by Jan Vroegin

Created on: September 28, 2007

Healthy pizza begins with healthy ingredients. It's a simple concept, but one that will pack a nutritional punch to your pie! Pizza enthusiasts will tell you that the three main ingredients that determine the success of a pizza are the crust, the sauce, and the cheese. So, let's examine how to notch up the health factor in each slice by looking at those three areas.

1. Go for a thin, homemade crust. Thick, store bought crusts pack on the excess carbohydrates and are usually made from nutritionally-lacking processed flour. Aim for a thin crust by using an easy dough recipe that calls for whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and yeast. Many health food stores offer same day ground flour. Use a pizza stone and try pre-baking the crust for six minutes at 500 degrees in a preheated oven. This prevents a soggy pizza pie later.
2. Healthy pizza needs healthy sauce. Use low sodium, organic tomato sauce enriched with minced garlic and chopped onions. Italian seasonings in the sauce are added bonuses. Simmer the sauce for at least 20 minutes before putting on the crust. Olive oil should be the only oil that might be added to the sauce for taste.
3. Cheese is perhaps the greatest area to radically improve the nutritional level of your home made pizza. Use a mozzarella from a health food store. Bypass standard packaged cheeses that are loaded with chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. These cheeses though convenient will sabotage any healthy gains that you have made on the crust and sauce! The healthier cheeses might cost more now, but the taste and higher nutritional content will be your reward.
Now that the three areas of crust, sauce, and cheese have been made healthier, your pizza creativity can kick into high gear with the topping ingredients. Choosing organic bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, onions, and black olives will increase the health rating of any pizza. But don't stop there! Toss on some thinly sliced zucchini and portobello mushrooms. Your pizza will be healthier and tastier with these simple adjustments. Now throw out that pizza delivery number and get into the kitchen! Your healthy pizza is just a few minutes away.

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