Super Bowl stats — about the snacks

Need some motivation to eat a bit better on Super Bowl Sunday? Remember these equivalents:

• Three tortilla chips with seven-layer dip = 15.5 minutes climbing the stadium stairs

• A bowl of chili = running 100 football fields

• Two pieces of fried chicken = doing "the wave" 3,220 times

• Two handfuls of potato chips = running 45 football fields

Here are a few tips to keep you focused on choosing the healthier treats during the Big Game foodfest:

Real meals

Don't just snack till you're sick. Try real meals — and I'm not talking about fried chicken wings. Go to the supermarket and pick up a roasted chicken. Or how about sliced white-meat turkey with low-fat cheese and mustard on 100 percent whole-grain bread? If you must order pizza, at least have it as a meal, and try cheeseless thin crust with plenty of veggies — broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms or even artichoke hearts — on top. Avoid personal pan and stuffed-crust pizza: The thick, oily crust equals added fat and calories.

Frozen meals

Don't feel like cooking a real meal? Try giving your guests their own portion-controlled servings of Lean Cuisine, Amy's Kitchen, Healthy Choice, Kashi or Smart Ones by Weight Watchers — they're all in the frozen-food section, and there are some great choices.

Soup

Dr. Barbara Rolls of Penn State University has completed a great deal of research showing how low-calorie soups can help you fend off hunger and provide nutritious, tasty meals. There are many great-tasting low-calorie soups made by Campbell's, Healthy Choice, Amy's Kitchen and Progresso — just watch out for the sodium, and keep the calories under 100 per cup.

Cereal and popcorn

There are plenty of cereals that are 100 percent whole grain without added sugar and many with fewer than 120 calories per cup. Put out bowls of Kashi or Cheerios. You can also make your own popcorn in a hot-air popper.

Dips and crackers

There are many kinds of salsa, and most are very low in calories — about 15 for 2 tablespoons. Or try bruschetta topping, which is primarily tomatoes and olive oil, and serve it with whole-wheat crackers instead of Italian bread. Guacamole is another good choice. Made with avocados, it's packed with antioxidants, vitamins B6, C and E, as well as folate and potassium, and is a great source of monounsaturated fat. Hummus, a popular Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame seeds), roasted garlic and olive oil, has 25-35 calories per tablespoon (1/2 ounce) but contains a tremendous amount of fiber and protein.

The biggest problem with all these dips is the company they keep — namely crackers and chips. Your best bet is to pick 100 percent whole-grain crackers with very few ingredients and no added sugar. You can also make your own pita chips: Cut whole-grain pita bread into quarters, separate the tops from the bottoms and toast. If you really want potato or pita chips from the store, go with a baked chip, but keep in mind that every chip has 12 to 14 calories — and they add up.

Wings

You can easily make wings yourself. Remove the skin (it saves lots of calories), soak them in hot sauce or roll them in egg whites, dip them in bread crumbs and bake them in the oven. Skip the blue cheese dressing, which has about 305 calories in 4 tablespoons. Dip them in hot sauce instead.

Olives and hard-boiled eggs

They are good munch foods. Peeling the hard-boiled eggs keeps you occupied, and one egg has only 75 calories along with 6 grams of protein. As far as the olives go, four jumbo olives have about 30 calories, and they're a good source of monounsaturated ("good") fats and vitamin E.

Nuts

I realize people frown on nuts because they are high in calories, but if you're able to limit yourself to a few, they are very satisfying and extremely healthful from a cardiovascular perspective.

Some have high amounts of monounsaturated fat, useful for regulating blood lipids and protecting against cardiovascular deterioration. Plus, they pack loads of energy and protein. Put them out in half-ounce portions, not big bowls. Check out almonds, pistachios, pecans, cashews and walnuts, to name just a few. But watch out because they're still loaded with calories. Here's the cost if you overindulge: almonds, 3 ounces (72 nuts), 480 calories; cashews, 3 ounces (60 nuts), 510 calories; walnuts, 3 ounces (42 halves), 540 calories; pistachios, shelled, 3 ounces (141 nuts), 510 calories; pecans, 3 ounces (60 halves), 570 calories.

Beer

Planning on having a few bottles? Your best bet is Beck's Premier Light at only 64 calories per 12-ounce bottle — that's a real bargain. If you're not a Beck's Light fan, try sampling a few very light beers before the game to see which ones you prefer.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder and editor of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network and author of "The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible" (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Copyright, 2008, by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter and iTunes podcast at www.DietDetective.com.