Touchdown With These Guilt-free Super Bowl Snacks

Five delicious and healthy avocado snacks that will be gone by halftime

While a Super Bowl party is mostly about the game, it isn’t complete until you have a tasty selection of snacks to keep a roomful of football fanatics fuelled to cheer on their favourite team.

Super Bowl fans are estimated to consume more than 2,400 calories during the game, which is the equivalent of about a day’s worth of calorie intake, making the event one of the biggest calorie fests of the year.

So this year, touchdown with these five guilt-free Super Bowl crowd-pleasing snacks…

 

1. Avocado Flatbread

This is the perfect game-day snack to indulge on. It’s made with minimal ingredients and filled with good fats from avocados to keep you fuelled and satisfied. Best part? It’s so easy to eat that your guests won’t even need a napkin.

INGREDIENTS

•  4 ripe avocados
• 1 pizza crust/dough
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp smoked olive oil (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 heaping tsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Balsamic reduction
• Hemp hearts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place your pizza crust or rolled-out dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Preheat oven to the temperature indicated on your pizza crust/dough packaging.
2. In a small container, combine olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Shake well. With your hands or with a brush, lather your dough/crust with the oily spread. Bake until golden (or see pizza crust/dough package instructions).
3. When your crust is done baking, remove from oven to let cool. Now it’s time to prepare your ripe avocados. Slice them vertically and remove the pit. Make lengthwise incisions about 5 mm apart. Use a spoon to remove sliced avocado halves. Keep them whole, and with your hands, gently fan the slices out and add them to the flatbread. Continue this step until your flatbread is covered.
4. Garnish your creation with a thick, generous drizzle of balsamic reduction, a sprinkle of hemp hearts and some sea salt. Slice up into thin ‘pizza slices’ or squares and serve.

Wine pairing: The creaminess of the avocados, smokiness of the olive oil and sweet acidic notes of the balsamic are cut with the Waters and Banks Sauvignon Blanc 2015 ($24.90) from Haywire Winery in Summerland. This wine is as layered as this flatbread, with a dry palate, tropical fruit flavours, and a line of minerality.

 

2. Avocado, Salmon and Edamame Sushi Bowl

This makes a delicious alternative to sushi rolls but without the fuss and messing around with rolling and cutting to perfection. Filled with protein and good fats from salmon, edamame and avocado, it’s the ultimate food bowl for a delicious and healthy diet.

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 cup round-grain sushi rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup edamame (soybeans), thawed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into long and thin julienne slices
• 1 nori sheet, cut into pieces
• 1/2 lb (225 g) fresh sushi salmon, sliced
• Black and white sesame seeds, soy sauce and sesame oil to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse the rice 2 to 3 times in a fine sieve. Drain well.
2. Add the rice and water to a saucepan. Leave uncovered and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to rest on the burner for 10 more minutes.
3. Add the rice vinegar and, using a fork, carefully blend into the rice, taking care not to crush it. Leave to cool to room temperature.
4. Divide the rice between two large bowls. Garnish with avocado slices, edamame, carrot slices and nori pieces. Add the fresh salmon and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Wine pairing: Blue Grouse Estate Winery’s Quill Red ($19) from Vancouver Island with its flavours of dark fruit and balanced acidity is a delicious companion to the salmon and avocado when met with sesame and soy. 

 

3. Chocolate Avocado Cream Cups

If you love peanut butter cups, you’ll love this healthy alternative. These chocolate avocado cream cups are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free and totally guilt-free. The crunchy chocolate shell filled with a creamy avocado centre makes them irresistible.

AVOCADO CREAM INGREDIENTS

• 2 ripe avocados
• 4 tbsp coconut cream (the hard stuff at the top of the can)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or more if you prefer sweeter)

CHOCOLATE SHELL INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup cacao powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup (or more if you prefer sweeter)
• 3/4 tsp Himalayan salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using a small blender, puree avocado, coconut cream and maple syrup until silky smooth. Transfer this mixture to a small zip-lock bag and set aside in the fridge while you make your chocolate shell. 

2. In a medium-sized bowl, melt your coconut oil. Now add cacao powder, maple syrup and salt. Whisk together until the mixture is completely lump-free. 

3. Set out your baking (muffin) cups on a flat plate or board. With a spoon, pour a bit of your chocolate mixture into the bottom of each cup—this is the base. Place your cups into the freezer to set. 

4. Once firm, add the avocado cream filling by cutting a small hole in one corner of your small Ziploc bag—this is your spout. Add as little or as much as you like. Place your cups back into the freezer so the avocado cream firms up. 

5. The final step is closing your cups with more chocolate. If your chocolate is getting too thick, zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds. With a spoon, pour more chocolate over top of your avocado cream mixture, then place cups back in the fridge or freezer. 

Tip: Store in the freezer for up to two months in a freezer-proof container. Mexican avocados are available all season so you can make this year round with leftover chocolate or avocado cream repurposed for smoothie, oatmeal, fruit or on toast.

Wine pairing: The lush Syrah from TIME Winery ($35) with its dark fruit flavours and the slightest hint of mint, is a perfect mate to the melt-in-your-mouth cream cups. $35

 

4. Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Garnish

Sweet potatoes and avocados are high in Vitamin A and fiber and are an excellent choice for a healthy lifestyle.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 sweet potatoes, washed well
• 1/4 cup tahini
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 tbsp salt
• Arugula or baby spinach to garnish (approx. 50 g/1.8 oz)
• 1 can (398 ml) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 large avocado, cubed
• Salt and fresh ground pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pierce them with a fork. Bake for approximately 1 hour or until they are cooked and tender.
3. While the potatoes are in the oven, prepare the sauce by mixing the tahini with lemon juice, water, salt and pepper.
4. Once the sweet potatoes are baked, split them in the middle and garnish with a little arugula or spinach, chickpeas and avocado. Drizzle with the tahini sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the rest of the garnish and sauce.

Wine pairing: The moist texture and sweet taste of the sweet potato and creaminess of the garnish call for a wine with some tannin, so try the McWatters Collection Meritage Red ($25). Its bold flavour and velvety tannins offset some of the sweetness and create a harmonious pairing.

 

5. Spicy Avocado Hummus

Like avocados, this dip is as versatile and creative as you’d like it to be. Whether used as a veggie or chip dip, spread over on toast or as a salad dressing, this spicy avocado hummus is tasty, nutritious and extremely simple to make. So add this to your Super Bowl snack list and have fun with it!

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz. can chickpeas (no added salt), drained and rinsed
• 2 ripe Mexican avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut into eighths
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled (more or less depending on taste)
• 1 jalapeño, stem and seeds removed
• 1/4 medium red onion
• 5-10 dashes hot sauce (Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch salt and fresh pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Blend all ingredients except avocado and red onion in a food processor until well-combined but still chunky. Add avocado and red onion and pulse until it becomes a chunky purée (you may have to scrap the sides a few times).
2. Transfer hummus to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
3. Get creative and use this hummus however you want!

Wine pairing: If you like spice, then the slightly sweet citrus and pineapple from the brightly Narrative Riesling ($22.90) is a wonderful counterpoint.