Before I get to today’s post, I get the privilege of announcing the winner of my Veggie Patch contest! Congratulations to Bridgette of Yogurt and Berries! Email me your address and Veggie Patch will send you your prize right away!
Make sure to read to the end of this post for this week’s giveaway!
Now on to the good stuff! Its SUPERBOWL WEEK (and the crowd goes wild!)! While the SB buzz here in Boston has all but disappeared, my personal attention has turned towards the very best part of the Sunday….Football snacks!! Lara and I decided it was only appropriate that this week we featured healthier versions of all your favorite game day munchies. 
As faithful readers, you should know by now about my love and devotion to all things spicy! The hotter the better. A jalapeno eating contest, bring it on! Buffalo wings, XXX please! So it should be no surprise that my favorite “bar food” is jalapeno poppers. I made these last year for a cook out, and they were a huge hit!
One of Ryan’s favorite bar foods is cheesy, ooey, gooey, cheese sticks. If I can make these 2 glutenous favorites just a little bit healthier, I call a Superbowl win for me!
This week we were also very thankful to Pop Chips who is sponsoring this week’s giveaway! I even was able to use some Popchips as the crispy crunchy coating for my cheese sticks! Make sure to read to the bottom of the post for how to enter a 1 MONTH’S SUPPLY of Popchips! In honor of our sponsor, we decided that all our snacks this week would have “POP!” And I think we both did that quite well…
Now on to the food! Before the recipes, let me just say that playing with the things you are “breading” your snacks with should be fun, and you should never limit yourself. Go ahead, be crazy, try different ingredients smashed into breadcrumb sized pieces! Like the Popchips I used on the cheese sticks, or the Fat Free Saltines I used on my jalapeno poppers! Some other “breading” ideas are:
- Chips
- Crackers
- Corn Flake shaped cereals
- Nuts
- Cornbread
- ….and anything else your imagination can come up with!
Healthier Cheese Sticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Sargento Reduced Fat String Cheese sticks
- 2 egg whites (beaten)
- 1/4 cup flour (you may not use it all)
- 1/2 cup “breading” crumbs (I used crushed Sour Cream & Onion and Salt & Pepper Popchips)
- Cooking spray
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350
- Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray
- Dip cheese stick in egg white, then dust with flour
- Dip it into the egg again, and then cover it with your breading
- Place the cheese stick on the cookie sheet
- Repeat with the remaining cheese
- Spray the tops of the cheese sticks lightly with cooking spray
- Bake for 8 – 10 minutes (or until they start to brown and the cheese starts to melt out of the breading), turning once during the baking
- Remove from baking sheet and serve with a side of your favorite marinara
Baked Jalepeno Poppers
Adapted from this AllRecipes.com Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz reduced far cream cheese (room temperature)
- 4 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup reduced fat or fat free mayo
- 15 fresh jalapeno peppers (sliced lengthwise & seeds removed)
- 3 egg whites (beaten)
- 1/2 tablespoon 1% milk
- 1 1/2 cups your choice of breading (I used fat free saltine crackers)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, cheddar and mayo.
- Stuff jalapeno halves with the mixture.
- Whisk together eggs and milk in a small bowl.
- Place breading in a separate small bowl or plate.
- Dip each stuffed jalapeno half into the egg mixture, then roll in breading to coat.
- Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and tops are lightly browned.
- Serve with a side of reduced fat ranch dressing (I use the packet of hidden valley, mixed with even parts low fat sour cream, low fat mayo, and 1% milk)
CONTEST TIME!
Earlier this week I received happy mail, a sampler box of Popchips! I was happy to discover that Popchips range around 100 – 150 calories per serving, and have half the fat of even reduced fat chips! AND they are all natural, perfect! Plus they make a salt & vinegar flavor, so that is awesome too!
I will be choosing 2 winners who will each win 1 case of popchips! The winners will be chosen from the comments on this post, using random.org. All entries must be received by Tuesday, February 8th at 6pm. The winner will be announced on Eat.Live.Blog on Wednesday, February 9th. For more chances to win, make sure to enter over at Good Cook Doris as well!
How to enter:
- Required Entry: “Like” Popchips on facebook and comment on their wall that you “Entered to win a month’s supply of Popchips on http://tinyurl.com/EatLiveBlog
” /or follow @popchips/@popchipsBoston and tweet “I want to win a month’s supply of @popchips from @renh77 & @popchipsBoston!” Leave me a comment letting me know which you did. - Bonus Entry: Follow @renh77 on Twitter. Leave me a comment saying you did so.
- Bonus Entry: Subscribe to http://www.eatliveblog.com and leave me a comment letting me know.
Good luck Healthy Snackers!
Eat.Live.Blog. 
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