Cleats & Eats: Snacks from the Sidelines

Regan Jones from the Professional Palate takes over Robinsbite today as Football Week begins....

When my friend and (much admired) colleague Robin invited me to be a guest blogger here on her blog, I jumped at the opportunity. I admire Robin’s style, spirit for all things food and overall approach to communicating nutrition news. We are cut from the same cloth when it comes to our approach to making nutrition a “taste-first” topic.  

The fact that she does not share my ardent devotion to college football is something that I have chosen not to hold against her. It is, however, the reason that I am thrilled to step in as her guest blogger today to give the RobinsBite audience the seasonal food nod toward one of this country’s favorite pastimes - football.

College, NFL, fantasy, you name it... when it comes to football, my household is probably paying attention to it. (Ironically, I met Robin while living in Texas- the only place on Earth where people actual tailgate for high school football. It’s insane the love of football those wonderful Texans share with folks like me, born and raised in the Deep South where football truly divides families and decides elections. And frankly, I love Texas all the more for it!! But back to the topic at hand....)

I have come to realize over the years, though, that the problem with a season full of tailgating (or better yet “tablegating” for the poor lot of us who have either been displaced from our alma mater in distance OR have a couple of future football fans toddling around the house keeping us home) is that often the nutrition numbers don’t really add up in your favor.

Don’t get me wrong... I’m a big believer in that classic dietitian mantra of “all foods can fit.” But the question is... if you fit in too many fun foods this season, will you really fit into your jeans come Super Bowl?

I get plenty of requests every year to “lighten” a traditional tailgate dish... and I’m happy to oblige. In fact, I’ve just launched a season long #footballfriday bloghop on my blog celebrating popular tailgating dishes from bloggers across the web. But if you really want to score big not only on taste, but nutrition as well, you can look to those naturally nutrient-rich choices that are already fan favorites:  

• In shell pistachios - In general, nuts are always a good choice because of their vitamin, mineral, protein and fiber content. Where people get into trouble is overdoing their portions (which can mean big calories!) The thing I love about in shell pistachios, though, is that the act of breaking open each pistachio is a natural way to slow down that “grazing” that can otherwise lead to excess calories.

• Black Bean and Corn Salsa - This is one of my all-time favorites. It’s based on a recipe I tested while working in the Test Kitchen for one of Southern Living’s cookbooks. It’s always a hit, even alongside some of it’s heavier, dip competitors. Fresh salsas, whether made from tomatoes, corn, beans, mangos, peaches... you name it... are an ideal way to sneak in something fresh, veggie &/or fruit filled without making people feel like you brought the “diet dip.”

• Fruit & Cheese tray - On this point, I differ with some cheeseheads in that I’m actually “pro” cubed cheese for this type of spread. I’ll confess that once you cube cheese, it does begin to lose its moisture faster, so beware of prepping too far in advance. Likewise, I recommend doing it yourself rather than buying pre-cubed cheese (I think the flavor and texture difference is totally worth the minimal extra effort.) Plus, by cubing yourself, you’re able to opt for reduced fat varieties, many of which now come in flavors and taste nothing like they did years ago (Yay! Score one for cheese lovers!) Because fruit is such a natural alongside cheese, here again you’ve offered your pals another nutrient-rich combo in the form of a fan favorite.

• Roasted Veggie and Olive Antipasto - While traditional antipasto platters contain cured meats, I prefer an all veggie approach. Olives are a classic fixture, as are artichoke hearts. I add to that various roasted veggies (either roasted at home in a 450 degree oven until caramelized or picked up from the local deli). Drizzle with a touch of balsamic vinegar for low fat, high flavor... and can you say antioxidant powerhouse?

• Grilled Chicken Skewers with Buffalo Sauce - As I said, I really hate to hit people over the head with the “this is lighter” notion. But nowhere is it more welcome in my books than ditching chicken wings (which frankly just don’t appeal to me as they’re mostly just poultry skin... *no thanks*), and instead opting for grilled chicken breast skewers and buffalo sauce. I mean really... what’s the appeal about wings anyway? It’s the heat in the sauce, right? This approach gives you that same appeal for far fewer calories.

I can’t really say whether the appeal of football season is the chance for my team to lace up their cleats and take a run at the championship, the opportunity to spend time with friends and family or simply a good excuse to break out the chip and dip bowl for some delicious eats... probably, it’s a combination of all of the above. I can say, however, that whatever the season holds on the field, lining up these choice clearly means winning “off” the field.       


