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Are You Ready For Some Super Bowl Food Facts – And Some Calorie Saving Tips?

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Will you be joining the ranks of over 20 million Americans who will attend a Super Bowl party?  Do you side with half of all Americans who say they would rather go to a Super Bowl party than to a New Year’s Eve party?

Some Amazing Super Bowl Food Facts:

  • About one in twenty (9 million) Americans watch the game at a restaurant or a bar.
  • Americans double their average daily consumption of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, downing more than 33 million pounds in one day.
  • The average Super Bowl watcher consumes 1,200 calories. (Source: Calorie Control Council). Potato chips are the favorite and account for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion fat grams — the same as 4 million pounds of fat or equal to the weight of 13,000 NFL offensive linemen at 300 pounds each. (Source: ScottsdaleWeightLoss.com).
  • Nearly one in eight (13%) Americans order takeout/delivery food for the Super Bowl. The most popular choices are pizza (58%), chicken wings (50%), and subs/sandwiches (20%). (Source:  American Journal).  Almost 70% of Super Bowl watchers eat a slice (or two or three) during the game.
  • The amount of chicken wings eaten clocks in at 90 million pounds or 450 million individual wings. It would take 19 chicken breasts to get the same amount of fat that you usually get from a dozen Buffalo wings.
  • On Super Bowl Sunday Americans eat an estimated 14,500 tons of potato chips, 4000 tons of tortilla chips, and eight million pounds of avocados. Five ounces of nacho cheese Doritos equals around 700 calories. You’d have to run the length of 123 football fields to burn them off.  You’d have to eat 175 baby carrots or 700 celery sticks to get the same number of calories.
  • Stew Leonard’s, a local chain of southwestern Connecticut grocery stores, sold more than 40,000 pounds of chicken wings and 10,000 pounds of barbecued ribs and 60,000 pigs-in-blankets ahead of Super Bowl Sunday in 2012.  This year they are slso offering some healthy alternatives along with the traditional game day food.  Choices include: grilled or roasted Mediterranean vegetables, hummus instead of high-fat and high-calorie sour cream onion dip, pita instead of potato chips, and provolone salad on crostini made from aged provolone diced with roasted peppers, carrots, red onions, parsley, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, white vinegar and a touch of brown sugar on pieces of fresh, crusty bread.
  • And, according to 7-eleven, sales of antacids increase by 20% on the day after Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Party Calorie Saving Tips

  • Stick with grilled meat, veggies, or baked chips rather than fried.
  • Turkey, baked ham, and grilled chicken are better choices than wings and fried chicken.
  • Plain bread, pitas, or wraps are less caloric than biscuits or cornbread.
  • Go for salsa and skip the guacamole.
  • Minimize calories by dipping chicken wings into hot sauce instead of Buffalo sauce.
  • Try using celery for crunch and as a dipper instead of chips.
  • Try fruit for dessert.
  • Go for thin crust rather than thick doughy crust pizza. Choose the slices with vegetables, not pepperoni or meatballs.  If you’re not embarrassed, try blotting up the free-floating oil that sits on top of a greasy slice (soak up even a teaspoon of oil saves you 40 calories and 5 grams of fat).
  • Alcohol adds calories and dulls your mindful eating. Try alternating water or diet soda with beer or alcohol.  That can decrease your alcohol calories (alcohol has 7 calories/gram) by 50%.

The next post will give some examples of Good, Better, And Best Super Bowl Food Choices.

Do Football And Food Have Equal Footing On Super Bowl Sunday?

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Did you know that the first Super Bowl was in January 1967?  Although not an official holiday, Super Bowl Sunday certainly has assumed the trappings of one — both in the US and in many expat communities.  The Super Bowl broadcast is the most watched annual television program in the US and Super Bowl Sunday ranks second (Thanksgiving is first) as the day for most food consumption. Over 20 million Americans attend Super Bowl parties and half of all Americans say they would rather go to a Super Bowl party than to a New Year’s Eve party.

Game Time Food Is Everywhere

Think of all the hand to mouth munching on chips, dips, and wings; a swig or two or three; a cookie here and there.  And then there’s the “real food” at halftime – or maybe there was pizza first followed by a selection of subs. By the end of the game do you have a clue about how much – or even what — you have popped into your mouth?

You may – or may not – be riveted to the TV screen rooting hard for your team, but you may also be going along for the ride – happy to be at a party where there’s plenty of food and shouting and enthusiasm – a classic set-up for mindless and distracted eating which often happens when there is no “structure” and a lack planning and when you give into “head hunger” as opposed to actual physical hunger.

Regardless of how or how much you eat, it’s amazing how food has become associated with the day — from tailgating to the food for the game – and how inescapable the assault is on your senses from the TV, online and print advertising, and from the markets and bars trying to tantalize you with their “food for the game.”.  Many people just give in to the notion of eating all through the game – with an attitude of “it’s Super Bowl and I’m going to eat what I want” and they don’t give a hoot about quantity, quality, or calories.

That’s fine if that’s your choice.  Some lighter eating days before and after will probably take care of the extra calories. But, if you don’t want to overeat or eat overly caloric food there are plenty of good and tasty choices.  You can do just fine if you have a plan and don’t get sidetracked by the array of very caloric and usually very fatty foods.

