Just about everyone likes a slice or two of pizza from time to time. But how much do you really know about one of the world’s favorite foods, besides the fact that it’s delicious? At Giovanni’s Frozen Pizza, we’re committed to making excellent custom pizza while teaching our customers some fun facts along the way. Continue reading to learn a few things you probably didn’t know about pizza!
Americans love pizza
It’s no surprise that Americans have a love affair with food, and it seems as if one of our favorite meals is pizza! In fact, pizza accounts for 10 percent of all food sales in the U.S., and 93 percent of Americans say they’ve had a slice of pizza in the past month. Even if you already knew pizza was popular, we bet you didn’t think it was that popular!
We eat a lot of it
The 93 percent of us who ate a slice last month helped contribute to the worldwide pizza economy. Out of the 5 billion pies sold each year, 3 billion are purchased in America, and a 14-inch pie is the most popular size. When you do the math, that’s 46 slices per person, per year. Let’s hope people aren’t consuming all of those slices at once! On the bright side, if someone were to eat 46 slices at once, they’d at least be choosing a good food because…
Pizza is nutritious!
Who says that nutritious foods have to be boring and taste bland? One slice of cheese pizza has about 272 calories, 12.7 grams of protein, 1.8 grams of fiber and 9.8 grams of fat. Comparatively, a McDonald’s Big Mac has over 500 calories, 26 grams of protein, 3.5 grams of fiber and a whopping 33 grams of fat! The next time you’re choosing between a burger and a slice, stay healthy and go with a slice of pizza.
The best part? Pizza only gets healthier when you add more vegetable toppings! Adding veggies gives you more necessary vitamins and minerals to get you through the day. In fact, one serving of pizza provides you with about 27 percent of the total energy you use on the day you consume it.
Americans are meat lovers
Though vegetables might be the healthier option, Americans seem to be bigger fans of meat lover’s pizzas! Sixty-two percent of us will choose meat toppings the next time we’re at a pizzeria, while only 38 percent will choose a slice with vegetables. Whether you go with a slice of mushroom and onion or sausage and pepperoni, it’s probably going to have mozzarella cheese on it, because 80 percent of the mozzarella produced in the U.S. is for pizza.
Speaking of pepperoni, that’s one of our favorite toppings! Thirty-six percent of all slices are pepperoni, and we consume almost 252 million pounds of pepperoni each year. Pizza just gets healthier and healthier the more protein you add on top.
The next time you’re enjoying your custom pizza, be sure to pass these fun facts along to your friends!