Personally, I love a really good pizza.  When I was growing up, my mum used to make pizza with scone dough and everything we loved loaded on top.  We were active children and the toppings were fresh and healthy.  If I was to order a pizza from one of the Pizza chains, it is more likely to have more fat and calories in one slice than in the whole of mum’s pizza!!  

 

 

Any time you think you want to eat pizza, you need to answer “yes” to each and every one of these questions:

 

1. Am I really hungry using the “Healthy Wealthy Hungry Scale”?

 

2. Am I really hungry for pizza right now, and nothing else will satisfy this hunger?

 

3. Am I really going to take the time to enjoy it, savouring every mouthful?

 

4. Am I only going to eat as much as I need to no longer feel hungry? And do I accept that this might be only one piece of pizza

 

This actually is the process I teach all my clients who love to eat foods from the less healthy end of the spectrum.  These foods are not forbidden.  My clients learn how to eat them in a way as to satisfy the taste need and also to moderate themselves so that they don’t regain weight they have already lost.

 

So now having made the decision that you really want pizza you have 2 choices; make your own or buy a pizza.

 

Make your own:

 

This is a great option for people who love to experiment and have fresh and healthy ingredients available.

 

The base can be made from pita breads which are little more than a base and contain almost no bread.  You can buy quite good pizza bases – watch out for ones that already have too much topping on.

 

The toppings can be as varied as your imagination. 

 

For the tomato base, use fresh tomatoes made into a puree, or buy good quality canned tomatoes – either crushed or diced.  You could even make a delicious Napolitano sauce by adding fresh herbs, or you could buy a good one.  Tomato sauce adds lovely flavour and although lots of people think it is a vegetable, tomatoes are from the fruit family. 

 

As an alternative to tomato sauce, you could use pesto – either make it yourself or buy a good quality pesto, perhaps at the markets.

 

If you really enjoy cheese, choose goat’s cheese, feta, bocincinni, ricotta, spiced ricotta and there are many great tasting cheeses available in lighter styles.  Grate the cheese fresh and use just enough to give good flavour; you are in control of quantity. 

 

Those meats and salamis; try and steer away from them.  They add a lot of extra fat and calories.  Try instead thin sliced organic ham or prosciutto; they add great flavour with much less fat. 

 

Load your pizza with grilled eggplant, try different varieties of mushrooms, red and green peppers, olives, fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, marinated artichokes, pine nuts; you really are limited only by your imagination.

 

Buying a Pizza:  more choices

 

• From a pizza chain
• From a gourmet pizza shop
• From the frozen section of the supermarket

 

Ordering pizza from one of the chains that home deliver and staying healthy, can be a real challenge.  One slice can be super loaded with more calories than a whole healthy meal.  Here are some tips when ordering a pizza:

 

Salad:  Start off with a large green salad with the dressing on the side, and you will not be so starving for the pizza.  You only need a small amount of dressing, if any, as there is going to be loads of fats in the pizza.  Having a salad will actually help you to enjoy your pizza.  Some times when people are really hungry they eat fast and don’t really appreciate the food they are eating and that whole first piece could disappear without registering.

 

The Crust:  Choose a thin crust as this has much fewer calories than a regular crust.  Avoid the “stuffed crust”; you don’t need extra cheese in the crust – save your cheese for on the top where you can really enjoy it.

 

The Toppings:

 

Cheese:  The good thing about cheese is that it is a nutritious food with protein and calcium as well as all your essential amino acids.  You could ask for:

·         “easy on the cheese” option as all pizzas are made to order and you can enjoy the cheesy taste of the cheese without overdoing the overall saturated fats, total fats and calorie intake

·         a non-cheese option; my local gourmet pizza has a fantastic 4 mushroom pizza that is one of the tastiest on their menu.      

 

Let’s face facts, pizzas are loaded with fats and calories, what we are doing here is trying to minimise the fats and calories while still creating a taste sensation.

 

Meats:  Try to avoid salami and peperoni, they are full of fats and without a lot of nutritional value.  Aim for ham, lamb, prosciutto and other lean meats.  Spices and herbs are what will add to the taste sensation.

 

Other toppings:  Choose pizzas that have a variety of flavoursome vegetables and fresh herbs.

 

What size to order or to make at home?

 

It is very tempting to order by value for money and few pizza restaurants sell pizza by the slice.  Some times it is easy to think that a larger pizza is better value for money than a smaller one.  However, did you know that there are probably more than 100 extra calories in a piece of 14” pizza than a 12” pizza.  Pizza is often a shared meal.  It can be easy to overeat as you talk and eat and share the food.  It is a good practice to decide how many pieces you will eat – maybe 2 pieces and then stop at that. 

 

If there are extra pieces, be very mindful that you had decided to have your 2 pieces and you have had those 2 pieces and they were very tasty and you do not need any more. 

 

Move the extra pieces to one plate and move it to the other end of the table; away from you.

 

If you make a pizza at home and are not eating it all, either freeze straight away or parcel up to send home with your guests.

Healthy Pizza

 

You can make healthy and tasty Pizza choices – the choice is up to You.