Do you consider pizza fast food?

melody921 · March 2014

I get that it's technically fast (I'm talking pizzeria pizza, not homemade) but for some reason, I've never lumped pizza in with other fast food (which we don't really eat). And I have no problem with my kids eating pizza every week. But hearing other parents talk, I'm wondering if I'm not as healthy as I previously thought.

BeebopandBuddy · March 2014

I don't consider pizza fast food but I'm not sure I would consider it healthy either.

MRoxy0628 · March 2014

I don't consider it as the same as McDonalds or Taco Bell, but I consider it eating out. We have pizza every week and I don't have a problem with Lily eating it either. I usually make her a Earths Best mini-frozen pizza, but I also give her bites of the stuff we order.

melody921 · March 2014

BeebopandBuddy said:

I don't consider pizza fast food but I'm not sure I would consider it healthy either.

Yeah, I don't consider it healthy, and like @MRoxy0628 said, I do consider it eating out. I just never thought of it as fast food, which I don't like the kids to eat at all, let alone on such a regular basis.

BeebopandBuddy · March 2014

My kids eat pizza almost every friday because DH and I always order wings. I make it homemade with a sandwich round bread, put some spaghetti sauce on it and shredded cheese on top. It takes like two minutes to make and they love it. Plus DD loves to put the cheese on.

MarisaKathleen · March 2014

I make homemade pizza once a week. We have a couple really good pizza places by us, but the crazy heartburn I get from all of it just isn't worth it.

Our new favorite one to make at home? Shrimp, spinach and red pepper flakes with just a real light bit of cheese.

Nancy won't eat pizza. She won't even touch it, so I give her the salad we have with it, or whatever is leftover from earlier in the week.

LyndseylovesHugh · March 2014

I guess it depends on where the pizza comes from for me. Dominos/Pizza Hut I consider fast food and don't think it's very healthy, the awesome wood-fire place in town is not fast food and in my mind healthier (although still not healthy). If the crust is whole wheat and it's loaded with fresh ingredients I wouldn't consider that fast food. I have no problem giving Audrey pizza sometimes, even the kind I consider fast food. I try to feed her healthy food but a piece if pizza, some fries or some ice cream every once in a while are not going to hurt her!

bosha711 · March 2014

No, I don't.

It's baked, not fried, too, so that's always a good thing!

plus12012 · March 2014

It definitely depends on where it comes from. We have the big chain fast pizza places papa johns, dominos etc. and the gourmet style pizza places that have a huge variety of healthier choices for toppings.

kdsmith43 · March 2014

No, I don't. W e typically get pizza on Friday nights and DS loves all of the veggies on it.

AKB090609 · March 2014

In our house pizza is a weekly meal, and I would say it is one of the most well balanced meals DD will eat consistently. We do home made and thin crust, we also load it up with veggies she (and DH) normally won't eat. When we get take out it is usually take and bake or from a local place, so it's been years since I've had a chain brand pizza.

melody921 · March 2014

plus12012 said:

It definitely depends on where it comes from. We have the big chain fast pizza places papa johns, dominos etc. and the gourmet style pizza places that have a huge variety of healthier choices for toppings.

Eww, I should have specified that I hate chain pizza. We order from a local place.

MississippiCatfish · March 2014

I'm with @lyndseyloveshugh. There are levels of pizza and some are drive-thru-esq fast food (Little Caesars or Five Dollar) some are dine in but still fast foodish (Pizza Hut, Pizza Ranch) and some are a just plain eating out. I can't think of good examples to put here other than local places that are mostly wood-fired, or stuff from an Italian restaurant.

I really want a Davannis deep dish lately. For me, that goes in my second category but is about as unhealthy as they come!

eshee8198 · March 2014

I don't consider it fast food. IMO reheating and serving food =/= making food. Pizza I would consider making food, because most places, I think even the chains, still make the dough and cook it onsite. I do try to make it more than I buy it, but I love love love pizza so I'm giving it a full pass.

hmp1 · March 2014

I like chain and local pizza. When we do chain, I usually get thin crust veggie. When we go local, we usually get a more custom pizza with thin wheat crust, a little olive oil for sauce, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, spinach, and tomato. Mmmm, I had that on Saturday night.

