It's Game Time!

Since most of you will be tuning in Sunday to watch the big game, I just wanted to share a few tips to avoid the Super Bowl bulge that's bound to occur after a debaucherous day of sports, food and beer.

I'm headed to a friend's party where there will likely be an array of high-calorie snacks and fat-laden foods and beverages on display. Yes, I very well might grab a small plate of buffalo wings or a slice of pizza. But I'm also bringing a bag of baked chips and a few containers of low-fat dip and salsa. Even that little modification can have a big end result. After all, statistics show that choosing fat-free potato chips for the big game could save up to 300 calories per person. The same goes for soda. I'll definitely be drinking the diet version over the full-calorie can!

Other plans? I will be hitting the gym for a one-hour workout Sunday morning. And as for the booze, I'll be drinking light beer...in moderation. And in between each drink, I'll have a glass of water.

Finally, I promise not to double-dip, not that I ever do. All Seinfeld fans should know what I'm talking about here!

Research published two years ago in the Journal of Food Safety determined that sporadic double dipping transfers at least 50 to 100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite. Blech. Conducted by Clemson University, the study was proposed by Prof. Paul Dawson, a food microbiologist, after he saw a rerun of a 1993 "Seinfeld" episode where George Costanza is confronted after dipping the same chip twice. Here's a recap of the hilarious scene:

GEORGE: Double-dipped? What are you talking about?

TIMMY: You dipped the chip. You took a bite. And you dipped again.

GEORGE: So...?

TIMMY: That's like putting your whole mouth right in the dip! From now on, when you take a chip - just take one dip and end it!

It seems Timmy wasn't so far off the mark about his germ concerns, huh? Dawson suggests thinking of it this way..."Before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don't know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you."

Keep that in mind should you wind up in front of a communal guacamole bowl this Super Bowl Sunday.

Touchdown Advertisements

Mark your calendars, ladies and gents...It's almost game time, baby! The Super Bowl will take place one week from Sunday. And even though my beloved Chicago Bears are on the sidelines yet again, I'm looking forward to rooting on my second favorite team, the New Orleans Saints. What can I say - my extended family hails from Louisiana so I do have a dog in this fight! But regardless of who's playing, there is nothing better than gathering with dozens of your closest friends, armed with beer and pizza, to watch a close-scoring ball game. Good times! There are others, though, that tune in primarily for the half-time entertainment and commercials. Although admittedly weaker in recent years, there are still a few standout ads every Super Bowl. So, after a bit of online research, here is a list of my favorite Super Bowl commercials.

P.S. Which ones do you remember most fondly?

10. Monster.com - "When I Grow Up" (1999)



9. Budweiser - "Frogs" (1995)



8. Coke — “Parade Balloons” (2008)



7. FedEx - "Cast Away" (2003)



6. McDonald's — “The Showdown” (1993)



5. Apple — “1984” (1984)



4. Coke — “Mean Joe Greene” (1979)



3. Budweiser — “Respect” (2002)



2. Electronic Data Systems — “Herding Cats” (2000)



1. Reebok — “Terry Tate Office Linebacker” (2003)

A Guilt-Free Feast

And it's shaping up to be yet another busy weekend. I've got dinner plans tonight, a volunteer assignment bright and early tomorrow followed by shopping in the afternoon with some gal pals, then a friend's Bon Voyage party tomorrow night and a dinner/housewarming party to attend on Sunday. Phew. It's definitely been hard to keep my girlish figure what with all the activity. Fortunately, though, I just talked to the friend who is hosting the Sunday dinner party and she told me to rest assured that the meal won't be too high in fat. For starters, they're grilling up a low-calorie barbecued steak made with Diet Coke and sugar substitutes.
Check it out!

BARBECUED STEAK
2 (7 oz.) beef steaks (any cut)
6 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. catsup
2 tbsp. Diet Coke
1 tbsp. brown sugar replacement
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 clove garlic, minced
Dash ground red pepper

Directions: In saucepan, combine all ingredients except steak. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Trim any fat from steaks. Pierce meat on both sides with fork. Place steaks in shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over steaks, turning to coat well. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Heat broiler, remove steaks from sauce and place on rack of broiler pan. Cook 4 inches from heat source 4 minutes on each side for rare, 6 minutes for medium and 8 minutes for well done, brushing with any remaining sauce in pan. Note: If there is not time to marinate steaks, brush the sauce over the steaks while grilling. This recipe serves two with 5-ounce beef each.

