Tailgating Healthy

November 08, 2014

Tailgating Healthy

Football season is among us, which means tailgates with yummy, but fattening food. I love a good burger, piece of fried chicken, chips, sweets, etc...you name it and it is at our tailgate. However, my waist does not love all of that food. Eating poorly has its consequences because that usually means all of my hard work throughout the week of working out and eating well is thrown to the wolves.

So is it possible to have fun celebrating with all of my friends through our love for football and fall without feeling guilty about what food I am putting into my body? The answer is YES! You just have to know WHERE to look. Pinterest always has some good ideas, but sometimes the recipes are right in front of you and you just don't realize you have a good base that just needs a few adjustments.

Tailgating in the B1G means braving the cold. This inspired my food choices. I knew I wanted a soup so I came across a recipe from Giada on the food network.

After looking at it I knew a few things:
1. 1 batch would not be enough for a tailgate, so I needed to double it.
2. A few of the ingredients needed to be reworked (especially the fennel seeds due to my husband being allergic!)

So I got to work and I chopped up about 5 small onions and had them get tender in a stock pot with about 3 teaspoons of olive oil on medium.

After the onion was translucent and was cooking for about 5 minutes, I added 6 minced cloves of garlic and let it cook for an additional minute.

The recipe called for 2lbs of ground chicken for a single batch, but I thought 3lbs was sufficient enough. If you are not a chicken fan, you could always use ground turkey.

Add in 2 teaspoons of sea salt, 4 teaspoons cumin, 4 teaspoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons ground coriander and 2 teaspoons oregano.

Cook until chicken is fully cooked.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR or WHEAT FLOUR so that it lightly coats the chicken.

Add the beans, frozen corn and swiss chard to the pot.

Let the soup simmer for about an hour. Finish by adding 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Season to taste with ground pepper and sea salt.

White Bean & Chicken Chili

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 large or 5 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 pounds ground chicken
2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
4 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoon dried oregano
4 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons whole grain oat flour
4 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
2 bunches (about 2 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
3 cups frozen corn
7 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 cups of organic vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt for seasoning
top with***grated Parmesan cheese
top with***chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

When standing around all day, you need "munchie" food too. However many choices are just not all that healthy. Humus and veggies provides a healthy alternative to chips and salsa.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 cans of rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons tahini paste
2 lemons (just juice, freshly squeezed)
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/2 cup of good olive oil (drizzle while food processing until it is a smooth consistency)
ground pepper and sea salt to taste