World Cup Party Food and Your Health

This weekend kicks off the quarter-final rounds of the World Cup.

It has been an exciting time in our home as we have been watching the games live almost every evening. With what everyone thought were the obvious teams eliminated, we are not really cheering for anyone. Messi and Ronaldo are now meeting at the airport, so it could be anyone’s game at this point.

So our future weekend plans are to invite friends over to watch the games. Just as I am sure millions of people will be doing throughout the world. And one important part of any big match or game day is the food that will be served.

While we believe in everything in moderation, we also know that eating while watching TV or something exciting can result in a lot of non-mindful eating that can allow for large calorie or carbohydrate consumption.

All those empty calories can be tempting. Whether you have diabetes or not, it’s wise to be thoughtful about what’s going into your mouth when your attention is on the game.

So here are a few simple ways to make your World Cup party food a little healthier.

World Cup Party Food Doesn’t Need To Be Junk

Get Your Crunch from Vegetables

Replace chips, or crisps – depending on which country you are from – with crispy vegetables. Let’s face it. Most of the satisfaction of snacking comes from eating something crunchy, and what is crunchier than fresh, raw carrot and cucumber sticks?

Baked Pita Chips

If vegetables are not your thing, you could try some healthy, baked pita chips. We make our own. We take Arabic bread and cut it up into small pieces. Mix the chips with a little bit of olive oil and salt, and then bake them in the oven until they are golden brown.

Not only do they taste great and have much less fat than potato chips, they will make your house smell amazing! Just make sure you check the carbs on the packaging because different brands may vary.

Healthy Dips

Raw veggies and pita chips are all tasty dipped in your favorite salsa.

We also love dipping them in hummus. What’s not to love about hummus! It is not as high in carbs as you might think.

Another friendly dip is guacamole. We all know that avo is a thing. There are various recipes on the internet you can google. For ours, we mash a few avocados and add chopped tomatoes, diced garlic (or dried garlic flakes), salt, a few drops of Tabasco and squeeze some lime on it and presto.

(Avo hack… keep the pit in your guacamole until you are ready to serve it. It will keep your avocado from going dark so quickly. I have heard this tip all my life, but I still do not have the scientific explanation for it.)

Grilled Meats

For all the carnivores out there, grilling small kebabs are always a great hit, and they’re filling too.

Chicken, beef, prawns – put them in your favorite marinade the morning of the game and throw them on the grill for an easy crowd-pleasing protein.

Grilled Vegetables

Vegetarian? Grilled vegetable kebabs taste just as amazing.

Nuts

Mixed nuts are another great snack. As long as no one has nut allergies, and your nuts are not honey-roasted and covered in sugar, or deep fried, they provide a healthy dose of nutrients.

Homemade Popcorn

Making your own popcorn is another nice snack idea. It does have about 30 carbs per one cup serving, but if you must have popcorn, making your own is so much better.

Yes, there is microwave popcorn, or store bought, but making your own fresh is so much healthier for you. We have seen recipes to pop your own in the microwave, but proceed with caution how you do this – we have yet to try it and recommend going old school in a covered pot on top of the stove.

You can come up with some pretty amazing flavors from your own spice cabinet that will have less fat, and no trans fats. Just a little oil in a pan with some kernels will do.

Cheese

Cheeses are another great option. No carbs and with all the varieties, there is something for all cheese lovers. We suggest hard cheeses that you can cut in cubes and eat without crackers to avoid the extra carbs.

Endless Healthy Options for World Cup Party Food

These are a few options to get you started. Once you start thinking about it, there are so many possibilities of what you can serve for World Cup party food.

And don’t worry about it being too healthy! Most likely, people are going to be so glued to the game that they may not even realize they are getting some great nutrients as they cheer for their favorite team!

What’s on your World Cup party food menu?