cooking at home, food, Healthy Recipes, Healthy snacks, Kids health, summer cooking, vegetarian - May 11, 2014

How to Make a Healthy Pizza

If you’re watching what you eat, it’s likely that pizza is on your “bad food” list. After all, how can something so sinfully delicious be good for you, right? Luckily, you can actually make pizza relatively healthy by following a few simple guidelines.

Make Your Own

While it is certainly nice to order out from time to time, do so with pizza and you’re losing the opportunity to slim down on the fat. Some pizza parlors offer lower fat options, but the ones you make at home are healthier yet, so try to make your own when you can.

Use Whole Wheat Crust

One of the worst ingredients in pizza is the white flour used for the crust. It is known for its effect on your blood sugar, causing it go sky high and then crash and burn, leaving you feeling lethargic and cranky. Choose whole wheat crust instead and it will be much better for your body – and your mood.

Go With Low-Fat Cheese

The gooey, cheesy top is what makes pizza so tasteful, but you can enjoy it just as much by choosing low-fat cheese instead. Plus, use only about half the cheese you normally would and you’ll save yourself a lot of fat and calories without sacrificing the taste.

Load It Up With Veggies

The toppings you place on your pizza pie can make or break its level of healthiness. Choose veggies such as green peppers, onions, mushrooms, mild banana peppers, and tomatoes to top yours and you will have a variety of wonderful flavors that are all low in calories. You can also add olives to get some heart healthy fat and a little bit of salty yumminess.

If you do prefer to have meat on your pizza, use it sparingly and choose options that are lean. Some that are great to use include lean ham or lean ground beef.

Pizza can be healthy if you use the right ingredients. Essentially, this is one case where you can have your “pie” and eat it too!