Sunday, March 7, 2010

Order a healthy pizza

Pizza is nature's most perfect food. Alison Johnson offers suggestions on how to order healthy pizza,

Go for thin crust. It has fewer calories and carbohydrates than hand-tossed and deep dish crusts; stuffed crusts are the worst offenders. Some businesses and frozen brands also offer whole-wheat crusts.

Choose the right meat. Pepperoni, sausage and bacon are three of the fattiest foods. Try grilled chicken, shrimp or turkey. If none of those flies with guests, go with Canadian bacon or ham.

Load up on vegetables. Some of the best options are olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Low in calories and high in vitamins and fiber. For sweet tooths, pineapple is a great choice.

Go heavy on sauce … Tomato sauce is a rich source of antioxidants that may guard against heart disease and other health problems. It also is likely to include nutritious herbs and chopped garlic, which may help control cholesterol and protect against certain types of cancer.

… and light on cheese. A lot of the calories and fat in pizza com