With Super Bowl  2012 just around the corner, snacks and snacking loom large on the horizon.  This does not mean you have to expand your waistline, send your cholesterol and blood sugar counts sky high or put your heart and kidneys with sodium shock.  Don’t let your snacking kick your health into a coffin corner. 

There is a lot of good snacking out there that is delicious and relatively healthy.  Stay away from the sodium saturated chips and transfat loaded commercial dips.  Avoid the greasy wings, fat filled mini franks, nukeabal pizza bits, chicken nuggets and fat filled fries.

The following collection of snack recipes are not only appetizing, but will also help you make an end run and provide a good defense against health hazards of all those traditional snacks.

Dolmas

Sweet Potato Somosas

Hummus - Arabic

                                              Suppli al Telefono - Italy

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

Garlic & Chili Confit - Greece

Tapénade - Provence, France

                                        Garden Fresh Herb Dip - California

Mushrooms in Mushrooms

South of the Border Potato Salad

Pasta and Spnich Salad

Apple and Fennel Salad

Bean Salad

Summer Fresh Corn Salad

  Sonoma Roasted Pepper Salad

        Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Fresh Herbs