How to Sneak Vegetables Into Your Super Bowl Party Menu

Not to be confused with some nutrient-rich rice bowl packed with veggies, just when you thought you’d solidified some healthy eating habits for 2018, along comes the Super Bowl.  Ah, the Super Bowl, that thrilling annual event that pits the season’s two strongest opponents against each other—your steely resolve to actually be in control and make sound choices about what you ingest this year, and the seemingly bottomless abyss that is your appetite, which has both strength, speed, and endurance where bingeing on party snacks is concerned.

Whether you’re a genuine sports enthusiast, just into it for the commercials and to see whether Justin Timberlake’s show includes any additional wardrobe malfunctions this year, or simply can’t resist the opportunity to host any snack-forward occasion, let’s go on the offense and load up our party table with vegetable-focused appetizers. The benefits are numerous: Your underrepresented vegetarian friends will be thrilled, no matter which teams end up playing you can claim to have made thematic choices about representing their team colors, and even if you do binge your way through the evening, you’re bound to stay within the healthy eating guidelines from the 12 (or 16, or maybe 20) servings of vegetables you’ll likely consume.

You can still check off all of the requisite boxes for Super Bowl hosting—nachos, “wings,” dips, skins, meatballs, poppers, etc.— with this selection of on-theme vegetable snacks that will guarantee you (insert obvious sports metaphor here) with your friends!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Real House Moms

Even the most die-hard junk food aficionados in your life will hardly notice that these aren’t chicken while they munch happily away on spicy buffalo goodness, their faces alit with the soft glow of the tube. Plus you need not worry about finding chicken wing detritus wedged between your couch cushions several months later. Get the recipe. 

Creamy Cucumber Avocado Rolls

Pure Ella

Just the thing to cool off with after nonstop munching on buffalo bites, plus you need an excuse to show off your newly acquired mandoline with razor thin cucumber slices. Get the recipe. 

Chipotle Mushroom Nachos

My California Roots

If you don’t offer nachos, will it even have counted as a Super Bowl party? Not one to be accused of unsportsmanlike conduct, hedge your bets with these nearly meaty mushroom nachos with a smoky adobo sauce. Get the recipe. 

Veggie Burger Sliders

Dad With a Pan

Adorable, on-brand for a Super Bowl party, and great vehicles for a variety of cheeses, even more vegetables, and clever sauces, these party sliders are sure to be a home run! (Wait, am I doing this right?) Get the recipe. 

Everything White Bean Dip

Budget Bytes

Bringing the familiarity of hummus, which would be a fine veggie option unto itself, but with a higher potential wow factor. This white bean dip is double entendre everything: as in the combination of onion, sesame, salt, and poppy seeds commonly found on everything bagels, as well as “oh my god this dip is EVERYTHING.” Get the recipe. 

Broccoli Bites with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Or So She Says

World class sportsmanship sometimes requires making bold choices, and you are just that kind of quarterback who’s willing to throw a hail mary and unapologetically serve up broccoli at a Super Bowl party. Plus, it’s fried, so like, who’s going to come rushing at you? (Leave out the bacon for a truly vegetarian take, or leave it in because, you know, bacon’s delicious.) Get the recipe. 

Mexican Corn Dip

Damn Delicio

Mexican street corn (or “elote”) has become ubiquitous with summer grill parties, but the crack-like combination of corn, lime, cheese, and chili translates just as well to the bowl as the cob. Go for the extra point by stovetop grilling your corn first, then serve up some corn-on-corn action with tortilla chips, or simply dish it out into paper cups with spoons. Get the recipe. 

Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Peppadew Peppers

Mac Suzie

Literally nobody will miss those generic, frozen jalapeño poppers in the presence of these beauties, which combine lightly spicy pickled peppers, creamy goat cheese, salty parmesan, and a sweet, reduced balsamic glaze. Your mouth will be having an end zone celebration to rival those of the even the most self-congratulatory running backs. Get the recipe. 

Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds

A Couple Cooks

So long as you’re improving upon typical bar food fare like wings and nachos for your veggie Super Bowl, why not take on potato skins? Straightforward enough for your least epicurean compadres with a simple swap for sweet potatoes, and easy enough for you to make a huge batch to have on hand so you will never be caught offside. Get the recipe.

Zucchini Meatballs

Making Thyme For Health

These Italian-style meatless balls would be perfect for a meatball hero—just add some melted provolone and sautéed peppers and onions. Or let them hang out in a crock to eat with toothpicks alongside a gooey parmesan or marinara dip. Because Super Bowl parties and dipping go together just like chips and guacamole. Get the recipe. 

Crispy Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha Aioli

Minimalist Baker

Wait, is this a Super Bowl party or the latest hipster brunch spot? Either way, who among us would throw a flag on the play for the opportunity to eat Brussels, garlic, and Sriracha together? Get the recipe. 

