You’ll never order in again after making these delicious gluten-free pizzas

When you ask someone what their favorite food is, odds are the most popular answer is going to be pizza. We all love it, but know it’s not always the best for us. Harmful ingredients like wheat, cheese, preservatives, sodium and more make it hard to rationalize eating it regularly.

What Makes Pizza Bad

Wheat is mostly a carbohydrate that has problem proteins like gluten, even for those who don’t have celiac disease. It has been linked to gut inflammation, osteoporosis, irritable bowel disease, cancer and as many as 55 other diseases.

Cheese contributes a lot of cholesterol to the diet, which can increase the risk of heart disease. Dairy product consumption has also been linked to an increased risk of prostate and breast cancer.

Preservatives are used to lengthen the shelf life of products, and while some are recognized as safe, some have also been linked to cancer. Excess sodium is linked to increased blood pressure which can lead to stroke, heart failure and even stomach cancer.

Most pizza chains have also been found to have hidden MSG without it being labeled. This coupled with the greasiness of most pizzas make pizza a not so healthy quick and easy meal. If only there were healthy pizza recipes to try instead. Well, you’re in luck because there are, and they actually taste amazing!

6 Healthy Pizza Recipes

Cauliflower crust pizza with ground beef and green olives

This paleo diet pizza has a healthy split of vegetables and meat toppings. It uses no grains because the crust is made with cauliflower, which also has many health benefits like antioxidants and even cancer prevention. It looks just like a regular pizza so you’d never be able to tell the difference!

Recipe

Gluten-free pepperoni pizza

Just because something is gluten-free doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious too. A crust that combines gluten-free, white rice, brown rice, and tapioca flour with xantham gum and is topped with pepperoni makes for a pizza you might even enjoy more than one you’d find at a restaurant.

Recipe

Cauliflower crust pizza with black mung bean curry

For all you Indian food lovers out there, I bet you never thought you could combine these two cultural foods. Perfect for those who are also dairy-free and gluten-free. Because it’s gluten-free, the crust is thin so it’s recommended you eat it with a fork. Or you can add wheat flour to the crust if you want it to be more solid.

Recipe

Meatza supreme

Nobody said the crust couldn’t be made out of meat, so load up on the protein! This pizza is a meat lover’s paradise as the crust can be either ground beef or pork and is fully loaded with other meat toppings, bell peppers and olives. 

Recipe

Quinoa pizza crust

Quinoa is incredibly popular these days as it is high in health benefits and naturally gluten-free. This topping-heavy pizza is filling but light enough to enjoy without feeling overly full. The best part is the fact that it’s also dairy-free and perfect for vegans.

Recipe

Gluten-free basil pizza

This pizza is the simplest on the list. The recipe creates a thin crust pizza that is topped with plum tomato sauce, garlic, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. There’s no need to feel guilty for eating this one on more than one occasion!

Recipe

There are plenty of alternatives to a wheat crust recipe such as rice flour, cauliflower, flaxseed, almonds, coconut flour and tapioca flour just to name a few. So you can still enjoy the great taste of pizza without any of the downsides.

Sources:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/gluten-free-pizza/

http://blog.stuffimakemyhusband.com/2013/07/meatza-supreme.html

http://paleogrubs.com/pizza-recipes

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/gluten-free-pizza-241924

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/22/cauliflower-health-benefits.aspx

https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-benefits-of-quinoa/

http://byebyemuffintop.com/the-ugly-truth-is-pizza-bad-for-you

http://greatist.com/health/are-preservatives-food-bad-my-health

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/health-concerns-about-dairy-products

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/61/6/1407S.short