by John McGran
eDiets Editor-in-Chief

When I started this column 185 weeks ago, the meat and potatoes of the subject matter was simply a worst food's nasty nutritional numbers. Along the way, I've skewered everything from fast food to sit-down meals and supermarket products.

As the weeks rolled by, Mr. Bad Food extended the scope of his coverage to include a glut of other topics, including product supersizing and salad bars.

It's time to get back to basics with a saucy look at the P'Zone, a heavily hyped product from Pizza Hut. The P'Zone is a kind of calzone-like concoction. To those of you unfamiliar with Italian pizzeria fare, a calzone is basically a folded-over pizza -- the sauce, cheese and optional meats are tucked away inside. It's kind of like the out of sight, out of mind thing.

Remember the first time you realized you could eat more pizza faster if you folded your slice into a sleek, easy to handle sandwich? Well, Pizza Hut has done the folding for you. And they are nice enough to give you a double serving in one handy P'Zone.

When Pizza Hut launched this creation, the ad copy taunted, "So big, we dare you to eat it alone." Folks, the motto should be double your pleasure, double your diet-blasting nutrition.

<CF_AD>The current ads push the new Honey BBQ Chicken P'Zone. Order any P'Zone (the roster also includes Meat Lover's, Pepperoni Lover's and Classic) and you pay $5.99. However, to get you to try a P'Zone, the chain is offering them for a low $2.99 IF you also buy a large pizza at regular cost. The last time I ordered a couple of large pizzas from Pizza Hut, I had to take out a home equity loan to pay for them. But I digress.

Let's crunch some numbers... without crunching some P'Zone crust. Since the Honey BBQ Chicken version is a new offering, the nutritional numbers do not appear on the www.pizzahut.com website.

So let's check out one of the original Big Three of P'Zones.

One serving of the Meat Lover's P'Zone (it comes with pepperoni, sausage, beef, pork and ham) will stuff your crust with 680 calories, 28 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat (68% your recommended daily allowance), 65mg cholesterol, 1,540mg sodium (64% the RDA), 70 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 38 grams of protein.

Eat an entire Meat Lover's P'Zone on a regular basis and your diet will enter the Twilight Zone. And that's not the kind of Zone diet you want to be following... unless your goal is to gain weight and wreck your health.

The Pepperoni Lover's and Classic styles will save you a few calories, but nothing to brag about between bites. Go to www.pizzahut.com and click on the Nutrition tab if you hunger for those numbers. While you are there, be sure to scan the entire menu. Like most restaurant chains, Pizza Hut does offer selections that won't bloat you with fat and guilt.

In fact, Pizza Gut offers a Fit 'n Delicious line of pizzas. A slice or two of diced chicken, red onion and green pepper or ham, red onion and mushroom accompanied by a side salad can keep you on track rather than at home while your family and friends celebrate under the red roof of America's favorite pizza chain.

So skip the "pizza you eat like a sandwich" and opt for a veggie-topped slice of Thin 'n crispy or the above-mentioned Fit 'n Delicious offerings.