The 5 Things Every Girl Should Know Before She Super Bowls

As I do every year, I'll go ahead and confess the team I'm rooting for. I'm sure this year's choice is highly obvious seeing my diehard allegiance to The University of Tennessee. Yes, it is The with a capital T, check the AP Stylebook if you don't believe me. See, I did too learn something in college! 

I got distracted.... back to The University of Tennessee. I'm clearly rooting for the Broncos come Sunday. The Broncos actually have 3 Tennessee alum: Defensive End Malik Jackson, Punter Britton Colquitt and a lesser-known QB you might have heard of, Peyton Manning. With that said, for the first time in a long time, I actually like both teams playing. If Carolina ended up with the victory, I wouldn't be one bit mad. 

So, as I always say, there's SO MUCH MORE to the Super Bowl than cheese dip and Beyonce. Don't get me wrong, those are two very important things, but there are a few more items every girl should know before she Super Bowls on Sunday. 

You would've thought that the Broncos started the season 0-7 based on the amount of criticism they received from the media day in and day out. In actuality though, they began the season 7-0, despite Peyton having a dreadful season with 17 interceptions and only 9 touchdowns. After a lengthy injury, Peyton is back and ready to shush the haters one final time, looking for his second Super Bowl victory. Should the Broncos win, it is pretty much guaranteed that this will be Peyton's very last game. If they lose though, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see P. Manning back on that field again next year. (Pro Tip: If that happens, I'd shy away from drafting him in Fantasy...)

Cam Newton has had without a doubt the best year of his career, but he's also had arguably the best year of anyone in the National Football League. I hear people all the time say how much they dislike Cam Newton (most recently it was my grandmother) and I'm blown away by that. Not only is he revolutionizing the quarterback position on the field with his feet and his ability to literally leap over gigantic defenders, but he's single-handedly changing the NFL fan experience. After every single touchdown, no matter home or away, Cam finds a Carolina kid in the stands and gives him/her that touchdown football. He is constantly doing philanthropic work, the vast majority of which is never acknowledged, and quite frankly, he is downright entertaining to watch.  Sure, he's showy and eccentric, but he's a damn good man and the NFL needs more "damn good men" in my opinion. 

...been a quarterback to win... 

The Heisman Trophy

An NCAA Title

The NFL MVP

The Super Bowl

This might surprise you, but Peyton did not win the Hesiman in college, nor did he win an NCAA Title. The year after he left the Vols, in 1998, we won the National Championship. 

Cam on the other hand? Well....

Heisman Trophy Winner - 2010

NCAA Title at Auburn - 2010

NFL MVP- ????

Super Bowl Winner- ????

The Denver Defense, led by former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is a force to be reckoned with. Von Miller (number 58), who you might remember from this post, is the ultimate defensive weapon with the ability to rush the passer, drop back and cover the field or play the run. The Denver D was the best in the league this year, and essentially shut down Tom Brady in the AFC championship game. Although Carolina has quite the impressive defense as well, this game will ultimately come down to the Denver Defense vs. Cam Newton.

|| Super Bowl 50 Hard Facts ||  

Kickoff:

6:30pm EST

Location:

Levi's Stadium

Santa Clara, CA (49ers Home Field)

*First time a Super Bowl will be played on this field

Official Hashtag:
#SB50
-or-
#gamedayvibes (wink,wink)

TV Channel:

CBS + streaming live at CBSsports.com

National Anthem:

Lady Gaga

Halftime Show:

Coldplay + Queen B

Current Favorite in Vegas:

Carolina by 5.5 points

::Plus::

Here is another post from two years ago that might help you before you Super Bowl!

Basic Football Q+A for the Super Bowl

  

Berry Oatmeal Smoothie Bowl Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BringYourBestBowl #Kroger #CollectiveBias

Since returning from Colorado, I've been trying to detox and get back on track. We ate so much junk, so I couldn't help but think that a simple, fruit-filled dinner was just what CB and I needed after multiple plates of nachos and 14 inch large cheesy pizzas. I've been inspired by all of the smoothie bowls I've seen on Pinterest and Instagram lately, so on my lunch break yesterday I popped over to Kroger and picked up the fresh, fruity ingredients to make us a berry oatmeal smoothie bowl for dinner. The smoothie bowl I made us last night was so darn tasty. I can see why they are so popular right now, and not just because they're obviously picture perfect for Instagram.

Speaking of perfect for Instagram, Quaker® Oats is having a "bring your best bowl" promotion right now. Recipe bowl entries must have between 2-5 ingredients, all of which you can find at your local Kroger! More details can be found at the bottom of this post, or on select Quaker® Oats packaging.

If we pretend like my trip to Colorado didn't just completely throw all of my weight loss progress out the window, then I can sit here and tell you that in the past couple of weeks I've lost 8 pounds and have been completely dedicated to exercising 3 times a week. Although I didn't make the best choices nutrition-wise in Colorado, I did get tons of exercise by way of skiing, constantly trying to get up after falling and trudging through the snow in the cruelest clothing item on the planet; ski boots.

But seriously though, what's the deal with ski boots? I was in excruciating shin pain the second I put those torture devices on my feet. I mean really, it's 2016 scientists, figure these things out. I've decided to take a stand against ski boots by boycotting skiing until this severe issue gets fixed.

In no way does my boycott have anything to do with how bad I was at skiing, or how terrified  I was looking down from the top of that mountain. Those are totally unrelated. 

Now, on to the smoothie bowl recipe...

Building a smoothie bowl is very simple, you just need a handful of ingredients: Quaker® Oats (I got the Old Fashioned kind), fresh or frozen fruit of your choice, sunflower seeds, unsweetened almond milk and vanilla extract.

I first froze my fruit, then after my fruit was frozen, I got out my blender and threw in my strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, a cup of almond milk, half a cup of oats, a banana and one fourth teaspoon vanilla extract.

Blend all of your ingredients until smooth, then pour into your bowl. Top your bowl with another half cup of Quaker® Oats, extra sliced fruit and about a third of a cup sunflower seeds.

I was worried CB was going to ask if the pizza delivery man was in route already, but he actually gobbled his smoothie bowl right up and even, I kid you not, said he loved it. I have to say, it was pretty darn delicious and quite filling!

Quaker® Oats "bring your best bowl" promotion is going on now through March 12, 2016. You can go to their national sweepstakes site and enter to win $250,000 and the chance to have your recipe created and sold in stores come Fall 2016! Get started by picking up some Quaker® Oats at your local Kroger!