Super Bowl Sunday is one of those occasions that tends to focus on health-sabotaging foods like wings, chips and dip, potato skins, crunchy delights and sweet treats. Yikes!
The good news is you don’t have to let this festive occasion shoot your health goals in the foot.
You can still enjoy yourself with the following “healthified” and DELICIOUS alternatives to common Super Bowl treats.
BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS
Buffalo wings don’t have to be drowned in butter or deep fried to be absolutely delicious. In fact, the succulent taste of the meat comes through much better when the wings are grilled or baked!
Here’s how you can ROCK a batch of delicious wings in a healthy way:
Buffalo Chicken Wing Ingredients:
- Chicken: Buy meat from chickens that were allowed to roam free (free-range) and raised on an organic diet. If you’re buying frozen wings instead of fresh, make sure they are only “ice glazed” meaning they were simply frozen with water (nothing else added).
- Sauce: The only ingredients in your wing sauce should be peppers, vinegar, water and natural spices like garlic. Avoid sauces with preservatives, artificial ingredients and added sugar. One of my favorites is Frank’s Red Hot – Original.
- Organic Seasonings: If you like your wings a bit more peppery, garlic-tastic or spicy, toss in some extra black pepper, garlic or cayenne pepper. Each of these spices are beneficial to your health, so feel free to sprinkle away! I highly recommend investing in organic seasonings to avoid the pesticides that get ground into non-organic seasonings.
NOTE: The amount of the ingredients above totally depends on how many people you’re serving. Figure around 6-8 wings per person.
Directions:
- Combine the chicken wings, sauce and any added spices in a large bowl – I like using stainless steel bowls like this one. Make sure the wings are fully saturated with sauce. (TIP: If you want the flavor to be extra awesome, complete this step a day early and let the wings marinate in the fridge overnight!)
- Barbecue the wings on your grill over medium heat, or bake them in the oven at 400° F until they are fully cooked and the skin starts to crisp.
- ENJOY!
Wing Sides: Cut up a bunch of fresh carrot and celery sticks to crunch along with your juicy, delicious buffalo wings!
Ranch Dip: If you must have ranch dip with your wings, use this healthy ranch recipe that will rock your tastebuds without ruining your diet.
Vegetarian Option: If you or someone else in your Super Bowl mix doesn’t eat meat, you can simply swap out the chicken in the recipe above with cauliflower florets!
CHIPS & DIP
Bean-based dips are amazing for so many reasons. Not only are they delicious, they are also full of fiber, protein and other nutritional goodness that will make you feel satisfied while delivering loads of health benefits. Here are super simple and YUM-TASTIC white and black bean dip recipes that are perfect for Super Bowl Sunday:
~Yields about 8 servings~
White Bean Dip Ingredients
- 1 Can (15 ounces) of Organic Cannellini Beans
- 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Garlic Cloves, Thinly Sliced
- 1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
- Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
Black Bean Dip Ingredients
- 1 Can (15 ounces) of Organic Black Beans
- 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Garlic Cloves, Thinly Sliced
- 1 Tablespoon of Cumin
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
Optional ingredient for both recipes: If you like a spicy kick in your dip, simply add some cayenne pepper to taste!
NOTE: This can strainer makes draining the liquid from cans of beans a snap! It works great for tuna and other canned foods, too.
Directions:
- Thoroughly mash the beans in a bowl with a fork, or use a blender or food processor to mash them for you. (I recommend investing in a quality high-powered blender to make mixing your recipes a snap – the Blendtec is my favorite!)
- Heat a small pan over low heat and add the olive oil.
- Once the oil is warm, add the garlic and seasoning and cook until the garlic is brown, stirring constantly.
- Pour the warm oil mixture over the beans and mix well.
- Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
- ENJOY!
NOTE: Any leftover dip will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator when stored in an air-tight container like these.
Chips: Instead of serving your delicious dip with processed bags of unhealthy chips, use cucumber slices, fresh zucchini strips, grape tomatoes and sliced peppers as your chips. You’ll also have the carrots and celery you’ll be serving with your wings to add to the mix. YUM!
Serving Tool: Check out this cool serving set that functions as a chip-n-dip server, cake stand, salad bowl and punch bowl…4 uses for the price of 1!
CRUNCHY, SALTY SNACK = POPCORN!