Tater Tot Hot Dish

Fork in the Kitchen

Regardless of who plays this year, the game is happening in Minneapolis, so should you make hot dish to commemorate? You betcha. Get the recipe. 

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Meal Plan for January Week 3

This week’s meal plan is all about simple dishes that require little thought and can be easily adapted.

Life is busy, food doesn’t need to be complicated to taste delicious and feed your family.

Continue reading "Meal Plan for January Week 3" »

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How to Use Avocado in Everything from Drinks to Dessert

Guacamole is a beautiful thing, and avocado toast is lovely too, but there are many more adventurous uses for the alligator pear than you might think.

If you’re vegan and/or a Millennial, you’re probably familiar with the avocado’s secret-weapon power to lend dairy-free richness and plush texture to all sorts of foods, both sweet and savory, but if you haven’t yet explored these intriguing…avo-nues, you’re in for a revelation.

You can use avocados as a mayo substitute, an emulsifier in salad dressing, and a creamy ingredient in almost everything else: smoothies, truffles, vegan fudge, pudding, mousse, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, and all manner of baked goods (try fudgy avocado brownies with a buttercream-style avocado chocolate frosting). They can enrich deviled eggs, or be deviled themselves. They can even serve as edible bowls, and be blended into boozy cocktails.

While we’re far from the first generation of American home cooks to use the fruit in creative applications, it’s fairly safe to say that most of the new crop of recipes are more tempting than the verdant horrors of the 1950s, like this salmon-avocado mold monstrosity:

Vintage Recipe Cards

See also: “California style” chipped beef—but know that it wasn’t all dire. As proof, check out this simple, circa-1949 avocado toast from a vintage cookbook/avocado propaganda pamphlet:

Paper Sponge

See? Everything old is new again! So if you’ve been content to stick to guacamole, diced avocado in your chili, and sliced in your salad up til now, why not try branching out?

The reason avocados are so good at adding richness and body to so many dishes, of course, is that they’re high in fat, which is unusual in the fruit world, and makes them similar to olives—but it’s heart-healthy monounsturated fat, which some studies suggest might reduce inflammation and cholesterol, and possibly even help prevent cancer. No need to bother with low-fat avocados, then (although in the interest of avoiding avocado hand, you may want to keep an eye out for the pitless variety).

Avocados are also high in potassium, yet notably low in carbs and sugar, so scarfing down a ton of guac isn’t really too bad for you, at least until you factor in the tortilla chips you probably used to scoop it up. It makes total sense that avocados are widely considered to be a superfood—in addition to being so nutritious (and versatile, and delicious), they might even help you get dates!

Brenda Godinez on Unsplash

There’s more to the fruit than its fabulous flesh, too. Avocado oil is a great cooking medium since it’s nutritious and has a high smoke point. And avocado leaves, although they can be a bit hard to find, lend a unique flavor to many Mexican dishes.

It is the lush, pale green flesh, however, that’s most beloved, and therein lies the frequent frustration of being an avocado devotee: how difficult it can sometimes be to procure a perfectly ripe one when you want it. It often seems like all you find at the store are rock-hard fruits or mushy, overripe specimens. If they’re not too far gone, you can still use super-soft avocados—especially good in recipes where they’ll be blended or pureed; just scrape away the really brown bits and mash or puree the rest to use in dishes where other flavors and ingredients will be paramount. Obviously, you should always taste your overripe avocados first to be sure they haven’t become actively unpleasant—but even then, you can always use them in food-based home beauty treatments.

As for unripe avocados, there are various tricks you can try to speed them up on their journey to the sweet spot of firm-yet-creamy insides, from newfangled avocado socks to the old paper bag trick. Once they do reach peak perfection, stash them in the fridge for a few days if need be, then get down to utilizing the dreamy green stuff in all kinds of wonderful ways. If you don’t use the entire avocado at once, you can wrap the leftover portion tightly in plastic, maybe sprinkled with some lemon or lime juice, or even store it with some sliced onion (not the best choice, perhaps, if you plan to use it in a smoothie or dessert). Even if it oxidizes a little in the fridge, a tiny bit of brown won’t hurt.

So come on and get cooking! (Or not cooking, since plenty of avocado recipes also possess the beauty of being quick and easy and are mostly a matter of pushing buttons on the blender. Seriously, what’s not to love?)

Copa Verde (Avocado Cocktail)

Chowhound

If you’re in the mood for something a little stronger than a smoothie, you can still get your liquid avocado fix in cocktail form. It’s basically an avocado margarita, but with the interesting addition of thyme. Get our Copa Verde recipe.

