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Homemade pizza, milk good for kids and adults

August 19, 2007 12:35 am

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.

If that sounds too exotic for you, consider more traditional toppings like mushrooms--which give a meaty flavor without the fat--or green peppers and onions. Or go gourmet: Add marinated artichoke hearts, fresh basil or broccoli florets sliced small enough to cook quickly.

Finally, top your pizzas with part-skim mozzarella cheese, which has less fat than regular mozzarella but melts wonderfully.

Then put the French-bread pizzas into a toaster oven or regular oven until the cheese just melts, and voilà--pizza in 10 minutes.

Dear Jennifer: My wonderful son-in-law, a former jock, gives his toddlers Gatorade. Is that a good choice for them? I just have this inkling that it might not be good for the wee ones.

--K.M., Fredericksburg

It depends. If the kids are playing hard and sweating for more than an hour, they may need extra electrolytes. However, milk has just as much potassium and sodium as Gatorade, plus it has protein, calcium, magnesium and B vitamins, too.

In fact, a small study last year showed that drinking chocolate milk after a workout helped professional cyclists recover better than did sports drinks including Gatorade and Endurox.

There's no need to reach for expensive sport drinks after a workout. And people who aren't physically active usually do not need sports drinks at all.

Dear Jennifer: How much vitamin D and calcium are in 8 ounces of milk?

--B.B., Fredericksburg

A cup of milk has about 300 milligrams of calcium, one-third to one-fourth the recommended daily amount, depending on your age. The same cup of milk also has about 100 units of vitamin D, about 25 percent of the daily value.

Fortified milk is one of the best food sources of vitamin D in this country. The amount of calcium and vitamin D is roughly the same in nonfat, 1 percent, 2 percent and whole milk.

Goat's milk has about the same amount of calcium as cow's milk, but is not required to be fortified with vitamin D. Read the label--some goat's-milk dairies add vitamin D anyway, in amounts similar to those added to cow's milk.

Homemade vegetarian milks, such as soy, rice and almond milks, are naturally lower in calcium and vitamin D than cow's milk. However, the store-bought versions are usually fortified by manufacturers to make them equal to or better than cow's milk as far as calcium and vitamin D. So to really know what you're getting, be sure to check labels.

Jennifer Motl welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteating.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.