Healthy Fast Food Guide | Papa John’s | Detailed

Overview

Most, if not all, pizza options have a ton of fat and sodium, thus we are quite limited in optimal choices meet our needs. In the case of Papa John’s, the best option is to skip the pizza and go for an alternative route. Let’s check out the recommendations below.

Recommendations

Option #1 — Unsauced Roasted Wings + Papa’s Garden Salad

Unsauced Roasted Wings (8 wings) — high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and drawbacks aren’t as bad as other options. The drawbacks are that it’s high in cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat.

Tip: Similar to splitting burrito bowls in half at Qdoba or Chipotle, eat four of the wings now and save the other half for later. This will split your sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat intake so it’s not being consumed in one sitting. Additionally, you’ll get two meals out of the order instead of one, or a protein snack for later.

Papa’s Garden Salad — pair your wings with this for a huge nutritional boost while retaining satiety factor. There’s a possibility that this is not offered at all locations. If this is the case, you’ll have to make do with the pizza or the wings as standalone meals.

1. Tomato — improves heart health, fights cancer, and improves skin health
2. Onions — lots of nutrients, antioxidants, and improves heart health
3. Cucumbers — anti-inflammatory, keeps you hydrated and helps skin
4. Romaine Lettuce — rich in antioxidants, prevents bone loss and improves heart health
5. Black Olives — high in antioxidants and promotes digestion, as well as cardiovascular health
6. Red Cabbage — anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, and supports digestive tract
7. Carrots — regulates blood cholesterol, improves eye health, and lowers blood pressure
8. Cheese — decent protein and improves bone and teeth health, but high in saturated fat and sodium. Up to you whether to include or not based on your saturated fat and sodium intake for the day (typically, I would exclude from the salad since the wings have a ton of saturated fat and sodium already)
9. Skip the croutons to avoid empty calories with little nutritional value.
10. Request Italian/ranch dressing on the side since there’s little to no nutritional value and you’re in control of how much is used (if any).

Option #2 — Thin Crust Grilled Chicken Pizza

This is a pizza restaurant. When possible, I make my best effort to provide at least one pizza option when possible just in case I’m in the mood. While my recommendation to go to with option #1, there should also be an acceptable choice of pizza if customized properly. Thus, we’ll be using the “Create Your Own Pizza” feature when ordering to ensure we have the most healthy contents we can on the pizza.

1. Thin Crust — reduces the sodium and empty calories from the crust because it’s smaller than hand-tossed
2. Original Sauce — request a light portion to reduce any unnecessary empty calories
3. Cheese — the healthiest option would be no cheese, but if you need it, order light cheese to reduce any unnecessary saturated fat and sodium intake
4. Grilled Chicken — this chicken is grilled instead of fried, which means you’ll have less intake of bad fats, avoid losing nutrients in the cooking process, and reduce butter intake
5. Pile as many veggies as makes practical sense, since each additional topping typically increases the price. Generally, the priority (from most desired to least) based on nutritional value and what Papa John’s offers would be the following: spinach, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, and Roma tomatoes. Feel free to choose any of these toppings or a combination of them, since they all have quite a bit of nutritional value. See why below:

• Spinach — improving blood glucose levels, lowers risk of cancer, improved bone health
• Green Peppers — high in antioxidants, maintains eye health and reduces the risk of chronic illnesses
• Mushrooms — lowers cholesterol, prevents diabetes, and improves bone health
• Onions — lots of nutrients, antioxidants, and improves heart health
• Roma Tomatoes — improves heart health, fights cancer, and improves skin health

More Useful Tools

Quick Guide — for when you’re on the go and/or need to know what the suggestions are without all the detail

Detailed Notes — consolidated notes for each fast-food establishment