Dear Chef Kathleen,

My Sundays have been taken over by football. My son and husband are usually glued to the television for most of the day and snack on chips, onion dip, hot wings and junk foods galore. When it comes time for dinner, they're not very interested. I'm worried that this all-day snacking is very unhealthy. What can I do to turn this trend around?

Katrina


Dear Katrina,

I understand your concerns for not wanting to turn your home into a concession stand. Snacking in front of the television all day doesn't sound healthy, but with a little strategic planning, everyone can make the playoffs.

Strike a deal with your team. It's OK to snack on marathon football Sundays if they agree to snack on nutritionally dense foods. Keep things healthy and "finger-licking good" by simply making over what they already like, and the smaller the change, the smaller the protest.

A good chip and dip experience is all about dipping something crunchy into something creamy. Most people don't care, and half the time, don't even notice what they're dipping and eating as long as the dip is good.

Instead of setting out bowls or bags of chips and tubs of high-fat dip, build dip platters that include healthier dips and more vegetables. Think cherry tomatoes, tiny carrots, crunchy bell peppers, celery sticks, fennel wedges, lettuce and Belgian endive leaves. They'll go for the chips first, but when they're gone, don't replenish them. They'll eat the veggies if they're hungry enough.

By mixing your own sour cream (fat-free) with a packet of onion soup mix, you can better control the quality and quantity of calories, so buy the best brands of each you can find. Salsas are always lower in fat than sour cream-based dips. Serving a tasting of several different salsas is a fun way to mix things up. Include at least one "fire" salsa to please the daredevil in the group.

kd@chefkathleen.com