Gameday upgraded

And we're not trying to take the shine off of your game day cuisine, but you know, the game day favorites, your wings, your nachos, your pizza, they can have some bad stuff in there. And we're not trying to tell you just like, you know, cut it out and have no fun with it. We're just trying to get you a little healthier for your game day party. Registered dietitian at Wiener Clark, founder of Wiener Clark Nutrition, back with some, some, some little hacks for us to keep everybody happy. What are some of the, I guess, concerns when it comes to some of the foods that we just talked about? Yeah, so a lot of saturated fat, a lot of salt, a lot of sugar, and all of those things can raise our risk of chronic disease, particularly cardiometabolic disease. And so what we've got here today is we're not, like you said, we're not taking out all your favorites. We're just modifying them a little bit. We're adding more lean protein. We're adding more fiber. We're adding more plants. And not just, I mean, obviously we're concerned about with some of the foods that we talked about earlier, some of your game day staples, the high levels of fats and sodium and everything else. It's just, it turns into like a games three hours long plus pregame and postgame. It turns into an all day feasting session, right? It does. And one of the things that happens during football season is a lot of mindless munching. So we know from the research that people eat more in front of the television and they can, they're less likely to be able to recall what they had. Right. Unless you just put down the entire tray of nachos, which we'll get to in just a second. Let's talk about some of the beverages and what do you recommend? Yeah. So we know that beer, soda, wine, seltzers, hard seltzers, all very popular. Sugar, sugar, sugar, right? Exactly. So from our friends at Ollipop here today, we have a soda alternative, which only has two to five grams of sugar and six to nine grams of fiber per serving and comes in all the soda flavors that everybody grew up loving. Right. So you have an alternate there when it comes to the drinks. Now, as far as the food, some people might say, you know, the old veggie tray. I don't know if I really want to go that. In this case, though, you've made it very nice with a little veggie cups, individual portions. But it's the dip we're talking about that makes a difference. Yes. So spinach artichoke dip is one of the most commonly consumed foods during a football game. And so we've taken it and turned it into hummus. And so this is store bought hummus with blended spinach, a little bit of parmesan cheese and then also some canned artichokes. And it tastes reminiscent of the classic spinach artichoke. I'm guessing not as much of the fats that are involved, right, in the oils that you would typically find in a dip like that. Exactly. So we've cut back the saturated fat because there's typically a lot of whole milk dairy. And so we've cut back the saturated fat, added fiber with hummus. All right. So this was my challenge to you, not challenge to me, is to not eat all of this. Who doesn't love a big old tray of nachos? So what can we possibly do to nachos to make this a healthier version of the nachos, typically dripping with the cheese and gooey deliciousness? Yes. So we have kept the chips, obviously, because you can't have nachos without chips. But we've added about three quarters of a cup of cheese. So we've gone light on the cheese. A little bit lighter than what you might do with the overloading of the cheese. So we still get to get the flavor of it. We get a hint of it without going crazy on the cheese. Exactly. And sometimes using a stronger cheese can be helpful with that. And we've also added two shredded chicken breasts and a bunch of beans, a whole can of black beans and jalapenos and also cherry tomatoes. So you get the fiber from the beans. But the chicken itself, you go with the leaner protein. And that can make a difference too with the nachos. Exactly. So it's very low in saturated fat chicken. And, yeah, again, we've added a little bit more protein with the beans and a little bit more fiber as well. And so we've made it more satiating than the traditional nachos. All right. This is our chili-type dish here. What do we do here? Yeah, so lots of hidden things in here. Yeah, I want to know. So instead of beef, we've gone with a lean 93.7 turkey, ground turkey. And then we've added lentils to it. Oh, interesting. And you can't really see the lentils. No, you can't. Can you see the lentils? You really have to look. They're hidden in there. But I'm assuming that's going to give us more of the fiber? Yeah, more fiber. Lentils typically have about 16 grams of fiber per cup. They also have 18 grams of protein. And so they're kind of a hidden gem for upgrading the nutrition of any meal. And they're great with ground meat because you can't really tell that they're there. And they add sort of this rich, nutty flavor. Yeah. And it'll also soak up some of the liquid, too. It gives it a little meatier feel to it. So you can use your typical black beans or kidney beans, but then also you just throw in some lentils, too. Give it a little something extra. All right. I promised the footballs at the end. These look like delicious little chocolate footballs. They are not. What are these? Well, there is a little bit of chocolate in there. They are actually salted peanut butter stuffed dates. Wow. With a little bit of chocolate on the outside. That's fine, though. Turned into football. But the main ingredient is their dates. Yes. That's awesome. That's right. Exactly. They are absolutely delicious. My children tried to steal this this morning. Oh, yeah. You said it's got to go on TV first. And then we could have some for the kids afterward. But that's a good sign, though. If the kids are into it, then you know you're doing something right. Very much so. All right. Marina, thank you, as always. We'll put our information up if you want to find out more and get some great ideas as well, whether for your football party or otherwise. There's the website online and her social media. All right. We're going to take a short break. We'll be back to wrap up this hour of Good Day right after this.