Pizza: it’s good for you!

Growing up, I always had to clean my plate, regardless of what vegetable was staring menacingly up at me. My mother sang me the “I love broccoli” song as I poked at my green veggies and cheered me on as I took a bite of dreaded squash.

Now, thanks to mom’s “clean your plate” rule, I love (most) vegetables . . . although squash and I are still arch nemeses. High on my list are asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cucumber and beets.

Oh right; and pizza.

Thanks to the United States Congress, I can now add that last one to my list. And I can’t forget french fries, either. Ridiculous? I think so. Delicious? Of course!

Even from a young age, I knew all about the food groups on the colorful pyramid that frowned at me when I ate too many donuts. That dreaded green section was the bane of my existence. I can just imagine how excited I would have been to be told that pizza could make up 30 percent of my diet. That’s a slice of pie five times a day!

Technically, Congress says that half a cup of tomato paste or more constitutes a vegetable. Each serving of pizza in school cafeterias includes more sauce than that, making those yummy slices . . . vegetables.

In response to Barack and Michelle Obama’s endeavors to combat obesity in schools, some individuals have said that the government should not be telling children what to eat. New proposed guidelines by the Obamas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture essentially eliminate pizza and french fries (and other potato sides) from school food offerings, lay down new sodium restrictions and increase the use of whole grains. Conversely, Congress wants to not only keep pizza and potato sides in cafeterias, it wants us to believe these items are good for our kids.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of pizza and french fries. Just ask my waistline. But, according to calorieking.com, the average slice of cheese pizza packs a whopping 272 calories and includes 11 percent of a person’s daily carbohydrate intake, 23 percent of the sodium intake and 15 percent of the total fat intake. McDonald’s french fries (my favorite!) - in the smallest available portion - add another 231 calories.

It’s not a secret that Americans struggle with obesity; the United States is known worldwide as one of the fattest countries. With that in mind, I think we should be focusing more on getting our children healthy than on making sure they have the greatest possible number of choices on their lunch menus.