Healthy Food Creation Pizza

Pizza is usually synonymous with junk food, right next to burgers and fries. But it’s possible to build a healthier pie that still feels like a treat. We show you the way, here.

Nothing screams, “It’s the weekend!” more than a Friday night pizza. Or maybe you prefer pizza on Monday, to kick off the week with something delicious. No matter what evening (or evenings, we won’t tell) you prefer to have a slice, there’s good news for pizza lovers: Pizza can be a healthy, well-rounded meal.

“Pizza, when you think about it, is composed of carbohydrates from the crust, protein from the cheese, and fat from the cheese and toppings, and these are all the components of what a meal would typically contain, ” says Amy Kimberlain, RD, a Miami-based dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist. “Not to mention that it provides energy and flavor, and overall can really hit the spot.”

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Though some people believe pizza is an indulgence, that isn’t always the case. “It was often thought that pizza may not be the healthiest choice as it is generally considered high in sodium, calories, and saturated fat — however, not all slices are created equal, ” says Kimberlain.

“Just like any other food, it’s about how you make it, ” says Angela Lemond, RDN, co-owner of Lemond Nutrition in Plano, Texas.

If, for example, you order a 12-inch pan-crust pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut, you’re looking at 286 calories, almost 14 grams (g) of fat (including 5 g saturated fat), and over 29 g carbohydrates per slice, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Double those numbers if you have a second slice (which, let’s be honest, many of us would) and you may be on your way to overdoing it on saturated fat for the day. To maintain a healthy weight and heart, if you’re consuming 2, 000 calories per day, limit your saturated fat to 13 g per day or less, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). That means one slice almost gets you to a third of your daily limit.

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That’s why you may want to whip up your pizza at home. “There are a lot of different ways that pizza can be healthy. First, by making it at home you have the control over how, ultimately, it’s being made — and that’s the first step, ” says Kimberlain.

Read on to find other ways you can make pizza night healthier, so you can sit back and enjoy your pie without an ounce of guilt or worry.

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Think of pizza as a scrumptious way to score heaps of veggies in one pan. “Add on as many vegetables as you can. They’re rich in vitamins and minerals, along with fiber to boot!” says Kimberlain.

Not sure what veggies work well together on a pie? Try Kimberlain’s favorite combination: “For the traditional red sauce pizza, I like throwing on all the veggies — tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, artichokes, olives, basil. I love the combination of them all, ” she says. This way, you get a meal bursting with nutrients your body needs to thrive.

Mushrooms, for one, are a great way to get vitamin B3 (niacin), according to Harvard Health Publishing and the USDA. One cup of sliced, raw, brown mushrooms delivers 3 milligrams (mg), which is 21 percent of your daily value (DV), the Mayo Clinic notes. And this multitasking vitamin helps keep your digestive system, skin, and nervous system healthy.

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Meanwhile, bell peppers give you vitamin C, as the USDA notes — you’re getting 142 mg per 100 g of peppers, which is over 150 percent of the DV.

Whether you’re ordering in or making the pizza yourself, go for a thin crust when you can. Why? “Thin crust means you can get more of the veggies in before getting full, ” says Lemond.

By going the thin-crust route, your main focus of the meal is the veggies, rather than the bread. Why that matters: Eating a more plant-based diet is an all-around healthy way to eat.

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 that people eating mostly plant-based diets, with a focus on vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and legumes, had lower odds of dying from a heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular-related diseases, compared with people who ate more animal-based foods.

A thin crust has other perks, too. “Choose thin crust versus thick crust or even stuffed crust to help reduce the total calories and sodium, ” says Kimberlain.

One slice of a small thin-crust pizza with cheese has 230 calories and 564 mg sodium, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, a small slice of thick-crust pizza with cheese has 312 calories and 687 mg sodium, according to the USDA.

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So to fill up on more veggies — the MVPs of your pizza — and lower your calories and sodium, thin crust is your best bet.

Most pizza lovers will tell you that cheese is essential for a good pie. But still, it’s important to be smart about what cheese you add.

“Cheese will provide protein and calcium; simply be mindful of how much you’re adding, as it does have saturated fat, too, ” says Kimberlain. “Opt for a 2-percent or part-skim mozzarella or skim ricotta.”

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The same portion of whole-milk mozzarella contains 85 calories, 6 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, and 143 mg calcium (11 percent of the DV).

Comparatively, 1 oz of whole-milk ricotta has about 43 calories, 2 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, and 58 mg calcium (5 percent of the DV).

Like Kimberlain, Lemond is a fan of ricotta on a pie. “My current favorite way to make pizza is doing these veggies on top of a layer of ricotta cheese, then bake or grill it on a pizza stone, ” she explains.

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Whether you’re making pizza at home or ordering in, it’s important to think not just thin versus thick crust but also the type of dough. “If you’re able to make a whole-grain crust, this will help give you a boost of fiber, ” says Kimberlain.

Consider this slice-by-slice comparison. A small whole-wheat thin-crust pizza with cheese, according to the USDA, has over 3 g of fiber. Meanwhile, a small regular thin-crust pizza with cheese has less than 1 g of fiber, per the USDA. That’s almost 11 percent of your DV for fiber in whole wheat versus about 3 percent for a regular crust. “While you’ll still need to pay attention to the total portion consumed, starting off with a healthier crust can make a difference, ” she adds.

Veggie crusts are also a solid option. “I like the alternative pizza crusts on the market or ones that can be homemade, like cauliflower, broccoli, and beet, as ways to help complement a pizza night, which you can eat in addition to your traditional crusts to help increase vegetables, ” says Kimberlain. That means, you could, for example, have a slice of traditional crust pie as well as a slice of veggie crust pie to mix things up.

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You’ll also score fiber from the veggie crust — and it’s low in carbs, too. A frozen cauliflower crust, for example, has about 3 g of carbohydrates per slice, according to the USDA, and just under 1 g of fiber.

You’ll get other nutrients from a cauliflower crust, too, like 9 g protein (due in part to the egg and cheese that’s also in the recipe), according to the USDA.

Thanks to the cheese, your pizza will already contain protein, but many pizza lovers add another protein source as well, so be mindful of what else you put atop your pie.

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Adds Kimberlain, “Current recommendations are to limit the intake of processed meats like bacon, sausage, and pepperoni, which are not only high in sodium but also saturated fat.” The AHA recommends minimizing processed red meats like bacon, salami, and sausages.

A large slice of thin-crust pizza with extra veggies, for example, has 5.5 g saturated fat and 704 g sodium, according to the USDA, while a large slice of thin-crust pizza with extra meat has over 8 g saturated fat and 874 mg sodium, per the USDA.

Red sauce makes pizza taste delicious, and it also delivers serious nutrients. “Traditional red sauce will provide vitamins A and C along with the antioxidant lycopene, ” says Kimberlain. For example, ¼ cup of tomato-based sauce gives you over 7 mg of vitamin C, which is about 7.8 percent of your DV, as well as 21 micrograms RAE of vitamin A, for about 2 percent of the DV, according to the USDA. Vitamin A, meanwhile, is important for everything from vision to keeping your immune system functioning at its best, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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Furthermore, lycopene is an antioxidant that gives red fruits and vegetables their hue, and it has even been linked to lowering the odds of certain cancers, as well as reducing the risk of stroke, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

“Red sauce is a better option than the creamier sauces like white pizza options, ” says Kimberlain. The Cleveland Clinic adds that you should also avoid barbecue sauce because it’s

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