Unless it is like Little Ceasar's drive through pizza, I don't consider pizza fast food.

Hyaline · March 2014

For me fast food isn't just shorthand for unhealthy food (that is, you can get a reasonably healthy salad at McDonalds or make yourself a really unhealthy homemade meal), so I'm not quite sure how to answer the question. I guess I consider pizzeria pizza not terribly healthy, but not a horrible choice, either? And unless you know what's going into the local place's pizza, it could be just as processed and fat-laden as chain pizza, so I'm not going to draw a different line there, either.

Basically, if I make my own pizza and load it up with veggies and lean protein, I consider it healthy. Otherwise, it's a treat foot.

Flamingemu · March 2014

We eat pizza nearly every Friday night. DD eats it as well. I wuold be lying if I said I made it more than I bought it. I would love too, but by Friday night, I don't care anymore and just want a beer and for someone else to make my food. I usually order from a non-chain chain (Z-Pizza anyone?) or Papa Johns if I want it fast. I order thin crust to help with the portions a bit.

Is it fast food? No. But I also don't consider a lot of carry-out places fast food (Panera). I am not fooling myself to say they are healthy, but I don't think they are as bad as a double quarter pounder with chees, a large fry, and 32oz soda.

MarisaKathleen · March 2014

My early UO since I'm at a conference the rest of the week: I think whole wheat crust on pizza tastes gross.

Flamingemu · March 2014

Flamingemu said:

We eat pizza nearly every Friday night. DD eats it as well. I wuold be lying if I said I made it more than I bought it. I would love too, but by Friday night, I don't care anymore and just want a beer and for someone else to make my food. I usually order from a non-chain chain (Z-Pizza anyone?) or Papa Johns if I want it fast. I order thin crust to help with the portions a bit.
Is it fast food? No. But I also don't consider a lot of carry-out places fast food (Panera). I am not fooling myself to say they are healthy, but I don't think they are as bad as a double quarter pounder with chees, a large fry, and 32oz soda.

Well sure. But you don't have to order a double quarter pounder with cheese and a large fries and pop.

I bet you it's not hard to find something just as unhealthy at panera.
__________
I know that is the case. As 'healthy' as it may seem, a lot of Panera foods are high in calories. I actually don't eat there very often. I was just using it as an extreme example. I know that my 2 slices of thin crust come in around 500 calories. My kid is eating less than 1 slice and 90% of her food is much healthier than that. So I don't feel guilty about pizza for dinner once a week.

Flamingemu · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

Double quarter pounder with cheese and a fries and coke:
1330 cals, 62g fat, 145g carb, 1590mg sodium

Panera Sierra turkey focaccia with cup of chicken/wild rice soup and a pepsi:
1500 cals, 57g fat, 202g carbs, 2200 (!) mg sodium

I didn't even look for the worst thing at Panera either.

I think the point I"m trying ot make is that 'fast food' doesn't always mean it's the most unhealthy. The more dangerous side though is that people a lot of times think that because it's NOT fast food, it must not be THAT bad. which is far from the truth.

I agree with this completely.

eshee8198 · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

a hamburger from McD's with all the fixings has the same calories as one slice of thin crust cheese pizza from Dominos.

There may be the same calories, but a plain McD's cheeseburger has more than double the saturated fat content than a slice of cheese pizza from Dominos. A Big Mac has almost four times the saturated fat.

I only harp on this because my mother is in cardiology - what she's beaten into me is that the healthcare industry has seen an increased number of young, healthy looking people who have heart attacks. The hypothesis at least is that they watch their weight, but intake foods high in saturated fats, which leads to heart disease.

Or maybe she's just made me paranoid.

hmp1 · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

I think the point I"m trying ot make is that 'fast food' doesn't always mean it's the most unhealthy. The more dangerous side though is that people a lot of times think that because it's NOT fast food, it must not be THAT bad. which is far from the truth.

I generally think that anytime I'm eating at a restaurant my food is loaded with butter, salt, and other things that I typically don't cook with at home. I also eat much smaller portions when I do a fast food meal vs a restaurant meal.

