The Super Bowl!

Yes, I know this is very late. There's a simple reason for this: We pay no attention to professional sports. (Well, really to sports at all; I believe That Nice Boy I Married and I are the only people in southern Indiana who don't watch the NCAA Final Four every years.) We've even been known to host a "Let's Ignore the Super Bowl" party.

As a result, I only learned this past week that tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. Sorry!

Still, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of Super Bowl Sunday Snack Strategy.

First of all, sit far away from the chips.

Secondly, make sure there are plenty of snacks that work for you. Your grocery store deli should be able to provide:

* Chicken wings (watch out for breading and sugary sauces; if you have to pick one or the other, a small quantity of sauce is better than the breading.)

* Cheese platter, cubes or slices

* Cold cut platters

* Shrimp platter! (Take up a collection.) You can make your own low carb cocktail sauce by spiking sugar free ketchup with horseradish and lemon juice to taste.

* Relish tray

* Antipasto platter -- Kroger lists this on their website. It includes olives, peppers, artichokes, marinated mushrooms and fresh mozzarella with tomato Salad. Every bit of that works for us!

If the gang wants to order pizza, make sure one of them is extra cheese, and loaded with low carb toppings you love. When the pizza comes, snag your slices, put 'em on a plate, and stash them out of reach for five minutes, to cool. (If you just wait for the pizza to cool, you know someone'll eat your slices!) Then peel off the topping and eat them without the "edible napkin," aka the crust.

Want to make something yourself? How about:

* No-bean chili, or chili with soy beans in it. Keep it hot in your slow cooker.

* Wings -- you can do something a big complicated, like the Heroin Wings from 500 Low-Carb Recipes, or just mix melted butter with Louisiana Hot Sauce to make your own Buffalo Wings.

* Stuffed mushrooms

* Tortilla pizzas on low carb tortillas

* Take toasted, salted pecan halves and spread a little Boursin or Allouette herb-and-garlic cheese between 'em. YUM!

* Good ol' stuffed eggs

* Quesadillas made with low carb tortillas

* Burritos or soft tacos -- just set out meat burrito or taco filling, canned refrieds for the carb eaters, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced onions, diced tomatoes, chopped olives, salsa, and sour cream. Just make yours on low carb tortillas.

Grab a bag or two of pork rinds, and make this simple and unusual recipe that I just love:

Herbert D. Focken's Sweetened Jalapeno Bites

Our tester, Julie, called this, “really interesting, and surprisingly good!” (She also said it really improved low carb crackers, of which she is not generally fond.)

12 ounce jar sliced jalapeno peppers
3/4 cup Splenda
Cream cheese – plain, or onion-chive flavored
Pork rinds, or low carb crackers

Dump out the jalapenos, including the liquid, into a bowl, and stir in the Splenda. Pack them back into the jar, put on the lid, and stick it in the fridge for a day or two.

When snack time rolls around, pull out the jar, and grab your cream cheese and pork rinds or low carb crackers. Spread some cream cheese on a pork rind or cracker, top with a slice or two of jalepeno, and stuff it in your face! Repeat.

Your whole jar of sweetened peppers has the following: 94 Calories; 2g Fat; 4g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 9g usable carbs. Working out the per-piece counts of this was just too darned difficult, so we gave up – but cream cheese is very low carb, and pork rinds are carb-free. If you’re using low carb crackers, read the label.

(Reprinted by permission from 500 More Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, 2004, Fair Winds Press)

You'll want to have plenty of cold drinks on hand, too. Beer is the traditional beverage of choice on Game Day. You know Michelob Ultra is very low carb, as is Miller Lite. But consider, too, Milwaukee's Best Light (which I am convinced is just Miller Lite in a cheaper can,) Rock Green Light, Corona Lite, or Amstel Light. You'll want to have non-alcoholic stuff too -- your favorite soda, some iced tea, or my favorite, sparkling water.

Have fun! And I hope your team wins. Whoever it is that's playing. ;-p