Lightening Up Super Bowl Snacks

Pigs in a blanket. Seven-layer dip. Mountains of nachos. Bowls of guacamole. Now that it's almost February, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief that the gluttonly of holiday eating is behind us...and then here comes the Super Bowl. Whether you're rooting for the Arizona Cardinals or the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night (or are just watching for the commercials), it's always a game day challenge to indulge in all of the yummy food without going to bed feeling larger than a linebacker.

Most well-meaning S'bowl snacking articles extol the virtues of swapping crudites for chips or drinking H2O instead of beer....but those tips aren't a lot of fun--and aren't easy to follow when you're watching at a party and are at the mercy of what's on the buffet table. Enter Eat This, Not That, an updated book by the folks at Rodale and Men's Health/Women's Health magazines (part of the same family as Runner's World, Prevention and other healthy lifestyle pubs). They offer a slew of S'bowl snack suggestions, in the spririt of "we know you're going to splurge while you watch the game, and that's okay, but here are some ideas for how to indulge without totally going crazy."

Here are a few of the swaps that should be easy to make. Instead of six chicken wings (650 calories), eat a cup of chili (300 calories). Instead of cheese fries (750 calories), have three chicken fingers (310 calories). Instead of a Micheloeb Light (133 calories) have a Beck's Premier Light (64 calories). For more ideas from the book, click here. And click "comments" below to share your suggestions. Go Steelers! Photo grabbed from memeticians.com. Posted by Liz

Photo grabbed from poulsbo at flickr.