Everyone loves pizza. The cheese, the sauce, the toppings. It’s all so good. And it’s often an easy meal – grab one out of the freezer and pop it in the oven, or just hop on an app and have one delivered to your door.
If you’re trying to lose weight or just eat a more balanced diet, you may think pizza is something you have to give up.
That’s not necessarily the case though. Instead, you can just make this go-to meal in a healthier way.
Find Alternatives for Pizza Crust
Usually, the biggest source of refined carbs and a major source of calories in pizza comes from the pizza crust.
There are alternatives to the traditional white flour-based crust though. Some of these options you can easily make yourself. Others you can buy ready-to-eat at your local grocery store.
Whole Wheat: Use whole wheat flour or mix it with white flour. You can also add flaxseeds or chia seeds for more nutritional value. Whole wheat flour has more fiber, protein, and other nutrients. More fiber will keep you fuller longer, which means you will want to eat less.
Cauliflower Crust: This is a lower-carb, lower-calorie option. Cauliflower is also gluten free. You can buy these ready-to-eat, or you can find recipes for cauliflower crust on the Internet.
Almond or Chickpea Flour Crust: Both of these options are high in protein and fiber. They also have fewer refined carbs than white flour. To make the crust, just mix almond or chickpea flour with eggs or flax egg to make the dough.
Avoid the Store-Bought Sauces
Buying the ready-made pizza sauce in a jar makes things fast and easy, but these sauces usually contain added sugar, a lot of sodium, and preservatives. There are healthier options for pizza sauce.
Homemade Tomato Sauce: Tomatoes are very healthy. They provide benefits for heart health and can help with inflammation. Blend tomatoes with seasonings like garlic, onions, basil, oregano, and olive oil to make the sauce. Skip the sugar.
Pesto Sauce: Eating pesto sauce means you will get healthy fats from olive oil and nuts. Pesto sauce involves basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and nuts like walnuts or pine nuts.
Go for Better Cheese Options
Of course you want the extra cheese on the three-cheese pizza. But today we’re talking about better cheese options that will help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.
Use Low-Fat or Plant-Based Cheese: You can still get the traditional pizza taste using low-fat, part-skim, or no-fat mozzarella cheese. There are other options too though. Consider goat cheese or feta cheese, nutritional yeast, or a cashew or almond-based cheese.
Use Less Cheese: Sometimes less is more. If you use less cheese on your pizza, you can focus on other toppings that keep your pizza tasting great but provide fewer calories and less saturated fat.
Think About Your Toppings
We’ve already established that extra cheese is probably not a great option when you’re focused on your health and fitness. But that’s not the only topping that you need to be aware of.
Other traditional toppings like pepperoni, sausage, and bacon can dramatically increase the number of calories you’re consuming. These can also increase saturated fat and sodium. But there are better options.
Lean Proteins: Pepperoni and sausage might be out, but you can still get protein-filled toppings. Use things like grilled chicken, turkey or chicken sausage, tofu, or eggs.
Vegetables: These are great sources of fiber and vitamins. Think about veggies like spinach, kale, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant.
Healthy Fats: Not all fats are bad for you. Some healthy sources of fats you can put on pizza include avocado slices, olives, and nuts or seeds.
Other Tips for Healthier Pizza
What you put on your pizza and how you make your crust will play a big role in how healthy your pizza is. But there are other things you can do to make even more healthy choices.
- Use thin crust because it reduces the number of calories you’re getting from the crust, allowing you to focus more on your toppings.
- Have smaller portions by cutting smaller slices. Only put one slice at a time on your plate.
- Avoid using anything fried on your pizza. Use the oven instead.
- Pair your pizza with other healthy foods, such as fruits or a salad. This will help prevent overeating.
Eating pizza once in a while will not derail your health and fitness goals. However, there are plenty of ways you can make your pizza healthier, allowing you to indulge more often.
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