Check back:  the next two posts will have some fascinating Super Bowl food facts and some alternative lighter calorie choices for your game day pleasure.

A Cheat Sheet For “Organic” – Different Foods, Different Meanings

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It seems that organic foods are becoming somewhat mainstream.  Each year, the sales of organic foods grow by 10 to 20% in the US. But a lot of different kinds of food is labeled organic. Do you know what you’re buying?

The term ”Organic” is not one size fits all and can  mean different things for different kinds of food.

Here’s what “Organic” means for various categories of foods according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Nutrition Action Healthletter:

  • ORGANIC FRUITS, NUTS, VEGETABLES, and GRAINS:  they’re not irradiated or genetically engineered; no synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or sewage sludge is used
  • ORGANIC MILK:  no growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs are used; all the cows’ feed for the previous 12 months has been 100% organic; the cows have access to outdoors; at least 30% of the cows’ diet has been from the pasture during the primary growing season
  • PACKAGED FOODS:  “100% Organic” means all ingredients are organic;  “Organic” means at least 95% of the ingredients are organic; “Made with Organic Ingredients” means at least 70% of the ingredients are organic
  • ORGANIC SEAFOOD:  there are no current official U.S. standards; the USDA is working on a standard for farm-raised seafood
  • ORGANIC EGGS:  they do not necessarily come from cage-free or free-range chickens;  hens are fed 100% organic feed with no added  growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs
  • ORGANIC MEAT & POULTRY: the animals have access to outdoors; they are not given growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs; they’re raised on 100% organic feed; ]they aren’t fed animal byproducts and aren’t irradiated.

This article is part of the 30 day series of blog posts called: 30 Easy Tips for Looser Pants and Excellent Energy.

Do You Speak Food Label Language?

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Food labels can be pretty confusing.  For instance, you might think that you know what fat free means – but if a food product is labeled “fat free” does mean that it’s totally fat free? Not necessarily.

According to the FDA, a food can be labeled fat free if it contains less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. So, something could have 0.4 grams of fat and still be called fat free.

Maybe you’re saying, “so what.”  Here’s the issue: the words per serving.  Say you’re eating more than one serving (a serving is often a lot smaller than the portion most of us eat).  If each serving has 0.4 grams of fat it can be labeled “fat free”  — but, if you’re eating 3 servings (not such a stretch of the imagination), you’re actually eating 1.2 grams of fat (3 x 0.4 grams) in a food that’s labeled “fat free.”

Okay.  1.2 grams of fat is not a huge amount – but the example is to illustrate that it’s good to both read labels – which the FDA requires –and really understand what they mean so you know what you’re getting in your food.

Definitions of Common Terms Used On Food Packages

▪   Fat-free = less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil.

▪   Low fat = 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

▪   Less fat = 25% or less fat than the comparison food.

▪   Saturated fat free = Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving.

▪   Cholesterol-free = less than 2 mg of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

▪   Low cholesterol = 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of  saturated fat per serving.

▪   Reduced calorie = at least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food (the “regular” version of the same food).

▪   Low calorie = 40 calories or less per serving.

▪   Extra lean = less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 gram serving of meat, poultry, or seafood.

▪   Lean = less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 gram serving of meat, poultry, or seafood.

▪   Light (fat) = 50% or less of the fat in the comparison food.

▪   Light (calories) = one-third fewer calories than the comparison food.

▪   High fiber = 5 grams or more fiber per serving.

▪   Sugar-free = less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.

▪   Reduced sugar — at least 25% less sugar per serving compared with a similar food.

▪   Sodium-free (salt-free) = less than 5 mg of sodium per serving.

▪   Low sodium = 140 mg or less per serving.

▪   Very low sodium = 35 mg or less per serving.

This article is part of the 30 day series of blog posts called: 30 Easy Tips for Looser Pants and Excellent Energy.

Buffet Table Woes? Keep Your Back To The Table

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Whether it’s a fancy catered affair or pizza, wings, and cold cuts laid out on the kitchen and coffee tables on game day, why give yourself extra opportunities to shovel chips and dip or salami and cheese into your mouth all night long? You’re human, so stay out of hand-to-mouth range – and don’t stare at the delicious stuff, either. You’re far less likely to mindlessly eat if you have to leave a conversation and walk across the room to get to the food.

Keeping your back to the table is one of the easiest strategies to use.  We often eat with out eyes – if we see something delicious, we want to eat it.  So, don’t look at it.  Keep your back to the tempting food as you’re having conversations or watching the game.

Hors d’oeuvres can really sucker punch you, too.  They’re small, but the calories really add up. Make up your mind how many you’ll eat ahead of time or you’ll have shoved down a thousand calories before you know it. Pick the ones you love and avoid the ones you don’t.  Why sacrifice your calories for something you don’t love?  Try to keep a mental count because when you’re talking and drinking it’s far too easy to grab from each passing tray.

This article is part of the 30 day series of blog posts called: 30 Easy Tips for Looser Pants and Excellent Energy.