Folks, Pizza is not the enemy! It can be made a very healthy food choice

[LynneSin]

Remove the greasy pepperoni/sausage and instead toss some broccoli on it. Use whole wheat pizza dough instead of regular. And yes, Pizza sauce does have a fruit in it - tomatoes.

It's not the pizza that is unhealthy but how we 'dress it up' that makes it unhealthy.

I would have no problem with pizza being made available everyday if they just changed the crust to whole wheat and removed the meat and put broccoli or spinach on it instead.

[randome]

1. I put broccoli and pineapple bits on mine.

Delicious.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

6. I have a client...owner of an Italian restaurant...

...who lowers his voice and mutters a stream of four-letter words when he hears the words "pineapple" and "pizza" in the same sentence.

:-)

Different strokes, indeed.

[global1]

2. But That's Not Gonna Happen - Is It?......nt

[LynneSin]

5. taking the meat off, switching to low-fat cheese and using whole wheat dough..

and this whole 'pizza as a vegetable' argument is mute.

I mean technically pizza sauce is a fruit since tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables. But dairy and whole grains is healthy too.

[global1]

22. I Agree With You But In The Context Of School Lunches That Is Not.....

Going to happen.

[eShirl]

11. People have veggie pizzas all the time...

mine: whole wheat soft tortilla, taco sauce, cheese, diced green pepper & onion, black olive halves, cilantro, dried red pepper flakes

[w4rma]

3. If pizza weren't in the "vegetable" catagory, they would have to put broccoli or spinach on it.

As it currently is, tomato paste on top of enriched pizza dough is enough to qualify as one of the kids' vegetables.

[surrealAmerican]

30. I agree.

If they are allowed to count the tomato sauce as a vegetable, that means they WON'T put other vegetables on it. That is the problem here.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. CAIN SUPPORTER! GET THE ANGRY VILLAGES AND THEIR TORCHES!

THROW HER IN THE WATER!

IF SHE'S A WITCH, SHE'S MADE OF WOOD AND SHE WILL FLOAT!

CAIN SUPPORTER!

I AM SERIES!

:-)

[marions ghost]

7. the best way

to make pizza more healthy is to put much less cheese on it.

[maddezmom]

8. I have no problem with pizza on the lunch menu either, but to classify it as a veg is just stupid

as you point out, tomatoes are a fruit. :)

[redqueen]

14. My kids pointed that out today

when we were talking about this 'pizza as a vegetable' nonsense. :)

[marmar]

9. I think it's the classification that has people upset, not the pizza......

...... You'll take my Chicago-style deep dish when you pull it from my cold, dead, greasy fingers. :)

[Capitalocracy]

10. You're pretty much describing my dinner last night

Except we didn't have broccoli... red pepper and onion. Whole wheat crust, sauce that I made, not too much cheese... I happen to like it with a lot of cheese, because I'm a fatass for a vegetarian, but money is an issue for us at the moment

[LynneSin]

12. My best friend loves the whole wheat pizza dough bags at Trader Joe's - $1 each

the kids love making their own pizzas. For them it's just sauce & low-fat cheese but they eat it all up.

I love it now with spinach and artichokes on it - yummy!

[wtmusic]

27. Bingo

Here's one I discovered that's awesome:

1 bag TJ pizza dough
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (available at TJs, has a taste of its own - trust me on this)
3/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup asiago
1/4 romano
1/4 parmesan reggiano
artichokes, spinach, steamed broccoli, whatever

Roll out pizza dough, sprinkling flour to keep from sticking. Throw on a barbecue (or toast in 400° oven) for 7-8 minutes, then flip. Sprinkle with sea salt, top with cheese and ingredients. Grill for another 7-8 minutes. Enjoy.

[HopeHoops]

29. I had the same problem a few years ago but I lost the weight.

Primarily I just reduced my cheese intake. I was on the road a lot and often the only "vegetarian" option was grilled cheese. I should have just packed lunches but most of the time my schedule was too chaotic to even know when I was going to eat, much less how hungry I would be at the time.

[redqueen]

13. Agreed.

Also, wheat rolls instead of white ones, yams or sweet potatoes instead of plain potatoes, broccoli or cauliflower instead of corn... so many simple changes can make a lot of difference.

