Training & Nutrition - Pizza

When I eat ordered-in pizza, I always feel like crap the next day. I bike commute daily and I never have the 'balls' I do otherwise. Maybe I tend to over-eat, but when I over-eat prepared meals I certainly don't feel like this. Other than when we order in pizza, dairy doesn't enter the house. We drink soy milk and soy cheese. I swear everytime I break down and order, I feel like crap the next day and swear I'll never do it again.

What's in pizza that is ******** up my body? Oh yeah, it was pizza hut, vegetarian.

Delivery Pizza is nasty. I always laugh when I see that commercial where the frozen pizza is comparing itself to delivery... that's not a compliment. :)

I have no idea what's in Pizza Hut pizza, but I have the same problem with it. It's pretty obivous that they try to cut as many corners as possible on the pizza, so the ingredients could be almost anything. So I stopped eating it. One of the centuries I rode last summer had Pizza Hut pizza at the end of the ride. From now on, I'll make sure I have some other options at the end of the ride just in case that happens again.

Az

Pizza is just not good for you in most cases. It's cheap, greasy cheese, tomato sauce with tons of oil added for flavor (and sometimes even animal fat), and white-flour, nutritionless bread. Unless you get thin crust, whole wheat crust if available, light or no cheese, and a ton of veggies, it's a waste.

That said, I eat pizza because it's the only thing that keeps me from getting hungover after a long night of drinking. If it's between a 500-1000 calorie pizza binge or not riding (and suffering through mad headaches) the next day, I'll jump at the former in an instant.

not all pizzas are created equal. i feel like crap if the pizza is too greasy - it makes me feel lazy and about hundred pounds heavier. but i've had good luck with a few local places, and pizza i've made myself usually treats me well.

Okay, you need to learn to make your own pizza from scratch. Yes, from scratch. At first, it may sound horribly daunting. It isn't. Once you get good at making your dough, the rest is cake...er, uh, pizza.

If you have cable TV and you get Food Network (Food TV), look for a program called Good Eats. Highly recommend any of the episodes. Alton Brown doesn't just get a bunch of ingredients and whip them into something fancy. He tells you what's going on. From this you get an idea of what it takes to prepare a meal.

Anyhow, look for the episode, "Flat is Beautiful." The recipe can be found here (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_13823,00.html).

A few pointers:

1) Don't lay the sauce on too thick. If you do, your toppings will slide right off. Keep it to a thin layer. Like gluing a tubular tire. :)
2) Fresh yeast. Get the little packets if you don't otherwise use yeast.
3) He calls for putting the dough in the refrigerator. I like to accelerate the process and let my dough rest in a warm place. Experiment to your liking.
4) Experiment with your sauce.
5) Experiment with toppings.
6) Grate your own cheese. Nutritionally compared to other cheeses, mozarella is not that bad for you. Just spread it around in moderation.

After a few attempts, you'll get an idea for the ideal consistency of your dough. You won't have to test it much if at all.

I highly recommend you give making your own pizza a shot. I know time is money for all of us, but it's not like I make pizza all the time. Whenever I do though, it's always worth the effort. Again, once you do this enough times, it's almost like making a sandwich. I promise. :)

i've had bad experiences with almost all delivery pizza. luckily enough, very close to me is a fantastic pizza joint... very fresh ingredients. the secret for me is to just get two slices and a salad. pepperoni and jalapeno... yum.

I highly recommend you give making your own pizza a shot. I know time is money for all of us, but it's not like I make pizza all the time. Whenever I do though, it's always worth the effort. Again, once you do this enough times, it's almost like making a sandwich. I promise. :)

That Good Eats episode has some good tips for storing pre-made dough, too.

But in a pinch, I go for the take-n-bake variety if I don't have the time to make my own dough.

Thanks for the replies.
I think I'll print this thread out and tape it to the wall beside my phone.
I actually packed a leftover piece in my lunch and ate it cold an hour ago. I feel violated.

Oh yeah, it was pizza hut, vegetarian.

There's your problem. Pizza Hut use BUCKLOADS of oil in the pan.

When I eat ordered-in pizza, I always feel like crap the next day. I bike commute daily and I never have the 'balls' I do otherwise. Maybe I tend to over-eat, but when I over-eat prepared meals I certainly don't feel like this. Other than when we order in pizza, dairy doesn't enter the house. We drink soy milk and soy cheese. I swear everytime I break down and order, I feel like crap the next day and swear I'll never do it again.

What's in pizza that is ******** up my body? Oh yeah, it was pizza hut, vegetarian.

Maybe it's the 12-pack of beer use use to wash it down.... ;)

Step away from the pizza and take the phone numbers of the places off your speed dial.

I've had the same experience. It could be all of the sodium and preservatives they use . . . also a surprisingly high amount of sugar. And the fats are almost all bad fats.

The downside is it's addictive. As soon as the bad feeling goes away, it's too tempting to order. After a pretty intense take-out pizza habit, I had to swear off of it completely.

I've made my own pizza following an Ornish recipe. I'm not a cook and found this to be very easy (whole wheat flour). Whenever I do this, I make extra dough (for 4 pizzas) and find that to be a great way to save time.

Sandy

In high-school, I worked for 2-years in a family-owned Italian restaurant. The pizzas are made from all-fresh ingredients, no frozen blocks of cheese-food/substitute, no canned secret-sauce, or pre-mixed toppings. I can totally tell the difference between that and PizzaHut/Dominos fast-food delivery pizzas.

Then I developed issues with asthma that forced me to quit bike-racing 10-years ago. Finally resolved it by cutting out all dairy and wheat/gluten from my diet. Basically that means no pizza, my favorite of all foods... :(

There's your problem. Pizza Hut use BUCKLOADS of oil in the pan.

What I was going to say.

If anything try to order from a place that has new york style pizza. Stuff that does not involved putting the pizza into a pan. When they put it into a pan they add a good amoutn of grease. By vegan that means no cheese right? or just a lot of veggies?

If yes to cheese try it without cheesse niext time. See how it goes.

I will turn 60 this year so I remember when Chicago pizza was not deep dish. I think it was Uno's in the Loop that was one of the more popular deep dish pizza joints in the early 1960's I call the thin crust the "original Chicago pizza". The thin crust pizza was round, cut in squares, with real good Italian sausage and not that much cheese. The tomato sauce was very good. Nothing "slid off" the crust.

I'm willing to say that the original pizza is better than what's sold today. Better flavor and better for your health. Admittedly, this original pizza will be high in calories and fat. But what the heck, a pizza once in a while is ok, right? Eat in moderation?

Since revamping my diet, I have the same problem when I eat out. I don't mean places like fastfood.