Environmental Nutrition: Take and bake pizza

Heidi McIndoo, MS, RD, Environmental Nutrition on Oct 15, 2025

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Frozen pizza ... is there an easier, more convenient comfort food out there?

I doubt it. But pizza often gets a bad rap from a healthy eating perspective. With loads of cheese and fatty meats, it’s not hard to understand why. That doesn’t mean, however, that pizza can’t still be part of a healthy eating plan. Taking a few extra minutes to look over your options can help you find one to satisfy both your appetite and your nutritional goals.

Starting with the pizza sauce, most likely made from canned tomato products like sauce or paste, is a good source of lycopene, an antioxidant that’s absorbed more from cooked tomato products than fresh. When it comes to cheese, no need to go for the “extra.” It’ll just bump up the saturated fat content. For toppings, consider veggies and herbs for a few phytonutrients and vitamins. Leaner meats, like chicken, can add satisfying protein but usually not as much saturated fat and sodium as traditional toppings like pepperoni, sausage, and bacon.

Helpful hints. Before you hit up the freezer case, keep these tips in mind for an easy pizza night.

(Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.)