Tips For a Healthier Super Bowl Party
I think it’s safe to say that many of us will be hosting or attending a Super Bowl party this year. With the home team in and Cam’s energy against Peyton’s experience, it’s going to be a great game.
It’s also a game that typically comes with a line-up of high-calorie party food, like pizza, wings, chips, and beer. It’s easy to overdo it when your attention is on the game.
For example, 3 slices of cheese pizza, 6 hot wings with 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing, and 3 regular beers provides:
| Calories | 1600 |
| Fat (g) | 51 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 115 |
| Protein (g) | 60 |
| Sodium (mg) | 3170 |
That’s as many calories as most of us need in a whole day! It also provides more sodium than we should have in one day (almost 1,000mg more). However, with a few easy changes, we can make this event a whole lot healthier.
A FEW SIMPLE CHANGES CAN MAKE YOUR SUPERBOWL PARTY HEALTHIER
Instead of those wings, try buffalo cauliflower bites. They have that wing sauce flavor, a little bit of crunch, and you can eat a whole lot more. Instead of potato chips, try roasted chickpeas. They have more protein and fiber than potato chips, and they’re still crunchy and delicious.
Let’s compare:
| Buffalo Cauliflower Bites | Traditional Hot Wings | |
| Serving Size | 1/4 medium cauliflower | 6 wings |
| Calories | 94 | 482 |
| Fat (g) | 7 | 35 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 8 | 2 |
| Fiber (g) | 3 | 0 |
| Protein (g) | 3 | 36 |
| Sodium (mg) | 1000 | 1436 |
*The recipe for the cauliflower bites uses Frank’s RedHot Original. Use Cholula Original Hot Sauce to cut the sodium in half.
| Roasted Chickpea “Nuts” | Regular Potato Chips | |
| Serving Size | 1/2 cup | 30 chips |
| Calories | 206 | 320 |
| Fat (g) | 10 | 20 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 28 | 30 |
| Fiber (g) | 10 | 2 |
| Protein (g) | 8 | 4 |
| Sodium (mg) | 320 | 340 |
By switching to the healthier options, you eliminate 500 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 456 milligrams of sodium. That’s something to cheer about!
OTHER HELPFUL TIPS
- Start the party with veggies and dip. You’ll start to fill up and eat less of the high-calorie items that come out next.
- Use guacamole and hummus to dip your veggies instead of ranch and blue cheese. You’ll be swapping the not-so-good saturated fat for the unsaturated kind. It’s better for your heart.
- If you’re making other dips, use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. This swaps that saturated fat again for protein instead.
- Add as many veggies as you can on top of your pizza. The extra fiber will help you to eat fewer slices. Opt for whole wheat crust if you make your own for the same reason.
- Keep water nearby. With all that salty food, we get thirsty. Drink water instead of beer to quench that thirst (and to avoid getting more dehydrated). This will help keep alcohol calories in check.
- Feel good about the fact that you made some tasty swaps, saving yourself a whole day’s worth of extra calories, and have fun watching the game.
