Pizza: want but ought not to have!

madnut

Hi folks,

So I have a mad craving for pizza at the moment which, I must confess, I have given in to on more than one occasion. :sad:

Has anyone got an idea for a healthier swap?

It tends to be around lunchtime or mid-afternoon before work. I need something that either takes minimum preparation or is easy to grab.

Most of all, something to satisfy the itch to eat something deliciously carby and decadent without breaking the calorie bank!!

Cheers :happy:

navyrigger46

Just have pizza. It's not unhealthy, it has protein, carbs, fiber, and it's tasty, what's the problem? Go for supreme, lots of veggies and sausage, hard to beat.

Rigger

GiveMeCoffee

Eat the pizza! Make it fit into your day and enjoy!

Shuuma

Just have pizza. It's not unhealthy, it has protein, carbs, fiber, and it's tasty, what's the problem? Go for supreme, lots of veggies and sausage, hard to beat.

Rigger

This. Just don't have a whole large super deluxe pizza in one sitting. Most chain pizza joints have nutritional info on their websites, so you can calculate how many delicious, cheesy, veggie-packed slices you can have and still fit your macros.

fpelletier

Ditto everyone else! I have pizza, usually 1-2 slices and salad the key is everything in moderation!

ksuh999

Two 12" slices of a typical pizza are around 500-600 cals.

Or make your own. I use pita bread, tomato sauce, weigh the cheese, add some sort of meat, add veggies. 8" Pita = ~170 cals, tomato sauce = 5 cals, 40 grams light mozza cheese = ~135 cals, 50 grams sliced ham = 55 cals, veggies = 20 cals...

DirrtyH

A lot of ppl are probably going to think this is gross, but I buy the Lean Cuisine pizzas and I like them. I try not to eat them every single day, but a few times a week I fill my quota for pizza and I get a little bit more bang for my caloric buck.

laurelthistle

Yeah, just eat the pizza, but eat LESS of it. One slice with a big salad - eat the salad first, then enjoy the pizza. Or make yourself a "skinny" pizza using a whole wheat tortilla shell - add a little sauce, some cheese and some grilled/sauteed veggies, put it in the oven for a few minutes and bam - quick, tasty, relatively healthy pizza.

SmileyJen12

If I have pizza and I want to go a little on the healthy side, I normally choose chicken with lots vegetables and light cheese. It still satisfies my craving, but then I don't feel as guilty because it's lighter.

Or have your normal pizza and limit yourself to one or two slices. Then throw in an extra walk or do some exercising while watching your favorite TV shows.

Good luck!

magerum

No, really.

Annie_01

I have pizza every Sunday. I switched to thin crust roasted vegetable...

There are a few frozen pizzas that I like but for "fresh" here is Dominos nutrition guide by ingredient so that you can select just how many calories that you want.

http://cache.dominos.com/homev8/docs/menu/dominos_nutrition_v2.21.00.pdf

tmpecus78

No, really.

QFT

bcattoes

How many calories do you have? Do you have any other diet restrictions?

Pizza is a pretty broad term and can vary greatly in calories. There is a huge difference in a slice of thick crust, full fat cheese, meat lovers pizza and a thin crust veggie pizza with reduce fat cheese.

You can also get low calorie frozen pizzas like Lean Cuisine or Heathy Choice. They aren't great, but they aren't bad, and they may satisfy your craving without putting you over on calories.

cwolfman13

I hit up my favorite pizza joint, Village Pizza in Corrales (and now a new location in the valley on Rio Grande Blvd) every couple of weeks or so. No biggie; it can be incorporated into an other wise balanced and nutritious diet (noun).

TeaBea

Eat the pizza! Make it fit into your day and enjoy!

This!^

Choose thin crust

Choose 1 meat ....your favorite

Choose lots of veggies

Making your own is fairly easy. Fleischmann's pizza yeast is one step

http://www.pizzacrustyeast.com/

Use some whole wheat flour, use your favorite sauce, use 2% mozzarella, and use turkey pepperoni.....toss on lots of veggies.

