Have you ever laid awake at night, pondering and tossing the crucial question – just how many slices of pizza per second do Americans eat? Well, that’s easy. The answer is 350. Three billion pizzas are sold annually.

Pizza is the quintessentially Italian turned American food group all to itself.

What’s your weirdest favorite topping? Have you tried oysters, dandelions, peanut butter or jelly? How about the Russian favorite mockba pizza, which is a mixture of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon, and onions?

Now that last one may make you want to spin around at your computer desk and dry heave into the trashcan but it does bring up the question of healthy pizza alternatives. Let’s stop here for a second – can healthy pizza taste good?

Of course it can, silly goose!

No matter how many veggies they toss on there, a trip down to your local Dominos or Pizza Hut may not yield the healthiest slice of pie around. But if you want that addicting goodness without the festival of chemical and preservative laden meat, I’m here to tell you the news is good.

What exactly makes a pizza healthier other than not eating it?

Good question. Here are a few points to put in your brain blender and cogitate on:

• Use whole wheat pizza dough to boost the fiber content by 50%
• Use low fat mozzarella cheese to lower saturated fat and cholesterol
• Pile on veggies for more fiber and nutrients
• Don’t forget pears, apples, and pineapples make great toppings too

In case you haven’t grasped the concept yet, yes, I am suggesting you make pizza for yourself at home. If that thought horrifies you beyond belief…uh…maybe you should just grab the Yellow Pages and look for ‘pizza’.

But if you’re still with me, try a few healthy alternative pizzas like the ones below.

Tex-Mex pizza.

Grilled pizza with tomatoes, pesto, and feta.

Wild mushroom and sage pizza.

Find a more comprehensive list of healthy pizzas here. And here’s a great step-by-step discussion of exactly how to make healthy and great tasting pizza at home.

I’m not denying take-out pizza tastes great. We all know it does but maybe you shouldn’t get it like that every time. Get adventurous at home and find out how exactly how healthy pizza can make your wildest dreams come true.

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