Nutrition Info: Pizza – What’s in your slice?

Posted on | October 8, 2010 | No Comments

Pizza is so ‘moreish’ – you can never just stop at one slice, you have to have more. But have you ever stopped to think how many calories you’re eating?? Traditionally, pizza in Italy is eaten with few topping.  It was originally served with a hand-tossed bread base, a delicious home-made tomato sauce, fresh basil and cheese as a topping.  Less is more, and the quality and freshness of the ingredients gave the pizza it’s taste.  As it was adopted into other countries the topping varieties started to pave the way for pizza to become a house-hold name across the world.  It now seems that no ingredient is too unusual to be placed on a pizza: Sweet potato, mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce, avocado, fruit, seafood, curry and there are now even sweet dessert pizza’s.

I remember the first time I researched the nutrition information of Pizza and I nearly died. Wow….. isn’t it just bread with healthy toppings?? But with the mass production of pizza bases needed for fast food pizza places, the butter, oil and calorie laden toppings crept in, the portion sizes grew and consequently the calorie count crept up.

But if you are smart about it, you can drastically reduce the calories in your pizza by the toppings you choose and the thickness of the crust.  It seems the more vegetables you have on your pizza the lower calorie count and choose the thinnest crust you can if you’re trying to manage your weight.  Avoid the fatty cuts of meat like pepperoni and bacon.  Also, plan ahead before you keep chowing down the pizza, think about filling up with a side salad first and then have some pizza.  Avoid the sinful pizza crusts such as the deep dish or cheese filled and try not to choose the most outlandish flavours on the menu that catch your eye such as Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Meats or sweet chilli/thai style.  Keep it simple and fresh.  Take it easy on the cheese.  And, if possible, try to make from scratch at home so you know exactly what you’re eating.  This can be really fun, especially if you have children that can help make their own pizza’s and/or layer on the toppings for everyone.

Take a look at the calorie counts for 1 slice of pizza below based on a large size 14” Pizza.  It’s quite scary to find out that in 1 slice of pizza you can consume one-third of you daily calorie budget. Ouch!

Cheese Pizza:

• Thin Crust – Cheese 123 Calories
• Normal Pan  –  272 Calories
• Deep Dish –  332 Calories

Hawaiian:

• Thin Crust – 130 Calories
• Normal Pan – 222 Calories
• Deep Dish – 364 Calories

Vegetarian:

• Thin Crust – 159 Calories
• Normal Pan – 273 Calories
• Deep Dish – 362 Calories

Pepperoni:

• Thin Crust – 170 Calories
• Normal Pan – 324 Calories
• Deep Dish – 366 Calories

BBQ Meat:

• Thin Crust – 222 Calories
• Normal Pan – 327 Calories
• Deep Dish – 405 Calories

Super Supreme:

• Thin Crust – 232 Calories
• Normal Pan – 331 Calories
• Deep Dish – 411 Calories

So, if you are smart about it, you can still enjoy pizza as a treat when you’re trying to be healthy and watch your weight.  Don’t forget that as usual, all my normal recommendations apply:  Eat slowly, put your utensils down between bites and stop eating when you feel 80% full because it’s better to waste it than to ‘waist’ it.  Enjoy!

Special note:  In the case of pizza – your utensils are your hands!!  So, put your piece of pizza down and don’t inhale it in one go!  Or to really ensure you’re eating slowly, try eating your pizza with a knife and fork as this can be quite tricky.

Related posts:

Comments