Maybe you’re not a football fan at all but just get caught up in all the Super Bowl hoopla.
Whether you’re a diehard Patriots or Giants fan or just someone who got caught up in all the Super Bowl hoopla, you might have noticed that there are two other topics that are talked about almost as much as football – the commercials and food.
It’s always fun to talk about the Super Bowl commercials. Which ones are your favorites? Which ones did you dislike? Or sometimes, which ones just confused you?
I love this one.
But this is a blog about healthy eating. Not something that usually equates with Super Bowl snacking.
Out of curiosity, I Googled “Super Bowl snacks”. I got about 3,840,000 results results in 0.27 seconds.
That’s a lot of eating!
I was curious how much of it was healthy so I decided to do a survey of some sites and also report back on some healthy alternatives.
First up – that Snack Stadium I posted the image of above – you can find that recipe amidst a roundup of snack recipes at Lifehacker.com or the original recipe at HolyTaco.com. It was for the Steelers/Cardinals game but if you’re really into it, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to make it Patriots/Giants.
You have to give them credit for posting a nutrition label -
TOTAL CALORIES: 24,375
TOTAL GRAMS OF FAT: 1,285
TOTAL COST: $86.47
TOTAL DELICIOUSNESS: 1 Billion trillion, dude. One billion trillion.
WOW!
Then, ABC posted these hotdogs:
Okay – I need to counter those with some healthy snacks.
When you Google “Healthy Super Bowl Snacks” you get 1,370,000 results in 0.31 seconds.
Clearly not as popular, but still impressive!
The Daily Green came up with this plan. I like it.:
The rules of our game go something like this.
Replace meaty with veggie when you can.
Condiments can kill. Watch creamy dips and cheese.
Drink responsibly and not just when it comes to driving. Have a budget and stick to it.
And finally, eat at halftime. The problem is that people can munch their way through the entire, long game. Specify your eating time and focus on the game.
White Bean Dip
Mashing the white beans creates the same creamy consistency as sour cream–based dips.Ingredients: Cannellini beans, olive oil, garlic, sage
Calories: 320
or
2. Warm Spinach-Artichoke Dip
A sneaky, low-cal way to get your family to eat iron-rich spinach and beans!
Ingredients: Olive oil, lima beans, cream cheese, Tabasco sauce, capers, mustard, artichoke hearts, frozen spinach, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, green onions, lemon juice
Calories: 59
If it’s not a football party without wings, tryLemon-Drop Chicken Wings These spiked wings have a tangy lemon taste and are baked, not fried.
Beef and Beer Chili
Cook a flavorful pot of chili in just 40 minutes for a quick, filling dinner. The recipe easily doubles if you’re expecting more guests.
Ingredients: Red onion, red bell pepper, extra lean ground beef, garlic, chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, beef broth, beer, yellow cornmeal, lime juice
Calories: 261
Fitsugar also has some terrific alternatives. The first slide reminded me of one of our favorites.
This might be a great time to pull out the Kale Chips.
You could try making your own trail mix. My daughter has been making her own with dried blueberries, raisins, and peanuts, but this site suggests a number of options like:
Cashews, dried cherries, and dark chocolate chips
Almonds, walnuts, dried apricots, dried cranberries, and milk chocolate chips
Roasted almonds, dried ginger, and bittersweet chocolate chips
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