{"id":67339,"date":"2012-03-31T01:00:13","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T06:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=67339"},"modified":"2012-03-30T18:22:07","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T23:22:07","slug":"10-healthy-recipes-for-your-final-four-watch-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/10-healthy-recipes-for-your-final-four-watch-party\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Healthy Recipes for Your Final Four Watch Party"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alright sports fans, it&#8217;s time to get serious about the Final Four tournament this weekend,\u00a0<em>and<\/em> the food you&#8217;ll be eating during your playoff celebrations.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/10-healthy-recipes-for-your-final-four-watch-party\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-67482\" title=\"final-four-2012\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/final-four-2012-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/final-four-2012-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/final-four-2012.jpeg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just because sporting events can bring out our worst eating habits doesn&#8217;t mean you have to blow your diet while cheering on your favorite team. Leave the planning to us with this full spread of healthier-for-you dishes themed by region of the Final Four teams.\u00a0And just in case you don&#8217;t know who this year&#8217;s top four are, the Kansas Jayhawks are facing off with the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Louisville Cardinals are going head-to-head with the Kentucky Wildcats.\u00a0Let the (healthy) games begin!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ohio State Buckeyes<\/strong>: Let&#8217;s start with dessert first, shall we? Ohio State&#8217;s mascot &#8211; the Buckeye &#8211; \u00a0is well recognized not only for its sports teams, but also for the peanut butter chocolate dessert residents of Ohio love most. Try a spin on the classic with these <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ashleynicolewillcox.wordpress.com\/2011\/09\/25\/healthy-buckeye-recipe\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong>. And since Ohio&#8217;s state fruit is the tomato, whip up a\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/recipes\/ina-garten\/bloody-mary-recipe\/index.html?rsrc=search\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Bloody Mary<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to kick things off in a\u00a0healthier fashion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kansas University Jayhawks<\/strong>: Call me biased being from Kansas, but this is my favorite team. And since I grew up here, I know that the Midwest is in no short supply of meat and potato lovers. Feed your hungriest of guests with these deceptively\u00a0<strong><a title=\"Healthy Beef Burgers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/recipes\/beef-burgers-and-sweet-potato-fries\/\">Healthier Beef Burgers<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and a few perfectly crispy\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/annies-eats.com\/2010\/02\/25\/baked-oven-fries\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Baked Steak Fries<\/a><\/strong>. And don&#8217;t forget the alcohol. Enjoy this hearty meal alongside a light wheat beer to quench your Kansas-loving thirst.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Louisville Cardinals<\/strong>: In Kentucky, they love their beer cheese. But if I was gambling woman, I wouldn&#8217;t bet that it falls in the healthy food category. Fix that problem with this lighter\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yummly.com\/recipe\/Beer-Cheese-Soup-Ii-Allrecipes\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Beer Cheese Soup<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0And to put on a true local front, try these\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.saveur.com\/article\/Recipes\/Benedictine-Sandwich-Spread\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Benedictine Sandwiches<\/a><\/strong>. Either prepare as suggested, or lighten them up by swapping out the full fat ingredients for the half or one-third fat options.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/10-healthy-recipes-for-your-final-four-watch-party\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-67465\" title=\"blackberry-lemonade-pour\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/blackberry-lemonade-pour1-223x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/blackberry-lemonade-pour1-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/blackberry-lemonade-pour1.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kentucky Wildcats<\/strong>: I say Kentucky, you say bourbon. Folks in Kentucky love the stuff. That&#8217;s why they&#8217;ve been producing it since the 1700s and even host an annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival to celebrate the spirit through history, art and of course, cocktails! Try this\u00a0<strong><a title=\"skinny mint julep\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/slim-down-your-cocktails-for-fat-tuesday\/\">Skinny Mint Julep<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in honor of the &#8216;Bluegrass State.&#8217;\u00a0And for snacking, serve up these savory\u00a0<strong><a title=\"bourbon scallops\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/recipes\/bourbon-bacon-scallops\/\">Bourbon Scallops<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for even more boozy fun.<\/p>\n<p>You didn&#8217;t think we&#8217;d let you get away without any greens did you? Serve up this nutrient-packed\u00a0<strong><a title=\"spinach pomegranate salad\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/recipes\/spinach-salad-with-pears-and-pomegranate\/\">Spinach Salad with Pears and Pomegranates<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for plenty of fiber, folic acid and antioxidants. And just in case you&#8217;d rather go the non-alcoholic route this weekend, sip on this delicious and refreshing\u00a0<strong><a title=\"blackberry lemonade with basil\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/recipes\/blackberry-lemonade-with-basil\/\">Blackberry Lemonade With Basil<\/a><\/strong>. It&#8217;s sure to satisfy kids and grown-ups alike.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alright sports fans, it&#8217;s time to get serious about the Final Four tournament this weekend,\u00a0and the food you&#8217;ll be eating during your playoff celebrations. Just because sporting events can bring out our worst eating habits doesn&#8217;t mean you have to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/10-healthy-recipes-for-your-final-four-watch-party\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3687,16],"tags":[326,8440,9582,1250],"class_list":["post-67339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adult-health","category-recipes","tag-basketball","tag-homepage","tag-ncaa","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67339"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67492,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339\/revisions\/67492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}