But it’s not exactly the most waist friendly event of the year. Nachos, wings, pizza, lasagna … it can all add up fast. The good news? Your Super Bowl spread doesn’t have to derail your healthy lifestyle.

Instead, make some good choices when planning your appetizers … these ones are perfect for a healthier game day spread.

Lightened Up Super Bowl Appetizer Ideas

• Honey Lime Dipping Sauce with a selection of fruit (double or triple the recipe for a party) at Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Mini Turkey Meatballs at Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Parmesan Rosemary Sweet Potato (Baked) Fries at Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Healthified Spinach Dip with Artichokes at Tablespoon
• Heart-Healthy Shrimp Dip with Veggie Dippers at Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Pico de Gallo Salsa at Sweetnicks
• Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole at Food Blogga
• Homemade (Baked) Sweet Potato Chips at Fab Frugal Food
• Chicken Tikka at The Perfect Pantry
• Pineapple-Soy Glazed Wings at The Apartment Kitchen
• Vegetable Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce at Two Peas and Their Pod

Now check out the food:

Garlic Food Court

Chow Down! You won’t believe the many different ways garlic can be used to enhance food. The full list is too long to include here. Here’s a tasty sampling of the foods available at last year’s festival:

barbecue beef
beef on a stick
blooming onions
bratwurst
garlic bread
broccoli
Cajun crawfish
caramels
blackened catfish
garlic chicken
chicken wraps
garlic chili
clams
kettle corn
corn-on-the-cob
crawfish
egg roll
focaccia
french fries
fried dough
garlic fritters (kachori)
funnel cake
gyros
ham
hamburgers
hot dogs
garlic ice cream (strangely enough, a crowd favorite!)
jambalaya
garlic mashed potatoes
garlic mozzarella
garlic mushrooms
garlic onions
garlic pasta
garlic pork
roasted pork on a spit
garlic pretzels
garlic rice
garlic samosa
garlic sauerkraut
sausage
scallops
shrimp cocktail
shrimp scampi
garlic soup
garlic steak
garlic steak sandwiches
garlic turkey with mayo
garlic veggie sub
venison sausage
and garlic blackened green beans.
What’s better than garlic food for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Come and get it!

Obviously not the place to take a date…unless they are garlic friendly too…maybe.

But um, garlic ice cream??? Are they for real?

The day started out with snow. Lots of snow. But neither sleet nor snow nor the giant puddles on street corners could deter us. Even a missed train didn’t stop us.

Anyway, back to the topic.

When we got there, we picked up our tickets and headed into the audience holding pen – two white rooms decorated with a variety of cat and dog photographs like the ones that are shown during the show’s opening credits. There were plates of these amazing chocolate brownies cupcakes for us to snack on from the The SoNo Baking Company & Cafe with bottles of Vitamin Water to wash it down. Mmmm. It was good. It was the kind of sweet that melts in your mouth and inevitably causes choruses of mmms, mid-bite.

(Note to self: must check out the bakery next time I am nearby Norwalk)

In any case, we were ushered into the studio shortly before 2 p.m. It was BRIGHT in there, for sure. I’ve been to quite a few shows over the years, and this was the first time I looked at a set and said “Wow, it’s so much bigger than I expected!” As usual I got the stage bug and fantasized about me being on television, or at least behind the scenes.

Joey, whose title and last name I do not know (bad journalist *slaps hand*), got the crowd prepped and going with hand clapping and throwing out giveaways before the show started and during the commercial breaks (even though it was taped, they took the breaks). I got a Microplane (R) Zester/Grater, which is something I had really been wanting. Yay! I can’t wait to use it!

Everything with the show moved so fast, although when I watched it Friday it actually seemed to move at a slower pace. Coincidentally, you can catch a glimpse of my mother and I when actress Stephanie March makes her entrance. I’m the one in bright pink.

Other than that, my observations:

• Martha has very thin legs and looks pretty youthful
• The moving camera, which is operated by Eddie, gets right up into people’s faces
• Giveaways included flax seed meal, seeds, chicken broth and magazines
• Everything is high energy, except Martha, who is more low-key

So anyway, since I am an avid and admitted fan, you can imagine my joy and sheer excitement when I got an email this afternoon alerting me that yes, I did get tickets to the show. So there I will be on March 2 for the show, in the same room as the one-woman empire.

Don’t worry, Cucina Bella will have a play by play account of the taping…and probably even the pre/post show chow too. After all, why go to New York if you aren’t going to eat your way through it?