Popcorn is a crunchy snack that almost everyone loves, so it’s a no-brainer to add it to your game-day menu. Unfortunately, corn is one of those crops that is notoriously grown using genetically modified (GMO) seeds. It also tends to be heavily sprayed with toxic pesticides. You know those pre-made bags of popcorn at the store? Yeah, most of them are made with this type of corn along with loads of sodium and unhealthy oil. EW!
The good news is, it’s super easy to enjoy a healthy batch of popcorn by making it yourself. Here’s what you need:
- An air popper. (This one rocks!)
- Organic, non-GMO popcorn kernels like these.
- Extra virgin olive oil. Use a quality extra virgin olive oil like this and lightly drizzle it over the popcorn kernels (like you would with butter). You can also use a reusable oil spray bottle like this to mist the oil over the popcorn. Or, you can buy it in a pre-loaded spray bottle like this.
- Himalayan pink salt or sea salt.
Flavor: Once you’ve popped the desired amount of popcorn, lightly coat the kernels with the olive oil spray and sea salt. You can mix up the flavor by adding other fun spices like cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic or cinnamon with coconut sugar. Or just sprinkle it with some of my beloved Frank’s Red Hot sauce!
Serving Tool: You can fill up these fun popcorn tubs and sit them around the Super Bowl viewing area for guests to snack on throughout the game. With multiple tubs, you have the option to put out different flavors!
LOADED SWEET POTATO SKINS
Here’s a super simple healthy makeover for a popular game-day snack! Just substitute baked sweet potatoes with fried white potatoes, and swap processed fatty bacon with uncured turkey bacon. Then, add some flavorful veggies.
~Yields 8 Skins~
Loaded Sweet Potato Skin Ingredients:
- 4 Baked Sweet Potatoes, Cut in Half
- 1 Teaspoon of Avocado Oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt
- 8 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced
- 2 Medium Tomatoes, Chopped
- Optional: 2 Slices Cooked Turkey Bacon, Chopped (Make sure the bacon is uncured without any chemical/artificial ingredients – organic meat is always preferable.)
Directions:
- Bake the potatoes ahead of time, so they’re ready to go. Cut them in half and scoop out the flesh. (No worries, we’ll use it up in the brownie recipe below!)
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Place the sweet potato skins on a baking sheet, brush them with the avocado oil and sprinkle on the salt.
- Bake the skins for 10 minutes or until they are crisp.
- Top each skin with the bacon, tomatoes and onions. Feel free to add additional veggies, swap the bacon with shredded chicken or omit the bacon altogether.
- ENJOY!
4-INGREDIENT BROWNIES
What would game day be without a sweet treat in the mix? With this fabulous recipe for healthier brownies, you can enjoy a sweet treat without destroying your healthy-eating goals.
These brownies are moist, vegan, paleo-friendly and totally free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Plus, this recipe masterfully uses the leftover flesh of the sweet potatoes from the sweet potato skins recipe above. SCORE!
Brownie Ingredients:
- 1 Cup of Mashed Sweet Potato
- 1/2 Cup of Smooth Nut or Seed Butter (Almond, Cashew or Sunflower Seed)
- 1/4 Cup of Cacao Powder
- 2 Tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup
- Optional: 1/4 Cup of Cacao Nibs
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Grease an 8×8-inch brownie pan with coconut oil. (I recommend investing in a glass brownie pan like this one, because glass bakeware eliminates the worry of any toxicity from metal / coated pans, doesn’t hold stains or smells and is much easier to clean!)
- In a small saucepan on the stove, melt the nut / seed butter with the maple syrup. This will make mixing the ingredients much easier and will help the flavors meld together.
- Blend all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and pour into the brownie pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out with no batter on it.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely.
- ENJOY!
NOTE: Be sure to store any leftover brownies in the fridge!
WANT TO SAVE MONEY ON HEALTHY PANTRY STAPLES LIKE THOSE FOUND IN THESE RECIPES?
Click HERE to see the websites I recommend for scoring healthy pantry staples on a budget.
Cheers to enjoying Super Bowl delights that will rock your tastebuds and benefit your health at the same time!
With love and gratitude,
Kandi
P.S. Do you love wearing gear to represent for your favorite football team? Don’t miss this blog on some fun and inexpensive ways to wear your team spirit!
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