JOIN USPizzas are extremely popular — with children and adults alike. Many years ago when pizzas had still not invaded our country, it was a snack a person would indulge in on a rare occasion. Times have changed and so has our eating habit.
Given that all of us love eating pizzas, it is important that we also understand what is in that mouth watering piece, that makes our cravings so intense? There are four things that provide the different kinds of taste in a pizza. The base, the toppings, the cheese, and the sauce that is spread.
Nutritional value: A single slice of a 12 inch vegetarian pizza has roughly 250 calories and 500 mg of sodium (source: Pizza Hut website). The stuffed crust has more calories than the pan base. As the base gets thicker with stuffing and toppings of meat, a slice can give you up to 480 calories!
What we can do: A simple way to yield to our taste buds is to make the right choice when ordering our pizza. Go for thin crust pizzas with no stuffing in the base. Top it up with a lot of vegetables and light or low fat cheese. If you have a whole grain option, then pick the pizza base made from whole grain.
Burgers: Burgers were not something people liked to eat until about a few years ago. With a McDonalds in every corner of the street, eating a burger is a popular option, today. But is the ever popular and convenient food such a good food option to have?
Burgers, like pizzas, have the bun, the patty, the cheese and the other extra toppings that give its varied taste and texture.
Nutritional value: A single burger has anywhere between 300 to 400 calories. Many people assume that by choosing a veggie burger they are actually getting healthier. In fact, a veggie burger has approximately 130 calories, a cheese burger about 300 calories and a chicken burger 600 calories. What’s more, many burgers also come with the unavoidable fries. A small portion of fries has about 210 calories. (source: Burger King website)
What we can do: Stop eating our burger? No. Look for that whole grain option for the bun that is an important part of the burger. Add lots of vegetables. Avoid mayonnaise. Every 13 gms of mayo has about 90 calories. Go less on cheese and needless to say — stay away from the much loved fries!
It is important to realise that a burger or a pizza is a reasonably good option on a rare occasion. If you have to eat it for a meal — make it a mid-day meal, so that you have enough time to burn the extra calories accumulated. However, if you have to choose between a pizza and a burger, choose the pizza with lots of vegetables and less cheese. That is definitely the lesser of the two evils.