Healthy and Clean Eating Super Bowl Recipes

Did you know that in the United States the Super Bowl is the day second biggest food day of the year, second only to Thanksgiving? That means that people consume more food on this day than any other day of the year except Turkey Day. Wow. It’s not very fortuitous that it happens in early February, when everyone is still trying to stick to their healthy eating resolutions from the New Year. Whether clean eating is already a part of your life or you’re early in your journey, I’m here to help you stick with it during the Super Bowl.

I did all the searching for you and rounded up some great, healthy recipes that you can make and not disappoint your guests. Healthy, clean-eating doesn’t have to be boring or taste terrible. The best part: it doesn’t leave you feeling terrible, either!

Here are enough healthy, clean-eating Super Bowl recipes to serve whatever size your crowd. I start with some of my very favorite Happy Healthy Mama recipes and then showcase the best recipes I found from all over the web. Enjoy!

Healthy & Clean Eating Super Bowl Recipes

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip (gluten-free)

It’s lighter than the original, but still full of flavor!

Perfect Guacamole (gluten-free, vegan)

Your search for the perfect guacamole recipe are over. Every time I make this I get a request for the recipe.

Vegan Crock-Pot Chili (vegan, gluten-free)

This one will stay warm in your Crock-Pot the whole game!

Skinny Spinach Artichoke Dip (gluten-free, vegetarian)

Another favorite, lightened up!

Mini Bell Pepper Nachos (vegan, gluten-free)

The same idea as traditional nachos, but full of healthy plant-based foods instead.

Zesty Sweet Potato Wedges with Spicy Yogurt Dipping Sauce (vegetarian, gluten-free)

I actually have dreams about these baked sweet potato wedges. They’re my favorite.

Quinoa Pizza Balls with Yogurt Ranch Dip (vegetarian, gluten-free)

They taste like pizza, but are made with quinoa and beans. Winning.

10-Minute Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce (vegan, gluten-free) 

Your vegan or milk allergic friends will thank you for making this!

Comforting N0-Meat Balls (vegan, gluten-free)

These are the definition of healthy comfort food. YES.

Grilled Chicken Nachos (gluten-free) from Real Food Real Deals

Another healthy spin on traditional nachos!

Loaded Hummus (gluten-free, vegetarian) from Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Kick plain hummus to the curb and give this loaded hummus a spot in your line up!

Garlic and Herb Sourdough Crackers (gluten-free) from Raia’s Kitchen

Feeling ambitious? Make your own healthy crackers!

Cheese & Onion Roasted Chickpeas (vegan, gluten-free) from A Virtual Vegan 

Chickpeas flavored and roasted to perfection are so addicting. These are a perfect addition to a Super Bowl party.

Buffalo Wing Hummus (gluten-free, vegetarian) from Three Olives Branch 

Buffalo flavor+hummus=YES.

Healthy Tomato Basil White Bean Dip (vegan, gluten-free) from Peas and Crayons

Switch up the typical Super Bowl flavor profiles with this recipe!

Roasted Curry Cauliflower Dip (vegan, gluten-free) from Savory Tooth

I could not love the idea of this dip more. Let’s all turn our cauliflower into DIP!!

Layered Hummus Dip with Crispy Tortilla Chips (vegan) from Cook, Eat, Be Healthy 

This presentation is on point.

Cauliflower Buffalo Bites (gluten-free, vegetarian) from Apples for CJ

Yep, that’s cauliflower. Do it!

Jerk Chicken Skewers with Pineapple Habenero Garlic Aioli Sauce (gluten-free) from Major Hoff Takes a Wife

I would totally stand in the cold in February to grill these. YUM.

Cool Vegan Dill Pickle Dip Bread Bowl (vegan) from spabettie.

I have a soft place in my heart for Dill Pickle Dip.

Vegan 7 Layer Taco Dip (vegan) from Veggies Don’t Bite

The “meat” layer in this dip is a lentil/walnut mixture!

Loaded Sweet Potato Bites (gluten-free, vegetarian) from A Healthy Life for Me

A simple little bite that is full of flavor!

Stuffed Date Footballs (vegan, gluten-free) from Create Mindfully

These are just too cute.

Salmon Cucumber Roll Ups (dairy-free, gluten-free) from Tasting Table

Smoked salmon lovers will adore this healthy and easy recipe.

Game Day Platter from Cook with Kushi 

Presentation is everything.

Green Goddess Veggie Dip Cups (gluten-free, vegetarian) from The View from Great Island

I have always wanted to make cute veggie dip cups like this. This homemade green goddess dip sounds divine.

Peri Peri Oven Baked Carrot Fries (vegan, gluten-free) from Cotter Crunch

The moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. You should, too.

