One idea I did follow through with was build your own nacho night for my small group of high school girls on Wednesday this week. I had them over for some food and fun and delicious nachos that I took no pictures of. However, we ate some of the leftovers last night for dinner and I snapped a few pictures.
Here is Evan's nachos. He likes it pretty plain. I know. He needs a bit more work.
Here is my non-anemic plate with some green in there!
And this would be my husband with lots of cheese and a little green hiding in there somewhere I think???
I did clean up the nachos a bit so that I wouldn't have too much guilt or have to run too many miles to work them off because that is how you decide if something is worth it or not, right?
First, I bought healthier chips. I like to use the multi-grain tortillas or blue corn tortillas and on mine I even used Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips.
Second, you need to think about the meat. I mixed beef with turkey and made a homemade taco seasoning so there was no MSG or preservatives in there and I also cooked some chicken in the crock pot and shredded it. I also lightly topped mine with meat. There is plenty going on and you don't need too much of any ingredient.
Third, you should think about using reduced fat cheeses or cheeses that are naturally lower in fat like mozzarella. I bought reduced fat pepper jack which we love and also had a Colby jack mix along with the mozzarella.
Fourth, you MUST load your nacho tin with VEGGIES! For the girls on Wednesday night I had green and white onion, red and green peppers, diced chilies, diced jalapenos, black olives, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, fresh homemade guacamole, and light sour cream.
Pop the tins in the oven for about 8 minutes and let them cool slightly so you can touch the pan and load it with the things you didn't want cooked. It was super awesome to have them all in individual pie tins so you can put whatever you like on them. I grabbed these at the dollar store.
Here is another idea if you want to be really good! Wednesday for lunch we had the most fabulous salad!
I took some of the leftover salad I had served with the nachos Wednesday evening and lots of the leftover toppings and used salsa and light sour cream for dressing. FANTABULOUS! And yes that is a word!
I was also thinking of making my 8 Layer Mediterranean Dip with some Pita Chips. You can find this on my recipe page under appetizers.
Good old deviled eggs would also be a hit around here. Someone eats them in one bite. Even after being told numerous times that it is important to enjoy and chew your food! Clean them up with olive oil mayo or light mayo.
Some homemade hummus and veggies would also be divine! My kids even love hummus. If you are going to buy it instead I suggest you buy Sabra brand. I am a bit of a snob about my hummus and theirs is my favorite store bought brand because it is so creamy. I like the roasted garlic flavor the best.
For something on the sweeter side I was thinking of making a fruit salsa with some cinnamon chips made from whole wheat tortillas. The kids would devour this!
I was also thinking about making some pinwheels wraps similar to these with some laughing cow spreadable cheese, spinach, turkey, avocado or whatever else I have on hand to throw in there. I will probably use Joseph's Lavash bread to make them. I rolls up so much more easily then tortilla wraps would because of its rectangular shape.
The best part about this is that it only has 50 calories! You can find Joseph's products at all 3 stores in Willmar. Check the bakery bread section at Walmart, near the cheeses and deli counter at Cashwise, and by the cupcakes and treats on a smaller shelf at Cub.
I might also buy some more won ton wrappers and fill them with the leftover Asian filling I made a few nights ago and stuck in the freezer. We tried to steam them the other night and it wasn't working so well since we don't have a steamer basket so we ended up pan frying them in a little olive oil. They tasted delicious!
I made a little sauce with these ingredients and cooked some ground pork with a TON of finely chopped veggies.
I believe there is broccoli, carrots, cabbage, water chestnuts, maybe some celery and some green onion in there. I have no idea how much of the above sauce ingredients I used. I just kept tasting and adding what I felt it was lacking.
Here is the method I used to fill and fold these up. Only about one tablespoon will fit in each wrap and you need a little water to help seal the edges.
Like I said we gave up on steaming them and being super healthy but these were quite yummy pan fried. Won ton wrappers are surprisingly not to bad in the health department. You could eat 8 of them for about 160 calories and they were made with wheat flour.
I found these at Walmart in the produce section next to the tofu which I still refuse to eat! One day, maybe if you don't tell me it is in something, and you fix something that looks so delicious I can't resist, I will eat tofu.
The last couple things I am thinking about making come from a blog I read called Happy Healthy Mama. The first one is for quinoa pizza balls with yogurt ranch dip. These really caught my attention!
I think I might even try these for small group tomorrow night. You can click here for the recipe on Maryea's Blog. Quinoa Pizza Balls
Her other recipe I want to try is for Super Easy Applesauce Crackers.
These just looked super fun, easy, and something I think the kids would really love and that I could feel good about serving. Click here for this recipe. Super Easy Applesauce Crackers
You could also look on my recipe page for other ideas. White Chili, Three Bean Chili, or Southwest Meatballs would all be fun Super Bowl Ideas.
Now truth be told I don't really care about the Super Bowl. I only care about making my boys happy by feeding their bellies with some Super Bowl worthy fair that doesn't completely ignore our diet while they enjoy the game. It is just an excuse for me to try a few new things in the kitchen. And I guess I care a little about the commercials! I hope they won't disappoint!
Enjoy your weekend and your Super Bowl Sunday!
