Dietitian Trish Brimhall tells us how we can make some of the classic Super Bowl favorites a lot more healthy.
Corn chips - with almost 80% of households consuming crispy corn snack foods such as corn and tortilla chips – according to a survey last year – chances are there are or have been corn chips in your home during the past month.
While I’m all for using veggies as a mode of dip consumption, sometimes you just want a salty, crunchy corn chip to dive into that delectable dip.
- One thing to watch for to keep nutrition in mind when selecting a chip is the length of the ingredient label. The shorter the list, the closer it is to whole, real foods it will be. Nothing beats a simple, short, and pronounceable food label.
- Also, watch the sodium level of your “edible spoon” and then choose your dip wisely since the chip is only half of the nutrition picture here.
Since most of us fall short on veggie and fiber intake, here are some tips to keep your dips delicious and nutritious:
When in doubt choose beans. Bean dips, hummus and salsas full of black beans are just a few examples. Beans always bring more fiber, folate and iron to the table.
Makeover an old favorite. Southwestern Layered Bean dip is loaded not only with beans, but veggies and is a fresher more nutritious take on the seven layered dip of your childhood.
Try a middle-eastern version of a seven layer dip hummus, greek yogurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and parsley and dill.
Add in extra veggies or fruits. If your creamy artichoke dip is already lightened, add in some chopped spinach or kale, if your pico de gallo is already bursting with veggies – add in some mango or pineapple.
Snacking isn’t about sneaking. Be bold and make snack time more delicious and nutritious with an extra serving of veggies to boot!
For more great ideas from Trish, go here.
