Healthy Super Bowl Snacks: 5 Appetizers To Feel Good About Including Guilt-Free Potato Skins, Wings, Chili And Brownies!

Super Bowl is not normally the time to consider your diet, but there is no worse feeling than waking up the Monday morning after Super Bowl Sunday and have to not only battle a hangover but a grease infused stomach ache.

Drinking beer, wearing your team colors, and eating endless snacks are all vital aspects of the perfect party to end the football season. And while most of taking this time to be ultimate gluttons, it doesn’t have to be so.

There are some snacks that are football fan approved, taste delicious and will leave you feeling good about yourself and your New Year's resolutions. Now, by no means, are you going to be losing weight with these appetizers and desserts, however, they are guilt-free alternatives to everyone’s favorite picks for Super Bowl Sunday, that’s right, we have healthier versions of potato skins, buffalo wings, potato chips, chili, and even brownies!

By making some necessary ingredient swaps, and baking instead of frying, you can forge the food coma on Monday morning and continue on with your healthy lifestyle without skipping a beat on Sunday.

We have collected five simple and easy to follow recipes, check them out below and bon appetit!

• Sweet Potato Skins

Let’s start with a classic, potato skins, these boats of heaven are normally laden with calories and fat, with no genuine nutritional value. However this year, your friends will be both shocked and delighted when you present sweet potato skins. In addition to swapping out the traditional Idaho potato, we are making the filling of these skins a bit more waistband friendly.

Ingredients

• 6 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 1/2 avocado, pitted and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup black bean chips, crushed

Directions

Position an oven rack in the top of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until fork-tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely Split each in half lengthwise, and scoop out most of the flesh, leaving about a 1/4-inch border all around. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put a rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the potato skins skin-side up on the rack, and brush with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Bake until the skins are slightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut each in half crosswise. Arrange the pieces skin-side down on the rack, and sprinkle each with mozzarella, Parmesan and scallions. Bake until the mozzarella melts, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the potato skins from the oven, and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Top each with some salsa verde and avocado. Sprinkle with crushed chips.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

• Baked Buffalo Wings

Buffalo wings are an absolute staple at your Super Bowl party, and while you may be used to the greasy friend version from your local sports bar, you have never had wings like this. As opposed to frying, which tends to be the go-to cooking method for every football snack, these buffalo wings are baked, and unbelievably good. Don’t free baking the chicken, it will still maintain the same moisture as frying, and the meat will fall off the bone.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken wings
• 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 Tbsp. margarine

Directions

Fill a large pot halfway with water and then add the wings, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring water mixture and wings to a boil and then boil for 15 minutes. Transfer wings to an oven-safe container coated with cooking spray. Bake wings on "Broil" (high) for 15 minutes on each side. (For crispier wings, cook longer on each side, maybe 20 minutes per side). While waiting for wings, combine the Hot Sauce and Margarine in a microwave-safe container and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes or until melted. (You can cook the sauce longer for a thicker sauce). When wings are done, shake 'em up with the sauce and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Food.com

• Homemade Baked Potato Chips

Similar to our substitution for the buffalo wings, baking vs. frying really ups your health game, without sacrificing on taste. Potato Chips are such an addicting snack, you can never just eat one, and while watching the game, you find that you have eaten through an entire bag of gross, greasy, over-salted chips without even meaning to. They are a great snack, and they certainly please a crowd, but they can also be a bit pricey and you never want to run out of food in the 4^th quarter. So do your body and wallet a favor and try this homemade baked potato chip recipe that only requires four ingredients!

Ingredients

• 3 medium red potatoes, peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Garlic, herbs, optional
• 1 or 2 tbsp. oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the potatoes in 1/8-inch thick round slices. In a pot of boiling water cook the potato slices for 3-5 minutes. Drain well and combine with oil, salt, pepper and spices (garlic, oregano, basil, etc) in a large bowl. Place potato slices on a prepared baking sheet in one layer. Bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Gently remove the chips and place on a cooling rack or parchment paper; let them cool for few minutes and they are ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy of Home Cooking Adventure

• Turkey Chili

Chili is a great wintertime meal, and it is a great meal to feed a crowd. While many chilies can be heavy and filled with calories, this recipe for turkey chili is the opposite, however, it still possesses that hearty texture and leaves you feeling full. One full cup of this chili comes in at only 264 calories, which means that you don’t have to feel bad about going back for seconds!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. 99% fat-free ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, no-salt-added
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, no-salt-added
• 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, no-salt-added, drained and rinsed
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 packet Stevia
• 3 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions

Drizzle olive oil in a large pot and sauté onion and garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until crumbled and brown, draining excess liquid as necessary. Add all the rest of the ingredients and cook on medium/low heat for about an hour.

Recipe courtesy of Eat Yourself Skinny

• Almond Butter Quinoa Blondies

Now, these are definitely a reach for Super Bowl Sunday, especially because no one knows how to pronounce quinoa, so when you present these, just simply say they are almond blondies because they taste so good that no one will know they are eating something healthy! I promise. These blondies are gluten-free, nutty, chocolaty, and are only 146 calories per serving. Check out the recipe below and see if your friends and family can tell that these sweet treats are also guilt-free.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth or crunchy natural almond butter
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup quinoa flour (can be found in a baking section near gluten-free flours)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper (or foil), allowing it to slightly overhang opposite ends. Coat with cooking spray. Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk quinoa flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it, 25 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan for 45 minutes. Using the parchment (or foil), lift the whole panful out and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 24 squares.

Recipe courtesy of Eating Well