by margaret hillcroft

Created on: July 25, 2008

"Is pizza healthy?" is a bit of a silly question. Any meal is only as healthy as the ingredients which go into it and only if eaten in sensible quantities needed by the body. Pizza, being near enough the Italian, and flattened, version of a sandwich or filled baguette, certainly has the potential to be a wholesome addition to a healthy menu.

Take some wholemeal flour, add yeast, a little olive oil and some water , knead, leave to rise and then put on top some tomato paste,lashings of fresh tomato slices, herbs, onion, garlic, olives and any fresh vegetables and meat scraps you have lying around, top with slices of cheese, place in the oven and bake till the melted cheese begins to turn a beautiful gold. Cut into slices and serve with plenty of crisp salad and a glass of good wine. What could be more nourishing for body and soul? This meal will provide vitamins, fibre and carbohydrate and an enjoyable sense of satisfaction. Add to the mix some good company, plenty of laughter and a warm summer sun and the Pizza Fest is near enough heaven on earth. Quick and easy to create, a good pizza is a non-stressful meal to produce with an endless variety of flavours, textures and seasonings. How could it possibly be unhealthy?

Anything is open to abuse! The modern, fast food way of consuming "pizza" leaves a lot to be desired and would no doubt leave any self respecting Italian mamma screaming in horror. Take some white, fibre-less bleached flour, add water, yeast, oil and way too much salt. spread on a token smear of tomato paste, dried herbs, more salt, a thin covering of mushrooms, processed meat slices, peppers or whatever is going cheap, top with grated cheese and bake till all the grease has run out of the cheese into a pool on the tray. Place in a cardboard box and serve in front of the TV, with a large portion of chips and more salt. Eat whenever you feel a bit peckish.

This is NOT pizza! This is some concoction designed by corporate greed to appeal to our culinary laziness and desensitized taste buds. This is a gut filling, artery clogging, waist expanding abomination which should carry a health warning. Unfortunately, lots of people enjoy this apology for Italian cuisine and, even though it is a weapon of mass dietary destruction, eat it to excess at every opportunity.

Back to the question. Is Pizza healthy? A real,home made pizza, served up with fresh salad at the family table as an addition to a well balanced diet is certainly healthy. The greasy,salt laden mass produced imposter which is eaten as a ready meal or convenience snack definitely is not.

The healthy, real article offers an easy to prepare, fibre filled, vitamin enriched, visually beautiful,
stomach filling , soul satisfying meal. Eat up. It will put hairs on your chest.

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