Enjoy Your Pizza

Who doesn’t like pizza?  Is pizza healthy?   How can you make healthier choices and still enjoy pizza?  Many people, including some nutritionists, ban pizza thinking it is unhealthy.  But we enjoy pizza at least once a week.  We make modifications to our pizza to make it healthier and we add some healthy sides.  Consumer Reports had a great article on the Best Frozen Pizza.    They taste tested 26 frozen pizzas and found some that are reasonably healthy.  Yes, ordering out and having that pizza delivered is great.  But many of us enjoy a frozen pizza a couple of times a month.  If you do, what are some of the highly rated frozen pizzas and how can you “doctor” them up to be healthier?

What are some healthier options in frozen pizza?

• Frozen pizza would probably not be considered a “health food” but there are healthier options.  Choose a plain cheese pizza or a veggie pizza if you want a healthier choice.
• Whole grain crust – there are pizzas that now offer whole grain crust.  But you may prefer the original crust as this is what tastes best to most people.
• Watch the serving size – it differs greatly from brand to brand.  One brand calls half the pizza a “serving”, while another says one-third of the pizza is a “serving”. 

What are some top rated frozen pizzas?  Consumer Reports gives some top ratings to:

• Amy’s Cheese pizza – for 1/3 pizza, calories are 290
• DiGiorno – Original Rising Crust Pizza – 4 cheese – 1/6 of the pizza has 290 calories
• Trader Joe’s – Trader Giotto’s – Pizza 4 – 310 calories for 1/3 of the pizza
• Newman’s Own – Thin & Crispy – 4 Cheese – 340 calories per 1/3 pizza

 

For veggie lover’s, choose a Vegetable Pizza

• California Pizza Kitchen – 260 calories for 1/3 of the pizza
• Trader Joe’s – Trader Giotto’s Organic Roasted Vegetable – 300 calories per 1/3 pizza
•  Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza – No cheese, so you need to add your own cheese – 280 calories per 1/3 pizza
• DiGiorno Thin & Crispy – Garden Vegetable – 210 calories per 1/3 pizza

How to make that frozen pizza healthier?

What can you do to make that frozen pizza healthier?  We “doctor” up our frozen pizza by:

1.        Add some vegetables – choose ones you and your family like.  Or add some vegetables you like to some of the pizza and add other vegetables to the other half.  We add mushrooms, black olives, green pepper, and some chopped onion.  Have extra tomato?  Cut some up and add it.  Have extra red pepper?  Cut it up and sprinkle on top.  If you don’t want soggy crust, then sauté the vegetables slightly before add them to your pizza.

2.       Add more cheese – we usually buy low-fat mozzarella.  And if we have extra, we add some shredded mozzarella to our frozen pizza.  This adds a richer taste and adds more calcium and protein to each slice.  Choosing low-fat, reduced fat cheese will add less saturated fat to your pizza.
3.       Add some herbs – add some oregano or basil for extra flavor.

4.       Add some healthy sides – Add a fresh salad full of greens, carrots, mushrooms, green and red pepper.  Add some fresh fruit, like grapes.  

5.       Drink milk – with your pizza, enjoy a glass of milk – real milk, not fake milk.  Yes, the cheese on the pizza, has some calcium but probably no vitamin D.  So many Americans have diets low in calcium and very low in vitamin D. 

Check out the Consumer Reports online article and look at their ratings for Frozen Pizza Ratings for cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and veggie pizza.  Pizza does provide some nutrients to your day.  The tomato sauce adds some vitamin C, vitamin A.  And unlike most vegetables, cooking the tomatoes makes the antioxidants,  lutein and lycopene in the sauce more available.   And the tomato sauce provides the mineral, potassium, which many of us don’t get enough of.  The cheese adds calcium and protein.  Add more veggies, like the green pepper and mushrooms,  to add even more vitamins and antioxidants to your meal.

This week enjoy some pizza!

Sources:   Best Frozen Pizza ,  Frozen Pizza Ratings,   potassium, lutein,  pizza  Image Sources:  Amy's , DiGiorno, Newman's