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Homemade pizza, milk good for kids and adults
Bake healthy pizza, and choose milk over sports drinks
Date published: 8/19/2007

LEARN HOW to make mouth- watering, healthy pizzas in 10 minutes, and find out when milk is better than Gatorade, in my answers to readers' questions.

Dear Jennifer: What are the pros and cons of eating pizza?

--B.B., Fredericksburg

Pizza can be a healthy choice, depending on how it's made. It can be delicious and a good source of whole grains, antioxidant-rich tomatoes and protein-rich cheese. That's a big contrast to the fatty, salty versions out there.

I have a secret recipe for healthy pizza in 10 minutes flat. More on that later. First, all the options.

For healthier pizza, consider a thin crust to cut down on the amount of refined flour. For me, it's no sacrifice--I love the way thin crusts crunch deliciously in your mouth and collapse under the weight of the juicy sauce and cheese.

If you love a thicker crust, consider whole-grain pizza crust. Some pizzerias offer whole-wheat pizza dough already. DiGiorno sells a frozen pizza with a "harvest wheat" crust. You can also buy whole-wheat pizza-dough mixes--King Arthur is one brand I've heard of but haven't tried.

I have made whole-wheat rosemary pizza dough in my bread machine. I also have made a faster, wheat-free pizza crust, based on cornmeal, using a recipe from the cookbook "The New Laurel's Kitchen." Cornmeal crust sounds strange, but it's delicious. I've even served it to guests, who then asked for the recipe.

The very fastest thing, though, is to not make the crust at all but instead to use whole-grain baguettes, sliced lengthwise, for French-bread pizzas. Whole-wheat English muffins or plain whole-wheat bread works well, too.

Start with bread for the crust, and you can have a fresh pizza ready in 10 minutes.

After you've chosen a fiber-rich crust, consider cutting the sodium without losing flavor by making your own instant sauce. I mix tomato paste, which is much lower in sodium than tomato sauce, with a little water. Then I add dehydrated onions, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary and basil. (Gourmets can use fresh onions, garlic and herbs, but the dried stuff works great in a pinch.)

Spread the sauce on the baguettes, then think about the toppings. Instead of fatty sausages, consider adding lower-fat Canadian bacon, which is a leaner version of ham. Add canned pineapple, and you've got Hawaiian-style pizza.


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Jennifer Motl is a registered dietitian. Formerly of Fredericksburg, she now lives in Wisconsin.


Date published: 8/19/2007



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