Super Bowl Swaps

It’s almost game time!  Although you and/or your guests may enjoy and be looking forward to all the traditional football fare, you can try some of these tips to keep everyone healthy and happy!

Instead of a couple of celery and carrot sticks to compliment the wings, make chopped veggies a colorful centerpiece. Use bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato, asparagus, cucumber, jicama, zucchini or any other vegetable you like. Serve with healthy dips.  I love Cava brand for hummus/tzatziki as it lower in calories. Make sure there is no sugar added to your salsa.  Serve fresh guacamole or make your own. Try your own creamy creation using Siggi’s plain Icelandic yogurt as a base.  I love adding: olive oil, lemon juice, and Everything but the Bagel Seasoning for a savory snack.  Choose healthy alternatives for ranch dressing/dip. I like Sir Kensington’s and Tessamae brands for ranch. 

Whether it’s part of the cheese board, on its own, or for dessert, fruit is high in fiber to keep you full and sweet to curb that sweet tooth.  Add dried fruit to your cheese board (make sure it has no added sugar or oil) as well as all natural fruit spreads (Trader Joe’s, St. Dalfour, Polaner All Fruit are all good!). 

Some of my favorite cracker brands are: Simple Mills, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Flackers and GG Fiber crackers. All are high fiber and made with healthy ingredients.  Many other crackers out there are made with white flour, hydrogenated oils, sugar and other additives/preservatives.  Choose some cheeses that are lower in fat: Parmesan, feta, mozzarella, goat, Camembert to name a few.  Add fruit as mentioned above: fresh and/or dry. Also add nuts. Make sure there is no oil or anything added to the nuts, expect a little salt.  

Select healthier versions of chips and popcorn for that crunch.  I recommend popcorn that is organic and contains ONLY popcorn, olive/coconut/avocado oil and salt (Note that non-organic popcorn is often made from GMO corn!)  Lesser Evil is a favorite brand in my house.  The same goes for potato chips: I recommend those made ONLY with potatoes, olive/avocado oil and salt.  My boys and I love Kettle Brand Chips made with avocado oil.  For tortilla-style chips, my favorite are Siete. They are grain free made only with cassava flour, avocado oil, coconut flour, chia seeds and salt!  Serve with salsa and guacamole as recommended above. 

Is it really SuperBowl without some sort of Buffalo something?!  I love recipes that use chicken breasts (instead of thighs or wings with skin because those have higher calories, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol). Try almond (you can substitute almond for regular flour in recipes), oat, brown rice or whole wheat flour for white flour. Use avocado or olive oil instead of vegetable oil. Also use ghee, coconut oil or olive/avocado oil in recipes that call for butter. Select a Buffalo sauce or hot sauce with all natural ingredients. I LOVE Siete foods hot sauces. And I like Noble Made Mild Buffalo sauce. It’s here but I found at Whole Foods. 

 

I really like these two Buffalo chicken recipes:

1.  https://lexiscleankitchen.com/buffalo-chicken-tenders-keto/

2.  https://www.skinnytaste.com/skinny-buffalo-chicken-strips/

 

You can also sauté shrimp in Buffalo sauce. 

 

For my friends who prefer a vegan or vegetarian option, try these Buffalo cauliflower recipes! 

1.  https://www.skinnytaste.com/spicy-buffalo-cauliflower-bites/

2.https://fuelmysmilebydrmichelleyanover.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/air-fryer-buffalo-cauliflower-wings-chipotle-ranch-yogurt-dip/

If you don’t have an air fryer, cook at 400 degrees in the oven for 10 more minutes!

There’s nothing better than a warm cup of chili on a cold winter day watching the Super Bowl.  Instead of traditional chili that can be high in saturated fat, made with ground beef, sour cream and cheddar cheese and mostly carbs (just beans), you can lighten it all up!  Even if you want to add meat (lean ground beef, chicken or turkey), I recommended starting with a mostly vegetable-based one like this one:

 

You can add the meat PLUS 2 cups baby spinach leaves (I always add more greens to all my cooked saucy dishes!) after step 1. 

 

For toppings try plain Siggi’s yogurt (instead or sour cream), shredded Parmesan or mozzarella instead of cheddar cheese, avocado, lime, or scallions to garnish. You could also dig in with your Siete chips! 

You can often enjoy the flavor of a favorite food with a twist on the traditional recipe. I love this Turkey Nacho recipe that doesn’t actually contain nachos. The turkey meat is placed inside mini bell peppers:

 

This paleo version is made with potatoes instead of chips and skips the cheese:

 

Why not try cauliflower pizza?!  Lots of your guests will thank you!!  I love the Cali’flour crusts that you can buy on Amazon. These are the best in my opinion. BUT I also have a super simple recipe where you can make your own. Check it out here: