Our food habits have reached such levels that we can no longer live without junk food. One of the favorites among all and sundry are pizzas of all sizes and flavors. This Italian dish definitely tops the chart with an array of toppings and delectable flavors that are sumptuous to the core and extremely mouth watering. Talking about pizza toppings, every country would have its own local variation. If you relish pizza and would love to try out its varying flavors, here are some nutritious pizza toppings that would not just indulge your taste buds, but would also help you remain healthy.
1. Parmesan cheese
Parmesan cheese is a great and nutritious alternative to your normal pizza cheese that could be very high in calories. Parmesan cheese tops the list because it is very high in protein and also low in fat content. It is also rich in calcium levels as compared to the other cheese toppings. This wholesome cheese may not be entirely great when it comes to texture. Nevertheless, they are very nutritious and hence much more favorable than mozzarella cheese.
2. Pineapple
Not a great option if you love to gobble up spicy and hot pizzas. Pineapple toppings are great if you have a sweet tooth and love the crunchy texture of pineapple. Coming to its nutritional strength, one cup of pineapple to your pizza will give you sufficient amounts of manganese, which is an energy rich mineral. Topping your pizza with pineapple will also give you vitamin C and E, which is good for the immune system as well.
3. Low fat cheese
Cheese is an ingredient that cannot be taken out form your pizza recipe. Therefore, the lower, the better! Adding low fat cheese toppings can help in reducing the calories, while keeping the nutritional contents same. It is also high in protein. A cup of low fat cheese shredded and added to your pizza will give you eight grams of fat and around 200 calories.
4. Tomato sauce
Tomato sauce has abundant lycopene, which can also protect you from lung, prostate and stomach cancers. For extra flavor, add abundant tomato sauce instead of other calorie rich toppings. A cup contains only 79 calories and hence a great way to stay in shape as well.
5. Garlic
Again a great flavoring substance with abundant anti inflammatory and anti cancer properties, adding an ounce of garlic topping to your pizza will only add 21 calories to your diet and also help you keep your cholesterol levels low, prevent arteriosclerosis and heart problems and also keep you away from common ailments.
6. Diced chicken
Diced chicken is a very low fat topping that can be added to your pizza. While typical pizzerias add cream sauces along with diced chicken which will again add to the calories and saturated fat, died chicken can be added at home to make it more nutritious and less fattening. Diced chicken is also a good source of protein.
7. Mushrooms
Mushrooms have a different flavor and they are nutritious as well and hence a smart choice for your pizza topping. A cup of mushroom shreds contain just 15 calories and about 2.2 gm of protein. This makes it about 50 percent protein content. Mushrooms are also good for preventing prostate cancer and have high amounts of selenium that is a compound that helps prevent free radical damage to the body by preventing cell damage.
8. Broccoli
Belonging to the cruciferous group of vegetables that are again cancer fighting, broccoli is a rich source of calcium and one of the most nutritious among all vegetables. Broccoli is rich in calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, folates, etc., which are all good for your body in keeping it strong, healthy and highly resistant to diseases.
9. Spinach
Spinach is a very powerful nutritional vegetable that can be added to your pizza. It has the highest amounts of vitamin K, which is an essential vitamin that helps in preventing blood clots in the body. Spinach is also rich in flavonoids, which are cancer preventing agents. It has 13 varieties of flavonoids that can help prevent varying types of cancer in the body.
10. Ham
Ham is a great choice for a protein rich pizza. It is lower in fat content than a sausage, bacon or beef and has much more protein than any of these meat products. Three ounces of ham contain 7 grams of protein which is well within the limit.