Start things off with a hearty bowl of chili, pregame or during the first quarter. (Taking the edge off appetites and allowing some time for guests to feel satiated can save hundreds of calories in reflex snacking by halftime.)
Jessica O'Donnell, chef at the Good Dog Bar and Restaurant, who is best known for her heavenly blue-cheese burger, also cooks a lovely chicken and white bean chili.
"I had a regular chili on the menu and come summertime, I wanted to lighten it up a little bit," she said. "But it sold so well, we never went back to the regular chili."
Instead of just subbing chicken for beef, O'Donnell created a new dish, built around tomatillos, jalapeños, white beans, cilantro, lime juice - and tequila, "just for fun."
It's very low in fat, says O'Donnell. But it doesn't taste that way; it's hearty and flavorful, with a punch from the tomatillos.
Similarly, chef Rich Landau had to go well beyond the bland cliches of traditional vegetarian cooking to earn critical success for his Center City vegan restaurant, Horizons.
The Yucatan chopped spinach salad, a longtime favorite on his menu, has been adapted for home cooks in his new cookbook: a lively melange of baby spinach, avocados, jalapeños and tomatoes, coated with a tangy cilantro and lime dressing and garnished with crushed tortilla chips.
We also selected a sure-to-score dish from the Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites cookbook: Thai Chicken Satay skewers, proving that you needn't forfeit your favorite foods in favor of boring carrot sticks and watery lite beers. (See accompanying recipes for all the above dishes.)
David Zinczenko, editor of Men's Health magazine and author of Eat This Not That! (Rodale), also believes that with some simple menu tweaking, you can keep calories and fats under control on game days.
Some of the tips from his book include:
