#VeggieDag Thursday: Superbowl 50.

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and ecological issues.

In Santa Clara, California, this Sunday, it's a Super Bowl so momentous, that the National Football League has abandoned its Roman numeral scheme, and designated it "50." It's young quarterback, Cam Newton —probably the NFL's MVP for the 2015 season— versus Peyton Manning —the 'old guard', one of the league's all-time great quarterbacks. And, oh yes, it's the Carolina Panthers (based in Charlotte, North Carolina) of the National Football Conference versus the Denver Broncos of the American Football Conference.

The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, known [only] retroactively as Super Bowl I, was played on January 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10.

—Wikipedia

The game is its own mini-economic stimulus, quantitative feasting. Nearly one hundred eighty-nine million Americans ¹ are expected to watch. During the day, they will consume: ²

• 1.3 billion chicken wings
• 139.4 million pounds of avocados
• 8 million pounds of popcorn ³
• $277 million in sales of cheese ⁴
• $140.2 million dollars worth of potato chips
• $93 million dollars of crackers
• $90.8 million of unflavored nuts
• $20.1 million of tortilla chips
• $5.1 million of vegetable trays
• $4.9 million of tater tots

And beer?

It's the number one product by far, expected to generate $583 million in sales (including the week leading up to the game). ⁵

Happy drinking (be safe!); here's some good eating (be veggie!).

RECIPES

• Vegan Bánh mì
  — Via Kindred Kitchen.
• Veggie Burgers ⁶
  • Grated tempeh patties.
    — Via Vegan Dad.
  • Baked marinated tempeh rectangles.
    — Via Slate.
  • The 'Ultimate' Veggie Burger (tofu).
    — Via New York Times.
  • Beet Burger.
    — Via Wall Street Journal.
• Vegan Beer Chili with beans
  — Via YFGF.
  
• Kepta Duona (Lithuanian-style fried garlic-rye-bread strips).
  — Via YFGF.
  
• Dip with:
  • Guacamole.
    — Via Washington Post.
  • Hoppy Hummus.
    — Via YFGF.
  • Baba Ganoush.
    — Via Minimalist Baker.
• Vegan Cheese Stix (Daiya cheese).
  — Via Vegan Zombie.
• Cauliflower Hot Wings
  — Via Evolve Vegan.
  You might have a problem with this. Cold weather in the growing regions of California and Arizona has caused a cauliflower supply shortage; prices have soared.
  — Via Wall Street Journal.
  
• Dip with vegan ranch dressing (cashews).
  — Via Uncooked 101.
• Go fancy; go English. (Do they watch the Super Bowl?). How to make The Perfect Tea Sandwich, with thinly sliced radishes, a light spread of curried egg salad, or the classic cucumber.
  — Via Food & Wine.
• Curried Tofu 'Egg' Salad for the tea sandwiches.
  — Via Happy Herbivore.

UPDATE: Peyton Manning secured the second Super Bowl triumph of his legendary career, in his fourth, and probably, final appearance. The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers, 24-10, to win Super Bowl 50.

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• ¹ CNN reported that the game averaged 111.9 million TV viewers, a decline from 2015's record viewership of 114.4 million people. The actual number of people who watched Sunday's game was larger. Nielsen's total doesn't count out-of-home viewing, which includes fans who watched via viewing parties at bars and restaurants, and doesn't include internet streaming, which set a record this eyar with an average of 1.4 million viewers per minute (vs. 800,000 in 2015). 167 million viewers watched all or part (at least six minutes) of the game, making Super Bowl 50 the most watched broadcast in TV history on an all or part basis.
• ² Food statistics (except for popcorn, cheese, and beer) according to Good Morning America. The dollar amounts were reported by Neilsen, based upon purchases in the week leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, in 2015.
• ³ Popcorn consumption according to Treehugger, for the SuperBowl in 2010.
• ⁴ Sales figures on cheese and beer according to IRI, as reported by Beverage Industry.
• ⁵ Depite the big sales number, the Super Bowl is not the most popular beer holiday in the U.S. Research from Nielsen, in 2011, showed that the Super Bowl ranked 7th among holiday beer sales —after Labor Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, AND Halloween.
• ⁶ Both New York Times' recipes call for eggs. It's easy to sub those out with vegan flax 'eggs.' Here's how, from Minimalist Baker.
  
• Why the name VeggieDag Thursday? Here.
• Read all the posts: here. Follow on Twitter with hashtag: #VeggieDag.
• Suggestions and submissions from chefs, writers, and home-cooks welcomed! Contact me here.


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