Mama Mia! Even Pizza Can Fit Into a Healthy Diet

 

Environmental Nutrition Newsletter

Some folks are pizza aficionados; they're very particular about their crust, sauce, toppings, and more. Then there are those who are a bit more relaxed about their pizza--as long as it's a piece of triangle-shaped dough topped with sauce and cheese, it's good enough.

Whatever camp you fall into, it may surprise you to hear that pizza can, fairly easily, fit into a healthy diet. Not all pizza, mind you--we're not talking about those pies with cheese stuffed into the crust, with a half-dozen different types of meat decorating the top.

When you break it down, your basic pizza is typically a lean bread crust with cooked tomato products--a great source of lycopene--and calcium-rich cheese. Overall, pretty healthy, right? It's when the pizza makers get creative that the calories and fat levels begin to creep up.

Pizza shops across the country have put their own marks on the blank canvas of a pizza. Crusts are now filled or topped with cheeses. And toppings have expanded from the basic sausage, pepperoni, or mushroom to more wild combinations such as spinach Alfredo, Buffalo, BLT--and so much more.

HELPFUL HINITS

The next time you're in the mood for a hot, cheesy slice, first check out these tips to help keep your health in mind:

1. Make a meal of it.

When many of us have pizza, that's all we eat. This makes it easy to gobble up three, four, or more slices. Try to round out the meal by adding a veggie-filled salad, and perhaps some fruit on the side. With additional components to your meal, it will be easier to limit your pizza portion to one or two slices.

2. Go vegetarian.

For pizza, I mean. It's not surprising that many of pizza's less-than-healthy attributes come from the fat-laden meat toppings, such as sausage, bacon, and pepperoni. Most pizza places offer a pretty good variety of meatless toppings, so give them a whirl next time. And, if you've never tried it, pineapple makes a delicious topping. But, if you just can't say no to the meat, try chicken or ham to help trim the fat.

3. Go thin to win.

Those thin crusts offer more than just crispness when you bite into them. Choosing the thin crust over the thicker crust can save you about 100 calories, 10 grams of fat, and about half the amount of saturated fat for each slice you eat.

 

Twitter: @ihavenet

 

Available at Amazon.com:

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder

No More Digestive Problems

 

 

Copyright © 2011 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. DISTRIBUTED BY Tribune Media Services