Is "The Natural" Pizza at Pizza Hut a Good Buy?

Since switching to a more organic diet last year, my ears tend to perk up a little when I hear the words "organic" or "natural". So as I was sitting on my couch, watching a little TV the other night I couldn't help but be a little intrigued by the new Pizza Hut commercial advertising their new pizza called, "The Natural".

"The Natural" pizza at Pizza Hut consists of the following: a multi-grain crust, a flavorful pizza sauce made from organic tomatoes and then they top the whole thing off with handfuls of all natural mozzarella cheese. You can choose to top the pizza off with other natural ingredients such as natural chicken sausage, natural marinated sliced tomatoes or natural fire-roasted peppers. And a 1-topping "Natural" pizza will only set you back $10.99. It's enough to make your mouth water a little bit, isn't it?

While it sounds great and I'm sure that by calling this pizza "The Natural" they'll automatically gain some customers hungry for a "healthier" pizza, I have to wonder, just how organic and natural is this "natural pizza"?

It's obvious that the pizza is not 100% organic; otherwise they would have called it an organic pizza. The only organic item listed for "The Natural" pizza is the organic tomatoes. What other kinds of seasonings are put into the pizza sauce? Are they natural as well? There's really no way to tell.

And then there's the multi-grain crust. You can walk into just about any grocery store around the country and purchase a Boboli whole wheat pizza crust. Is "The Natural" pizza crust really any different?

I recently brought up the topic of "The Natural" pizza to a group of organic food consumers who frequent the organic foods forum, Organic Grocery Deals. One member who goes by the name of Kristen.c suggested that you'd be better off buying pre-made pizza dough from your local Trader Joe's (not necessarily organic, but certainly a better option) and then adding your own organic toppings. If you don't want to make your own organic pizza sauce, Muir Glen makes a tasty organic pizza sauce.

If making your own organic pizza at home doesn't sound like fun, then try looking for a local organic pizzeria in your city. Two popular pizzerias are Silvio's in Ann Arbor Michigan and Crust in Chicago. Both places offer up wholesome, organic pizza at an affordable price.

While I'm sure that Pizza Hut's hope is to grab a small piece of the ever-growing "Organic food" pie (no pun intended) they'll have to work a little harder to gain the trust of savvy organic consumers. Most organic consumers are leery of big companies who suddenly offer an organic or natural option and choose to buy from smaller organic companies instead.