Week Five: The Super Bowl. Also known as the game they play so we all have an excise to get together and deep fry anything that isn't nailed down and then enjoy it smothered in ranch dressing.

As you may have heard the Super Bowl was this last Sunday. If you aren't familiar with the Super Bowl it is a football game that is played each year so that we have an excuse to get together and eat all sorts of food that is terrible for you, has very little nutritional value, but tastes like heaven. I am serious. Fried food nirvana. It is a time for chicken wings, chili, fried buffalo chicken wontons, chips and salsa, pigs in a blanket, sliders, pulled pork and anything else your little heart can imagine. If you are looking for a healthy option - maybe you would find a sad veggie tray buried on the back of the table just waiting for the moment when everything else was gone and folks were still hungry. The very same veggie tray that probably had ranch dipping sauce that almost negated the healthiness of the veggies.

You can't go to a Super Bowl party like that when you have turned over a new leaf to a healthy life style and a better you. You certainly can't go to a party like that if you are trying to beat the pants off of your family in a healthier living competition with $260 dollars on the line. A party like that could be dangerous.

Even if you managed to dodge all the food bullets that would be flying at you there would still be beer. Rich, hoppy, wonderful, full of empty calorie beer.

Superbowl parties can be a dangerous place.

Usually our Super Bowl party is a lot like the ones described above. A three hour festival of dips and sauces topped off with some great craft beer and a fair offering of Miller High Life. This year we decided that the party needed to have some healthier options.

All things considered I think we did a pretty good job. We had spicy black bean hummus, homemade guacamole, sweet potato and black bean chili, creamy tex mex bean dip with baked tortilla chips my mama made, an awesome salad with chic peas and cranberries and a veggie tray.

I was afraid our party was gonna be a bummer. My concern was that no one was gonna wanna come eat healthier options when the world of fried deliciousness was open. You know what? It was awesome. The food was delicious and people had fun. We did still have a fair amount of craft beer and High Life. Everything in moderation right.

I made it to the gym pre-festivites for a last chance work out. The Y got a rowing machine. I have decided it was made by Satan himself to torture me and my poor muscles. That being said I felt very accomplished after fifteen hundred virtual meters rowed. Accomplished and sweaty.

This week was a good week for everyone. When Mark weighs in and has a good week he does a little dance. It is reminiscent of the gorilla dance that he did when we all used to play a DOS computer game with a gorilla that destroyed buildings by throwing bananas. I am sorry that you all aren't here to see it. It is pretty great.