Healthy pizza toppings are actually more plentiful and easy to find than you may imagine. Pizza has a pretty bad reputation. Most often, it’s thought of as a high-fat, high-sodium junk food that healthy eaters and dieters should avoid. But these days, many pizza restaurants serve pizzas that are made with fresh vegetables, cheese that’s lower in fat, and other healthy pizza toppings.
Here are some tips on what types of healthy pizza toppings to use in order to maintain your healthy lifestyle and fitness training regimen.
Although greasy meat and cheese gets most of the blame, it’s the crust that has the most calories. So if you’re watching your weight, start there. Restaurants that specialize in Neapolitan pizza or pizza Napoletana have very thin crusts that are cooked at extremely high temperatures. Light as air around the edges, and lightly charred, Naples-style crust is made with flour, water, salt, and yeast, so it’s also fat free.
Some pizza restaurants now offer whole wheat crust, which is even better. The extra fiber will help you feel fuller, sooner. And will keep you from getting hungry later. Finding more diet tips and healthy pizza toppings is not difficult with a little ingenuity and an open mind.
Basil pesto has lots of fat, so stick with tomato sauce, or a puree made from butternut squash.
When it comes to cheese, there are several smart options. Traditional Neapolitan pizza uses mozzarella cheese that’s made with water buffalo milk. While fresh mozzarella isn’t especially low in fat or calories, it is more satisfying. The smooth, creamy texture makes it seem decadent.
Feta, goat cheese, and ricotta are other cheeses that are applied with a light hand. They add a distinctive flavor without adding a lot of calories.
Most pizza meats are off limits, but prosciutto is very low in fat, and a little goes a long way. It can be high in sodium, but as a rule, you won’t eat enough for that to matter. Grilled chicken or shrimp are also wonderful. Find pizza restaurants with healthy ingredients.
You can pile on the vegetables — especially full-flavor ones like artichokes, roasted red peppers, and onions — practically guilt free. And greens like arugula and spinach are excellent pizza toppings. But be careful with sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives, which are usually packed in oil, and caramelized onions which are often sautéed in butter.
If you follow these tips, you should be able to keep your commitment to healthy eating and still be able to go out for a pizza. And remember, no matter how healthy you eat, fitness training is also very important to a healthy lifestyle. It doesn’t matter what kind of fitness exercises you do as long as you do something to compliment your healthy diet.