What would a Super Bowl be without good food and drink?
This is it. The whole season comes down to one incredible Sunday.
Whether you are a fan of either team, you are still going to watch. In fact, this might be the only football game of the year that you can enjoy with your significant other or the best fan club of friends around. You will enjoy:
- The material girl’s Super Sunday debut half time performance with Cirque du Soleil
- The funny commercials
- The energy of the crowd
- And, of course, the raw power of 2 champion teams clashing on a hundred yards of grid-iron battle-field
The only thing missing here is great tasty game-day food. But, now is no time to throw away your healthful practice. If the guys on the field ate the way most fans do, they would never make it through a quarter.
Here is how to watch and win – no matter which team grabs the ring…
The most brilliant Super Bowl play ever
It’s official.
Like it or not, the Pats are playing the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI (that is #46 if you are Roman Numeral challenged).
It should be a good game. But, the question on all of our football loving minds is:
Will the Patriots redeem themselves or will it be a repeat of the last time these 2 titans met on the battlefield just 4 years ago?
We shall see.
Whether you watch for the pure adrenaline jolting pleasure of the game – or you just love the commercials, I am sure it will be a great Sunday for us.
What would a Super Bowl be without good game-day food and drink? Truthfully, it would be the same. But, a good spread makes the football game all that much better… which brings me to the reason I am writing you today…
Smart plays make for game winning action
You can get in on the action with your own smart plays.
How?
By feeding yourself and your armchair QB cohorts with foods that are actually good for you…and leave you feeling satisfied and healthy.
I do not have to tell you that football games are associated with sausages…burgers…greasy chicken wings with fatty dipping sauces…and pound packing snacks.
Honestly. Where is it written that we have to stuff our faces with garbage during the Big Game? Especially coming off of the holidays, when we are a little looser with our eating habits anyway…
Well, I am going to show you how to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday with smart food and snacks that won’t leave you feeling like a loser – no matter which team takes home the “W.”
Play it smart and seize your home field advantage
Like a beer – or 3 – during the game? Well, you can be smart and still enjoy the taste of a good brew…
All you need to do is choose wisely.
Look – beer is filling. It gets you buzzed and not many guys or gals I know represent themselves very well as they “tune up.”
So, the suds you knock back are important to your smart plays during the football game. Choose a full flavored light beer. I know…sounds like an oxymoron. Truth is you can find great taste in the lighter version of whichever beer you normally reach for. Like Heineken? Try Amstel. Taste buds telling you to grab a Bud? Try Bud Light, Coors Light or even Miller Lite.
If you simply can not see yourself indulging in a light brew, then make sure you trade off.
Pick up some NA – non-alcoholic beer – and alternate between the high octane stuff and the “unleaded.” This will keep your party going right up until the last gripping play…or the last bazillion dollar commercial spot airs!
Drink plenty of water, too. All that hollering and excitement will dry you out. Water will refresh you, hydrate you and help your scratchy throat feel better if you tend to get “vocal.”
Here is another crucial set-up from the playbook of health…
Eat to win!
The funny thing about game-day foods is that the players certainly don’t eat like that – probably not even in the off-season! So, why do you? Your significant other will feel much better about snuggling up Sunday night if you make the right choices Sunday day…
Instead of oil-soaked chicken wings and chunky blue cheese, try eating baked wings with a low or non-fat dressing. They taste just as good as their unhealthier counterparts and if you do it right, they can actually turn out better. Soak raw wings in your favorite hot-sauce mixture for an hour then bake them at 425 for about 45 minutes. The sauce will form a crisp, mouth-watering glaze on the outside while penetrating the meat right to the bone on the inside.
Dress them with your reduced or non-fat dressing and serve with lots of healthy, crunchy celery sticks and carrots.
The new and improved potato chip
Gotta have chips! You can enjoy delicious potato chips without the greasy, fried, artery-clogging worry. Just slice up some skinned, cleaned potatoes and toss them with a little olive oil and salt (or salt substitute). Then, coat a microwave safe plate with cooking spray, spread the slices out in a single layer and pop ‘em in the microwave on high until they start browning a bit.
Then flip them over and set ‘em up for another round – just until the edges start to brown. Take them out, put them on a serving plate and let them cool completely. They come out nice and crispy but get even crispier as they cool off.
They are cheaper than the “bad chips” and they have 8 grams less fat per serving! Try them with avocados slices, a healthy dipping sauce (like salsa) – or just enjoy them bare.
The thrill of the grill
Get the charcoal or propane tank ready for game-day food action – for a healthy alternative to fatty meats or fatty chicken wings, try grilling up some fresh seafood.
Shrimp are outstanding when grilled to perfection. You can also treat yourself and your guests to juicy, delicious grilled salmon burgers. You can buy them frozen or your meat department may even have some specialty, gourmet packages all ready to go.
While the fire is still hot, throw on some healthy peppers, squash and zucchini. Simply marinate your veggies for about an hour in your favorite flavor and put them on a section of foil. Close your cover and keep an eye on them until the edges get dark and the flesh is soft and tender.
If you really want that sausage sandwich, try using turkey kielbasa or removing the skin from your favorite link. The skin is where the fats are and though they may not crunch as loud when you take a bite, they will still taste great and you will feel better eating them – another brilliant play for the football game!
Salad days
Finally, lay out a spread of healthier salads for you and your buds to crunch on. Find or use low-fat mayonnaise for coleslaw, potato and macaroni salads, or better still, try plain yogurt instead.
Another smart play is to make your own dressings. A nice, healthy romaine salad with assorted vegetables is always a hit. Use olive oil and apple cider vinegar with the seasoning of your choice, mix and enjoy (If you can, be sure to let the dressing “sit” for a day in the fridge before serving. That gives all the spices a chance to flavor the oil and vinegar).
Be good to yourself on Super Bowl Sunday – and every day. Healthy, good eats are the best way to score the most brilliant plays – so you will always be the winner!
