Pizza is a favorite food among many. However, with obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes on the rise, various people are looking for ways to cut back on the fat and cholesterol. Pizza doesn’t have a reputation for being the best healthy alternative on the menu.
However, the good news is that if you’re aspiring to eat healthier meals, you don’t need to eliminate pizza out of your diet. Of course, you can still get a healthy, tasty pizza by making a few adjustments.
The Crust
Any great pizza begins with a great crust. However, this doesn’t have to be thick and greasy. An excellent way to ensure a healthier coat is to make your dough at home as opposed to ordering take-out. This way, you have control over the ingredients.
Some hints to creating a healthier pizza crust at home are;
-Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour.
-Utilize half of your prepared dough but keep the remaining half in the freezer or fridge for another day.
-Roll the dough out for a thin crust rather than a compact one.
-Reduce the use of melted butter; use any low-fat option or olive oil.
The sauce
Pizza can be quite easy to prepare at home using Forno Venetzia ovens. Take some fresh tomatoes, add your favorite herbs and olive oil in a blender and mix well. You can also use the store-bought source. However, be careful to check the label. Pizza sources are notably high in sugar.
The toppings
By cutting back on the amount of cheese, you shave off lots of fat and calories. This is not easy to do with the restaurant and delivery pizza. Therefore, try making your pizza at home using thin slices of mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella is one of the lower fat cheeses and is an excellent option for pizzas.
More so, if you must have meat, use only lean meats like sirloin or lean beef. But for healthier pizzas, use turkey or chicken instead.
Loading your pizza up with veggies is your best option for a healthier, lower fat option. Therefore, be creative on the toppings and try cauliflower, zucchini, hot peppers, and roasted corn to load on flavor and remember to dab your pizza with a napkin to soak up extra grease.
Why making pizza is fun
Cooking can be enjoyable! That’s true regardless of what you make, and pizza is no exception. Some of the benefits of using a particular pizza recipe to make a DIY pizza are:
It’s great exercise- The amount of physical movement required for cooking is often overlooked. This is true whether mixing pizza sauce ingredients or kneading dough flour the pizza crust.
Therefore, if you’re looking for an effective way to burn calories, consider making your own pizza instead of ordering one. More so, since you’ll likely love to lose the calories consumed while eating your pizza, one excellent way to do that is by burning some of them while making the pizza itself!
It can be a shared pursuit- Making pizza becomes more enjoyable when it becomes a shared experience. Whether you get the help of friends or loved ones, every person can have a task that they must complete. Also, by getting the help of others, you can share ideas on how to improve the various components of the pizza.
It’s hands-on- Dishes taste better when you handle the food while preparing. However, we’ve become accustomed to eating food that has been prepared by someone else. But by following a pizza recipe to make your pizza, you can enjoy a hands-on approach to the pizza’s preparation.
It makes a unique cooking experience- While there are various food types with different components, there’s no cooking like making a pizza using a pizza recipe. For instance, there are four critical elements of pizza; the crust, the sauce, the cheese, and the toppings, and each of these creates many possibilities. Hence, each pizza that you make can be a unique work of art.
It’s cost-effective- One of the significant gains of preparing your pizza is that it’s likely to be cheaper than ordering. This is because you’ll avoid many costs associated with pizzas made at restaurants. These may include labor costs and delivery costs.
