Who doesn't love pizza? But as much as pizza is lovable, it can be a HUGE calorie, fat, and carbs fest and put a major dent in your calorie expenditure for the day. Here are some tips to still enjoy your pizza while cutting down on the indulgence:
- Order thin crust versus thick crust. In NY, pizzas are almost always thin but in other parts of the U.S. pizza crust can get up to an inch thick. That is a whole lot of doughy goodness that is carb loaded which you don't really need. You like it, yes, but you don't really need the crust to be that thick to enjoy your pizza.
- Along with the thick crust pizzas, avoid pizzas that put cheese inside the crust. Avoiding that extra cheese will cut down on the fat content. You can also avoid eating the end piece of the crust at all. I have friends who don't eat the crust, and that helps them cut down on carbs and calories.
- Order cheese only or veggie toppings. Meat adds on a significant number of calories and fat especially since most pizza meat toppings are very fatty like pepperoni and salami. One of my favorite pizzas is tomato and fresh basil with buffalo mozzarella.
- If you have to have a meat topping, pick only one meat topping versus a meat lover's special which can come with 4-6 different meats like pepperoni, sausage, ham, salami, prosciutto, bacon, and meatballs. Every time you add on another meat, the fat content not to mention the sodium content will sky rocket.
- When ordering a whole pizza, ask them to go light on the cheese or avoid ordering extra cheese if that is what you normally enjoy. Any amount of cheese you can eliminate or cut back on will help you save on fat and calories.
- Order pizza where you can get slices versus a whole pizza. If you buy a whole pizza, you will have extras for the rest of the day, and can easily be tempted to eat 1/2 to the whole pizza throughout the day without even realizing it. Ordering one slice, will keep your portion size to a minimum.
- See if you can find a local pizzeria that makes their pizza with all natural or organic ingredients free of any preservatives or additives. Fresh homemade style pizza is always the best if you can find it.
