Category: Snacks

SuperBowl Sunday: Chips, Dips, and No Fat Pants!

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Eventhough it’s the commercials that draw me in more than the actual game, and despite my bad Buffalo Bills track record, I always watch… and munch… for the duration. Go Bills!

According to the Snack Food Association, the average SuperBowl viewer downs 1200 calories in snack food (not including meals & drinks). America hoovers 27 billion calories in potato chips alone. That’s 1.8 billion grams of fat (!!). Let’s see Oprah wheel THAT in! The second most popular snack food is tortilla chips–coming in at 8.2 million pounds–which are often buried in a sea of belt-blowing cardiac catastrophe… until now!

Dun Dun Duuuunnn!! Introducing a way to annihilate a plate of nachos and keep the fat pants in the closet!:

No Fat Pants Nachos
Makes enough for 8 fans

1 13-ounce bag tortilla chips (they don’t need to be the low-fat Baked kind)
1 16-ounce can low-fat, or fat-free “refried” beans (like the delicious ones Bearitos makes)
1/2 cup water
1 jar (about 16 ounces) favorite salsa
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 avocado, cut into small chunks
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Hot sauce, as much as possible

Get 4 plates. Evenly distribute chips on the plates. Heat the beans with water in a microwave-safe bowl or glass liquid measuring cup. Pour 1/4 onto each of the 4 chip plates. Pour salsa evenly over the 4 plates and sprinkle each plate with chopped veggies, avocado, and cilantro. Coat liberally with hot sauce, if using. Chow down!

Nutrition info per serving: 229 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 538 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 8 g protein, 32% of your daily Vitamin A, 9% of your daily Calcium, 87% of your daily Vitamin C, and 13% of your daily Iron.

*A serving of “Fat Pants” Nachos may have 800 calories and over 20 grams of fat!*

Not bad, right?!?

Football Fare for Non-Fat Fans

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Photo by: Chris Connelly

You know that cruddy feeling you have after dedicating 3 hours of your day to football viewing, and then your team loses? And did you eat 30 wings?

Growing up in Bills country and hosting bad-karma Superbowl disaster party year after year, I’ve often wondered if the football snack food was a touch healthier, would the post-game funk be less funky? Not that I’m hoping your team loses (unless it’s the Dolphins), and not that the Buffalo wings, ribs, French onion dip, and nachos washed down with Labbatt’s Blue aren’t to die for (literally!). But, if Bitchin’ Dietitian existed back then, what would’ve been served, and would we have felt better about our sucky team because our tight ends stayed tight? Let’s give it a shot. At the very least, our ends will thank us. Here are a few snack recipes (followed by lower calorie beer options) for a crowd-pleasing, offensive lineman-limiting menu:

Scott Norwood Should’ve Eaten These Nachos
Makes enough for 8 fans

1 13-ounce bag tortilla chips (extra credit if they’re Baked)
1 16-ounce can fat-free “refried” beans (like the delicious ones Bearitos makes)
1 cup Daiya shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 jar (about 16 ounces) favorite salsa
Hot sauce, as much as possible

Get 4 plates. Evenly distribute chips on the plates. Heat the beans in a microwave-safe bowl or on the stovetop until all melty. Pour 1/4 onto each of the 4 chip plates. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on each chip/bean plate (if using), and then microwave for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the chopped veggies, pour the salsa, and dash with hot sauce. Chow.

Nutrition info per serving with regular chips & the cheese (2 servings per plate): 234 calories, 5.3 g fat, 662 mg sodium, 40.7 g carbohydrate, 8.8 g fiber, 8.1 g protein.

*A serving of “Loose End” Nachos may have 780 calories and over 20 grams of fat!*

Colorful Corn Salsa (served with baked chips)
Makes 4 ½ cups (9 servings)

1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped orange bell pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons rice or cider vinegar

If using fresh corn, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes and rinse in cold water. If using frozen corn that is not thawed completely, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition info per 1/2 cup serving: 26 calories, 0.2 g fat, 2 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2.2 g sugar, 0.8 g protein.

Creamy Spinach Dip served with chopped veggies & pumpernickel bread. Cholesterol-free? SA-Weeet!!!

Low-Fat Guacamole (served with baked chips, or heck, maybe go full-fat this time?)

Hot Wings That Will Blow Your Mind!


BEER
Now for the thirst-quenching end of things. Based on calories:

Choose Amstel Light, Guinness Draught, Rolling Rock, Yuengling Lager, and Beck’s Light.

Stay Away From Bass Ale, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Corona Extra, Bud Light, Heineken, and most IPAs.

My fave is a good Hefeweizen… which is like Switzerland. Neutral in calories & Delicious!

What will you eat and drink this weekend, and who are you cheering for?


Smart Snacking

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Photo by: Seth Anderson

The continuous drip method of eating (medium/mini-meals every 2-3 hours) is metabollic utopia. When you’re constantly feeding your system, your metabolism doesn’t freak out that you’re stuck in the desert without food and react by conserving fat. On life’s top list of things you shouldn’t do, #2 is conserve fat. (#1 is ride a motorcycle without a helmet). A day of constant eating looks something like this:

7:30: Breakfast
10:00: Mini-Meal/Snack
12:00: Lunch
3:00: Mini-Meal/Snack
5:00: Mini-Meal/Snack
7:00: Dinner

That’s a lot of eating, right? It sure is! And the good news is that by the time you get to dinner, you may actually be tired of eating. If that happens, don’t skip it, but go for something light… a vegetable salad with some beans and rice, or even a bowl of oatmeal with dried fruit. We’ll talk more about meal ideas later, but as for the mini-meals/snacks, here are 3 rules:

  • Start with a large glass (8 ounces+) of filtered water
  • Stick with the 200-300 calorie range, and at least 5 grams of fiber
  • Try for a balance: a little protein, something starchy, and something naturally colorful (sprinkles don’t count)

Now for some real-life medleys:

  • Granola bar (such as a Larabar) + 1 tennis-ball-size serving of fruit = ~270 calories
  • 1/4 cup hummus + 10 wheat Saltines + as many cucumber slices as you can handle = ~220 calories
  • Raw veggies (lots) + 3 tablespoons dressing for dipping (try Annie’s Woodstock Dressing!)+ 1 large handful pretzels = ~275 calories
  • Homemade trail mix: 1/2 cup Cheerios, 1/4 cup raisins, 2 tablespoons cashews, 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips = ~300 calories
  • 1/2 nut butter & jam sandwich on multigrain bread + 1 baseball-size serving of fruit = ~300 calories
  • Veggie wrap: whole wheat tortilla + 2 tablespoons bean spread or hummus + shredded veggies & lettuce = ~250 calories
  • 1-inch slice of vegetable-infused bread, like this scrumptious Pumpkin Apple Spice Bread = ~290 calories

Isn’t it about time for another feeding?