Yes way, pizza is now health food

MANILA, Philippines – Recommend pizza as a health-food alternative and most people would react, “No way!” Pizza is fun, fast and undoubtedly delicious, but “healthful” is an adjective that would not easily make the list. With Yellow Cab’s new take on the food favorite however, pizza is now hale and hearty fare with double the fun.  

The new variant is called Dear Darla, a thin-crust pizza rolled with alfalfa sprouts and arugula leaves. Movie buffs will easily understand the choice of name. In the widely popular movie Little Rascals, Darla is the object of affection of a character called Alfalfa. But while the movie’s Darla is made to believe that Alfalfa is ashamed of her, a bite of the new Yellow Cab variant is enough to convince the diner that Dear Darla is a pizza that loves alfalfa (and arugula, too.)

“The introduction of this new flavor is a welcome addition to the Yellow Cab family,” says Alexandra Bustalino, marketing and special projects manager. “If our pizzas had personality, they would be three things: unique, interesting, and adventurous. Dear Darla is a great example of this because the alfalfa and arugula are two special toppings that aren’t common in pizzas.”

The incorporation of unusual ingredients piques your curiosity and tempts you to try the new variant. And then, you could easily be hooked.

The pizza is eaten like a mini-wrap. Bustalino explains, “What you do is take a slice when it’s fresh from the oven, place a layer of arugula on the pizza, add the alfalfa sprouts, drizzle chili oil over the toppings, and roll the pizza tightly from one end to the other.” To make matters even more convenient for pizza lovers, the pizza is cut into vertical strips for easy rolling and manageable serving portions.

“Dear Darla gives health-conscious people the best of both worlds — the feel-good taste of freshly baked pizza, plus garden-fresh greens,” adds Bustalino. Indeed, health buffs swear by alfalfa’s benefits. As a source of canavanine, an amino-acid analog, it is believed to prevent pancreatic and colon cancers as well as leukemia. The levels of plant estrogens in the sprouts increase bone density and promote bone formation, thus preventing osteoporosis, aside from helping control hot flashes in menopausal women. It is a source of saponins, which lower bad cholesterol without decreasing good, high-density lipoproteins, consequently lowering the incidence of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, arugula (also known as rocket, rucola, rugola) contains vitamins A and C.

Still, food lovers will argue, “Healthy doesn’t count much if the food is mediocre in terms of flavor.” Thus, we had to try Yellow Cab’s Dear Darla.

The verdict? Rolling the pizza should be fun for kids and kids-at-heart. And arugula and alfalfa add new dimensions of flavor and texture to the pizza. The crunchy, fresh vegetables enhanced the familiar toppings of meat, spices and cheese. Alfalfa sprouts lent a nutty taste, while the choice of young arugula leaves ensured the absence of the bitter aftertaste that comes with mature leaves. The pizza rolls were tasty yet light on the stomach. Delicious.

Could the choice of greens in Yellow Cab’s new pizza variant be propitious? Maybe so. Did you know that the Romans used arugula seeds to make aphrodisiacs? Alfalfa may love Darla in the Little Rascals film, but the addition of both alfalfa and arugula will make pizza lovers like us love Yellow Cab even more.

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Yellow Cab Pizza Co. operates in five countries worldwide, with 70 branches located in the Philippines.

Visit www.yellowcabpizza.com for more information.