Slim Your Slice: Healthy Pizza Recipes

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Women's Health|Oct. 2, 2012 1:57 pm EST

If you auto-dial your local pizza joint once a week, you're not alone: 18 percent of Americans dive into a pie at least that often. The problem: Revised USDA guidelines single out pizza as the second highest source of saturated fat and third-highest source of sodium in the U.S. diet. But don't forgo this tasty and inexpensive meal option altogether. "The right toppings can transform a fattening grease bomb into a healthy meal," says Keri Gans, R.D., author of The Small Change Diet. Top a store-bought whole-wheat crust or cheese-less takeout pie with one of these waist-cinching combos instead.

Click here to see Five Health Pizza Recipes Slideshow

And the next time you eat out, try one of these calorie-shaving tricks:

Ask for your pizza to be made with half the usual amount of cheese. Save 85 calories per slice.
Opt for thin crust over the regular kind. Save 49 calories per slice.
Order a tomato pie (sauce only) and sprinkle your slice with one tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese. Save 63 calories per slice.

Then, when you're weighing what toppings to get on your pizza, keep these per-slice calorie counts in mind:

Italian sausage: 44 calories

Bacon: 43 calories

Ground beef: 38 calories

Pepperoni: 30 calories

Chicken: 18 calories

Anchovies: 14 calories

Olives: 13 calories

Ham: 11 calories

Spinach, green peppers, roasted peppers, mushrooms, onions, or tomatoes: Fewer than 5 calories

— By Karen Ansel, R.D., Women's Health

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