5 ways to tackle unhealthy Super Bowl snacking

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Minneapolis welcomes Super Bowl LII (or 52) on February 4 and hundreds of millions of fans will welcome literally thousands of calories between the pre-game show and overtime. And while it’s all fun and games, there are in fact a few easy ways to control the caloric damage. Try out some of these healthy snack alternatives – you’ll thank us when the game is over:

  1. Go light on the beer: Six regular bottles of beer during the game will pack on 900 calories even before you start nibbling on the tortillas and dip. (By the way, you’d have to play 90 minutes of football just to burn that off.) Sticking to light beer can cut your calorie count by half.
  2. Eat your veggies: Sure, we love meat too, but just one slice of pepperoni pizza will run you another 400 calories. Stick with vegetable toppings like mushrooms and broccoli and reduce the damage by more than half.
  3. Do not wing it: Chicken wings are pretty useless to chickens but they’re downright lethal to us – just two wings with cheese dip will run you about 700 calories. Avoid them if you can, substitute in low-fat blue cheese dressing or opt for lean chicken meatballs with cranberry sauce.
  4. Change your chili: Traditional chili is, not surprisingly, brimming with fat. Substitute lean ground turkey for beef and you’ll substantially reduce the calories.
  5. Snack attack: There’s a reason dips and snack mixes taste so good – they’re packed with fat, salt and other heart-busting goodies. Instead of pre-packaged dips, make guacamole which, while hardly calorie-free, does have its share of nutrients – or better yet, hummus and tahini, which are way healthier and just as tangy and delicious. And for snacks, choose peanuts and pistachios in their shells. While they are also high in fact content, having to shell them will force you to eat a lot slower.

What are your favorite (reasonably) healthy Super Bowl snack suggestions? Share them in the Shop Talk blog community forum – and good luck to your team!

Did you know? Super appetite

It’s estimated that Americans will down 11 million pounds of chips this Super Bowl 52. That definitely calls for a super bowl of salsa. (Source)

29 thoughts on “5 ways to tackle unhealthy Super Bowl snacking”

  5. i think all this big calorie counting is a bunch of bull.i read almost all label’s on food and don’t you think,accorging to goody two shoe’s we should all weigh about 500 pound’s and be sicker than hell.if everything is so bad why are we all still here.i think about 80% of the studies in this country are false.i don’t believe any of them cause i am still here.it’s the stuff they put in food’s that are killing us.if people did’nt lie so much in this world we would live longer.

  7. Haven’t watched NFL for a long time now. Eat in moderation and eat whatever you want. Anything is bad for you if you eat to much

  10. we have not watched football this year and are not watching super bowl. I have boycotted football and all the sponsors I know of.

  11. When my husband makes chicken wings, he does them without breading so they are carb free and a LOT less calories. He just coats them in a buffalo wing sauce after stir frying them and doesn’t use a dipping sauce.
    Another alternative to reduced fat chili is to use ground venison- it tastes just like regular chili without all of the fat!

  12. Great ideas. Some ideas I say it’s only once a year. Others I think would be good to think about.

  16. Thanks for the snack tips!! My “beef” is where are the females in your pic above?? Im female, 59 and a football fanatic for 30 + years!! VIKINGS ROCK THE PIGSKIN!!
    ~~Nana Punk

  17. We do a different take on chicken wings. We will bake chicken thighs and combine them with buffalo sauce and a homemade ranch dip and it tastes just as good

  20. for what it is worth – pizza, dips, and snacks contain calories, they do not run me any calories

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