Getting rid of the Velveeta this year! Super Bowl Clean Eating Snacks!

Super Bowl - Clean Eating Snacks

So the Super Bowl is around the corner. Do you know what you are serving up for the day??  This day is notorious for serving up high fat and high calorie foods. So how do you change it up a bit to make it really good food but a bit on the healthier side?

Well, I grew up in the Midwest and Velveeta was a normal type of "cheese" in our house (if you can even call that a cheese. We would often make a Velveeta cheese dip to serve with chips or veggies. My brother even came up with his own "secret recipe" creation of this infamous cheese dip. And yes, it's really good...but so bad for you. 

So last weekend, my husband asked me if I could make my brothers cheese dip for the big game!  Let's just say I didn't answer him right away, because I wanted to pipe in and immediately say "NO"!

Queso Dip - Going for the clean version this year!

Fortunately, that same day I saw a recipe using real cheese instead of processed cheese...so that's what I'm going to do. In excited to have this instead if the "other stuff". 

So here are the recipes I plan to serve at my Super Bowl party.   Thanks Sara Stakeley for the cheese dip recipe!

(No Velveeta) Queso Cheese Dip

Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredients

• 16 oz (1lb) Natural American cheese
• 8 oz Sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 10oz can diced tomatoes & green chilies -drained* (optional)
• 
  

Instructions

Microwave directions:

1. Place all ingredients inside a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir every 1-2 minutes. The mixture might seem watery during the first few stirs, but should come together as a nice runny dip after all the cheese is melted.
2. Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips. You can cool this in a loaf pan and refrigerate for a week to use as you would use traditional Velveeta.

Crockpot directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a small crockpot (that will fit at least 4 cups of liquid). Turn crockpot on high for 2.5 hours. Mix ingredients every hour to prevent cheese from sticking to walls and possibly burning. Reduce heat to lowest setting and enjoy!

 Notes:

1. Not all white American cheeses are made equal. Check ingredients because some… well, don’t really expire. If it says “cheese product” it’s probably not real. I used Land O’Lakes brand in our test. Yes, I know… not the best but many of you asked for it. After tests, there is just no way to get around it. Get the best quality you can find and afford. For both recipes, I purchased the cheese from the deli counter in a big chunk –don’t use sliced cheese.
2. *To make this as a true Velveeta replacement, take out diced tomatoes and green chilies and add ½ cup additional milk. Cool and refrigerate or freeze in 1-cup portions. Reheat every 30 seconds until creamy and hot. Use as you would cook with Velveeta.

Notes

*the diced tomatoes & green chiles is optional but it adds a lot more flavor. For plain velveeta, omit.

Trader Joe's Lentil, Bruschetta, Feta Dip (with baked chips and veggies)

This is literally my favorite appetizer ever!  It is SO easy, so delicious and I could eat it as a meal!  Oh…and it's really healthy!!

1 container of steamed lentils

1 jar of bruschetta

8 oz of feta cheese

Mix it all together and serve with crackers, bread, veggies. 

Trader Joe's Lentil, Bruschetta, Feta

TurboFire Chili (Click for Recipe)  You can't have a football game without chili!  I have to be careful or I'll eat way too much of this!

Turbo Fire Chili

Quinoa Confitti Salad (Click for Recipe) - I absolutely love this quinoa salad.  I could literally have an entire meal of just this!  This will be a great thing to snack on to keep on track throughout the day!

Quinoa Confetti Salad

I know these will all be a hit and these are all clean eating dishes!

For more recipes go HERE!