Five Healthy Pizza Alternatives

Americans, like people in many other countries, love pizza. According to the National Restaurant Association, Italian cuisine ranks as the most popular ethnic food in the United States, with pizza being one of the most popular dishes. When I lived in Detroit, I had my pick of numerous pizza parlors, all within a 10-mile radius of my home. My family would try a different pizzeria each week in order to determine which one had the best-tasting pizza. Despite the fact that pizza tastes so delicious and is so popular, it isn't one of the healthiest foods. I don't know how many times I've watched a cook in a pizzeria remove a pizza from the oven and squirt gobs of oil on top of the already fatty pizza. Sure, it tastes great, but knowing that pizza isn't so great for my family's health, I decided to search for healthier alternatives to restaurant-bought pizzas. Here's what I discovered:

Healthy pizza alternative # 1 '" Kashi- When I first tried Kashi pizza'"the roasted vegetable variation'"I was amazed at how extremely tasty it was. Kashi specializes in creating tasty yet all-natural foods, and although I'm a fan of all-natural foods, I've had the displeasure of tasting some not-so-tasty all-natural foods in the past. Kashi's pizza, however, is very delicious and satisfying. The calories and fat are low, and the fiber and other important nutrients are high. If you're looking for a healthier alternative pizza, you've got to try Kashi!

Healthy pizza alternative # 2 '"homemade- my children and I love experimenting with different recipes, so the day we discovered a recipe for healthy pizza crust made with high fiber flour, we had to try it. After making the healthy whole-grain crust, we made our own pizza sauce, bought all-natural low-fat cheese, cut up mounds of spinach, onions, broccoli and red peppers, and even bought some turkey pepperoni. We all loved the outcome, including my picky husband, and we like to vary the vegetables whenever we make it. My husband teases me and says I should open my own healthy pizzeria.

Healthy pizza alternative # 3 '" Amy's- I've always loved Amy's organic foods, so prior to eating any of their pizzas, I knew they would be good. Was I ever right! Amy's pizza is so scrumptious that you actually forget about the fact that it's healthy, organic and totally devoid of all the artery-clogging oil that the pizzas at restaurants contain. Amy's even makes gluten-free and dairy free pizzas for individuals who can't tolerate these items.

Healthy pizza alternative # 4'"South Beach- Everyone knows how popular the South Beach diet is, and with good reason'"it works. The diet allows a variety of satisfying yet healthy foods containing "good carbs" while still enabling dieters to lose weight. South Beach has created various prepared foods to make following their diet easier, with personal pizzas being one of them. Their pizzas are low calorie, low fat, high fiber, high protein as well as high in whole grains. You couldn't ask for a better combination, especially since their pizzas taste so wonderful.

Healthy pizza alternative # 5'"Lean Cuisine '" With only 350 calories per serving, 8 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber, Lean Cuisine makes a great pepperoni pizza. Not only is it tasty, but you know you're not consuming numerous calories and high amounts of fat while enjoying this pizza. And since their pizzas come in individual sizes, you don't have to worry about portion control, since it's already taken care of for you. So pair up one of these pizzas with a nice salad and enjoy without feeling guilty.

References

Amy's Organic Pizzas - http://www.amys.com/products/category_view.php?prod_category=3

Kashi Pizza - http://kashi.com/products/category/Pizza?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=kashi%2Bpizza&utm_content=search&utm_campaign=Kashi%2BFrozen%2B-%2BBrand

Pizza Facts - http://pizzaware.com/facts.htm