Go Mexicana for the Big Game! Healthy Latin-inspired Menu Ideas For Sunday's Football Fiesta
BOSTON, Feb. 1, 2010 - With Miami hosting the big game on Sunday, February 7, it's the perfect time to add a little Latino flair to your football fiesta. This year, Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition offer ideas for spicing up old snack standbys while adding new super-flavorful and healthy meal suggestions to the menu. Even New Year's resolutions to eat healthier are safe.
"Turn up the heat with chilies and spices while making some healthy substitutions to traditional snacks," said Sara Baer-Sinnott, Executive Vice President of Oldways, an internationally-respected non-profit, changing the way people eat. "Even if your team loses, you can still feel good about what you ate during the game."
Fortunately, popular ingredients in Latino cooking like beans, chilies, and avocado, can make healthy snacks. For instance, avocados contain good-for-you monounsaturated fats, folate and vitamin E, to help lower cholesterol and protect the heart. Anyone can benefit from eating nutritious Latino-inspired foods, so try adding these winning dishes to your game day plan:
1. Slice up carrots, celery and jicama and serve with salsa or guacamole. Bake your own tortilla chips, or purchase baked chips. If you have a creamy dip, try adding chilies and/or spices, so that a little bit will go a long way. And, for a little football food trivia, did you know Americans are expected to eat 80 million pounds of avocados this Sunday, according to the Hass Avocado Board? That's enough to cover Miami's Dolphin Stadium® football field, end to end, 30 feet deep-but we recommend making fresh guacamole instead.
2. Make oven-baked chicken strips - a healthier alternative to buffalo wings. Mix up cumin, chili powder, crushed garlic, and lime juice; marinate and broil. You won't miss the old standbys.
3. Substitute chicken or turkey for beef in chili or try a spicy vegetarian option loaded with beans, chilies and fresh herbs and spices.
For more recipe suggestions such as Quesadillas With Potatoes, Green Chiles And Asadero Cheese and Avocado, Jicama And Grilled Shrimp Salsa On Black Bean and Granqueso Nachos, visit the LNC website.
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About Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition
Oldways is an internationally respected non-profit, changing the way people eat through practical and positive programs grounded in science, traditions, and delicious foods and drinks. The Latino Nutrition Coalition is an Oldways program inspiring Latinos to improve and maintain their health through traditional foods and active lifestyles. LNC members include: General Mills; Herdez; La Moderna; Mission Foods; National Watermelon Promotion Board; The Peanut Institute; United States Potato Board; and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. You can learn more at www.oldwayspt.org and www.latinonutrition.org.
