By John McGran
eDiets Editor-in-Chief

Are ya ready for some football? OK, for the three of you who were born in the woods and raised by wolves -- and for the dozen or so others who have yet to cave and subscribe to the paper or get wired for cable TV -- I will remind you that this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday... the biggest party day this side of New Year's.
So before you head to your favorite tavern or to a friend's house for that must-attend Super Bowl party, pay heed. You won't fumble away your diet resolve if you tackle our timely tips and raise a glass to a healthier way to enjoy the big game!

Mr. Bad Food has scored a few tasty new drinks -- light rum anyone? -- that won't sack your resolution to slim. We'll also serve up our prediction for the Pittsburgh-Seattle match-up. Yes, there is a football game to go with your party.

This year, Mr. Bad Food is in a very good mood. No, not because his favorite team has made the Super Bowl. Heck, the closest my struggling New York Jets will get to the Big Game is if they buy tickets. The reason for my ear-to-ear grin: The good folks at Bacardi have come out with a fantastic new line of lite spirits they call Island Breeze.

These flavored rums are not only great-tasting, but also great for your diet too. Let me tempt your taste buds with the flavors -- Key Lime, Coconut and Wild Berry -- and the fact they pack 50 calories or less per shot. Oh, and be sure to try one of these super drinks for your Super Bowl soiree.

Island Breeze Key Lime Cinnamon Cosmo (95 calories)
1 1/2 oz. Island Breeze Key Lime (48 calories)
1/4 oz. cinnamon schnapps (26 calories)
1 oz. cranberry juice (17 calories)
Splash of orange juice (4 calories)

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Island Breeze Coconut Martini (106 calories)
1 1/2 oz. Island Breeze Coconut (48 calories)
1/2 oz. DiSaronno Originale (42 calories)
1 oz. skimmed milk (16 calories)

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Dust with cinnamon.

Island Breeze Wild Berry Jungle Juice Cocktail (56 calories)
1 1/2 oz. Island Breeze Wild Berry (48 calories)
Splash of cranberry (4 calories)
Splash of orange juice (4 calories)

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

How can Island Breeze be so light? It's made with premium Bacardi rum, infused with natural fruit flavors and sucralose, a natural-sugar substitute with no caloric content.

Each Island Breeze flavor has 18% alcohol by volume and only about 50 calories per standard 1.5-ounce serving. By comparison, traditional vodka, gin and whiskey have 96 calories per 1.5 oz serving, and wine has 114 calories per serving.

For more information, simply click here.

Before you write a nasty note and sack Mr. Bad Food for promoting the consumption of alcoholic beverages, let me assure you the best party can be the sober party. At the least you should ALWAYS offer non-alcoholic beverages for your guests, especially the designated drivers.

So here to talk about partying hearty without the hangovers is none other than eDiets all-star Susan Burke, our chief nutritionist and conscience for all good-intentioned dieters. So Susan, how about a few great choices for our Super Bowl party?

Super Drinks for Super Bowl Sunday
Susan Burke MS, RD, LD/N, CDE

When you’re screaming for your favorite team this Sunday, don’t add points to your weight by mindless quaffing too many high-calorie liquids.

If you choose to drink, then use the KISS Principle: Keep It Simple Silly. Less is more when it comes to alcoholic beverages. The purer the drink, the fewer the calories. Mixers, sodas, juices all add sugar and calories.

5 Best Drinks for Dieters

1. Liquor: One bartender’s “shot” or jigger of alcohol such as vodka, rum, whiskey or gin has about 100 calories and barely any carbohydrate.

2. Mixed drinks: liquor with club soda, diet soda, diet tonic, water or Crystal Lite. Mixed drinks are better than straight; diluted, they last longer as opposed to ordering “on the rocks", where you'll usually drink more. Eliminate regular soda or juice as mixers: regular soda and juice adds about 100 calories and lots of sugar to each drink.

