Pizza Hut has over 5000 locations in the United States, according to Entrepreneur magazine, so it’s likely there’s one near you when you don’t feel like cooking. However, if you have health concerns, eating Pizza Hut food can be a bit tricky. Some of their menu items are decidedly high in fat and calories. Fortunately, they also have healthier options. If you know what to pick, and what to avoid, you can enjoy a tasty pizza without sacrificing your goals.
Benefits
As fast food goes, pizza is one of the healthier choices. Cheese is a good source of protein, and tomato sauce provides lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and a known cancer-fighter, according to Meir Stampfer, MD., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (See Reference 1). However, some Pizza Hut menu items are healthier than others.
Appetizers
Once you’ve decided to splurge on a pizza, it’s tempting to also order appetizers. Pizza Hut offers Hot Wings, Mild Wings, and Bread Sticks. The Pizza Hut nutritional information lists a serving of each of these at 100 to 110 calories with 6 or 7 g of fat. That sounds manageable, until you look at the small print and realize a “serving” is two pieces. Eat six pieces, and you’ve consumed approximately 300 calories and 21 g of fat, before you even get to the main dish. To put that in perspective, consider that the Mayo Clinic recommends keeping your daily fat consumption between 44 to 78 g of fat per day.
Panormous Pan Pizzas
Though personal pan pizzas are smaller than standard pizzas, you may want to avoid Pizza Hut’s “Panormous” pan pizzas. The Panormous Meat Lover’s has 1470 calories and 80 g of fat. Other Panormous pizzas aren’t much better, with a cheese pizza weighing in at 1100 calories and 45 g of fat and the Veggie Lover’s pizza at 1010 calories and 38 g of fat. However, those numbers are for the entire pizza, so you could cut down on calories by splitting one with a friend.
Pizza Hut offers pasta, but this isn’t the lean spaghetti with tomato sauce you might make at home. Unfortunately, all of Pizza Hut’s pastas are high in fat and calories. A serving of Pizza Hut’s Lasagna has 600 calories and 33 g of fat, the Bacon Mac and Cheese has 520 calories and 22 g of fat, and the Meaty Marinara has 520 calories and 24 g of fat. Also be aware that a serving is half a pan, not a whole pan.
Fit N Delicious Menu
With so many high-fat, high-calorie items on the menu, it might not seem like you can order anything at Pizza Hut. Fortunately, Pizza Hut offers a Fit N Delicious Menu. This menu includes flavors such as Chicken Mushroom and Jalapeno, Chicken Red Onion and Peppers, or, if you’d like a meat-free option, Green Pepper with Red Onion and Roasted Tomato. Each pizza on this menu contains fewer than 200 calories and 5 g of fat. However, be aware those the are numbers for each slice, so plan your intake accordingly.
