1 of 5 U.S. kids eats this food every day

On any given day, at least 20 percent of American children and adolescents eat this one food, according to a new study in Pediatrics. It's usually eaten at lunch or dinner, but you can make a breakfast version. And its many variations include: deep dish, stuffed, and rolled. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed pizza, you'd be right! I know it's not too surprising given that it's a popular choice for school lunch or a quick dinner option. However, in all the years that I have practiced as a pediatric dietitian, I've never given too much thought to pizza and just how much pizza American children eat.

In the study, researchers also found that on days when pizza was consumed, it made up about one quarter of total calorie intake.  And while pizza consumption overall is slightly down, children and adolescents who were eating pizza had higher amounts of excessive calories, saturated fat, and sodium.  Consistent with fast food, an increased consumption of pizza translates to a poorer diet quality.

But instead of slashing pizza entirely from our dinner menus, perhaps we just need to rethink how we are ordering, serving, and ultimately eating pizza.  If 20 percent of children and teens are eating it every day, we should take this as an opportunity to make it a more healthful version of our diet.  Here are my tips:

1. Watch the portion size. As we all know, pizza comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Instead of jumbo triangle slices that are the size of your head, ask your favorite pizzeria to cut it into square slices that are a more reasonable size.

2. Serve it as part of a meal. Remember that even though pizza might be the main dish, it shouldn't be the only option. Fill the other half of the plate with a fun veggie like these buffalo cauliflower bites or crunchy kale chips to help limit over eating. Speaking of veggies…

3. Choose vegetable toppings. Parents are always asking how to get their kids to eat more veggies. Many times, adding vegetables into a dish that kids like is a less intimidating way to encourage their intake. Swapping one or two vegetable toppings for their meat counterparts will save on saturated fats and sodium.

4. Ask for Whole Wheat crust. If you are making your pizza at home, try mixing white and whole wheat flour for your dough. Since more and more pizzerias are offering a choice in crusts, this can be a great way to add whole grains on the go.

5. Skip the "extras."  Extra cheese, stuffed crusts and deep dish versions all will pack additional calories into each slice. Go back to the original thin crust version and stick with the basics.

Pizza certainly isn't going anywhere any time soon, but paying a little more attention to how we are eating it can go a long way for your family.

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