Turkey pepperoni is way less fat. The texture is a little stiff.....so I cut the pepperoni into quarters.

bcattoes

diet (noun).

:laugh: Nice!

fushigi1988

Just have pizza. It's not unhealthy, it has protein, carbs, fiber, and it's tasty, what's the problem? Go for supreme, lots of veggies and sausage, hard to beat.

Rigger

Agreed.

mschicagocubs

Have you tried Cauliflower crust pizza? To die for! & a better on the carb side of things! & you can add what you want to it.

I always suggest homemade pizza, but easier said than done.

Also 2 pieces of pizza isn't going to kill you, the whole thing might though!

Have fun, eat pizza! I love pizza!

wheird

I usually eat an entire medium-large pizza every other week or so. You will be fine.

EvanKeel

Sadly, not all pizza is equal. There's a fairly wide spectrum ranging from a thin crust chicken/veggie supreme to a meat lover's deepdish double cheese.

If I want to make pizza a bit less dense for calories, I'll probably go thin crust just to reduce some of the extra carb. I have nothing against carbs, but unless I really want a deep dish, it's just extra calories I can spend elsewise. From there, I'll try to focus on leaner meats that are high flavor. I like a chicken and bacon combination. Chicken is obviously lean, and while bacon is generally not lean, you can crumble a fairly small amount on a pizza and still get a good amount of flavor from it without adding a ton of calories. Veggies, of course, add all kinds of micronutrients and fiber that are nice. Be sure to measure the major sources of fats (usually cheese and meats) with a scale, just so you're aware of how much is going in.

And then there are days when I just plan for the meat lover's deep dish because that's what I want.

sfbaumgarten

Like everyone else says... If you want pizza, make room for the pizza. Nothing wrong with that.

Cranquistador

NOW I WANT PIZZA

Iwishyouwell

Not a big pizza eater. I enjoy it, but it's a high year for me if I have it 5 times.

However, unless it's a mega trigger food for you, I've never understood why pizza ends up being such an enemy food. It's a very versatile, malleable dish that can be pretty easily melded into almost any plan. Heck even when I was low carbing there was a local health food restaurant that made pretty incredible chicken and pineapple pizza with a low carb flaxseed crust.

Wiseandcurious

Yeah, just eat the pizza, but eat LESS of it. One slice with a big salad - eat the salad first, then enjoy the pizza.

This. Isn't all this about learning how to eat all the good stuff in moderation anyway? (At least for me). I always try halving it before i try substituting it - works great so far.

TR0berts

Have you tried Cauliflower crust pizza?

concordancia

1) Go someplace that sells pizza by the slice or very small pizzas and fit it in

2) Learn to make your own with whole grain wheat and lots of veggies on the weekends - it will probably keep from craving pizza during the week

3) Lean Cuisine Deluxe is better than most pizzas around. Unless you you are getting stone oven pizza - then go back to number 1.

JNettie73

No, really.

:laugh: I love this!

I am going to say the same thing as everyone else. Have the pizza just make sure you fit it into your daily allowance. I had pizza last night for dinner and ate the leftovers for lunch today. It's ok to eat pizza every now and then. :flowerforyou:

mccindy72

Have some pizza, just serve yourself the amount you need to stick to fit into your daily goals. Enjoy what you eat, savor it. That's the key. You don't have to give up the foods you love to lose weight, you just have to learn to eat less of them.

Cadaverous_Bones

when ordering pizza from a restaurant get thin crust and light sauce, and add veggies to it instead of just pepperoni or whatever. also you can make your own pizza and there are a lot of alternatives to the crust you can make like zucchini crust etc! just google some recipes!

Pipsg1rl

Thin Crust Veggie. I love the sauce. Sauce is not the devil. My husband thinks I am the devil for getting veggies on a pizza that doesn't have meats.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I eat half a Red Baron pepperoni thin crust pizza almost weekly. It's 600 calories, and it's da bomb.