Pizza could very well be the country’s favorite food, but believe it or not, it can be one of the healthiest foods out there. Your typical Meat Lovers Pizza from Pizza Hut isn’t what I’m talking about, though. While you might not find something like this in your typical pizza joint, a whole-wheat crust with a little cheese and a lot of veggies is great for your health.

If you start off with a not-too-greasy hand-tossed or thin crust with a nice layer of fresh tomato sauce and a thin covering of mozzarella, you can build a great meal. A typical white crust isn’t exactly healthy, but it will supply you with much-needed carbs (if you were just out riding for a few hours, that is.) The tomato sauce is full of lycopene and the cheese provides protein and calcium. Just order your pizza with “lite cheese,” which means about half the normal amount. Your taste buds won’t notice, but your heart and arteries will!

Then move on to the toppings, where you want to avoid greasy red meat. There really are many other options out there! Here’s a list of nutritious pizza toppings and why they are good for you:

Onions

Onions offer a rich, strong flavor, so they add taste and health benefits to your pizza. The health benefits include lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of colon cancer thanks to the chromium, vitamin C, and fiber.

Black Olives

Olives are full of healthy unsaturated fats that fight heart disease and lower cholesterol. You’ll also be getting some good things known as polyphenols and flavanoids. The fat will also help you absorb the nutrients from your other toppings.

Red Peppers

These are similar to green peppers, but with a stronger, sweeter flavor. These are a bit harder to find, but worth looking for since they are chock full of Vitamin C, A, and B6, along with antioxidants like beta-carotene. Whether your peppers are red, yellow, orange, or green, be sure they’re on your pizza!

Garlic

I don’t see many pizza places offering chopped garlic as a topping, but there’s no harm in asking. If you’re cooking your own pizza, I recommend making a paste out of chopped garlic and olive oil. You can spread that on the crust before you load it down with everything else. Lots of health benefits from garlic, plus the heart-healthy fats you get from olives.

Spinach

Spinach is Popeye’s topping of choice for a reason. Not only is it loaded with antioxidants, but it’s full of iron, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The iron will build your blood (no EPO necessary) and the lutein and zeaxanthin will protect your eyes from macular degeneration.

Pineapple

One of the few fruits that works on pizza. It contains Vitamin C and an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain will aid digestion, a good thing if you eat as much pizza as I do, and it even acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, easing your aching muscles. If you were just out hammering for 5 hours, pour on the pineapple!

Mushrooms

While being neither fruit nor vegetable (mushrooms are actually a fungus,) they add great flavor and great nutrients. They are packed with selenium and riboflavin (and other B vitamins,) along with other nutrients that could ward off cancer.

Tomatoes

Sliced tomatoes make great toppings, especially on a white or pesto pizza. Even if you already have tomato sauce on there, adding tomatoes just increases the healthiness.

Broccoli

Another green vegetable that you can get on your pizza. This one is full of Vitamins C, A, and K, along with quite a bit of folate and dietary fiber. Broccoli offers significant anti-cancer effects, and when paired with tomatoes or tomato sauce, the veggies can boost each other’s effects for even better cancer fighting.

Chicken

For all you meat lovers that can’t resist, get some nice white meat chicken on your pie. It’s full of protein, but not full of saturated fat and sodium like pepperoni. Chicken also has some good stuff like zinc and selenium (to boost your immune system) and essential B vitamins. My personal preference is to find a barbecue chicken pizza, but you can also get chicken as a general topping or find a Hawaiian Chicken Pizza.

There you have it, a lot of good pizza toppings to keep your pie healthy.

Photo credit: Kitay

Here we have a new energy drink. Normally I would not find something like this, but my mom got me started on it because we know some people who are into network marketing. This is actually a drink more like Red Bull than Gatorade, but luckily it looks fairly healthy. It’s actually something you can drink without worrying about crazy side effects.

ACT Energy is sort of like a cross between Red Bull and fruit punch Gatorade. It tastes a little odd, but it is nowhere near as bad as Red Bull or those other drinks. There is no caffeine, and it has healthier ingredients like guarana seed, juice extracts, green tea, ginseng root, stevia leaf, taurine, and tyrosine. (And a few other things that I’m not exactly sure what they are.)

You can get ACT in powder form in packets and canisters, and soon it will be available ready-to-drink in cans. The packets are great for travel, the canisters are nice at home, and the can is convenient (and looks cool.) The biggest drawback is the mixing process.

Unlike whey protein, this stuff mixes easily, but it foams up like crazy. If you put the powder in a half-full bottle of water and shake, it mixes easily. However, you’ll have to let it sit for a while the foam settles before adding the rest of the water!

Sidenote on mixing:

1. Fill 16 oz water bottle half-way with room temperature water.
2. Pour in a scoop of ACT powder.
3. Close the lid and shake a few times.
4. Let it sit for a while.
5. Fill the rest of the way with cold water.
6. Give it a gentle shake and start drinking. (Although personally, I do prefer to mix it with just 8 oz of water, total, and drink it pretty fast.)

Now to talk about the effects and my energy levels…

The first time I tried this, I only had a few sips. Even though it is an energy drink, guess what happened… I almost fell asleep! After that I just laughed at this “energy” drink. But, a week later, I decided to give it another chance.

The next time, I actually mixed up a full bottle and drank all of it. I seemed to get tired after a few sips, but once I had downed most of it, I perked up instantly! At first it was just some extra energy, but 10 minutes later I was flipping out. I must have gone crazy for about 4 hours!

I couldn’t just sit around and watch TV or read a book, I had to do something! I started working out, and although I collapsed eventually, I felt stronger than ever. I was ready for anything! It was even better than the time I had codeine pills after getting my wisdom teeth removed!

But alas, later in the afternoon, my energy slowly returned to a normal level. I didn’t crash, but I didn’t have that cool crazy feeling anymore.

After that experience, I had another bottle the next day. But for some reason it did not have much of an affect. I kind of felt the energy boost, but is was nothing like the first time. The third day was nice, though. A good, solid energy kick (although nothing compared to Day 1.)

So you might get a huge energy kick the first time you use this, but after that it will give you more of a ‘normal’ energy boost.

My final verdict is…

This is something worth trying. I know some people who really like it, so maybe it will work for you, too. But you should try it at least once to see if you get that crazy rush of energy (that lasts for hours!) The problem is that it costs almost $2 per serving, but you can get it cheaper if you buy in bulk.

If you are thinking of buying in bulk, take a look at the network marketing plan behind it. You can buy in bulk to stock up for yourself, or you could go in on it with your riding buddies – buy in bulk to save money and split the product amongst yourselves.

Although I would recommend finding someone who can give you a free sample or sell you just 1-2 packets (before signing-up for anything.)

Official Website: www.DrinkACT.com

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