The World Cup Obsession

Some of us may actually need to get fit for this World Cup. Yelling at that TV screen is not going to be easy. I was simply watching friendly matches last week on the treadmill talking to the TV screen and sweating like I was playing the match myself. Trust me, others at that gym did not find it cute. That’s when it hit me. Oh boy, this is going to be an interesting ride.

If you’re like me and all the madness around the World Cup has actually gotten to you, you need to build up your stamina and keep up your energy just to survive this season. And since football nights always involve beer, chips, popcorn, wings, and whatever else we can lay our hands on, it’s also time to build our knowledge of substitute finger food so we can stay healthy, and keep our arteries unclogged.

Wheat Crackers: Let’s throw out the chips for some whole wheat crackers this season. Wheat Thins are my favorite, but there are several other options like Kashi and Special K.

Air-popped popcorn: Popcorn is a whole grain, so as long as we don’t smother it will butter, sugar or excess salt, we can substitute it for our chips.

Nuts: Contrary to popular belief, nuts are not all bad for you, especially if you’re trying to build muscles. So this is better mixed with other items (like popcorn) because it’s rich in protein. The nuts that are highest in protein and lowest in calories are pistachio nuts, chestnuts, and palm kernel seeds.

Fruits and vegetables: So this one will be hard to pull off, but it may be fun to have some fruits and vegetables with crackers. Maybe some celery, some carrots, even some berries might be fun. People love to pick at things so if you lay out some fruits and veggies, people will definitely eat them.

Baked chicken: Rather than have that deep fried chicken or buffalo wing galore, settle for some baked chicken. Even suya (non-fatty beef without the healthy dose of oil) is a better option than fried chicken. I was once at an event where they served liver cocktails in place of shrimp cocktails and I loved it. This is just an idea, so if you hate liver, don’t shoot me.

Light beer: Well, the best thing to do is stick to water or wine. But if you must drink beer, try to stick to the low calorie stuff. There are so many beers being sold right now that are low in calories like Miller Genuine Draft (MGD) 64 or Budweiser Select. For a listing of the amount of calories in various beer brands, click on this link: Beer100. You may want to stock up before your friends come over, or when people say BYOB, actually take your own beer.  

Heck, at the end of the season, we want to actually look and feel like the footballers, right?

Just as a side note, if you are thinking of going all out and supporting your team, there are some T-shirts you may like by Allen and Fifth (go to http://www.allenandfifth.com/ for how to order). The picture below is an image of one of the shirt patterns I stole from the designer. I thought I’d get you guys a little sneak preview to the T-shirts coming out soon. They’re not on the website yet, so I’m just hooking you up ;) Although they are not meant to be solely for the World Cup, they surely satisfy my craving for team spirit! So if you see someone running in the park with these, that’s probably me…

Do you have any other healthy tips you plan to apply this World Cup season? Leave a note and tell us what it is.

Have a lovely week!