Have you ever gotten home from a long night out on the town and wanted some fast food-style food that fills you up and can fit anyone's calorie intake? Low calories, high protein, and super satisfying when you've got the munchies, without leaving the house or paying for skip the dishes. Not only that but super customizable and I have a great touch for all you SPICE LORDS! Best of all, this recipe is made out of things that you'll likely have in your cupboard/fridge already and requires little to no skills in the kitchen!

The inspiration:

Plain and simple, a ton of my friends were sharing pictures of pizza/calzones with me via social media recently. If you follow my Instagram (@evidencenutrition), my brother was visiting and we attempted to make some pizza and HONESTLY, it was fire (so good). Then one day I was walking through the grocery store and saw an advertisement for pizza pockets on sale. I thought, "I can probably make some gourmet 'pizza pockets' for cheaper using things we all know and love." I felt inspired, so I gave it a go. As with many other recipes, I'm sure you can add your favorite spices/ twist to it to make it absolutely amazing but I just wanted to provide the foundation for you to master it as you wish. In fact, I encourage you to follow the premise, share your versions with me on IG, Twitter, FB, or if you prefer, try it out my way! Without further ado, I present to you the ~200 kcal, ~20g Protein Pizza Pocket!

Ingredients:

(Recipe Makes 4 Pizza Pockets)

• 8 Slices of Bread (find low-calorie bread where possible)

• 100g egg whites (for egg wash)

• 100-110g Light/ Skimmed shredded Mozzarella

• 40 Thinly slices Turkey Pepperoni/ I sliced 40 slices of Turkey Kielbasa

• 1 tbsp sriracha

• 1 tsp honey

• marinara sauce (for dipping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F/ Preheat the Airfryer to 400F. (if you're using a baking sheet because you don't like air fryers/happiness-- totally kidding--)Line an oven safe pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. I used butter flavoured, you can use whatever you want... but just know that you want to use low calorie/ ZERO calorie spray to keep the calories at ~200

2. Combined 1 tbsp of sriracha sauce w/ 1 tsp of honey, and stir until combined.

3. Lay one slice of bread down and brush egg whites along the edges. Add 14g Light Shredded Mozzarella then 10 Turkey Pepperonis and then 7g more of Light Shredded Mozzarella to the middle. Leave about half an inch along the edges to ensure it seals, unlike some of the ones in the video here.... Add desired quantity of hotsauce, and any other desired toppings. Brush your egg white wash to the bottom of the top piece of bread and then add it on top and press it down the best you can (I recommend doing this with your whole hand so as to spread the pressure on the bread and not pierce the bread). Brush the egg whites on the edges of the top piece. Press the edges down with your fingers, then use a fork to crimp the edges shut.

4. Take a pizza cutter and slice off the crusts, then brush more egg whites on the top of the hot pocket. Repeat this process for all 4 "hot pockets"/Pizza Grilled Cheese.

5. Add your hot pockets to the oven for 8 minutes (the time will vary based on your oven so keep an eye on them)/ Add them to the airfryer for 5-7 min @400F, your goal is for them to be golden brown all around. Once they’re done, grab your marinara sauce/ other pizza dipping favourites in a ramekin and enjoy together!

If you enjoyed this recipe, please remember to share your creations with me across all social platforms, and let me know what you want me to cover/what you want to see next! Have a great day...

-Ed