Lets have a Super Healthy Super Bowl!

Sunday is the big day! Superbowl Sunday. Although sadly the Pats are not in the big game, it is still a great reason to have a party. Typically we think of football fare as high in fat, sodium and sugar - but it does not have to be. With a few easy substitutions, trade-offs and tips you can have a great time and not break the calorie bank.

- Go for a walk, run or take a class. Just move your body. Calories burned before the party will help to compensate for the extra calories consumed later in the day. Another fun idea is to pull out the Wii during half-time and have everyone work up a sweat.

-Do not starve yourself during the day with the thought that you will save extra calories for later. Research has shown that eating a light snack with a good balance of protein and carbohydrate prior to the party will help deter from getting there and being so hungry you eat everything in sight. Feeling satisfied when you get there will allow you to sample the things you really want in moderation and walk away from the table before you overdo it.

- Try not to drink too many calories during the party. Lite beer is an obvious choice over regular beer but do not forget the calories obtained from sodas and juices. Calorie-free flavored seltzers and water can be more interesting than plain water. Alternating seltzer with a beer or soda is a great way to dilute out your calories. Another advantage to consuming seltzer or water is that it fills you up and may help decrease snacking.

- Fill your plate and walk away from the table. Standing next to the food table is a sure way to overeat! Think how many potato chips or m+m candies you can eat during a 10 minute conversation with a friend. Using a small desert plate rather than a dinner plate is another tip to decrease portion size.

- Bring a healthy snack to the party. Fruit or veggie dips are great portable snack ideas With veggies you can use a lite ranch salad dressing or hummus (a great high protein choice) for a dip and low fat vanilla yogurt is a great choice for fruit. Bring a couple bags of microwave popcorn to pop once you get there. Make sure you choose a low fat or lite brand as regular microwave popcorn can pack a huge fat punch! In addition, sprinkling some seasonings on the popcorn adds flavor with little to no calories. A tip here is to spray the popcorn with a little nonstick baking spray before you sprinkle with seasonings - helps them to stick.

- De-fat some of your favorite Football Fare! When making chili, brown the ground beef and rinse it in a colander under water to wash off the fat before returning it to the pan for seasoning. You will be amazed at how much fat is removed with this method with no impact on taste. Choosing ground turkey rather than ground beef is another way to save on fat and calories. Use baked tortilla chips when making your nachos. Once the toppings are put on, no one will notice the difference. Make sure you use part-skim cheese as a topping and non-fat sour cream. Salsa is great dip, very low in calories and high in nutrients! Just a few of these small changes can make a huge difference in total calories and fat. Go heavy on the seasonings!! Spicy is good!

- Don't go nuts over the nuts! Nuts are an extremely healthy food but are also high in calories. A few handfuls can send your calorie budget haywire. Pistachios are a great choice. They are a lower fat nut and usually in the shell thus taking longer to eat and hopefully you will eat less.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful. Remember, small steps are the way to go! You have to be able to LIVE with the change in order to attain your goals.

I would love to make this blog more interactive. Feel free to send questions, ideas, recipes and of course success stories to me and I will post them on the blog.