Low Calorie Super Bowl Snacks That Will Score a Touchdown

As I was doing my thinking and research for this blog post I came across some stats that just amazed me. According to research conducted by the Calorie Control Council (CCC) and the Snack Food Association (2012), Americans will eat 30 million pounds of snacks this Sunday. Yes that’s right, 30 million pounds or about 1200 calories and 50 grams of fat for the average armchair quarterback and that doesn’t include any meals eaten that day! Another fact that had me shaking my head is that the favorite snack, potato chips, will account for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion grams of fat. Then if you translate the fat grams into pounds of body fat we are talking about 4 million pounds nationwide which is equal to the weight of 13,000 NFL offensive linemen at 300 pounds each! HA! Can you imagine?

Now I know that many people just to want to use the day to indulge, but for those of you in the crowd who would rather not derail your healthy diet intentions, I have put together a few strategies and snack ideas that are lower in calories but not flavor.

First of all you need to get a plan. If you are going to a party then you can be the one who brings the healthy dish and if you are throwing a party you can make sure to include lots of healthy fare.

Dips: Choose salsa which is very low calorie and fat free; substitute non-fat Greek yogurt or low fat cottage cheese for sour cream in guacamole – this will up the protein while decreasing the fat; serve hummus or bean purees’ as healthy, great tasting alternatives to cream based dips.

Crunchy snacks: Serve baked potato and pita chips, sliced peppers, carrot and celery sticks. Why not jazz it up with some kale chips for some extra nutrition? They are actually really tasty!

Hot foods: Instead of ordering deep-fried wings, try making a healthier version by using boneless chicken tenders seasoned in whole-wheat flour and cornmeal and pan-fried in a small amount of oil and then drizzled with a tangy hot sauce. Serve an outstanding low-fat chili that will fool even the biggest meat eaters by substituting the meat with a vegetarian ground “beef” or tofu. Here is a great recipe from Nasoya using tofu http://www.nasoya.com/recipes-results.html?recipe_product_type=Tofu&recipe_dish_type=&recipe_diet_type=&recipe_keyword=chili&id=192 and one from Morningstar Farms using meatless crumbles http://www.morningstarfarms.com/quick-and-easy-meatless-chili-recipe.html

Beverages: Serve light beer along with regular and offer healthy diet sodas like Hansen, Blue Sky or Truvia which don’t contain artificial sweeteners. Iced green and rooibos teas would add some healthy antioxidants and of course don’t forget just plain old water.

Dessert: Try my healthy vegan black bean brownies or pumpkin muffins (see earlier posts) and be sure to serve fresh fruit like grapes, pineapples and apples.

Physical activity breaks: Yes! Before and after the game, take a walk, ride your bike, do something that can help you to burn off some of those snack calories. Another fact from the CCC is that it would take 3 hours of walking around a football field, 1 hour and 45 minutes of running, or 2 hours of touch football to burn off 1200 calories of snack foods/beverages.

With a little planning and creative thinking you can enjoy a day of healthy snacking without giving yourself a “food hangover” come Monday morning.