I've also been asked to provide a low-calorie dessert. Fortunately, I just found this yummy looking tiramisu recipe on Weight Watchers. Can.Not.Wait.

I also offered to contribute some liquor to the festivities, so I'll be bringing my oft-requested, famous (or should I say, Hungry Girl's famous) sangria.

Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine
1 can Sprite Zero (or 1 1/2 cups of any diet lemon-lime soda)
1 cup Diet Ocean Spray Cranberry Pomegranate (or another flavor of Diet Ocean Spray)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 small orange, peeled and chopped
Half a Fuji apple, chopped
Half a slightly under-ripe banana, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks (if canned, packed in juice)

Directions:
Place fruit in a large container that will not stain easily (like a glass pitcher or a high-quality plastic one). Cover fruit with wine and cranberry drink, and give mixture a good stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 hours. Once ready to serve, add soda and give it a good stir. Pour and be sure to get a nice amount of fruit in each glass.

See? Sometimes you CAN dine and drink without immediately running to the gym afterward. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to my guilt-free party.

For a little sunshine on a gray Friday afternoon, check out this cool Coke campaign. Anyone else really, really wish they were in the cafeteria when all that fun stuff went down?

But is it just what the doctor ordered?

So apparently there is a bit of controversy - or confusion - over Diet Dr. Pepper's new cans. The design features the word "diet" encircled and set aside next to a tag line that reads "Nothing Diet About It." The image can be seen here.
Anyhow, what many want to know is: is it a diet drink or isn't it? The answer, by the way, is yes...it IS a diet drink, just one bearing a new can design. Dr. Pepper reps say their loyal customers frequently claim the product doesn't "taste like a diet soft drink," hence the anti-diet declaration. Critics, however, say its simply contradictory to tout both claims on the same can.
I guess I really don't see the big deal. Diet Dr. Pepper ads have long bragged about the non-diet taste of the soft drink since its inception. So while this might not be the most creative design they've ever done, it certainly isn't much of a stretch.
Either way, I hope that clears up the case of the puzzling Diet Dr. Pepper cans.

P.S. I happen to LOVE the taste of diet soda, so there's no need to bust out an "anti-diet" campaign.

Here's a fun Diet Dr. Pepper commercial. Happy Friday!

A New Year, New Beverage Trends

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is staying warm on this icy January day. Unless my eyes and ears were deceiving me, I'm pretty sure I heard on the news earlier that two-thirds of the country is dealing with freezing conditions...so be safe out there. Moving on to other topics, what does 2010 hold for the beverage business? According to BevNet and some of the industry's top minds, this year will see more functions, more natural ingredients and flavors and more emphasis on low-calorie products. Among those trends is the push for more ready-to-drink tea products. Only a few months ago, three of the country's largest beverage companies unveiled new strategies based around tea lines at the National Association of Convenience Stores convention. For example, Hansen Natural Corp. is in discussions with Coca-Cola Co. and some of its main bottlers in an effort to get Peace Tea into the Coke distribution system in a matter of weeks. Hansen is best known for its Monster energy drinks, but is introducing Peace Tea in four flavors: green, imported Ceylon, sweet lemon and razzleberry.
At the same time, Anheuser-Busch InBev is using the tea category as a jumping off point for what could be a broad array of non-alcoholic beverages, all affiliated with Jimmy Buffett. The company is singing about its all-natural Paradise Key teas, which recently rolled out in Florida and the rest of the southeast with a national launch scheduled later this year.
So why all the attention on tea? As the North American beverage business struggles through a recession, ready-to-drink teas have posted modest 1.8 percent sales growth this year, Beverage Digest reported in November. This means marketers have noticed that tea is a hot commodity among consumers these days.
Either way, I say competition is great so bring on more ready-to-drink tea products.
Finally, did you know today is Elvis Presley's 75th birthday? And in a bit of odd trivia, it appears the King worked for a Pepsi bottler in Tupelo during his teenage years. Happy birthday Elvis. You are still missed...