Super Bowl Sunday around our house has always been synonymous with Pig Out Party. Coming for the game? Deposit your diet at the door. Oh, and once your feet have crossed the threshold, calories don’t count. Oh, bad, bad Grammy!

We all know that kids learn by example. So what kind of example does an overabundance and overindulgence of sweets, carbs, and beer present? Not a very good one.

Michele Obama recently kicked off her campaign against childhood obesity with some very alarming statistics:
• Childhood obesity has tripled over the last 30 years.
• Nearly one-third of U.S. children now are overweight or obese.
• One-third of today’s children will eventually suffer from diabetes.
• Obesity, she said, "could now be an even greater threat to America's health than smoking."
• And if the nation stays on its current path, nearly 50 percent of all Americans will be obese in 10 years -- "not just overweight, but obese."

Super Bowl Sunday is a prime time to set a good example and encourage healthy eating by exposing kids and adults alike to good foods.  Focus on presentation and make food fun.

Here are a few of my 5-year old grandsons’ favorite kid-healthy snacks that kids from 3 to 100 will love:

1. Mini Pizzas - Slice whole-wheat pitas in half. (Let the kids) spread on tomato sauce, sprinkle with shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese, and top with chopped vegetables and/or cooked chicken, pepperoni, etc. Heat for a few minutes in a toaster oven or microwave until the cheese is melted.
2. Veggies and Dip – Buy or make hummus (made from chick peas, it’s healthy, high protein) for the dip. (My 2 year old granddaughter, Skylar, scooped up an entire container of this with crackers and loved it.) Cut up vegetables including, carrots, celery, broccoli, peppers, along with baby (grape) tomatoes.
3. Ants On a Log - Spread celery sticks with peanut butter (or low-fat cream cheese or honey) and top with raisins to make the “ants” on the log.
4. Banana Pops - Peel bananas and cut in half horizontally. Stick a Popsicle stick or wooden skewer into each half. Dip peeled ½ bananas in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal, nuts, granola, crispy rice cereal, or sunflower seeds. Wrap them in waxed paper and freeze for three hours.
5. Smiley Face Foods - Who can resist a smiley faced food? Any cut-up veggie (i.e. pepper, carrot sliver) added to 2 eyes (i.e. olives, beans, peas, etc.) served on cracker or pita rounds (spread w/ low-fat cheese, peanut butter, or plain) makes for a happy nosh.
6. Healthy Trail Mix - Mix together two kinds of ready-to-eat cereal (i.e. wheat Chex, Cheerios), whole-wheat pretzels, dried fruit (Craisins, raisins, blueberries, etc.), nuts (optional), and miniature marshmallows. You can add chocolate chips if you don’t mind the extra sugar. Serve in bowl or individual sandwich bags.
7. Snack Kebobs - Alternate cubes of low-fat cheese and grapes, berries, watermelon cubes, melon balls, etc. on pretzel sticks.
8. Turkeywich - Spread ketchup and/or mustard on a slice of deli turkey. Wrap around a sesame breadstick or whole wheat pretzel stick and secure with toothpick. (Hint: if the kids don’t like all the other stuff, fold a plain slice of turkey or turkey bologna into quarters and have the kids bite off the corner – open up and…taa-daaa… there’s a big hole in the deli meat. So? For whatever reason, the kids LOVE to make a magic hole.)
9. Fruity Smoothies - Blend low-fat milk, frozen strawberries, and a banana for 30 seconds and pour into individual cups for the kids.
10. Fruit Dogs – Spread almond butter inside hot dog buns. Place half of a banana into each bun. Add a scoop of yogurt over the banana and sprinkle with a few berries. Place jelly in a small zip lock bag and seal, removing as much air as possible. Snip off one corner of bag and then squeeze the jelly over berries and yogurt in a zig-zag, much like you would ketchup or mustard in a squeeze bottle.

If you’re not the catering kind of mom or grandother, there’s always yogurt tubes and string cheese.

Bon Appetit! Oh, and…Go, Saints!

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