However, a look at the nutrition label shows that the calorie count is anything but healthy. With 550 calories per flatbread, you'd save almost 100 calories by eating two medium slices of hand-tossed cheese pizza from Pizza Hut instead.

Plus, the pizza would be cheaper because each flatbread costs about $4.

But the photo on the Stouffer's box made me hungry, so I went home and put this flatbread on a diet.

My cheese-tomato topping is easy to make, and it tastes good with very little oil, which saves calories and fat grams.

Instead of mozzarella, I use an Italian blend of provolone, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses made with 2 percent milk.

The healthiest changes happen in my homemade flatbread, which is adapted from a "Cooking Light" recipe.

First, I use white whole-wheat flour in place of half of the all-purpose flour, putting more fiber and nutrients into the mix.

Most flatbreads contain quite a bit of oil, but mine doesn't need much, thanks to the additions of fresh basil and Parmesan cheese to the dough.

And this flatbread doesn't take long to bake, so you'll only have to spend a few minutes in a hot kitchen.

If you eat my margherita flatbread instead of Stouffer's, you'll save 230 calories and 11.2 fat grams. My version also is lower in sodium and carbs.

But even if you don't want to make the flatbread from scratch, you can still save some calories by topping flatbread from a bakery with my cheese-tomato mixture.

For example, one serving of my cheese-tomato topping on 4 ounces of focaccia from Panera Bread contains about 100 fewer calories than Stouffer's version

KATHY'S MARGHERITA FLATBREAD

For basil-Parmesan flatbread:

1 cup boiling water

⅓ cup yellow cornmeal

1 package dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)

¼ cup warm water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole-wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons olive oil

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal, divided

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, divided

Note: If you use whole-grain cornmeal, you'll need to increase the all-purpose flour to 1¼ cups.

Combine boiling water and ⅓ cup cornmeal in a bowl; let stand 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Combine flours and salt with cornmeal mixture. Add yeast mixture and 2 teaspoons of oil, stirring until well-blended. (You may need a little more warm water, a few drops at a time, to completely blend the ingredients.) Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.

Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

Punch dough down, cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Divide dough into six equal portions, shaping each into a ball. Gently press ½ teaspoon each Parmesan cheese and basil into each ball of dough. (Cover remaining dough while working to prevent it from drying.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Roll each ball into a 6-inch by 5-inch oval.

Place three ovals on a baking sheet lightly dusted with 1½ teaspoons cornmeal. Repeat procedure with remaining ovals on an additional baking sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool flatbread on wire racks.

(Adapted from a "Cooking Light" recipe.)

For tomato-cheese mixture:

2 cups tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely minced

2 tablespoons red onion, finely minced

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ cups Italian three-cheese blend made with 2 percent milk, finely shredded

Preheat the oven's broiler.

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, onion, garlic and olive oil. Top each flatbread with one-sixth of the tomato mixture (about ⅓ cup). Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese over the tomato mixture and broil the flatbreads for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 6.

Per serving: 320 calories, 38 carb grams, 15.2 protein grams, 435mg sodium, 3.7 grams fiber, 11.8 fat grams, 16mg cholesterol.