During the past year, Health24 received many pictures of users' plates of food - some good, some bad. Read nutrition guru Gina Stear's comments on the worst and best meals to date:

THE WORST MEAL OF 2006:

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Rating: 1 out of 10

User's comments:
"Here's the most horrible frozen pizza I've ever bought in my life. Now, normally I don't do frozen pizzas but when I do, I'll jazz it up with mozzarella and extra toppings to make it more palatable.

"I bought these two because they were recently launched, were on promotion in the store and had very nice packaging, which made me think these would be a cut above the ordinary. In vain! This sad case was beyond all hope. If you look closely, you might see a blood red smear that's meant to be a tomato base.

"The mozzarella looks like someone took a handful and threw it in the general direction of the pizza. The olives had the same hit-or-miss approach – mostly miss. The olive pizza was also supposed to have some feta. These are the roundish white things.

"The 'Bolognese' pizza had some hard balls of cooked, dry mince that was completely inedible. Needless to say, this product is no longer found on the shelves!"

Expert's comments:
Thank you for your pictures and amusing description of what obviously was not a meal to remember!

I can certainly think of a few occasions where a commercial product didn’t quite live up to its attractive and appealing packaging. Pizza doesn’t have to be the calorie-crammed meal we all tend to think of it as. It is possible to make healthier pizzas at home or even order more figure-friendly options in a restaurant and still enjoy it.

When eating out, choose pizzas with thin rather than thick bases and make sure your toppings include mainly vegetable and low-fat options e.g. grilled or Cajun chicken, mince, steak, avocado, light sprinkling of feta, spinach, ham, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, banana, seafood, tuna, onion, sweet peppers or garlic. It is also possible to ask for a pizza without cheese.

Portions are important. Order a mixed side salad (with the dressing on the side) and eat half the pizza with the salad. The other half can be taken home in a doggy bag and eaten for lunch the next day.

Here are a few tips and ideas for making wholesome, homemade pizzas with pizzazz at home:

• Make your own or buy ready-made pizza bases and spread generously with tomato-and-onion mix and fresh or dried herbs.
• Use a combination of any of the following ingredients – ham, pineapple, banana, chopped grilled chicken breast, grilled seafood (calamari), anchovies, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, avocado, peppadews and sweet peppers or chilli.
• Avoid bacon, sausage, salami and mince (unless made with extra-lean beef mince or ostrich mince).
• Use half the usual amount of cheese or replace mozzarella and other yellow cheeses with a sprinkling of feta, Parmesan, mature cheddar, blue cheese, Danish feta or goat’s cheese. Very little of these more strongly flavoured cheeses is needed to achieve the same cheese flavour.
• Serve the pizza with a lovely mixed green salad, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

When entertaining at home, homemade garlic pizza bread is a great snack for sundowners, around the braai or even when you're watching rugby. This is healthy and can be thrown together in five minutes:

• Pizza bases (large or mini) with a sprinkling of feta, spinach and garlic or a thin spreading of pesto.
• Garlic pizza breads made with pizza base with garlic and herbs
• Chilli pizza breads - sweet chilli sauce and finely chopped sweet red and yellow peppers sprinkled over plain pizza bases.

Rating: 9 out of 10

User's comments:
"Lunch usually consists of nuts, fish or chicken; two Ryvitas; and a salad of some sort. In this case, I used cherry tomatoes, cucumber, raw mushrooms, some mozzarella, and a little basil pesto for the salad.

"I'll add the pine kernels (100g) and snack on the Ryvitas. As a treat, I packed low-fat Melrose cheese and, later this afternoon, I'll eat another Minneola."

Our expert's comments:
The verdict:
Well done! This plate seems to have a good balance. Protein, carbs, low-fat options, veggies and fruit – they're all there.

The correct carbohydrates are often referred to as “complex”, unrefined carbohydrates, low glycaemic index (GI), high fibre or slow release. These include wholegrains, pasta, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit and veg. These will help to ensure a gradual and slow increase in blood glucose – hopefully making those mid-morning and mid-afternoon highs and lows a thing of the past. They're also rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre.

The Ryvitas have an intermediate GI, which – together with the salad and cheese – will have a favourable effect on your blood sugar. If you are active (exercise three times a week or more), aim for three to four Ryvitas.

Please remember that carbohydrate is the most critical source of fuel for day-to-day activities, especially during exercise. A low-carb diet will only lead to a general lack of energy and fatigue. Your body is able to utilise carbohydrates very efficiently and will only store it as fat if consumed in excess.

Another plus is that your salad bowl is packed with health-boosting phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals – perfect for boosting your immunity and cutting your risk of heart disease and cancer. The Minneola is a step in the right direction to eating two to three fruits per day and it's a great source of vitamin C!

Cheese is also great for bone health. Always opt for lower fat cheeses (medium to low fat), as you have done.

Suggestions:
With our hot weather, don’t forget to drink enough water. South Africa still has good quality tap water, so there’s really no excuse.

Take your water bottle to work and carry it with you throughout the day. Aim for at 1½-2 litres of water per day. If you don’t like the taste of water, flavour it very slightly with a juice concentrate. Try not to have more than three cups of tea or coffee per day as the caffeine is a diuretic which increases your fluid losses.

Remember nuts are ‘the crunch with the punch’ as they are rich in protein and healthy fats (polyunsaturated). Adding nuts to your daily diet will cut your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Eat moderate amounts if you need to shake a few kilos (one handful).
 

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