Marks and Spencer Count on Us Chicken, Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

I try and eat as healthily as possible but at the same time when it's the weekend or you want a treat, I still want to be involved in the ritual of things like having a pizza for a movie night in. So I was intrigued by this new low calorie offering from M&S. To be honest, I'm very much against 'diet' foods. When fat is tripped out, usually something like sugar is added plus a whole load of weird, unnatural sounding ingredients.

Thankfully, reading the ingredients for list, there wasn't one single thing I didn't recognise or wouldn't have in my own kitchen. Surely, there must be some kind of catch? Well, I guess one is that when you get this out of the packaging, it that is pretty petite in size. But then again, I quite like this. I hate how big supermarket pizzas are. I always feel I have to wat a whole pizza as that's part of the experience but they're so big in diameter that this really isn't a good idea (and most supermarket pizzas are meant to serve 2 or 3). It's nice being able to eat a whole pizza and know that you are exceeding the recommended serving size. No waste and no going back for more than you should!

It cooks in only 9 mins and looks appetising enough. You can see plenty of peppery chicken and some nice blobs of ricotta.There isn't that much cheese across the pizza, which I guess keeps the calories down so it's no where near as nasty as a normal pizza or a take out. However, it is tasty in it's own right. I would say it's more akin to a flatbread with topping than a traditional pizza.

The base is nice and crispy but, as said, more like a flatbread without the doughiness of a true pizza. It is liberally smeared with tomato sauce for flavour and you do get enough topping to make it tasty enough. The blobs of ricotta and the chicken are the highlights and each slice with a bit of these on are the nicest. The ricotta is creamy and melting and the chicken has an uplifting kick from the pepper.

It didn't feel like a proper treat and lacks some indulgence but at 370 calories for the entire thing with less than 1.4 g of salt, you can'y really complain. Two slices of Dominos is likely to be 400 calories!

Score: 7/10

Waitrose Ultimate Thin and Crispy Asparagus, Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pizza

Whenever buying something like a ready made pizza, I always like to splash out and get something extra special from somewhere like Waitrose. This new thin and crispy range provide authentic Italian style pizzas with proper slim and crunchy bases rather than American doughy or stodgy ones. The topping probably won't impress any real Italians but it is an interesting and different combination that sounded delicious.

One thing I really appreciated about this was that the ingredient list is refreshingly natural and simple. There is literally nothing in it, you wouldn't be forced to use if you were making it yourself. It's also not as salty as other store bought pizzas and because of the thin base is only 260 calories per half. Even if you ate the whole thing, it's probably about the same as a half of most other pizzas.

Its thinness also means it cooks very quickly in only 8 minutes and when it came out it looked and smelt pretty much of the same standards you get in restaurants. The base is deliciously satisfying with a good, crisp snap and doesn't go soggy. Its thinness means the topping also gets to take centre stage rather than taste bring overwhelmingly bready.

The pesto, tomato, asparagus combo work together brilliantly. It feels very vibrant and fresh and coupled with the thin base that makes for a nice light eat that doesn't make you feel bloated. I was really impressed how flavourful it was with hints of basil and the sweet juiciness of the perfectly sized tomatoes. I would happily try the rest of the range as the quality is as good as pizzas cooked in a wood fired oven.

Price: £3.29
Available: Waitrose

Score: 8.5/10