If, and only if, you care at all about what you might consume tomorrow during the big game, feel free to read on. If your reaction to the notion of trying to control your intake of savory and sweet, crunchy and smooth, salty and spicy munchies, on the football "day of days", is something akin to, "I could give a rat's backside how many calories are in a plateful of nachos, or pigs-in-a-blankie!", stop now.

Consumer Reports in their ongoing efforts to make us better and apparently healthier consumers, has put together some guidelines and in the process, come off sounding like your mom--or qualified nutritionist with your best interests at heart.

They advise us to plan before the big party. Know what you want to spend calorie-wise and attempt to remain within those boundaries. For example, if you're sticking to a 2,000 calorie intake, plan for about 500 to 700 calories at the big party. And whatever you do, don't arrive hungry!

Make sure you have a healthy breakfast and lunch, (you see, "thanks Mom!") so you don't arrive at your friend's or relative's homes and make like a Hoover with the chicken wings! Survey the spread and plan your Zen-like strategy. (I'll be honest, this is where I would have stopped reading).

Take a great big serving from the crudite' platter, (that's right all the celery, raw broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, radishes, and carrots you want--Yippeee!!) but no ranch dip for you! No creamy or cheesy dips, only hummus, salsa, and guacamole. They're full of nutrients and healthy fats that are good for you and lower in calories too.

Forget chips also, and head for the popcorn or back to the veggie platters. Fiber is filling and you'll need something to fill that empty place in your soul when you bypass the 7-layer dip, stuffed pizza, cheesy chicken taquitos and loaded potato skins.

You're aiming for 500 to 700 calories, so with that in mind, here are some foods and serving sizes containing 100 calories.

  • 5 tortilla chips
  • 9 potato chips
  • 1 & 2/3 wings
  • 3 1/3 tbsp of guacamole
  • 1 1/4 cup of (Newman's Own) salsa
  • 1 1/3 tbsp (Wishbone) chunky blue cheese dressing
  • 1 & 2/3 pieces of mini-wienies-in-a-blanket
  • a slice of Dominos pizza so small you'll be able to use it for a toothpick later. . .

Oh never mind! If you follow these guidelines, you may be sad, but you can dry your tears on your Fabletics XS, size 0, yoga pants at the gym!


 

 

 

 

 

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