Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon
us. We have weathered so far, in the
past 12 weeks, Halloween, Thanksgiving, four weeks of Christmas/Holiday
celebrations, New Year’s Eve, and New
Year’s Day. One more major eating frenzy,
at least until we get ready for Valentine’s Day … Super Bowl!!
We love to celebrate all of our
happy occasions with food. My health educator and personal trainer refers to
these past few weeks as National Eating Season.
True, ever, so true!!! I like to call it “entertainment by mouth.” It is not an exaggeration to think, that on any
given day or days, during this period of time, we could eat as many as 8,000 to
10,000 calories per day!!! And, let’s face it, on those days that we may
consume that many calories, do we really feel like exercising? My guess would be a resounding, No!!!!! So couple the excess calories with the loss
of any physical movement (other than the exertion of propping our feet up on
the couch), and is there any doubt at all, why it is so easy, and almost
expected to gain weight?
With the assistance of my health
educator, the support of my friends in my wellness class, and hard thoughtful
processing and planning, I was able to absolutely maintain my healthy habits,
my normal exercise routine, and most importantly my weight during these past
many weeks.
Now I need to stay focused and
continue through Super Bowl parties and fun!
I LOVE football. I’ll be
watching the game and cheering on my team of choice … (NOT THE PATRIOTS!!!!) What
I won’t be doing is eating like a linebacker.
It’s just not necessary. There
is plenty of good food, plenty of fun appetizers, and yes, even a little
alcohol, in moderation, should you choose.
How about instead of a table full of fried wings with blue cheese dip,
taco chips with queso, cheese and crackers, Swedish meatballs, and processed
turkey and lunch meats … what about these healthy alternatives?
Instead of fried buffalo wings
with blue cheese dip: How about crockpot
buffalo chicken, made with chicken tenderloins with Frank’s hot sauce and low
sodium dry ranch dressing mix. Delicious!!!
Low fat, low calorie, and can easily be eaten by itself, or use celery,
jicama sticks, or carrots for dipping. The calories in one fried buffalo wing, (and
who eats just one) is 89 calories. There
are 144 calories in 4 ounces of shredded chicken tenderloins. This goes a long way when being used for a
dip, or even eating plain. You have probably
already saved yourself 100’s of calories.
Instead of taco chips and queso: How about salsa and fresh veggies. Of course, the queso and chips are
awesome. I’m not saying otherwise, but
again look at the calories. One cup of
chips is 293 calories, and again, are we only eating one cup? One cup of queso is 263 calories. That may sound like a lot of queso, but all
night, dip after dip after dip after dip … maybe not!!! Fresh
veggies and salsa, at the most are probably 200 calories, and you can munch all
night. Add some hummus to the mix as
well. Delicious, tasty, and healthy.
Instead of cheese and
crackers: How about string cheese? There is about 113 calories in one ounce (one
slice) of cheddar cheese. And looking at calorie content in “generic”
crackers, there are 81 calories in 5 crackers.
Unless you are taking one teeny tiny slice of cheese, and breaking it
into tiny squares to share with 5 crackers, again you are looking at adding on
a lot of calories to your evening. String
cheese, which takes a little longer to eat, especially if you are like me and
have to pull it apart in strings, is 80 calories for one stick. Again, you are saving a lot of calories.
Instead of Swedish meatballs: How about crockpot London Broil. Made with very, very lean protein flank
steak, low sodium tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup, and dried onion
soup. It slices into the most delicious bits
of steak!! It is only 219 calories for
4 ounces! Swedish meatballs are 284
calories for a cup, and again who is stopping with a cup???
Instead of processed turkey and
lunch meats: How about a tray of boiled
shrimp with cocktail sauce. Processed
turkey and lunch meats are not only high in calorie, but they are excessively
high in sodium. Boiled shrimp are low
sodium, low calorie, and look exquisite on your table!!!
Then top it all off with a big
pot of what I call “Sharon’s
Not Quite Chili”. Here is the
recipe:
Ingredients:
1 lb Laura’s
Lean Ground Beef
1 or 2 cans
of rotel tomatoes
1 can Kroger
Red Beans (rinsed and drained)
Onion
Sweet Potato
3 small cans
of Hunts No Salt Added Natural Tomato Sauce
Low
sodium/fat free chicken broth (enough for consistency you like)
Cumin
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
So there you have it!
A party table that all will enjoy, will not have excessive calories, you
can enjoy the game, party with friends, and when you go to bed you experience
the best feeling ever …
The survival again, of
a challenging event, that you were able to keep healthy, delicious, fun, and
you have not derailed the hard work you have done for months both with your food
plan and your exercise plan.
We’ve got this!!! We
do not have to eat like a Linebacker!!!!!
And more importantly, we don’t have to look like one either!!!
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