Links to the sources for calories and recipes are below.
For those of you who don't like reading, here is a quick summery:
Pizza isn't terrible.
There is a Long History
High in calories
Better Recipe
Don't force your pizza life style on others
From your New York style to Chicago famous people love their Pizza. We have fought over it, cried over it, and put it so far into our popular culture with green creatures that say a catch phrase that is so 80's it comes with a hair band. The loyal food of many a drunk partier has even been promoted to vegetable status by the government, so there is that. Many of you may be wondering why am I talking about pizza and to be honest it is because I was challenged to write a health and fitness article based around this amazing food.
The only and best way to start spreading out an article on pizza is going over the homeland of red and green plumbers.The history of pizza is a long and sordid affair that knocks back on the door of Italy. This flaky food was originally based around oil, herbs and cheese from the Greeks and cheese, honey, and bay leaves for the Romans. There were no tomatoes in sight for these pioneers of palates as they were imported from the far away land of America and it's up for debate as to when they were officially introduced to the pie itself. From there it kept evolving to the modern style based in Naples. The first known and recorded pizzeria based here in the States is, was, and forever shall be Lombardi's pizza in New York, making all of you Chicago style arguers invalid by that simple fact (not really I love the deep lasagna style so much it is insane). It spread like a rumor in high school from there and brick fired ovens became a staple in many restaurants.
From the time it was introduced to the land of the tomato sauce and home of the pan crust, pizza has changed quicker than Madonna's wardrobe. Naples actually had to make it a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed dish to help preserve and differentiate it from American styles, which are sauceier. America is the retreat for the pan, deep dish, stuff crust, super thin, frozen pizzas that we call our own. It has become a staple food for many due to the variety of toppings and tastes that can be placed on the pie of the popeland. We have it when the Pats get lucky with a catch, when the Royals lose out on a season of hope and wonder, and when our friends help us move along with a six pack. We have found ways to make it cheap with Tony's and Digiorno and fast with Domino's and the Hut. However we are just discovering a new way to cook pizza, something so monumental it can change the face of the industry as a whole, we are starting to cook it healthy.
Now it is a question as to why would we want to make it healthy? Well, with options like Pizza Huts Personal Pan Pizzas, which the lowest calorie count for one is the Veggie at 550, it is not hard to see why we have begun to gain weight. Even one slice of your average pepperoni pizza, which counts for a serving and is 1/8 of the pie, is solidly at 260. Most of us do not plate that little amount of pizza, as we generally go for almost 1/3 (anecdotes from watching friends go ham on a Hawaiian and 3 Cheese) which takes the calories to roughly 680, again based around pepperoni. You decide to add in a bread stick (130 cal), 2 wings (100 cal), and a 20oz Pepsi (250) and that takes you all the way to 1150 not counting dipping sauces or a trip back to the fountain. I didn't even choose the best tasting, fattest making options for this and we have, in one meal, knocked down more than half of the 2,000 calorie suggestion for the day. If you are on a bulk (building the strength for days) that is perfect, not counting macros of course, but for dieters or those who just want to maintain, this is less than perfect. The question then becomes how do we eat healthier and still enjoy our pizza. Well you could cut out the soda and the bread stick and go down by nearly 400. "Brian", you exclaim, "that is hard and I don't want to give up the tasty, tasty wings!" So we have to take it to the next level then, making your own pie while ordering the rest of your stuff.
There are so many options for crust flavors we can be overwhelmed, from broccoli to zucchini veggies have taken over. One crust that has started to take its place as the replacement king is a low carb, lower calorie option, the Cauliflower crust. I found one recipe from NutritionStripped.com that has 250 calories for 1 serving (WHICH IS THE WHOLE RECIPE, unless there was a misinterpretation). That seems a lot better right? Heck the fiber is higher, the protein per carb ratio is closer, and the sugar is lower. I have not gotten the chance to make it yet, however it is on my list of foods to make to try and be healthier.
Pizza is not a terrible food, in moderation, just like everything that is out there. If we approach what we do smart and sometimes try to make it so that we have healthier options in our save file we can make it so we weigh a little less, live a little more, and make us the best person we can be. Do not force this healthy life on friends and family because that is just cruel, you don't want to spark the next "Chicago vs New York" feud. If they come over and want pizza from the Hut, order them some darn pizza, you filthy animal. So keep calm, share the pie, and cowabunga dude.
http://www.nutritionstripped.com/cauliflower-pizza-crust/
http://www.pizzahut.com/assets/w/nutrition/BrandStandardNutritionalInformationFINAL111314.pdf
For those of you who don't like reading, here is a quick summery:
Pizza isn't terrible.
There is a Long History
High in calories
Better Recipe
Don't force your pizza life style on others
From your New York style to Chicago famous people love their Pizza. We have fought over it, cried over it, and put it so far into our popular culture with green creatures that say a catch phrase that is so 80's it comes with a hair band. The loyal food of many a drunk partier has even been promoted to vegetable status by the government, so there is that. Many of you may be wondering why am I talking about pizza and to be honest it is because I was challenged to write a health and fitness article based around this amazing food.
The only and best way to start spreading out an article on pizza is going over the homeland of red and green plumbers.The history of pizza is a long and sordid affair that knocks back on the door of Italy. This flaky food was originally based around oil, herbs and cheese from the Greeks and cheese, honey, and bay leaves for the Romans. There were no tomatoes in sight for these pioneers of palates as they were imported from the far away land of America and it's up for debate as to when they were officially introduced to the pie itself. From there it kept evolving to the modern style based in Naples. The first known and recorded pizzeria based here in the States is, was, and forever shall be Lombardi's pizza in New York, making all of you Chicago style arguers invalid by that simple fact (not really I love the deep lasagna style so much it is insane). It spread like a rumor in high school from there and brick fired ovens became a staple in many restaurants.
From the time it was introduced to the land of the tomato sauce and home of the pan crust, pizza has changed quicker than Madonna's wardrobe. Naples actually had to make it a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed dish to help preserve and differentiate it from American styles, which are sauceier. America is the retreat for the pan, deep dish, stuff crust, super thin, frozen pizzas that we call our own. It has become a staple food for many due to the variety of toppings and tastes that can be placed on the pie of the popeland. We have it when the Pats get lucky with a catch, when the Royals lose out on a season of hope and wonder, and when our friends help us move along with a six pack. We have found ways to make it cheap with Tony's and Digiorno and fast with Domino's and the Hut. However we are just discovering a new way to cook pizza, something so monumental it can change the face of the industry as a whole, we are starting to cook it healthy.
Now it is a question as to why would we want to make it healthy? Well, with options like Pizza Huts Personal Pan Pizzas, which the lowest calorie count for one is the Veggie at 550, it is not hard to see why we have begun to gain weight. Even one slice of your average pepperoni pizza, which counts for a serving and is 1/8 of the pie, is solidly at 260. Most of us do not plate that little amount of pizza, as we generally go for almost 1/3 (anecdotes from watching friends go ham on a Hawaiian and 3 Cheese) which takes the calories to roughly 680, again based around pepperoni. You decide to add in a bread stick (130 cal), 2 wings (100 cal), and a 20oz Pepsi (250) and that takes you all the way to 1150 not counting dipping sauces or a trip back to the fountain. I didn't even choose the best tasting, fattest making options for this and we have, in one meal, knocked down more than half of the 2,000 calorie suggestion for the day. If you are on a bulk (building the strength for days) that is perfect, not counting macros of course, but for dieters or those who just want to maintain, this is less than perfect. The question then becomes how do we eat healthier and still enjoy our pizza. Well you could cut out the soda and the bread stick and go down by nearly 400. "Brian", you exclaim, "that is hard and I don't want to give up the tasty, tasty wings!" So we have to take it to the next level then, making your own pie while ordering the rest of your stuff.
There are so many options for crust flavors we can be overwhelmed, from broccoli to zucchini veggies have taken over. One crust that has started to take its place as the replacement king is a low carb, lower calorie option, the Cauliflower crust. I found one recipe from NutritionStripped.com that has 250 calories for 1 serving (WHICH IS THE WHOLE RECIPE, unless there was a misinterpretation). That seems a lot better right? Heck the fiber is higher, the protein per carb ratio is closer, and the sugar is lower. I have not gotten the chance to make it yet, however it is on my list of foods to make to try and be healthier.
Pizza is not a terrible food, in moderation, just like everything that is out there. If we approach what we do smart and sometimes try to make it so that we have healthier options in our save file we can make it so we weigh a little less, live a little more, and make us the best person we can be. Do not force this healthy life on friends and family because that is just cruel, you don't want to spark the next "Chicago vs New York" feud. If they come over and want pizza from the Hut, order them some darn pizza, you filthy animal. So keep calm, share the pie, and cowabunga dude.
http://www.nutritionstripped.com/cauliflower-pizza-crust/
http://www.pizzahut.com/assets/w/nutrition/BrandStandardNutritionalInformationFINAL111314.pdf