Avocado Yogurt Dip

Chowhound

While guacamole may be the go-to avocado appetizer, they’re great in lots of other dips too, like raw spinach and avocado dip, vegan asparagus-dill-avocado dip, and this tangy, creamy yogurt spread, which is great with raw vegetables for a healthy snack. You can even thin it out and use it as a salad dressing if you have any leftovers. Get our Avocado Yogurt Dip recipe.

Spicy Corn and Avocado Soup

Heather Christo

Chilled soup doesn’t have to be borscht or gazpacho; blended avocados make for a beautiful bowl, which is obviously perfect at the height of summer, but can bring a little brightness into a winter day as well. If you’re not into corn (or refuse to use frozen), try this avocado zucchini soup with mint, or avocado bisque with grilled shrimp for something a bit more substantial. Luckily, you can get good avocados all year long, so try playing around with lots of different flavors and toppings throughout the seasons. Get the recipe.

Grilled Flank Steak with Avocado Chimichurri Sauce

Diethood

Avocado lends a little extra oomph to the classic Argentinian garlic-parsley sauce, which is just as great over juicy portobello steaks as it is over grilled beef flank. Get the recipe.

Creamy Avocado and Spinach Pasta

Jo Cooks

For a healthier alternative to alfredo that’s also a little like particularly rich pesto, try this creamy avocado-sauced pasta, which brings in basil and walnuts too. Since you’re being so virtuous, feel free to grate on lots of extra cheese. Get the recipe.

Avocado Tuna Cakes

Well Plated

If you’re a bit bored with salmon burgers, try these tuna avocado cakes for a change. Should you be cutting carbs, or just up for trying something else new, consider serving them on these low carb avocado burger buns—perhaps with our Chipotle Avocado Dressing on top for good measure, because why not? Get the recipe.

Crispy Baked Avocado Fries & Chipotle Dipping Sauce

Gimme Delicious

Speaking of chipotle and avocados…Breaded and baked slices of the fruit make an interesting crispy-creamy side dish, even better when there’s a zesty sauce to dip them in. We use a panko coating in our Avocado Tacos too, but those are deep fried; you could always use this baking method instead for a healthier option. Get the recipe.

Venezuelan Avocado Chicken Salad

Panning the Globe

Avocado is obviously great as a more traditional salad ingredient (try shaving it with a veggie peeler for extra-elegant presentation), but it also makes a mean dressing, or can be used more simply, as in this chicken salad where it’s mashed and mixed in rather than mayo. Try the same thing with eggs or tuna, or chickpeas, or tofu… Get the recipe.

Coconut Milk and Avocado Ice Cream

Foolproof Living

Avocado does dessert, and quite well, too. It’s a great way to add creaminess to dairy-free ice cream, and works with a range of flavors from Mexican chocolate to pistachio, but this rendition adds a little heavy cream to really amp up the smooth, rich texture, along with coconut milk, rum, and a smidgen of lime juice. Serving in coconut shells is a nice touch, but this would be just as good straight out of the ice cream machine. Get the recipe.

Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Avocado Tart

Super Nummy

Avocado is one great way to get ultra smooth, super rich vegan tarts, like this no-bake deep chocolate version in a crunchy coconut-date shell (which is gluten-free as well). There’s a definite appeal to simply blending and chilling the ingredients (like in this no-bake avocado lime cheesecake…), but avocado can replace the butter in more conventional desserts too, like this Sheba from Queens cake, another one for chocolate lovers. Get the recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding

Minimalist Baker

If you’d rather not fuss with a crust, avocado makes for silky, decadent vegan pudding that’s incredibly healthy, but doesn’t taste like it. Get the recipe.

Honey Lime Avocado Baked Donuts

J-man and MillerBug

If you’re a true avocado fiend and even crave them in the morning, while you could simply add some to scrambled eggs, bake a whole egg in one avocado half, or go for the classic avo-enriched smoothie, if you also love baked goods for breakfast, try these sweet and zippy lime-honey donuts made with mashed avocado. Toast will be but a distant memory. Get the recipe.

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What Does Your Favorite Super Bowl Food Say About You?

You’ve surely heard the expression “you are what you eat,” but that is particularly true when it comes to the biggest sporting event of the year. What you put on your plate can probably say a lot about your personality (or the traits of the other people at the party you’re attending).

First, pick your favorite Super Bowl food from Cheap Beer, Vegetarian Chili, Potato Skins, Six-Foot Hero, Buffalo Wings, Guacamole, and Pizza. Then, scroll down to read about some serious and not-so-serious facts about you.

Cheap Beer

Pexels

If what you most look forward to about the big game is cracking open a brewski from a brand that you loved in college, then you are the dreaded person that regularly comments on old Facebook photos from freshman year, bringing them back to the top of all your friends’ feeds. You have no less than four tees with your alma mater’s name plastered across the front and you’re absolutely the life of the party when your crew goes back for reunion events.