[rjj621]

15. I'm definitely a meat lover

If there's not a variety of meat, or at the very least pepperoni, I won't touch it. My oldest daughter likes pineapple on her pizza.

[SidDithers]

16. But granite pizza can be very bad for you...nt

Sid

[closeupready]

28. Deadly, in fact.

:D

[valerief]

17. And the tomatoes aren't GMO. nt

[wtmusic]

18. Carnivores Arrive; Unrec Post Which Ignores the Health Benefits of Animal Fat

Film at eleven.

[luvspeas]

19. Have you ever seen the food served in a public school cafeteria?...

The dough is all white processes flour
The so-called tomato paste is a drop of watered down sugar-laden tomato sauce
The topping is the greasiest lowest grade hamburger
The cheese is the highest saturated fat lowest grade mass manufactured rubbish with almost no dairy products in it at all

This is probably one of the more edible items they serve, and for many public school children, the most nutritious meal of the day.

[no_hypocrisy]

20. Jamie Oliver would endorse your proposition.

[Hutzpa]

21. Pizza makes me sick to my stomach

I for one cannot stand pizza, so you can forgetaboutit.

[HappyMe]

23. I like broccoli, but not

on pizza. Make mine with spinach.

[closeupready]

24. Agreed. K&R

nt

[Enrique]

25. not sure about the pizza sauce having fruit in it

that gets into ketchup is a vegetable territory...

[woodsprite]

26. My son's school orders out for pizza on Wednesdays

Other days, they bake it at school (probably from frozen). He's in a NCC DE public school district and they order in from Season's Pizza on Wednesdays. Not my favorite, but he lives for Wed. lunches at school because it's not cafeteria fare. After the pizza sits so long in a box, it kinda tastes like the cardboard box :( The middle school selection seems better than the elementary school offerings.

Then in high school, they had a very good selection of lunches - always had lg salad as an option of an entree, or some kind of wrap, a hot meal, or pb & j. Daughter isn't finding it as easy to eat healthy AND fast on the college campus.

[LynneSin]

31. I do NOT understand the appeal of Seasons and especially Grotto's pizza

It's a Delaware thing I haven't really caught on too.

I guess they indoctrinate it into the school kids at a young age.

My best friend was born and raised in NJ and she cannot stand either of those pizzas and yet both of her daughters (born in DE) love those brands.

It's a DE conspiracy I tells ya!

[ehrnst]

32. That's great - but it should not replace a vegetable or fruit option. (nt)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

33. Tomatoes are very acid. They make me quite ill.

I'm talking two days flat on my ass in bed in agony---ill.

I'm allergic to them. I got a clue when I would eat pizza in high school and it would come back up an hour later for what they call an "encore presentation" on TV.

I'm also allergic to red peppers, bell peppers, all that spicy stuff.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

38. Last time I got sick I ate chopped barbecue beef.

I didn't read the label and it had tomato in it.

however, I have found frozen burritos with no tomatoes Hallelujah!

El Monterey Burritos in the purple package.

:D :D :toast:

[Swede]

34. Oh,this is what the knives drawn post was about.

nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

35. Pizza is my second-favorite vegetable

after beer.

:hi:

[Bowwowwow09]

36. Kids wont eat that unless parents introduce healthy food from early childhood

When I was in high school, the parents made a big deal about how unhealthy school lunches were. They passed a referendum to make school lunches healthier. They got rid of chocolate and strawberry milk, hardly anything was fried...they really turned the school lunch menu around.

And what happened???

Elementary schoolers did not eat their lunches and more food was thrown away than was eaten.

High school kids got more food from vending machines and the a la cart line where they could just load up a tray of french fries.


The only kids that ate this stuff were the kids that were used to healthy foods at home...like me. My parents always made healthy, home cooked meals, and never took me to fast food for dinner. I didn't have much of a problem with it (except for the milk, I ended up bringing chocolate syrup to school).

[Catherine Vincent]

37. No cheese?

[Scout]

39. yeah, but, if someone asked "do you want pizza" and then told me

oh, yeah, but it's pizza with tomato sauce and vegetables, no cheese, no meat, i'd say "have at it, none for me thanks." and i bet i'm not unusual.