We love our football on the weekends in the Fall, whether it’s Penn State or the Eagles! 

If we can’t make it to a game, watching at home can be just as fun, and definitely warmer!

You must have game day snacks, but munching on chips and dips and such can quickly go to your waistline. I’ve been on Weight Watchers for months now and have pretty much maintained a decent weight, although I could stand to lose another five pounds or so. So it’s important to me to not ruin my diet (or my husband’s) on game day! The good news is that you can still make some delicious game day foods by making some slight modifications. Try these at your next tailgate!

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Turkey Chili. Replacing any red meat with chicken or turkey saves a ton of WW points. Using ground turkey in this recipe tastes just as good, because the chili flavor comes through regardless of the meat used. I make this in the crock pot. It makes the house smell great and people can help themselves. 

Just throw all these ingredients in the pot and cook on low for about 6 hours. A pound of 99% lean ground turkey, a large can of diced tomatoes, a can/jar/packet of chili mix, diced red onion, a few cloves of garlic. Top with low fat shredded cheddar cheese, scallions, and/or plain greek yogurt.

Turkey burgers. Again, replacing that ground beef with turkey, works for hamburger and cheeseburgers too.  Just mix your (99%) ground turkey with minced onion, garlic salt and hamburgers spices.

Grill or pan fry until brown on both sides (5 mins). If pan frying, put a little water into the pan and cover until ready to serve (this makes them moist, something that can be an issue with turkey because it doesn’t have the fat content). 

Toast up some 647 hamburger buns, and top with sliced tomato, red onion, pickles, lettuce, and low fat cheese if desired. You can get no sugar ketchup now- give it a try!

Meatball subs. My last recipe for ground turkey, I promise! Let’s make meatballs!  Mix your (99%) ground turkey with an egg, one onion chopped, one celery stalk chopped, and some low fat shredded cheese. Pour in some panko bread crumbs until it is the consistency you desire. (I like these a little wetter, again we don’t want them drying out.) Mold into balls and put on a baking dish lined with low sugar marinara. Pour a little more marinara on top, and add some more low-fat shredded cheese and a little grated parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can toast 647 hoagie rolls, and pack each roll with 3 or 4 meatballs, depending on the size. Cover with some more sauce and low fat cheese. These are SO good. I made them for the Penn State game last weekend!

Turkey hoagies. Being from Philadelphia, I love a good hoagie! Sliced turkey (of course) replaces fatty meats like roast beef, salami or pastrami. Spread a 647 hoagie roll with low fat mayonnaise and hoagie spread. Add your turkey, low fat cheese, and whatever else you like (tomatoes, onions, pickles, peppers…). Toast these in the oven if you’d like!

With your sandwiches and entrees, you definitely need some crunchy chips and creamy dips. To go along with these, I highly recommend putting out some crudités as well, like carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers, red peppers. If healthy veggies are in sight, you’re more apt to reach for these to dip!

Dips. Any dips can really be transformed into low point options. The magic ingredient is plain nonfat greek yogurt (ZERO points). Just add a powdered soup or dip mix (Lipton onion, Hidden Valley Ranch…). Do some taste testing to see how much to use. 

If serving chips, I opt for the Cape Cod 40% less fat kettle potato chips in flavors like sour cream and onion or salt and vinegar. Quaker rice crisps also come in a variety of flavors, are really good and have lower points. Another great option is to make tortilla chips yourself!

Mission Carb Balance tortillas are only two points. Spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt (or other seasonings), and bake for just a few minutes at 350 degrees. Keep your eye on these, because they can easily burn since they’re so thin. I use a pizza cutter to cut them into chip-sizes, and serve with dips and crudités.

For some heartier game day apps, give these a try!

Potato Skins. A whole potato has 4 points, and you can get two or four skins out of one, depending on how big you want your bites. Just bake potatoes in the oven. Keep them whole and wrap in foil. They’ll take about an hour at 400 degrees. When they’re cool, cut them to your desired size and hollow out the soft insides. Mash the soft potato with a little low fat cream cheese. Re-fill the skins with this mixture, top with low fat cheese, and warm up just enough to melt the cheese. Top with nonfat greek yogurt and/or salsa.

Stuffed mushrooms. Get some beautiful cremini mushrooms; wash and remove the stems. This variety of mushroom is so easy to work with! Make your filling using low fat cream cheese, some low fat mayonnaise and parmesan (ratio of 2-1-1 depending on how many mushrooms you’re making). Season to taste with garlic salt. Stuff each mushroom with the mixture, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bruschettas. One of my favorite things to make year-round, these make a tasty appetizer, and can be made in many varieties. Get a loaf of French bread and cut into slices. Spray with some olive oil and rub a clove of fresh garlic over them for some flavor. Now, it depends on what you’re in the mood for with flavors. The classic is tomato, made with finely chopped grape tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and a little salt; and topped with mozzarella. Other flavors I love are strawberry with goat cheese and honey, and pear with blue cheese. So many flavors go together for these toasts, and it’s fun to experiment. Just think of a fruit or vegetable for sweetness along with a pairing of cheese. Whatever kind you’re making they just take about 15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. Two pieces of a traditional tomato bruschetta is only 2 points!

Drinks. In my college days, I definitely drank beer at football games. Thankfully, there are so many choices these days for light beer that actually tastes good. We also like White Claws (4 points). My WW friendly alcoholic drink of choice is a shot of Titos vodka with a little zero sugar lemonade and flavored seltzer water. 3 points!

Lastly, if you are headed to the stadium for the full game day experience, a good choice is a soft pretzel with mustard. Or if you save up some points, a hot dog or nachos. I’d stay away from hamburgers, cheeseburgers and fries, unless you have A LOT of points to spare.

Enjoy watching your favorite teams and eating some tasty food- guilt-free!

Do you have any favorite low-cal game day snacks to share? I’d love to hear!