they will get back to you and give you an appointment.

I remember my frustration too. I put my name on the list for the first time in Oct. 2010 and I didn't get to see her until Jan. 27, 2011. Meanwhile, I did two sessions with the some else in Dec., as I was determined to get started.  Turns out, I wasn't so impressed with the other person, so I  when Julie's office called me in the middle of a Saturday while I was at shopping, I took the appointment with Julie. The rest is history! It's worth the wait.

I don't know about any of you, but I am having to re-learn how to cook. I am Italian and I was raised by tasting what I was making, not really following recipes, just go by taste and feel. Fun, yes, healthy, NO!

Then add that to: a big part of my church fellowship is meals. We eat at people's houses every weekend, or we have people in our home for meals. In the summer we have chicken bar-b-ques pretty much every Sunday with 50 different people in our home. My husband and I and our girls love to entertain! Lots of cooking, lots of tasting.

This has been a big thing for me. Last night I had my husband's 'old' aunt's over for supper. I made spaghetti. It is very hard to make spaghetti sauce without tasting it. The aunts are old, so I didn't want them to bring anything, so I made dessert too. Brownies and ice-cream. and yes, dessert has to be part of these meals, it is just how it is. Amazing how many times I went to lick the spoon, but to have something happen in my mind before I did, and just throw the spoon into the sink and let the water hit it.I am not tempted by the dessert, just the old habit of putting the spoon in my mouth as I am making it.

I have to be aware of my every move in a kitchen. I never knew how many meals I ate while cooking before the meal was ever served! This has been a major learning thing for me.

I did keep a meatball or 2 out so I could taste the sauce. My husband will only taste it so many times.

So I am proud to say, I have not licked any dessert spoons! Christmas season was interesting too because of Italian traditions with cooking, but I did not stray with those tastes and I am so thankful!!!

I have never been on a program for so long without 'falling off the wagon' as I have been with this one. I still need to get the cheese and veggie ratios better, but I am quite pleased with myself and my 'stick to it-ness'!!!

How are all of you with cooking? am I the only one re-learning it?
This morning I was thinking about how my doctor had given up on my losing weight about a year and a half ago. In fact, she told me I would soon become a diabetic. I told her that would not happen to me. I didn’t have a plan, but I was not accepting that as my fate. Diabetes runs in my family and since I’m obese, I test ever year. The test results at that time showed me at 98; 100 is considered pre-diabetic.

When I walked into her office six months ago, she was very pleased with my weight loss. She suggested I see her for a full physical this Jan. and indicated I no longer need to be tested for diabetes.

My plan for the doctor appointment next Tuesday was to ask her my weight. Julie said we can weigh ourselves once a year, but I’m not sure if this is something we do after we reach our goal weight or if it applies to all of us. I’ve debated for a few weeks now if I should I ask my exact weight or not.

I went to the doctor yesterday, a few days earlier than my scheduled appointment, because I’ve been home all week with a wicked cold. She said I look great and that I’m doing everything I should be doing for my cold: lots of fluids and taking contact flu/cold tablets. She also said I was taking the later too often and suggested cough drops or cough syrup. I was hesitant because of the sugar factor. I didn’t like the idea of chewing on candies, so I went for the prescription cough syrup with sugar; sugar is better than sugar substitute.

I am dying to know my number on the scale, but I'm still struggling with feeling like I’ve gained weight. The last thing I need right now is to know a number on the scale is less than I want it to be. Instead, I asked if I’ve dropped 50 pounds yet – her answer was yes.

I’m fighting with myself not to get on the scale now that I’m home. To stay off the scale, I remind myself that not knowing the numbers is a part of my journey. I remember all those times when I knew the numbers and how devastated I was when they were higher instead of lower. What I used to do did not work for me, so why would I want to do something I know does not work?

I'm looking at this journey in a new way. It isn't about having patience, how much I weigh, or how much I’ve lost. It's about staying connected to the part of me that knows this is a life-long journey. I am living my life different than I used to. This story is not one that has a beginning, middle, and an end – it is a story about a lifetime of choices. It’s a story about living today. Living the best life I can today. Living in the present means looking back at lessons learned and focusing on the present. After all—all we really have is today.

