Healthy Snacking During Pigskin Season
Well, it's that time of year again - football season! One of my most favorite times of the year, for sure! It's about a great sport, good friends, and good food.
One of the best things people like to do during a football game is eat some good football fare.
Unfortunately, there isn't usually anything healthy at all about football food.
Chili dogs, fries, hamburgers, bratwurst, nachos with heavy, calorie-laden dips and oil-fried potato chips, all can lead up to very unhealthy consequences later.
But, as with anything else in life, there are alternatives.
Good, healthy, nutritious snacks that you can eat during a football game, or any time of the year.
One of the things you can do is put out a fresh vegetable tray.
Celery and carrot sticks, grape tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, along with a low-fat dressing for dip can make a terrific crunchy snack.
Next, look for reduced-fat or organic chips.
There are many varieties of less-fattening chips available; try purchasing a few different ones to see what suits your taste.
For nachos, you can try the blue corn tortilla chips, one serving (about 18chips) range from 120-150 calories per serving, and the fat count is small-27 to 63! And Velveeta now has a low-fat version of their famous soft cheese that everyone loves to melt in the microwave and dip your favorite chip in.
If you are planning on having a meat dish during your game, chicken wings are great, but they are usually breaded and deep-fried.
You can "bread" them using food-processed corn flakes, which is much less in carbs and calories, and instead of frying you can bake them.
They taste just as good, and have a lot less calories.
If you are thinking of hot dogs or hamburgers, instead of beef try a leaner meat, such as turkey.
Ball Park brand turkey hot dogs have only 45 calories per link, and 0 fat grams.
You just can't beat those numbers when it comes to hot dogs! Finally if you are craving something sweet after your meal, you may want to try frozen yogurt for dessert.
Frozen yogurt taste just like ice cream, and is much healthier for you.
The calorie count in a cup of nonfat frozen yogurt is just 164 calories, and 6 fat calories.
Top that off with some fat-free whipped topping and fruit, and you've got an awesome healthy sweet treat! So that's my take on what constitutes a healthy snack fest during a football game.
Eating food like this will help you stay healthy, maintain your weight goals, and you can relax and enjoy your favorite football team knowing you are taking good care of yourself instead of over-eating like a lot of folks do this time of year.
One of the best things people like to do during a football game is eat some good football fare.
Unfortunately, there isn't usually anything healthy at all about football food.
Chili dogs, fries, hamburgers, bratwurst, nachos with heavy, calorie-laden dips and oil-fried potato chips, all can lead up to very unhealthy consequences later.
But, as with anything else in life, there are alternatives.
Good, healthy, nutritious snacks that you can eat during a football game, or any time of the year.
One of the things you can do is put out a fresh vegetable tray.
Celery and carrot sticks, grape tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, along with a low-fat dressing for dip can make a terrific crunchy snack.
Next, look for reduced-fat or organic chips.
There are many varieties of less-fattening chips available; try purchasing a few different ones to see what suits your taste.
For nachos, you can try the blue corn tortilla chips, one serving (about 18chips) range from 120-150 calories per serving, and the fat count is small-27 to 63! And Velveeta now has a low-fat version of their famous soft cheese that everyone loves to melt in the microwave and dip your favorite chip in.
If you are planning on having a meat dish during your game, chicken wings are great, but they are usually breaded and deep-fried.
You can "bread" them using food-processed corn flakes, which is much less in carbs and calories, and instead of frying you can bake them.
They taste just as good, and have a lot less calories.
If you are thinking of hot dogs or hamburgers, instead of beef try a leaner meat, such as turkey.
Ball Park brand turkey hot dogs have only 45 calories per link, and 0 fat grams.
You just can't beat those numbers when it comes to hot dogs! Finally if you are craving something sweet after your meal, you may want to try frozen yogurt for dessert.
Frozen yogurt taste just like ice cream, and is much healthier for you.
The calorie count in a cup of nonfat frozen yogurt is just 164 calories, and 6 fat calories.
Top that off with some fat-free whipped topping and fruit, and you've got an awesome healthy sweet treat! So that's my take on what constitutes a healthy snack fest during a football game.
Eating food like this will help you stay healthy, maintain your weight goals, and you can relax and enjoy your favorite football team knowing you are taking good care of yourself instead of over-eating like a lot of folks do this time of year.