Someone once said that pizza contains all the elements of the food pyramid, and maybe she’s right. After all, it has grain in the crust, protein in the pepperoni, dairy in the mozzarella and vegetable/fruit in the tomato and oregano. Isn’t that about everything?

Those of us who love Italy’s gift to the world would like to think so. After all, something like 350 slices of pizza are consumed each second in the U. S. Now, that-sa lot-sa pizza, and it’d be good to know we’re not downing just a bunch of empty calories.