Pizza Joint Ordering Guide

Our friends at Eat This, Not That shared some great information this week about the do's and don'ts of ordering at a pizza joint and we had to share it with you.



9 Ways to Eat Healthy at the Pizzeria
Here's what every child should be taught in health class: how to order a pizza. After all, the average American gobbles up 23 pounds of this takeout favorite every year. Your pre-emptive plan of attack: Use these nine simple rules to order smart at any pizza joint.

  • Choice of Crust
    Your goal here is to minimize the number of empty carbohydrates that go into your pie. Pan crust is by far the worst, and it can easily add 1,000 empty calories to your pie. Thin crust is not only best for you, but it's also the most loyal interpretation of true Italian pizza.


  • Personal Pan
    Never fly solo at the pizza parlor, since appropriate portion size is not the sort of consideration that plays into the shaping of most personal pizzas. They're typically sized like serving platters and loaded with 800 calories or more.


  • Canadian Bacon
    What makes bacon Canadian? It's not the country of origin. But the fact that it comes from the leaner back of the pig means it delivers twice as much protein with 60 percent less fat than normal bacon.


  • Meat Lover's Pizza
    The official "Meat Lover's" moniker is owned by Pizza Hut, but you'll find pizzerias all over the country producing their own iterations of the all- meat pie. The reliance on a slew of greasy meats packs each slice with around 400 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat--double what you'll find in a slice of Hawaiian pie.


  • White Pizza
    The absence of fatty meats puts this pie on the lower end of the caloric spectrum, but it's still just bread and cheese. The hallmark of the white pie is that it's served without sauce, and as it turns out, the sauce is the healthiest part of pizza. Besides being loaded with vitamin C, studies show that cooking tomatoes actually concentrates the disease-fighting lycopene found in raw tomatoes.


  • Mediterranean Pizza
    This is generally among the most uniquely flavorful pies on any pizza menu. Instead of sausage or pepperoni, it earns its big flavor through a combination of artichokes, olives, sweet peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes--ingredients characterized by their antioxidants and healthy fats. Sub this in for your normal pie and you'll trade calories for flavor and nutrition.


  • Calzone
    You can stuff the fat inside, but you can't make it disappear. The pocket-bread approach to pizza construction allows the chef to fold in more grease than you'd ever accept on top of your pie.


  • Pastas
    Rarely is pasta better for you than pizza. Surprised? The heaping helping of noodles served by most pizza joints provides hundreds of calories' worth of refined carbohydrates, and the sauce that goes on top is generally peppered with the worst of the pizza toppings (i.e., pepperoni and sausage).


  • Garlic Knots
    The cheapest item on the menu for good reason: Each knot consists of little more than a pile of flour and a thick smear of butter or oil. That means lots of quick-burning carbs and lots of calorie-dense fats. You'd be better off eating chicken wings.




Now that you're super hungry I suggest you head over to your local pizza joint ... OR better yet, try one of these fantastic at-home pizza recipes!

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1 comments:

Vicki said...

Thank you, I now have the biggest craving for Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza!!!

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