2. Wine: A five-ounce serving of wine contains about 100 calories, red or white, and is pretty low in carbs; only 3 grams per 5-ounce glass for white and about 5 grams for red. Forget sweet wines; they contain about 15 grams of carbs per glass. On the Atkins Nutritional Approach they tell members to avoid all alcohol in the first phase, Induction, and advise dry wine if you choose to imbibe.

4. Light beer: One regular beer contains about 150 calories and 13 grams of carbs, but a light beer has less than 100 calories and only 5 grams of carbs. The low-carb beers are not bad… really. But you’re only saving 2 grams of carbs per beer.

5. Vegetable juice cocktail: a Bloody Mary, vodka with tomato juice and spices, horseradish, and traditionally Worcestershire sauce, has only 140 calories compared to the 240 of a screwdriver (vodka with orange juice) or vodka and cranberry juice. Canned tomato juice has a lot of sodium, but you can buy the low sodium variety.

6. Water (just kidding!) Hey… if you’re really serious about losing weight, go on the wagon for a month.

5 Worst Drinks

1. Anything made with cream, as in "White Russian", made with vodka, coffee liqueur and cream, or Brandy Alexander. These are desserts, not drinks.

2. Liqueur: sweet alcoholic fermentations containing almost double the calories of the serving of liquor, such as Kahlua. Brandy is also highly alcoholic and absolutely higher in calories than clear liquor such as vodka, rum or gin.

3. Concoctions: drinks like Long Island Iced Teas, Mai Tais, and Fuzzy Navels; all the "fun" designer drinks translate to weight gain: multiple ingredients including different liquors, juices and sodas pump up the calories. Some of these drinks have more than 500 calories. They go down very quickly, especially in the heat on the beach or a cruise ship. Too many of these and forget the bikini.

4. Frozen Daiquiris and Margaritas: I get headache thinking about the sugar rush from frozen concoctions. Frozen drinks contain as much sugar as a soda, plus the alcohol, you're talking about an entire meal in one drink. If you've got a yen for rum, order the best rum mixed with club soda and a fresh lime.

5. Rum and Coke: or anything with regular soda. A drink mixed with a regular soda does not fit into a healthy diet. You can't maintain your weight if you continue to drink regular soda, because the calories will add up to excess pounds. That goes for juice too; mix your drinks wisely and stay slim.

Here are a few more really tasty ideas for refreshing libations that won't weigh you down.

Cut up a few oranges, limes and lemons into wedges, and set out with a bowl of cubed ice and sparkling water.

Lemon-Limeade: In a blender combine 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice (approximately 3 lemons and 3 limes per 1 cup), 1 cup sliced ripe strawberries (or 1 cup frozen), 4 cups cold water, and ice cubes.
Process until smooth and sweeten to taste. The usual recipe includes 1 cup of sugar, but you can lower the amount and still have an acceptable drink, or add your choice of artificial sweeteners to taste. Serve in chilled glasses, and top with fresh mint.

Iced tea: Green and black teas contain flavinols, antioxidants that are protective against cancer. Herbal teas are flavorful, and are caffeine-free. Iced tea is a refreshing beverage. Sweeten with clover honey or artificial sweetener if you’re watching calories.

Iced coffee: Here’s a recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com, but it’s much healthier, and just as tasty:
Brew 1.5 quarts of strong coffee, and cool to room temperature. In a pitcher combine coffee, 1 cup of 2% milk and 1 cup of nonfat half-and-half, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of creme de cacao. If you prefer, substitute artificial sweetener of choice for sugar. Chill and serve in chilled glasses, with a sprinkle of cocoa on top.

Virgin Mary’s: Combine tomato juice (or V-8, or Clamato juice) with a teaspoon of white horseradish and a dash of Worcester sauce and a dash of bitters. Serve in tall chilled glasses with a stalk of celery (don’t remove the leaves from the stalks). Tomatoes are good sources of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant.

