Ten (or so) Healthier Superbowl Foods - 2013

Looking for the perfect superbowl food? Here are 10 that sound totally yummy! And for bonus points, some of them are low carb, paleo, and/or reduced sugar!

Meatball Sub Casserole from AllRecipes. (I'm not making any "good for you" claims on this one!)

Hot Shrimp Scampi Dip from Go Bold With Butter. (Or this one!)

Shrimp Cocktail with Low-Sugar Cocktail Sauce from Kalyn's Kitchen (Kalyn always has great low-carb recipes)

Grilled Zucchini "Lasagna" with Italian Sausage, also from Kalyn's Kitchen

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder from Lulu the Baker. Doesn't this sound scrumptious on a cold day?

Sausage and Peppers from Proud Italian Cook. We made this for Christmas brunch last year and it was a big hit! Easy to make ahead, and cheap and easy way to feed a crowd.Grilled the sausages the day before. (Chill them before slicing. Makes slicing easier and retains more juiciness.)

Avocado Deviled Eggs with Bacon from Caveman Gourmet. Intriguing!

Summer Squash (or Zucchini) Topped with Sausage and Cheese from yours truly! These can be mostly-made ahead, then baked or reheated at the last minute.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas (with Avocado) from Half Hour Meals

No-bake Energy Bites from Smashed Peas and Carrots. Use the syrupy sweetener of your choice: honey, maple or agave. And experiment with mix-ins: chocolate, craisins, cashews...

25 Super Bowl Recipes, Part 5: Sweet Treats

Today, we wrap up our Super Bowl recipe round-up.

Yesterday, we were so healthy, goin' all low carb! Today's list is a bit naughtier: it's all about the sweet stuff!

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips, via Relish.  Still sorta healthy, what with all that fruit. Unlike our next contestant...

Homemade Chocoate Pop-Tarts and Nutella Pop-Tarts. Oh dear, I think you could blow any diet just by looking at these!    

No-Bake Cheesecakes -- This page includes a link to the original from My Baking Addiction, as well as three variations from me. These are especially cute served in little Mason jars. Plus so portable!

Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries from The Sweets Life. Strawberries are low-glycemic and loaded with potassium, so if you make this with a sweetener other than refined sugar, these are actually pretty healthy. So you can feel all virtuous as you pig out on them!

If you've just gotta have something themey, here you go: Football Filbert Cookies from Food.com

Bonus Super Bowl recipe: crab rangoon dip!

Just ran across this and had to add it! What a genius idea: crab rangoon dip!

Update: Made this yesterday... Not a big fan of the recipe as written. I mean it's okay, but not what I imagined. But chilled overnight and heated up the next day, it's much better.

I added a couple pinches of granulated garlic and salt. Also, I used green onion, and for authenticity's sake, I would put sweet-and-sour sauce on it, not sweet chili.

25 Super Bowl Recipes, Part 4: Low Carb

And onto day five of our Super Bowl recipe round-up: Low Carb!

I think more chips are sold SB weekend than any other week of the year. But it is possible to have delish, satisfying snacks on the table that don't max out your carb allowance for the month, all in one sitting! Here are a few.

Just about any dip you can find is low carb, it's the crackers and chips they're usually served with that makes them high carb. Use a crisp veggie instead, and it's instant health food!  :) But skip the usual, boring carrots and celery on a plate; think jicama, bell pepper strips, ribs from hearts-of-romaine. And to make them even more appealing, place them in vertical glass containers, like the beautiful table shown here, from Sugar Plum Sisters.

Bacon-Avocado Sammies from non nom paleo. Don't these look yummy?! 

Zucchini/squash Pizza Bites, from yours truly. The "crust" couldn't be simpler: it's just slices of summer squash or zucchini, lightly baked before being topped with your favorite pizza stuff, and broiled. (Inspired by Kalyn's Kitchen.) Shown here in both pepperoni and vegetarian versions.

Deviled Eggs. Did you know that deviled eggs from the grocery store sometimes contain sugar? Yuck! Much safer to make your own. I like 'em simple and classic, like this take from SimplyRecipes.

Garlic-Herb Cheese Spread or Dip, also from this site. Tastes sort of like Allouette. Again, to keep it low carb, serve with veggie dippers.

