Eat.Fit.Be.Fit. – Tailgate Teasers

Alright Football Fans! It’s that time of year! The cool air has already made its way here to Michigan, so fans are just itching to get into the stadium!

Thank goodness for no more construction along Stadium Dr., can I get a whoop whoop! First home game forU of M is this weekend, and I know a lot of you are big into hosting big parties at your house and having lots of snack items around for people to enjoy. So this week, I bring you some great options to feed your friends, without much prep, and can be enjoyed cold, hot or just at room temperature 🙂

Sometimes, it can be really difficult to come up with some ways to keep people entertained as they peruse around the buffet of football themed wings, cheese balls, crackers, chips and dips, baked goods, etc. There are some staple foods, how do we make them healthy and enjoyable for guests? Give these next couple recipes a try, and let me know what you think! Are these a touchdown, or unsportsmanlike conduct? Test the waters to see how you can match up to these ideas!

First things first: WINGS.

Everyone loves wings, and don’t get me wrong, the way wings are usually prepared are pretty solid with traditional style wings, but when it comes to boneless wings, the breaded pieces will usually have more breading than actual chicken! Why not get the taste and feel of a good buffalo snack, without breaking the calorie or even money bank? One simple solution: Cauliflower. This stuff is amazing.

No it’s not chicken, but man it’s a great secondary alternative. And you can use whatever kind of hot sauce you like! (keeping it reasonable, sodium can be pretty high in some sauces)

The assembly of the wings was simple, and didn’t take up a lot of space, although I had to cut each piece of cauliflower up individually from a head of it, because darn Costco didn’t have any cauliflower! But Busch’s came to save the day <3

This gem of a salad I came across as I was wandering through Pinterest world. The dressing seemed a little boring, so I decided to spice it up a little bit, and it turned out awesome. It doesn’t need a lot, just a little zest to kickstart your taste buds. Sometimes, I just never know what to do with a radish, and if you don’t know much about radishes, they are like the Alpha of superfoods. Considered roughage, these things are filling, fibrous, and and full of vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium, and more! They are a winner in my book 🙂

The last portion of this tailgate party really puts a focus on the main dish. PROTEIN. There are so many different dishes you could do for a tailgate party, and this one for me is an easy seller, because it takes on the whole “set it and forget it concept. The Crock Pot was seriously one of the best inventions ever! I love working with the slow cooker and really seeing what comes out of it. It’s quite fascinating actually, what kind of creations you will find can come from a slow cooker! And this one is no different. Just set it and forget it.

Now, I made each of these little dishes into a full blown meal here,which of course is not the goal, but it at least gives you the hope that after all the partying is over, and if there are still any left (which good luck,because these are AMAZING) you can actually throw them all together for some good leftovers! Throw the teriyaki

chicken on a bed of cauliflower rice, roasted veggies, or put into a salad, there are plenty of options! The radish/cucumber salad is wonderful as a stand alone, but could be great as a dip too! The creative juices are flowing, I can tell 🙂 Get out there and give these a shot!

Cucumber, Radish and Onion Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 of a red onion
• 1/2 of a cucumber
• 5 radishes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Thai chili sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp ground coriander

DIRECTIONS