Shrinking Man's Hot Pizza

At 126 kilojoules a slice, the pepperoni on pizza always tips the scales the wrong way, so replace it with hot zucchini at just 8kJ a slice.

The chillies here are packed with capsaicin, which raises your metabolism for anywhere between 20 minutes and five hours, according to a study by Oxford Brookes University in the UK. Habanero peppers pack maximum capsaicin: 300,000 Scoville units on the heat index, compared with jalapeno's tepid 2500-5000.

To prevent "dough handles", eat your slice for lunch. Even thin-crust is carb-heavy, and research from the Psychiatric University Clinic in Switzerland showed eating high-carb foods before bed raised body temperature and heart rate compared with having carbs early in the day. This effect could interfere with sleep, and thus weight loss.

Vital stats (per serving; serves 4): 2489kJ, 19 grams protein, 105g carbs, 12g fat (2g saturated).

Think Big Hot Pizza

The right kind of bulking up isn't just a matter of wolfing down the kilojoules. "If it was as easy as stuffing in 40,000kJ of any rubbish, no-one on the planet would have a problem building muscle," says Vince Delmonte, author of No-Nonsense Muscle Building. "Most mass diets wreak havoc on your health because they're based on unclean kilojoules."

The MH bulk-up slice uses low-fat mozzarella to save your arteries, and what you won't get in the local pizzeria is a slathering of bulking gold: protein-rich pine-nut sauce. Or a homemade stuffed crust filled with casein-loaded cottage cheese. "Studies have shown casein provides a slow release of muscle-building amino acids into the bloodstream," says World Deadlifting Champion Anthony Ricciuto. Do you want to argue with him?

Vital stats (per serving; serves 4): 3251kJ, 31g protein, 110g carbs, 22g fat (5g saturated).

METHOD

Follow these four steps for a slimming slice or a bulk-up banquet. The basic recipe is the same, just go for Bulk Up! or Slim Down! where you get the option.

STEP 1: THE DOUGH
Both Mix the flour, yeast and 1 tsp of salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour 1½ tbsp of olive oil into it. Add 325ml of warm water (it must be a bit above 43°C to activate the yeast). Mix, then knead the dough for five minutes by hand. Put it on a floured surface, push it away from you, then pull it back into a ball, then push away again. Give it a good pummelling.

Repeat for 10 minutes. Once smooth, shape into a ball and coat with olive oil. Put it in a cling wrap-covered bowl and leave somewhere warm and draught-free for 45 minutes, until it doubles in size.

STEP 2: THE TOPPING
Both Grate the cheese. Chop the capsicum into bite-size pieces and dice the chilli. Leave the seeds in if you like it hot.

Bulk Up! Preheat your oven as hot as it'll go, then stick the garlic bulb and capsicum in for 10-15 minutes until the capsicum chars and the garlic softens. Stick the capsicum in a cling wrap-covered bowl for 10 minutes to cool and slice the pepperoni. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat, shaking often so they don't burn.

Slim Down! Peel and slice the zucchini, lay the slices on paper towels and sprinkle with salt on both sides to draw out the moisture. Leave for a few minutes, then wipe them and put them in a bowl. Add the paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, mustard seeds and liquid smoke and stir. Dry-fry in a non-stick pan over a medium heat.

STEP 3: THE SAUCE
Both With the oven still at max heat, if you have a pizza stone, put it in now (Avanti Pizza Stone, $12; petersofkensington.com.au).

Slim Down! Peel and finely chop the garlic clove, and fry over medium heat in olive oil for one minute. Add the tomatoes, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for five minutes.

Bulk Up! Remove the garlic cloves from their skins and toss half in a food processor. Peel the capsicum and remove the stalk and seeds. Add it to the food processor with the pine nuts, salt and pepper, then blitz for 30 seconds. Put in a bowl, clean the processor and blitz the remaining garlic with the cottage cheese, flour, salt and pepper for 10 seconds. Put in a zip-lock bag with a one-centimetre hole at one end.

STEP 4: THE ASSEMBLY
Both Cut the dough in half (it makes two bases). Shape each half in a ball, then flatten and, from the centre out, press the dough into a thin 30cm disc. If you have a pizza stone, dust with flour and stick the dough on it. Otherwise, put it on an oven tray.

Slim Down! Spread on the sauce, leaving a 1.5cm edge. Sprinkle with mozzarella, then add the zucchini, capsicum and chillies. Bake for 10 minutes, leave for two, then tuck in.

Bulk Up! Pipe the cottage cheese 2cm from the edge. Fold the edge over and seal it. Spread half the sauce over the base, sprinkle over mozzarella and top with pepperoni, red capsicum and chillies. Bake for 10 minutes, remove