There are a lot of things that are true about a pizza. It has wide availability in that it is possible for you to find a pizza joint irrespective of where you are. You can find pizza at every shopping mall, food centres and office cafes. No matter where you are, you can always find a place where you can get quality pizza.
Along with its availability, the pizza tastes great. There are so many different types of pizza toppings available.
You could go crazy with exotic toppings like Mushrooms and Anchovies. You can go with something popular and nice like tomatoes and vegetables. Pizzas can be customized just the way you want and they come in so many sizes. When you combine all this, it is hard not to like pizzas and consider making it a regular part of your diet.
As with any food type, excess of anything, even something as awesome as pizza has to be made after due consideration. So, the big question right now is how good of an option is pizza for a healthy and balanced diet? The best way to understand how healthy or not a pizza can get is to understand what goes into one. It is time to dissect the pizza ingredients and see how they measure against the ideal balanced diet components.
Dough
The dough eventually becomes the crust, once the baking activity is completed. The dough is essentially flour that is either made from whole grains or grains that are enriched. From a health perspective, whole grains rank a lot higher on the food table when compared to enriched grains. However, enriched grains are much easier to source and hence are cheaper. By some accounts, they even taste better and this explains why almost all pizza outlets use enriched grains.
Even then, grains, enriched or otherwise will always be healthier than most junk food that you find out there. There are some pizza outlets, speciality ones, that do use whole grains to make their pizzas. These will inevitably be more expensive but if you are seriously health conscious, then this is one option worth considering. Then again, the regular pizza crusts are still healthy and nutritious. It is just that whole grain-made crusts are healthier.
Another great thing about grain is that it is very high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, is what helps the body derive all its energy needs. If you have an active lifestyle that demands a high amount of energy consumption, then suffice to say that a pizza is more than up to the task. Pizza, in general, is enjoyable too. Your taste buds will love pizza and so will with energy burning cells in your body.
Another tip we can suggest about the whole grain crust is that you can always try homemade pizzas. You could order whole grain online and make your own dough. This means you will have to learn how to prepare pizza at home.
Toppings
The toppings is where you can get as healthy and unhealthy you want to. For instance, if you stick to vegetable toppings alone, then you get to enjoy all the benefits of actually eating those vegetables as part of your regular meal. For instance, tomato is a popular choice for pizza toppings. The greatest thing about tomato is that it is a fantastic anti-oxidant. Antioxidants are very good for health and that is present in generous amounts in tomato. Essentially, having tomato as a topping on your favourite pizza turn an ordinary meal into a health capsule.
The same rule of health benefit applies to any other vegetable you choose to have as topping on your favourite pizza. Another example we can give you is pizza with potato toppings. Despite what many would have you believe, potato is in fact low on calories. Additionally, it is a good source of potassium and essential vitamins of the type C and B6.
What To Avoid
So far we have talked about how the dough is good for your health. The same goes to vegetable toppings too. On the other side of things, there are some toppings that you may wish to opt for occasionally and on special occasions. Just not as part of your everyday diet.
A prime suspect is cheese. Cheese is probably the most loved part about any pizza. Cheese makes everything better and we all know this. If you are thinking of making pizza an everyday diet component, it is best to limit cheese pizzas to special occasions. That way, you can still get your dose of weekly cheese cravings.
About The Author:
The author, who does in fact have pizza as part of his diet plan, loves vegetable toppings. He finds ordering pizza online, one of the best features of the pizza experience at LaFavorita.
Image Credits:
scottfeldstein
rusvaplauke
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