Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

I am not a sports fan… but I do love a great football movie (like Rudy, oh I cry and cry). I imagine that’s what the actual game feels like to sports fans? Regardless, I am a healthy food advocate and I know what goes on at Super Bowl parties. The food is typically a wasteland of processed, packaged food, filled with weird chemicals and fake flavors, and of course tons of unhealthy fat, sodium and sugar. I don’t want to spoil your Super Bowl fun, I want to increase it. After all, wouldn’t it be better to eat food that gives you tons of energy to emphatically scream at the TV screen all the way through the fourth quarter?

I love the idea of hosting a Super Bowl dip party, snack-y food that you can continue to munch on throughout the game. Just don’t tell your guests they are healthy dips, that’s your little secret. So put down that pre-made grocery store dip (food-like-product) and walk away from the shelf.

Here are some healthy dips and dipping agents worthy of an endzone dance.

White Bean, Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Creamy, a little spice and simply delicious. Combine 2 cans of drained white beans, 2 roasted red peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 5 dashes of hot sauce,1 tsp agave nectar, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Serve with Eggplant “Fries”

Slice one large eggplant into 3/4” rounds, cut each round into 3/4” slices. Toss eggplant w/ 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp siracha, until all eggplant slices are well coated. Place on baking sheet and broil for 15 minutes, tossing once during cooking. (Be sure your baking sheet is broiler friendly.)

Edamame Guacamole

Lighten the guacamole load just a bit without sacrificing flavor. Simply replace one avocado with 1 cup of shelled edamame (you can buy these frozen, and simply thaw). To make: Add 1 cup edamame, 1 ripe avocado (peeled and pitted) 1/2 cup of cilantro, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper, juice of 2 limes, 1 tbsp chopped red onion, and 5 shakes of hot sauce to a food processor. Blend until smooth and serve with whole grain tortilla chips and assorted raw veggies. (I love sugar snap peas w/ guacamole.)

Blue Cheese Dip

A Super Bowl party is not complete without wings and blue cheese. I am a firm believer in food tradition, I just like to “healthify” whenever possible. So bake your wings rather than fry them (Try these from Martha Stewart Spicy Citrus Caramel Chicken Wings) and make this lighter blue cheese dip. Combine 1/3 cup each; Greeek yogurt and vegenaise (this is egg free mayonaise that tastes fantastic), 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, and 2 tbsp white vinegar. Stir to combine.

Serve with Salad on a Stick

Of course wings and celery are the proper dipping agents for this sauce, but you can also make a platter of “Salad-on-a-Stick” to serve alongside the blue cheese dip. Just skewer salad toppings like lettuce chucks, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and red onion.

French Onion Dip

This is such a simple recipe there is no reason to buy that processed, scary grocery store version. Begin by caramelizing onions, here is how: Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large pan on medium to low heat, add 4 cups of chopped onions, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, put the lid on the pot and cook for 10-20 minutes until super soft and beginning to brown (check during cooking to stir). Add 1/2 cup beef broth (or veggie broth if you want to keep this vegetarian) cook until all liquid has been absorbed, (about 5-10 more minutes). Add 1 tbsp onion powder and 2 tbsp white vinegar, cook for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool and simply mix together with 1 1/3 cups of Greek yogurt. Serve with tons of chopped veggies. Yum!

Variation: If you are a Patriots fan add some chopped clams, parsley, crumbled bacon, lemon juice and hot sauce for a clam chowder inspired dip. Use roasted fingerling potatoes as the dipping agent.

Dessert Hummus

What’s a party without a little dessert? Keep with the dip theme and try some dessert hummus. Seriously, delicious! Here is a standard version, but you can get creative and add any flavors you like. Begin with 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, add to a food processor w/ 1/4 cup almond butter (or peanut butter), 1/3 cup agave nectar or raw honey, 1/4 cup almond milk (use just enough to get the consistency of cookie dough), 1/4 tsp salt. Blend until smooth, stir in 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, serve w/ apple slices for dipping. Feels like a naughty cookie dough or cake batter, but be warned this is very addictive!