No More Frozen Pizza

We recently went frozen pizza box-reading and were surprised and disappointed to find that trans-fats are lurking in the majority of frozen pizzas sold in the grocery freezer. Not wanting to have trans-fat as a topping on our pizza, we decided to try using the time it takes to pre-heat your oven to put together a home-made pizza with fresh toppings. To save time, we used whole wheat pita bread as our crust.

Let’s see how our homemade thin pizza stacks up against the frozen boxed version:

Amy’s Personal Cheese Pizza (organic)

Homemade Healthy Pizza

How Did the Two Stack Up?

On the nutrition front, our homemade version significantly cuts down on the amount of fat in the pizza, while doubling the amount of fiber. And our pizza doesn’t come with trans-fat! Plus, adding green pepper as a topping helps contribute to your vegetable intake.

One thing to note here is the amount of sodium, which is comparable in the two versions. In our version, about half of the sodium comes from the cold cut (precooked turkey breast), and the other half comes from the cheese and canned tomato sauce. If you want to cut the sodium, opt for low-sodium versions, or use freshly cooked turkey or chicken breast instead. Or, go vegetarian by skipping meat altogether and adding mushrooms and pineapple. When buying canned or jarred tomato sauce, avoid the “pizza sauce” variety, which oddly contains double the amount of sodium than the all-purpose tomato sauce does. If you have homemade tomato sauce, feel free to use it instead.

Plus, our version costs less than half as much per serving, and actually takes less time to prepare than the frozen boxed pizza!

The Bottom Line

Whether you are preparing a frozen pizza or a fresh one, you’re going to have to wait for your oven to heat up. In our kitchen, it took 13 minutes to warm up the oven to 400F. So, why not use that time to prepare a simple homemade pizza instead of the frozen variety. Making your own pizza gives you control over what goes on as toppings, and ultimately, what goes into your body! It can also be a fun and fairly simple way to get your family involved, as each person can decide what toppings to put on their pizza.

Our Personal Pizza Recipe:

• 1 medium whole wheat pita
• 1.5 Tbs all-purpose canned tomato sauce
• 1 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 slice cooked turkey breast, chopped
• 1/4 medium green pepper, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Pre-heat oven to 400F. While you wait, chop green pepper and turkey breast. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over one side of the pita. Top this with chopped turkey breast, green pepper and grated cheese. Bake directly on oven rack for 7 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pita is crispy. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and enjoy.

Sofia Layarda, MPH

Alumni: University of California, Berkeley – Sofia believes in bringing back fun and pleasure into everyday eating. She loves cooking, and is constantly experimenting with ingredients, creating recipes and trying them out on family and friends. Her latest interest lies in finding realistic and practical ways of environmentally-friendly food/eating habits.