Regan Jones, RD authors the blog The Professional Palate from her home in Georgia where she is actively grooming two young sons for a lifelong football devotion to her alma mater, Auburn University. (Just don’t tell her husband who is equally devoted to doing the same for their in-state rival.)

Starting your New Year's Resolution with A Fruit, A Nut and A Cheese, Oh My!

Here we go again, folks. The resolution solution. Do you have one this year?

When people tell me that they are yet again joining a gym-only to stop going in mid February (if not sooner), my suggestion is always to be to save that money from the gym membership and put it towards something new and exciting that will keep you exercising. How about tennis lessons? What about learning how to ski? Registration to road runs/races? Splitting the fee for a personal trainer? Boot Camp? The list goes on and on. Set yourself up for success-not failure.

Another one of those resolutions is "I'm going to eat more fruits and vegetables everyday." When I ask how, the response is "salad". When deconstructing the salad after the frustration people felt by not seeing progress, we'd peel back the layers: minimal greens, few antioxidant packed veggies, zero protein, tons of cheese, lots of croutons, fried and crunchy bacon bits and enough salad dressing (usually a creamy one like Ranch) to cover the top of the salad so much so that you couldn't see the food underneath!!! Not to mention, this is the same salad they are eating day in and day out! BORING!

I fully support your commitment to incorporate more salads into your menus. The can be full of fiber, rich in antioxidants, loaded with vitamins and minerals not to mention they can taste GREAT and be completely satisfying. It's all in the way we construct it!


Here we go:

1. Start with a large base of dark salad greens. The deeper the color green, the better. Think spinach, kale, cabbages, even mixed greens, etc.

2. Load up on your favorite veggies--tomatoes, red bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts...you get the drill. Remember, they don't even have to be raw! Try some of last nights cooked carrots or the grilled onions from your left over fajitas.

3. Add lean protein. Think lean meats, low fat deli meats, canned (and rinsed) beans-black, garbanzo, kidney-anything! Tuna, canned salmon, leftover grilled chicken from the night before or crumble your turkey taco meat on top!

4. When you think dressing, think oil and vinegar based dressings. Remember that oil is 100% fat calories, so be sure to measure out what you want to use. Stay away from most creamy based dressings. If you are like me, your not a fan of the low fat or fat free dressings. Remember it only take a little bit of dressing to go a long way. Also consider lemon and lime juice, salsas and flavored vinegars. The normal ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Change it up and do less oil, more vinegar!

5. Now for the fun stuff. I love to add fruits, nuts and cheeses to make my salads complete meals. As with everything, its the moderation that counts. I unearthed this "Off the Chart" Salad Combination photo copy last week. I am sorry to say that I have no idea where it came from, but I've had it for years and lists beautiful combinations.

Toasting the nuts brings out an aroma you won't believe. Keep your measuring spoons handy so that you don't over do on the nuts. While healthy and good for you, it's easy to go overboard. Some of the cheeses listed below are high in fat and calories so remember that just a little bit of these highly flavorful cheese go a long way in providing great taste. The fruit you add doesn't matter--just add some! Remember you can use canned mandarin oranges or Cuties or any kind of canned fruit (in natural juices) if you can't find the fresh in your market or if its not in season. Adding fruit gives the salad an entirely new dimension and helps get another serving of fruit into the day.

The idea is to be satisfied or satiated after eating your meal. The salad can encompass it all-I encourage you to break out of your salad rut and look around for new flavors to help increase your consumption of healthy salads!

If you have a combo that is your favorite, please let me know in the comment section--I'm always looking for new ones.

Fruit	Cheese	Nuts (Toasted)	Extras
Apples	Feta	Pine Nuts	Fresh dill or lemon zest
Dried Apricots	Goat Cheese	Pistachios	Fresh mint or basil
Dried Cherries	Gorgonzola	Hazelnuts	Shaved radicchio or crisp pancetta
Figs	Cambozola	Walnuts	Orange zest, walnut oil or prosciutto
Grapefruit	English Stilton	Pecans	Avocado
Nectarines	Manchego	Macadamia Nuts	Fresh Mint
Pears	Shaved Parmesan curls	Walnuts	Crumbled bacon or shaved endive
Persimmons	Goat cheese or blue cheese	Pecans or toasted pumpkin seeds	Cayenne pepper or freshly grated nutmeg
Strawberries	Pepper flavored Boursin cheese	Hazelnuts	Fresh basil or hazelnut oil
Sun Dried Tomatoes	Fresh Mozzarella	Pine Nuts	Fresh Basil

page 85, chapter title: Soups and salads
Sadly, book unknown!