25 Super Bowl Recipes, Part 3: Cold Dips

Day 3 in our round-up of 25 Super Bowl treats: cold dips.

A quick, easy, cold Shrimp Dip from SimplyRecipes. 

Perhaps the best-loved, most classic party dip: 7-Layer Taco Dip. And who better to turn to than Pioneer Woman? (Personally, though, I'm perfectly happy to skip making the guac from scratch; I use Wholly Guacamole Picante Style. And if you're making a version of this classic that involves taco seasoning mix, check out my low-sodium, sugar-free recipe.) 

Here's a new twist on that old favorite: 7-layer Greek Dip. And for that, you'll need hummus. Coming right up...

I refused to try hummus for years, based on the name alone. Don't follow my example! This is yummy (and healthy) stuff. And homemade hummus is so easy. My recipe is based on this one from Martha Stewart, but I take a quicker route than oven-roasting the garlic, and replace the cayenne with cumin. More authentic, in my opinion. 

Garlic Hummus
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 T. tahini
3 T. lemon juice
3 T. water
3/4 t. kosher salt
3/4 t. cumin
3 T. pine nuts
paprika, for garnish, optional

Put the garlic in a small microwave-safe dish, and add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the pieces. Microwave on medium for 40 seconds, stirring once. (This mellows it a bit, takes off the strong bite.)

Add the garlic, chickpeas, the olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, water, kosher salt and cumin to a food processor. Process until very smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary: add more cumin, salt, and/or fresh-ground pepper.

Spread the hummus on a plate, leaving an inch or more around the edge. If not serving soon, refrigerate till half-hour before serving.

Optional: Toast the pine nuts, being careful not to burn them. (You can do this in a dry skillet on the stovetop, or with olive oil the same way the garlic was done.)

Drizzle some olive oil over the hummus, scatter the pine nuts over it, and sprinkle lightly with paprika for color.

Serve with pita chips, wheat thins, and/or crisp vegetables such as cucumber or hicama.

25 Super Bowl Recipes, Part 2: Hot Stuff

Continuing this week's recipe round-up of Super Bowl food... Today's theme: Hot dips.
Dig in!

Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip from Closet Cooking

Black-eyed Pea Dip, via Pioneer Woman

A copy-cat recipe of the legendary Spinach-Artichoke Dip from Houston's Restaurant.

Jalapeno Popper Dip from Big Red Kitchen -- so much easier than wrapping jalapenos one by one!

French Dip Crescents from Mama Loves Food -- Make this one even easier on yourself: use the super-simple au jus with my 10-minute French Dip recipe.  

Buffalo Chicken Dip from SkinnyTaste - All the flavor of buffalo wings without messy hands! 

25 Super Bowl Recipes, Part 1: Three-Ingredient Treats

Every day this week, I'll be posting four to six recipes I've rounded up that you might want to put on your Super Bowl table this weekend. Today's theme: Three ingredients!  -- aka, SUPER easy!

Pretzel Turtles from Veronica's Cornucopia.

Bacon-wrapped Pineapple Bites from Tasty Kitchen.

Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies, via Food.com -- bonus: gluten free!

Mango Salsa

There are lots of recipes out there for mango salsa, but the first one I was introduced to was this one. It's so simple, you'll think, "That can't be it." But trust me, these three ingredients combine in some mystical way to create a deliciousness that outweighs the shopping list and expectations. For each two servings:

1 mango, diced (here's how)

1 handful of cilantro, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Stir them all together, and enjoy immediately, or use within one day.

For party food, serve it with tortilla chips, but it's also delish on top of salmon or pork.

Chipotle-Raspberry Salsa on Cream Cheese

Here's another "recipe" that seems toooooo simple to be impressive, but oh my goodness, is this stuff addictive! And really, the picture above contains the whole recipe. You'll want to soften the cream cheese first, and you won't need the whole bottle -- just pour it on till the cheese is well smothered.

The third ingredient? Your favorite crackers or chips: Ritz, Wheat Thins, Doritos -- it's all good!

You can find Bronco Bob's at Amazon, World Market, and last time I checked, Dillons/Kroger.

Coming later this week: Hot Stuff, Cold Dips, Low Carb, and Sweet Treats!