It’s time to kick-off the second biggest food holiday of the year – Super Bowl. Yes, this annual NFL game is more than just an event, it’s considered by most to be a holiday. There’s something in Super Bowl Sunday for everyone, whether you’re the consummate party host, the consumer of game-day food, viewer of the half-time show (this year with Madonna), or you actually want to see the Giants and Patriots make a run for the XLVI title. Then, there is that one thing that almost everyone watches the Super Bowl for, and those are the commercials.

Advertisers are said to have paid an average of $3.5 million for each thirty-second commercial, which is expected to be seen by more than 111 million viewers. Brands from categories for beer, chips, soda, and cars dominate the commercial breaks. However, this year, we were pleased to see some healthier players take the ad field.

That’s why we’ve selected Oikos and Belvita as our favorite 2012 Super Bowl Commercials. Not only are they clever, and funny – a must for any Super Bowl commercial – but they also put front and center a few healthy options that viewers can find at their grocery stores. No doubt, by tomorrow morning, they’ll be wishing they’d eaten more healthful treats at the party.

Oikos Greek Yogurt Super Bowl Commercial

John Stamos appears pronouncing Oikos as “possibly the best Greek yogurt in the world,” a claim they uphold with a 2:1 favor over Chobani in a blind taste test.

Belvita Breakfast Crackers Super Bowl Commercial

Two police offers rave about their sustained energy to do their jobs thanks to enjoying a couple of Belvita breakfast crackers in the morning.

It’s refreshing to see something advertised that isn’t catering to nor promoting our gluttonous ways. When you’re sitting almost motionless for four hours on a couch surrounded by chips, cheese dip, grilled meat and beer, do you really need constant reminders to go out and buy more of it? We think not.

Need more Super Bowl commercials? Click here to see the making of the GoDaddy commercial with Jillian Michaels, Danica Patrick, and Natalia Velez.

A party like Super Bowl should have one big meal, it should have a lot of little favorites. You don’t want anyone to get too full too soon, that game lasts four hours in case you haven’t heard!

Slider sandwiches are the perfect way to give a little bit of a whole lot and keep your crowd satisfied for hours. We like them because they’re practically built-in portion control. Don’t grill half-pound burgers, make tiny ones on tiny buns. Sliders allow you to to enjoy something often though of as “off-limits” for healthy eaters, but in these smaller packages you can give in a little bit guilt-free.

Our BBQ Pork Sliders are made with lean pork tenderloin, your favorite barbecue sauce, and topped with a homemade coleslaw. They’re super simple to make. You could start and have your platter stacked with sandwiches in about an hour! Talk about the perfect last-minute crowd pleaser. If you’ve got time though, this can all be made ahead of time and assembled as your guests are arriving.

Ingredients

One pork tenderloin (about 1 ¼ lbs.)
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
3 cups bagged Classic Cole Slaw (shredded cabbage and carrots)
3 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. fat-free milk
1 ½ tsp. cider or white vinegar
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sliced scallions
12 dinner rolls or slider buns, split and warmed or toasted if desired
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We’re just two days out from Super Bowl Sunday and the anticipation is building! There’s not much to do between now and kick-off except plan Super Bowl recipes and watch Super Bowl commercials. A staple of any proper football tailgate (whether at an actual tailgate or on your sofa) is buffalo chicken. The popular buffalo flavor has many iterations, and this morning, the web wants to know all about buffalo chicken dip.

Yesterday, Mike Valenti published his buffalo chicken dip recipe on CBS Detroit. It looks tasty, no one wonder people are scrambling to find it. However, it also doesn’t look very good for you at all. His original recipe includes regular cream cheese, ranch dressing, an entire rotisserie chicken, and regular cheddar cheese. We estimate a serving of his has at least 487 calories per 3.2-ounce serving. So, we did what we do best, we gave his dip a makeover!

We trimmed a lot of calories, fat, and saturated fat off of his recipe. You’ll get the exact same results, just as much flavor, and feel way better about eating it. With the adjustments we’ve made, the recipe now has about 206 calories per 3.2 oz. serving (this does not include the chips).

DIR’s Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

• 2 8-oz. packages of reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 16 oz. 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 ranch dip seasoning packet
• 3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• 24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast shredded and skin removed (bake, grill, or stew in the slow cooker with some of the hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
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Last week we reminded you of the gastronomic list of junk food marketing that’s about to burn our eyes on Sunday. Super Bowl commercials are traditionally made of potato chips, beer, soda, and pizza – the makings of a “proper” football party. We were pleasantly surprised to see Oikos Greek Yogurt make their Super Bowl debut, and deemed them Healthiest Super Bowl Ad. Now, it seems, we’ve got a runner-up in Belvita.

Belvita Breakfast Biscuits are a new packaged food from Nabisco, and they have a pretty amusing commercial running during the Super Bowl pre-game. You can watch it now. Then, read on to see why we aren’t throwing any flags on this new breakfast competitor.

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We spoke with Dr. Travis Stork, a co-host on The Doctors and active ER doctor, yesterday to help spread the word about women’s heart health. During the month of February we’re all doing our part to help to curb the number one killer of women in America – heart disease. The thing is, aside from genetic influence, it can often be completely preventable based on your lifestyle choices.

We asked Dr. Stork what one thing people should do, and could do, today to start making a difference for their heart health, and thus reduce their risk of stroke or death. He recommends “the simplicity of walking 30 minutes each day.”

“[Walking] doesn’t require expensive equipment, it doesn’t require any skill set,” he said. “What I also love about walking is it can do something else that’s interesting for your heart, it can increase the quality time you spend with loved ones.” Those relationships and that time bonding are just as influential on your overall health.

He recommends that we make a post-dinner walk for 30 minutes a part of our family routines. “Make it a habit with your family, your kids will watch you and engage in your habits.” It certainly sounds a lot more appealing than plopping down on the couch as a “root vegetable,” as he described.
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