Superbowl 2013

If you have been living under a rock for the past month, you might not know that the Superbowl is happening this weekend. Yup, this Sunday millions of people will be glued to their tvs either to actually watch a good football game or tolerate the minutes of football between the commercials and halftime.  Either way, it is usually a good time for all, the camaraderie  is high, and it is the closest things that Americans have that compares to the love and passion that other countries have on a regular basis for soccer/football.

What really makes Superbowl THE American pastime is the FOOD.  Aside from Thanksgiving, Superbowl is one the way day where it is completely acceptable to eat the equivalent of 5 meals within a 3 hours period.  Nachos? pile them on! Chicken wings? give me the ones with the sauce all over them! Beer? yes, I guess I'll take another. Brownies ?  umm..only if you have ice cream to go on top!
Yes...the food makes everyone's Superbowl experience that much more exciting!

I found some interesting facts about food and Superbowl weekends:

• Americans will consume 1.25 billion chicken wings this Super Bowl weekend
• 61% of American consider pizza as a "must have" Super Bowl food
• 11 million pounds of chips, 4 million pounds of pretzels, 2.5 million pounds of nuts and  3.8 million pounds of popcorn will be consumed on on Sunday
• 12 million pounds of avocados will be purchased the week leading up to Superbowl and American will consume 8 million pounds of guacamole on Sunday. (I will be heavily contributing to this!)
• Americans will drink 50 million cases of beer and the overall tab will top $10.8 billion dollars!
• $2.37 million dollars will be spent on sodas and other soft drinks over Superbowl weekend
• There is a 20% increase in the use of antacids on the Monday after Superbowl and 6% will call in sick

Source: Super Bowl Food Shockers You Won't Believe  

So, normally statistics like this wouldn't bother me and I would go on my merry way of planning my Superbowl feast, but if you've been reading my blog AT ALL you know that my options are a bit restricted when it comes to celebratory meals right now.  As I have mentioned before, one of my intentions in doing this 8 week program is to fully integrate this way of eating into my normal life. I won't live like a hermit because I can't eat what everyone else is eating, rather I will find a way to still enjoy the things I have always enjoyed but just be eating differently and be a bit more prepared for social situations.  Luckily, Superbowl doesn't present too big of a problem. A couple of other nutrition program participants (Thanks Mary and Tim!) are hosting a Superbowl party and have invited the whole gang over.  So I will be surrounded by amazing food that I can fully indulge in (there are some very talented cooks in this group!) and I am excited to try a new recipe that I have had my eye on for a few days now. 

Cheering on the almost-local team with good friends and great food is my plan for Sunday and I can't wait! AND, I am pretty sure I will have the energy to get up nice and early Monday morning for a run!