Theresa, sounds like you really did good on vacation. Just think of the damage you could have done, but, really, all in all, sounds like you did so much better than years past would have done! Keep up/off the good work!! How long did it take you to get an appointment with Julie for a tweaking session? I want to go for one, but if she only does them at night, I will have to wait until it is lighter later at night. I can not see in the dark and I have to travel almost 1 hour to get there.

I know what you mean about the comments about weight loss. I thrive on those comments. I know I am on a plateau right now as I feel like nothing is happening and I don't like the feeling one bit. My mind starts to play around like I am doing it wrong, I should eat less, I should/maybe I can't, blah blah blah. My friend started 1 week after me, she didn't go to Julie, she is just doing it on her own from what I told her. She is averaging 2 pounds a week loss. She is melting. I want to melt! But it isn't a competition or a race, and I have to get out of that mindset. Like you said, as long as I am doing what she said, the weight will come off. But oh yes, I LOVE those compliments. Luanne gave me her skirts that are to big for her now and I was excited to get them home, but alas, they didn't fit and that was a disappointment to me. I am in a 20, but it appears to be I can't get into all styles of size 20's. GRRRR! Then she threw some 18's in there, well, those made it on but no way to zip. I need to be thankful that I could get them on even if I couldn't zip. 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to get my legs into them, so if I really think about it, yes there is progress. I have been on Julie's program for 10 weeks, I need patience, patience and more patience. Not one of my greatest virtues unfortunately!

Thank you for starting this blog. It does help me a lot to be able to touch base with someone who is also on this path. I am hoping more people start writing on here too!

Have a good day.
Linda
Inspiration is an important part of my weight loss journey. It feels good when someone says I inspire them, but I too like to be inspired.

I'm inspired when I'm in a session with Julie and I hear stories of success and failure. It's easy to understand why success inspires me--when one thin person after another talks about having maintained their weight for several years and that they are here again because their size 6 or smaller pants are tight - who wouldn't be inspired? Part of going to her again is to hear such inspiration. So how am I inspired by failures?

I'm inspired by failures because they are also success stories. They indicate lost their mojo and they feel they can't get it back on their own, but they have come back because their pants are too tight. They've learned how to maintain, but as soon as they realize they're beyond maintaining--they returned for more help. This is inspiring, because some day I will too will be learning to maintain my weight. I'm inspired by the fact that so many are able to maintain without having to return and that returning for help is also an option.

I'm also inspired by those in the room who came back because they gained a size or two and want to take it off again, and by others who are there because they have maintained their weight for a while and have decided they want to lose more weight. 

Inspiration comes to me in many forms. I'm inspired by various types of art, be it a collection of work by a street artist or original by Georgia O'Keeffe. Art stirs my creative juices.

Movies inspire me as well. I'm inspired by other people's stories. I believe everyone has at least one inspirational story. I'm inspired by the show the Biggest Loser. I see how hard they work in the gym and how they confront themselves along the way. I'm inspired by the number of them who lose the weight and keep it off. I'm also inspired that I have a found a way less painful journey to lose my weight.

I also like to read inspirational and motivational books, articles, and blogs, and stories about people who were successful in loosing weight and keeping it off. Recently Aime sent me a link to Ben Does Life, written by a guy, who lost 120 pounds and went from being a depressed recluse to a motivational speaker. When asked "what is your advice for someone starting a weight loss journey" Ben replied:
"I have a few things! Be public with your journey. You don’t have to post everything on Facebook, or start a blog, but tell some people that can be there for you. You have to have a support system. Secondly, make goals, but make them small and measurable. And be sure to make non-scale goals such as running a race, completing a certain number of weeks of yoga, or going restaurant-free for X amount of days. Make it fun and cross them off as you go. Lastly, find something that you can have fun with. Running isn’t for everyone. You want to surround yourself with an environment that you can look forward to. Don’t be a slave to the elliptical rider or treadmill. Find an ongoing activity that can become a hobby."

Your turn - What inspires you?