Football season is here so let the tailgating begin! There is one thing you need to be careful about. I am talking about the Football Season Fifteen. Never heard of this? Well I just made it up, so that is no surprise. All I mean by this, is that we need to watch what we eat during this wonderful time of the year or we could find ourselves a little bit heavier by the end of the season. We shouldn’t have to give up our football but we might have to give up some of the high calorie food and drinks that have increased our waist size in the seasons past.
Here are 6 ideas and recipes that can help:
1. Instead of regular beef burgers make bison, elk, turkey, or ostrich burgers. Or grill up chicken breasts, salmon or shrimp and put those on a hamburger bun. All of these are lower in fat and heart-healthy options. If you want Brats, trade Pork for Turkey Brats at almost half the calories.
2. Make sandwiches with low fat deli meats like chicken, turkey and lean roast beef. Be sure to use whole grain bread and have lots of veggies to load up your sandwich. Then use mustard and low fat mayonnaise as condiments to keep down the calorie count.
3. Instead of your normal chips, buy uncooked won ton wrappers at any grocery store. Cut them in half into triangles. Then put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes and cook until they are lightly browned. Then serve with salsa or guacamole. You can have 20 chips that contain only 1 gram of fat.
4. Have a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. This might not seem manly, but if you put them out, they will be eaten. You can even use some healthy dips. Yogurt for the fruit and hummus for the vegetables.
5. Be sure to have a variety of non-calorie drinks like ice teas, diet soda and plenty of water. Then switch to reduced calorie and light beer. Try Beck’s Light, Budweiser Select 55 and MGD 64, they are all under 65 calories per beer.
6. Grilling chicken might sound boring but this recipe definitely is not. Chicken and beer? WHAT!?! Yeah that’s right, I wouldn’t joke about this.
Beer Can Chicken
Ingredients:
• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
• 1 can beer
Directions:
Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside.
Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.
Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
By Sean Salazar, CPT, B.S. Nutrition
