Super Bowl 46: Planning a Leaner Game Day Party Menu

Super Bowl 46: Game Day Strategies for a Leaner Party Spread

Like the majority of the U.S. population, I’ll be tuning in to watch the NY Giants take on the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday. For many, the game is more about partying than the game. But for me, I’m a super fan of football and I’ll be keyed in on every play, penalty and hoping that the Giant can just keep “moving the chains” against the Patriots.

For most, the four food groups of Super Bowl are chips and dips; wings; pizza and beer. Not necessarily a dietitian’s most-recommended options. To help you create a leaner Game Day menu, I’ve got my super substitutions that will slash calories and fat but still pack in plenty of flavor and fun.

Blitz on Chips and Dips

Some of the other ways to make a Super Bowl spread healthier is to always serve a veggie crudite and enjoy baked chips instead of those that are fried (save 50 calories per serving). Opt for healthy dips like black bean, salsa and hummus.

Guacamole is always a football fave, and we’ll eat more than 70 million pounds of them on game day. Choose a guac recipe that calls for vegetables like tomato, onions, corn or peppers for more nutritional oomph. Forgo any recipe that calls for adding mayo our sour cream to your avocados. They’re rich and creamy on their own so don’t ruin them.

Another great idea is to make a Green Goddess dip (see below). I serve this with veggies at my house.

Best Half-Time Eats

For the mainstay of your party, nix the wings and blue cheese dressing (100 calories a wing) and pizza (300 calories a slice) and make something healthier like turkey or roasted veggie sub sandwiches. I also make pizza on my own with whole-wheat crust and topped with pesto, fresh tomato, goat cheese and basil. You can make a great faux wing recipe with baked, broiled or grilled chicken tenders on a skewer that you brush with a hot Buffalo-style sauce. You’ll shave hundreds of calories and at least a day’s worth of fat from your menu with those substitutions alone.

Bench the High-Cal Beer and Beverages

Since beer is the fourth food group of Super Bowl Sunday, there are some super light options now available that make it easy for the calorie-conscious to put a few away. You can find some ultra-light beers are as low as 55 calories and many varieties of light beer are around 100 calories a bottle. Regular beer has 150 and mixed drinks often pile on 300 or more calories per drink.

Healthier Super Bowl Recipes

Here’s some of our favorite Game Day recipes:

“White” Chili

Spiced Almonds