Super Bowl Lunch

Super Bowl lunch is enjoyed by football fans on Super Bowl Sunday. It often consists of quick foods like pizza, sandwiches, chips and dips.

Super Bowl Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving as the largest one-day food consumption event in the United States.http://www.foodprocessing.com/industrynews/2005/27.html Americans eat a total of 30.4 million pounds of food to celebrate the event, double the amount of their average daily food consumption.http://www.foodprocessing.com/industrynews/2005/27.html It is the number one day for chicken consumption in the U.S., with more than 1 billion portions of wings consumed during the weekend.http://blog.friendseat.com/no-1-most-popular-super-bowl-food-youll-be-amazed/

Many restaurants offer special menus for catering on Super Bowl Sunday. If you are hosting a party and don't have time or desire to cook a lunch for your guests, you are likely to find deals for hot buffets items with free delivery in your area. Many supermarkets also offer catering trays which you can order ahead and pick up on the day of the Super Bowl.

It has been a tradition in the United States for people to gather in social settings to watch professional football for over half a century. In 1967, the league held their first ever Super Bowl.http://timelines.com/1967/1/15/super-bowl-i-packers-35-chiefs-10 Ever since then, the game has become much more than a championship match-up; it has become an unofficial national holiday. A television audience that numbers well into the hundreds of millions gather together at parties big and small to watch the game, and consume a copious amount of beverages, snacks, pizza, and more types of dinner food than can be possibly imagined.http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2010/02/02/2010-02-02_most_popular_food_on_super_bowl_sunday_isnt_chicken_wings_or_pizza__its_vegetabl.html Most fans start the party early, watching part of the nearly four-to-six hours of the Super Bowl Pre-Game Show.http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/most-watched-super-bowl-ever-scores-987m-viewers-7866/ Especially in the Eastern Time Zone, this means starting off the day with a big lunch, consisting of hot dogs, hamburgers, cold cuts, and buffalo wings.

According to the Snack Food Association, the most consumed food on Super Bowl Sunday is avocados, traditionally turned into guacamole for dip, with 13.2 pounds consumed. Coming in a close second is potato chips, with 11 million pounds being eaten in one day, follwed by tortilla chips, at 8.2 million pounds and pretzels at 4.3 million.http://www.foodprocessing.com/industrynews/2005/27.html

When polled for what they prefer, soft drinks came in as the top beverage consumed during Super Bowl Sunday, followed by milk and tea.http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2010/02/02/2010-02-02_most_popular_food_on_super_bowl_sunday_isnt_chicken_wings_or_pizza__its_vegetabl.html Traditionally, beer has been associated with Super Bowl Sunday, but as many Americans take on healthier lifestyles, it has taken a back seat to other beverages.http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2010/02/02/2010-02-02_most_popular_food_on_super_bowl_sunday_isnt_chicken_wings_or_pizza__its_vegetabl.html

Both sandwiches and salads are ranked as more popular than pizza and chicken for Super Bowl meals, and both can be much more healthy.http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2010/02/02/2010-02-02_most_popular_food_on_super_bowl_sunday_isnt_chicken_wings_or_pizza__its_vegetabl.html A cold cut tray makes it easy for guests to prepare their own sandwiches, and whole wheat or sourdough rolls are an alternative to bread. Offering a variety of tossed green salads, such as a strawberry spinach salad or caesar salad is a way to cut calories when compared to macaroni salad or potato salad.