4 Healthy Tailgate Recipes

Whether you’re ready to support your team alongside thousands of drunk college football fans or just create a few more Snapchat stories to share with your friends, game-day tailgates are perfect for socializing, having fun and, most importantly, eating food. But just because it’s game day doesn’t mean that your waistline has to suffer from eating greasy, fried tailgate snacks! Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with a few healthy tailgate foods that will have you and your body feeling like champs.

1. Buffalo Hummus

You can never go wrong with hummus. This is a great alternative for fatty cheese dips, especially if you eat the hummus with celery or carrots. The recipe livens up the dip and gives it a little spicy kick.

Recipe from Eclectic Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 cans garbanzo beans, 1 can drained
• ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3-4 tablespoons tahini
• The juice of one lemon
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine one can drained garbanzo beans and one can un-drained (with liquid) in a food processor. Add wing sauce, smoked paprika, tahini and lemon juice.
2. Turn on processor and stream in olive oil until hummus is smooth and creamy.
3. Eat with celery, carrots or pita bread.

2. Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

So it’s not buffalo chicken, but nobody said it didn’t taste just as good! On top of all of the fiber that these cauliflower bites are loaded with, they carry just as much flavor as regular buffalo wings.  

Recipe from Nutrition Stripped

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower (about 5-6 cups raw)
• ½ cup almond milk (or of choice)
• ½ to 1 cup water (more to create a thinner coating)
• ¾ to 1 cup red hot sauce
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Ground black pepper and sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and grease well with coconut oil or other. Cut cauliflower head into bite-sized pieces.
3. To make the cauliflower coating, mix flour, milk, water and spices into a small bowl.
4. Dip each cauliflower floret into this flour mixture.
5. Lay on baking sheet in an even layer.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
7. For the buffalo sauce, melt the butter and hot sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
8. After the cauliflower bites have baked, pour the buffalo sauce mixture onto the bites.
9. Stir until each cauliflower bite has been coated in the sauce.
10. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Pulled Turkey Chili

Using turkey instead of ground beef will give you just as much flavor in this chili but not nearly as much fat.

Recipe from POPSUGAR Fitness

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or palm oil (or extra-virgin olive oil if you have neither)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo, coarsely chopped, with 1 teaspoon sauce
• 2 cups leftover turkey, pulled apart and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 12-ounce bottle dark beer
• 4 cups crushed or coarsely chopped tomatoes, with their juice
• 2 cups kidney beans
• 2 cups black beans
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• ¼ cup flaxseed meal

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, chili powder and oregano and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the chipotle chile and sauce; cook about 1 minute more.
2. Add the turkey and beer and simmer until reduced by about half, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the beans and corn; bring to a boil. Add flax.
3. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, 30 minutes.

4. Vegan Brownies

At only 158 calories, the secret ingredient to this treat is zucchini. (Yes, you read that right!) These brownies are just as tasty but are healthier than regular chocolate brownies.

Recipe from POPSUGAR Fitness

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small zucchini
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray 9-inch-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt).
3. Place the zucchini in a food processor and puree it as much as you can. Add in the oil and vanilla extract and puree until smooth.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter forms.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Consider these recipes the next time you head to a tailgate, and your body will thank you later. Happy game day, collegiettes!