When we told this to a pizza affectionado, he was overjoyed with the knoweldge that he could eat pizza, and his wife couldn't give him a hard time about eating pizza for every meal.
Of course, we do encourage people to eat a variety of healthy foods!
But the point is that pizza can be a nutritious, complete snack. This is great news, as 94% of Americans eat pizza on a regular basis. This beloved classic is especially easy to have in the fridge for kids to eat when they come home from school. It also travels quite well in plastic baggies for a quick meal before soccer practice or marching band!
- First, you need to watch your portions. Consuming an entire large meat lover's pizza in one sitting is not the way to be healthy. The average person should consume no more than two slices (especially if the pizza is from a pizzaria). Balance this with a salad and fruit.
- Second, you need to watch your toppings. Gobs of cheese and mounds of meat do not a healthy pizza make! Instead, pile on the vegetables. Go light on the cheese. Try lighter meat options, such as chicken breast or turkey pepperoni. For punches of flavor, try herbs, garlic, or hot peppers.
- Third, watch your crust. If you can, try to avoid very thick crusts, or even try thin crusts.
- Finally, it's always best to make your pizza at home. This is the best way for you to control what you are eating.
Easy Margherita (or Pepperoni) Pizza
1 pizza crust, preferably whole-wheat, preferably thin-crust
1 can tomatoes, either whole, diced, or crushed
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Turkey pepperoni, optional
Garlic powder, optional
Italian herbs, optional
Olive oil
- Spread just a bit of the olive oil onto the pizza crust. (For a personal size pizza crust, you'll probably need about 1/2tsp-1tsp.)
- Next, put the tomatoes onto the crust. You can use as many or as little as you would like. If you use whole tomatoes, chop them up. Try to use more of the tomatoes than their juice; that way, the pizza won't get watery!
- Next, put on some turkey pepperoni. For a personal sized pizza crust, 6-10 pepperoni are a good amount.
- Finally, layer on a bit of cheese. Don't overdo it, because you don't want a mess! 1-3T of cheese is usually a good amount for a personal sized pizza.
- If desired, sprinkle a bit of garlic powder and/or Italian herbs onto the top of the pizza.
- Bake in the oven at 400*F until the pizza turns a golden-brown and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!
Note: If you would prefer "Pizza Pops" instead of traditional pizza, try this variation of the above recipe:
- Roll out the pizza dough into a large rectangle. Assemble pizza as described above.
- When finished putting on the Italian herbs, roll the pizza dough from the long side (so that you have a very long roll). Pinch to seal the seam.
- Cut the pizza roll into 20 even pieces. Place them on a baking sheet and bake 15-18 minutes, until golden-brown and the cheese is melted.
- Cool for 5 minutes, then stick a kabob skewer into each roll.
If you want to try to make your own pizza dough, here is a simple, quick, no-rise recipe:
No Rise Pizza Dough
1T yeast
1C warm water (about 100*F)
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
2T olive oil
1.25C whole-wheat flour
1.25C all-purpose flour
- Mix the yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl. Allow the yeast to begin to activate (about 3-5 minutes).
- Mix the salt and olive oil into the yeast water.
- Add in the flours and mix to combine.
- If using a mixer with a dough hook, let the machine knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth, about 1-2 minutes. If kneading by hand, put onto a floured surface and knead about 2-3 minutes.
- If you have time, let the dough rest 5-10 minutes. (It makes it easier to roll out.)
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Put on an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes in a 400*F oven.
- Top and finish baking.
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