Vegetarian Chili

Chowhound

If you’re the person that brings along a healthier twist on a classic, you’ll have to admit that you’re that guy who can’t stop talking about how CrossFit changed your life. Sure, your friends might roll their eyes when you talk about what the latest “new kale” is, but you’re the gym buddy that everyone wants in their corner when they’re trying to snap into shape.

Potato Skins

Chowhound

Are potato skins your weakness? Then you believe that Sundays are a sacred day…to be spent at your favorite neighborhood bar. At your preferred watering hole, you’ve got “your table”, are on a first name basis with all the waitstaff, and know exactly how long it takes to get from your place to the pub without missing a single second of the game. Your life is like “Cheers,” but with a more up-to-date wardrobe and without the live studio audience.

Six-Foot Hero

Chowhound

Is a sandwich taller than you your jam? Then you’re used to feeding a crowd because you’re the parent of your friend group (or you’re actually a parent). You’re the person who your pals rely on to bail them out of trouble (or, ahem, the drunk tank that one time). You would be mad about all the time you’ve had to play caretaker if you didn’t have hilarious incriminating photos on your phone.

Buffalo Wings

Chowhound

If buffalo wings are your thing, then you’re the person who actually cares about the action on the field. You’re here to watch every flag and pass, not to chit-chat, and are running the pool at work and at the party. You’re happy to answer questions about how football actually works—just not during the game.

Guacamole

Chowhound

Hovering near the guac and chips like your life depends on it? Then it’s because you’re not too worried about catching every second of the game. All that matters are the commercials, right? (And the halftime performance by J.T., of course.)

Pizza

Chowhound

If ‘za has your heart, then you’re not here to try to reinvent the wheel. You’re going to order from the spot that your parents ordered from growing up and talk about how great your hometown team is all night—even if they were eliminated way earlier in the season. Your pals would get irritated with you if they didn’t love you so much for being loyal.

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How Food May Help to Reduce Diabetes Symptoms

When Tiffany Kingsley was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five years ago, the medicine she was prescribed was making her sick. So she decided to take a different route, opting to instead manage her sugar levels with diet and exercise.

Turns out Kingsley with was initially misdiagnosed—she later learned that she actually has LADA, a slow progressing form of type 1 diabetes that’s commonly mistaken for type 2. Kingsley’s vow to commit to a healthier lifestyle, though, remained intact.

Yes—there have been countless recent studies that show a low-calorie diet can manage and sometimes reverse type 2 diabetes, but what about type 1?

When she was first diagnosed, Kingsley said she was constantly hearing that—unlike type 2 diabetics—type 1 diabetics can eat whatever they wanted as long as they’re taking the insulin that their body is unable to produce. She wasn’t convinced.

“As I did more research, I realized that it isn’t wise to depend solely on medicine to deal with a disease like diabetes,” says Kingsley. “In fact, in general, I now believe that healthy food and lifestyle changes should be the first step towards achieving health goals…drugs should only be used if other more natural methods aren’t enough.”

She’s not alone in this theory. Blogging about diabetes management through lifestyle changes has become increasingly popular online, and according to Richard K. Bernstein, in his book “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution,” diet is a huge contributor in successfully managing type 1 diabetes.

Kingsley’s new lifestyle includes eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and natural whole foods as well as incorporating healthy fats like seeds and nuts into most meals and snacks. She tries to limit her carbohydrates count to 30 grams of carbs per meal.

“I still eat sweets, but have found healthy ways to prepare them—using almond flour and xylitol to lower carbs and add nutrients,” said Kingsley.

“I don’t eat gluten or dairy,” she added.

In fact, studies show that the development of type 1 diabetes and celiac disease are commonly linked. Dairy is also a proven risk factor.

And without gluten or dairy in her diet, Kingsley notes she also feels more energetic–making an effort to exercise for 30 minutes, 5 times a week.

All of this combined, she says, is what’s allowed her to successfully control her A1C—a test that measures levels of blood sugar.

“I’ve used my low-carb eating, along with the insulin, to get my A1C down to 6.0, which is almost as low as someone without diabetes,” says Kingsley.

Kingsley admits that “breaking the addition of food”—especially foods high in carbs—wasn’t easy. The antidote to that problem was creating creative, low-carb recipes on her lifestyle blog.

“People choose to go with the ‘drugs first’ mentality when living with diseases, because they are afraid of eating gross food,” said Kingsley. “I would encourage these people to make it through the first few weeks of a new, healthy diet, because it takes a while to get past the addictions. I settled into a pattern of eating that I actually enjoy.”

And it’s advice for people with diseases and illnesses beyond diabetes, she notes.

“I believe that the first line of defense against any disease should be to make wise decisions about what to put in your body,” says Kingsley.

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