I really don’t know why pizza gets a bad rap, because honestly, could there be a more PERFECT food?? I think not. Here is why:
We need a balance of nutrients to live a balanced life, and pizza is a DELICIOUS vehicle for nutrition!!!
1. Pizza crust is made from fortified (or enriched) white flour, giving us an essential dose of the B-vitamins and iron. The crust = Carbohydrates = ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!!
I also wanted to call this post: Kraft Singles–American Legend. Anyways… Oh those delicious orange squares! That satisfying sound of tearing off the rigged seals of the thin plastic to reveal, according to today’s health experts, one of the most taboo foods on earth. You’ve all heard it before–“Don’t eat processed foods!” “That is not real cheese!” “It’s sooo bad for you!” In fact, find it here on this list along with other supposedly bad foods (white bread, pasta, soy sauce, peanuts..you know. all those bad foods)
Kraft Singles: American Legend
But remember, THERE ARE NO BAD FOODS. Only bad relationships with foods, that stem from society’s need to guilt trip us. Let me tell you though–There is even nutrition in our beloved friend, the Kraft single!
This post was inspired by a reader submitted story, which I will now so eloquently re-tell:
The Kraft singles cheese sandwich made and eaten by a reader. 20% calcium, 2% vitamin A, AND protein? Awesome!
She was volunteering at a school luncheon, had forgotten to eat breakfast and was starving by afternoon. In effort to get some fuel into her body she slapped together a quick cheese sandwich made from two pieces of white bread and two slices of Kraft singles. Normally she would have kicked herself for caving in to hunger and consuming such fake, horrible, plastic, chemically induced milk-by-product between nutritionally void bread..but this time she chose to think POSITIVELY about the nutrition of the sandwich she just consumed. And here is how:
1. White flour is fortified with many essential micronutrients. We’ve discussed it before in the OREO post.
Why? Because when you break it down, it really just is milk and sugar. Milk and sugar.
The extra serving of calcium I had last weekend.
Milk.
and
sugar.
Cows and plants. Both provide us with great amounts of nutrients! Let’s take a closer look:
There are MANY benefits of milk. Click the picture to find out more!
Cow’s milk is a dairy product and an EXCELLENT source of calcium, which is an essential mineral for a strong, healthy skeleton and teeth. Calcium is important for us to maintain bone density, ESPECIALLY for women as we are at a higher risk for osteoporosis. If we do not get enough calcium, our body strips it away from our bones (NOT good!).
Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal products (plant foods do not contain Vitamin B12, unless they are fortified), so its no surprise that ice cream can provide a good supply of this micronutrient! It is important for making DNA, healthy red blood cells, and supporting our nervous system. Vitamin B12 deficiency is bad, bad, bad.
Sugar cane
Now I could go on and on about the benefits of milk, but let’s move on to the other main ingredient of ice cream–that delicious, sweet SUGAR!
Every wonder why you feel so energized after a sweet snack? Because sugar is a carbohydrate!
The majority of the sugar we eat comes from the sugar cane, a giant bamboo-like plant.
Scientifically, table sugar is known as sucrose, a molecule made up of two simpler sugars, fructose and glucose. Sugars fall into the macronutrient group– carbohydrates.
Why does our body need carbs?
FOR ENERGY!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
Sugar gets converted into glucose and is readily absorbed by our cells to give us an instant lift. We NEED sugar to survive, and for our brains to function at optimal levels!
Thanks Ice Cream, for being so good to me!
Next time you have a scoop of ice cream, think about all the STRENGTH and ENERGY you have consumed, and go show the world what you are made of! (strong bones!) 😀
And now I will ask an irrelevant, but relevant question: What’s your favorite flavor??
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