My Favorite Super Bowl Commercials

Firstly, let me say that I didn't think the array of commercials was really that great.  Did they feature a lot of celebrities? Yes.  A lot of super heroes?  Also yes.  Did they hock a lot of beer?  Of course.  I still don't understand though why 95% of the commercials seem to target men, when women make up 46% of the viewing audience.  Every commercial seemed to be about beer, trucks, and action movies.  And then there are those awful Go Daddy commercials.  But, some gems prevailed with genuine humor over sleazy marketing, and these were my favorites:

M&Ms are sexy and they know it...

Matthew Broderick relives the glory days...

Chevy shows a sense of humor...

Madonna Rocks the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Lada Gaga, move over!  Madonna is unstoppable as the original wild child of pop music.  Katy Perry, Britney Spears, do you think any of them will be performing over 50?  Doubtful.  She manages to stay so current, but so iconic. 

The spectacle itself was of a similar magnitude to the Chinese Olympics opening ceremony.  She had an entire army of Roman soldiers, a cheerleading squad, and a full gospel choir.  She managed to do a montage of her greatest hits from decades ago and incorporate current artists like MIA, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, and Cee Lo (in sequin preacher robes!) showing that Madonna still knows how to have a good time. 

And then to end the whole thing with no nip-slip and world peace?  Genius. 

Healthy Super Bowl Snacks

Aside from Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl may be the 'holiday' that revolves most around food: the chicken wings, the pizza, the guacamole, the chips.  And I didn't want to miss out on those things.  So I fiddled a little with a few classics - chili, Tex-Mex layer dip, and nachos - to make healthier versions. 

The dip was by far the tastiest.  It's just a layer of fat free cream cheese, a layer of re-fried beans, a layer of diced tomatoes with chopped green chilies, jalapenos, and red onion, a layer of fat free cheddar cheese, a layer of chopped artichokes, and a layer of guacamole.  I ate it with Special K crackers instead of tortilla chips, but anyone eating it with chips would never know that this was a healthy dish. 

For the nachos I had to use tortilla chips because otherwise it wouldn't be nachos!  But I topped them with two slices of reduced fat cheddar, a jalapeno slice, salsa, and a little dollop of fat free sour cream and fat free re-fried beans. 

 

As the main course, I made turkey and vegetable chili.  I just brown lean ground turkey and then add  two cans of red beans and every veggie I can imagine: onions, peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, diced tomatoes, corn, and mushrooms.  It ends up being mostly vegetables, but there's enough meat and spice to make it feel like a really hearty chili.  The best part is, I now have lunch for the rest of the week!