Set up your blender with a bowl of frozen or fresh fruit, a bowl of sugar, a squeeze-bottle of honey, and artificial sweeteners, and let your guests make their own fruit smoothies. Don’t forget the straws!
One rule to follow: if you drink an alcoholic drink, alternate with a 12-ounce glass of something non-caloric such as water or tea.

If you read last week’s Worst Food column, you learned about the 10 Habits That Mess Up a Diet. This week, I’ve invited 10 Habits author Elizabeth Somer back to discuss her 10 Rules for Drinking, and to give us a little insight on how drinking can doom a diet… and maybe your health too.

Take it away Elizabeth.

The 10 Rules for Drinking

1. Have no more than one or two drinks a day.

2. Never drink on an empty stomach.

3. Don’t drink if there is any chance you are pregnant or if you have a history of alcoholism. Think seriously about whether you want to drink at all if you have a family or personal history of breast cancer.

4. When drinking, alternate an alcoholic beverage with a nonalcoholic beverage. For example, have a glass of wine and then drink a glass of ice water.

5. Beware of sweetened drinks: they taste great, so it’s easier to overdo it.

6. Never have “one for the road.” Stop drinking one to two hours before driving. Better yet, ask the designated driver to take you home.

7. When hosting a party, offer a wide selection of nonalcoholic beverages, including sparkling water, diet soft drinks, and iced tea.

8. When attending parties, take your own nonalcoholic beverage.

9. At social gatherings, choose a drink that is not your favorite. You will drink less.

10. Drink with meals, rather than before, between or after.

Kick the Habit

A can of soda, a glass of wine, or a beer several times a week is fine. But if you find you are drinking closer to the average for women in this country -- a gallon of soft drinks a week and/or more than one alcoholic beverage daily -- then you need to take a hard look at how this habit is influencing your calorie intake, your weight, and your health. Moderation is the sensible course.

Soft drinks should be an occasional treat, not a daily habit. Have one or two a week, not a day.

To maximize the health benefits of alcohol, such as lowering heart disease risk, and avoid the dangers of weight gain and breast cancer, women should limit alcohol to one drink a day.

The size of that drink is critical. The official “one drink” a day is 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor (80 proof).

The health benefits of wine or other alcoholic beverages also depend on when, as well as how much, you drink. A woman’s risk for breast cancer increases after as few as six drinks a week. That is six drinks spread over six days, not gulped all at once.

You can’t drink your week’s allotment of wine on Saturday and get the same health benefits as you would from controlling your daily intake.

Have your glass of wine with meals, rather than before, between, or after. Drinking during happy hour makes you more likely to nosh on fatty snacks and then also eat a full meal. In short, moderate drinking with meals is less likely to increase your total day’s calories, compared with drinking at other times.

Just as you should eat slowly and mindfully, you also should develop the habit of drinking slowly. It takes the liver one to two hours to detoxify the alcohol in one drink. If you drink any faster than that, alcohol accumulates in the blood and tissues. The buzz you feel means you are saturating your brain and tissues with the toxic effects of alcohol -- you now have passed the point of reaping any of the health benefits of alcohol.

For much, much more, be sure to check out Somer's Web site: www.elizabethsomer.com.

And if you need a little extra resolve to stick with your New Year's resolution to lose weight and get in shape, try one of the great plans offered by eDiets.com. To boost your bad habit-breaking resolve, be sure to get a copy of 10 Bad Habits That Mess Up a Women's Diet. eDiets and Somer's latest are the one-two punch that'll floor your fat fast!

And The Winner Is…

At the start of today’s column, I promised to stick my neck on the block and make a prediction for Super Bowl XL. Well here goes nothing…

A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis announced his retirement at the end of the season. I predict the future Hall of Famer will go out a big winner. Yes, his Steelers teammates will ride “The Bus” to a 24-16 win this Sunday.

Remember, you heard it here first. And if my prediction fails to come true, do me a favor and forget you heard it here first!

Party on!