NuVal Releases Frozen Pizza Scores

No one ever mistook a frozen pizza for broccoli or brussels sprouts, but experts say your choice in pizza can made a sizable difference in your nutrition intake. 

“All frozen pizzas are made differently, with varying degrees of saturated and trans fat, and sodium,” said Annette Maggi, MS RD, director of nutrition for NuVal LLC. “While certainly not a health food, frozen pizza can be enjoyed, and you can remove a little bit of guilt by using moderation and finding the most nutritious pizza using the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System.”

The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System is a unique way for consumers to find the most nutritious foods in a supermarket. Taking in 30 different attributes of foods, from fiber to folate, NuVal gives all foods a score between 1-100; the higher the number, the higher the overall nutrition. NuVal scores are provided right on the supermarket shelf next to the price.

Under the NuVal scale, frozen pizzas can range between a high of 25 and a low of 2. Among the highest rated were:

• South Beach Living Pepperoni Pizza with Harvest Wheat Crust (NuVal Score 25)
• Price Chopper Italian Style Three Meat Pizza with Sausage, Canadian Bacon & Pepperoni (NuVal Score 23)
• McCain Ellio’s Cheese Pizza (NuVal Score 25)
• DiGiorno Rising Crust Spinach, Mushroom and Garlic Pizza (NuVal Score 20)

And ones that didn’t fare so well?

• Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine Deep Dish Spinach & Mushroom Pizza (NuVal Score 7)
• Freschetta Ultra Thin Crispy Crust Pepperoni Pizza (NuVal Score 6)
• Celeste Original Pizza (NuVal Score 4)
• Totinos Crisp Crust Triple Cheese (NuVal Score 3)

“Because something is described as a ‘lean’ or ‘low fat’ product has nothing to do with its overall nutrition,” Maggi said. “NuVal guides you to the most nutritious foods at a single glance by factoring in positive nutrients like fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals as well as levels of fat and sodium. While you may assume certain flavors of pizza are better than others, it’s not necessarily true. NuVal guidesyou to the most nutritious products in the category.

“Another way to bump up the overall nutrition of pizza is to add fresh vegetables like spinach or sliced peppers,” Maggi said.