And the reason I don't consider pizza fast food is because it is made when you order it and takes about 15 minutes. It is just another type of restaurant food to me.

melody921 · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

Oh. and I'm not saying you should never eat out nor should you indulge in fast food.

The OP just came across as "well it's not fast food, so it's ok" mindset, and I think it's a very misleading thought process. I've had to explain to my mom the same thing.

I suppose an early FFFC is that even though I know it's not the healthiest option, we'll likely continue eating it. I figure the rest of our healthy diet balances it out.

hmp1 · March 2014

UO, I can't tell the difference when I'm eating wheat crust so why not.

melody921 · March 2014

hmp1 said:

UO, I can't tell the difference when I'm eating wheat crust so why not.

I eat whole wheat/grain for almost everything, but I have never had whole wheat pizza crust.

eshee8198 · March 2014

Flamingemu said:

cheeseandrice said:

Double quarter pounder with cheese and a fries and coke:
1330 cals, 62g fat, 145g carb, 1590mg sodium

Panera Sierra turkey focaccia with cup of chicken/wild rice soup and a pepsi:
1500 cals, 57g fat, 202g carbs, 2200 (!) mg sodium

I didn't even look for the worst thing at Panera either.

I think the point I"m trying ot make is that 'fast food' doesn't always mean it's the most unhealthy. The more dangerous side though is that people a lot of times think that because it's NOT fast food, it must not be THAT bad. which is far from the truth.

I agree with this completely.

Agreed. Also, I think Panera is evil. When I WAS strict about nutrition and counting calories, I remember being horrified by Panera's nutritional info. And so many people assume that it's healthy just because it's soup and sandwiches.

Again, agreed, moderation. And no Panera.

MommaP12 · March 2014

Here in Chicago we have so many great local options and I don't consider it fast food.

Like Bosha said, it's actually not too unhealthy, at least when we order from the local options in our neighborhood because most of our favorites use high quality ingredients since there is so much competition for pizza here. Most of our pizza has veggies, San Marzano tomatoes, all natural cheese that is cellulose free, and made in a coal or wood burning oven.

We almost never eat deep dish, that's for the tourists.

Hyaline · March 2014

I suck at making whole wheat pizza crust (turns out heavy and soggy, gross), so I'll stick with my white flour crust, thanks!

melody921 · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

MommaP12 said:

Here in Chicago we have so many great local options and I don't consider it fast food.

Like Bosha said, it's actually not too unhealthy, at least when we order from the local options in our neighborhood because most of our favorites use high quality ingredients since there is so much competition for pizza here. Most of our pizza has veggies, San Marzano tomatoes, all natural cheese that is cellulose free, and made in a coal or wood burning oven.

We almost never eat deep dish, that's for the tourists.

... that doesn't mean it's not unhealthy.

Define unhealthy. Fat content? Too many carbs? Grease factor? Inability to control exactly what you're ingesting because it's not homemade? I agree with your overall statement, but need more details to really understand your thinking.

hmp1 · March 2014

cheeseandrice said:

eww. it's all gritty and stuff.

Not at Your Pie, a smallish chain that we go to a lot. Yummy personal pizzas (that we split), craft beer, and gelato.

ETA: Also notice that I said wheat, not whole wheat. I have never had whole wheat pizza dough.

redneckmomma25 · March 2014

Life is too short for whole wheat pizza crust. And pasta.

tinyhumantoe · March 2014

I'm very confused about panera being the debil. They have their calories listed next to each item, a ton of healthier options, and the pick 2 option is a reasonable portion of soup and salad/sandwich. A pick 2 with salad/vinegarette and broth based soup (like pesto veggie, yum!). Get the apple as the side, whalah! Really, how much easier can it get?

tinyhumantoe · March 2014

My homemade pizza isn't any less healthy than a meal served with a bread slice or other grain. Piled high with veggies, easy on the cheese. I usually split a whole wheat English muffin and build mini pizzas.

I don't think you can make a blanket "is pizza healthy" statement. I don't consider it fast food but it *can* be unhealthy as fuk. One major problem with pizza is that it IS the meal, or it's served with breadsticks. Where's the side of veggies? Why the bread with bread and a side of bread...BREAD!

eshee8198 · March 2014

I brush my crust with butter. It's freaking delicious.

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