Healthy Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Dip (vegan, gluten-free) from Hummusapien

Long live cauliflower.

 

 

The post Healthy and Clean Eating Super Bowl Recipes appeared first on Happy Healthy Mama.

source http://happyhealthymama.com/healthy-clean-eating-super-bowl-recipes.html

Lemon Coconut Energy Balls

5 Things You Can Do Instead of Using Facebook for Political Rants

I love Facebook. Yes, it can be a time suck and sometimes I cringe at oversharers. But I love the way it has kept me connected to friends and family all over the world.

I got to see a beautiful toothless grin when a friend in another state’s daughter lost her first tooth, I was able to see a visual of the scene when my sick grandma got to have lunch with the high school football team, and I got to see the smile on my cousin’s face when he got accepted to the University of Michigan. All day-to-day things that I get to be a part of, even though I live far away from these people I love, because of Facebook.

Lately, though, Facebook is sucking all of the life from me. I open my feed and feel suffocated rather than refreshed. It’s your fault. Your political rants are killing me.

Ever since this presidential campaign and election, I can’t browse Facebook, hoping for a   momentary escape (read: procrastination) from my laundry or cleaning or long grocery store line, without seeing someone use Facebook at a platform to expose their political viewpoint.

I get it. You’re passionate about the rights of women, the rights of the unborn, the rights of homosexuals, the rights of transgender people, the rights of your blessed second amendment. I hear you loud and clear.

The thing is, every time I read these posts, I feel like I’m being yelled at. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on. Both sides are being batshit crazy on Facebook right now. Nobody gets an exemption here. And I don’t want to be yelled at on Facebook.

I’m here to tell you: You’re ruining Facebook. Before too long, you’re only going to be yelling at yourself and those people who believe exactly the way you do because everyone else is either going to unfollow you or leave Facebook all together.

I don’t want to unfollow you (I love you even if I don’t agree with you) and I don’t want to leave Facebook. I just want to see that my high school friend’s kid won their hockey tournament this weekend, that my friend’s dog ate her new shoes, and that my cousin tried a new recipe her whole family loved. That’s what I care about on Facebook. I read my news and opinion pieces elsewhere, so can you help me out here and keep your passionate political views off of my book of faces? 

What to do with all your pent up passion and/or rage? I have some ideas for you!

5 Things You Can Do Instead of Using Facebook for your Political Rants

1. Volunteer to help the cause you’re passionate about.

   Whether it’s the rights of women, the rights of the unborn, or global warming, put your words into action and actually do something to help the cause about which you are ranting.

2. Donate money to the cause you’re passionate about. 

   Writing about it on Facebook isn’t changing anyone’s mind; I can promise you that. All you’re doing is eliciting cheers from those who agree with you and anger from those who do not. Put your money where your mouth is–that’ll make a bigger difference than your rants.

3. Write a letter to your congressman.

   Don’t love a choice being made in Washington? Write your congressman and tell them all about it! Make your voice mean something. Want to encourage your friends to do the same? Shoot the ones you know would be interested an email.

4. Have a dinner party!

   Do you just love to talk politics? Great! There are lots of people who do. Have a dinner party and engage in some meaningful conversations with the friends who are interested in having those conversations, instead of all 500 of your Facebook friends.

5. Find another platform.

   There’s a reason why I don’t use my personal Facebook page to write five paragraph essays about happy and healthy living. Yes, I’m passionate about it. That’s why I have this blog. It’s dedicated to my passion. I can keep it right here, and then occasionally share a simple link for those interested to click over and read more. Guess what?! The Internet is awesome and you can do the same thing! Start a blog and blog your heart out.

Keep your puppy photos, adorable videos of dads and daughters singing, kid brags, and recipe videos, but leave your political rants out of my feed. If you agree, will you do me a solid and share this on your timeline? Let’s save Facebook!

 

 

The post 5 Things You Can Do Instead of Using Facebook for Political Rants appeared first on Happy Healthy Mama.

source http://happyhealthymama.com/5-things-can-instead-using-facebook-political-rants.html

Pantry Pumpkin Bisque

Coffee Talk, Volume 6

Healthy Mini Bell Pepper Nachos (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Vegan Banana Almond Chia Seed Pudding

10-Minute Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Chopped Competition at Home

I know I’m not the only one who’s watched the show Chopped and thought it would be such a fun game to compete in. Intense and stressful, but FUN!

When my family was coming for a visit after Christmas, I knew it was the perfect time to create our own version of the game to play at home. We had an absolute blast!

We had 16 people, so we had to change the format a little to fit our crowd. We ended up with eight teams, each team with one adult and one kid.

The TV show has four chefs competing in three rounds, with a chef being eliminated after each round. Instead of this, we had four rounds (appetizers, salads, main course, and dessert) with two teams competing in each round.

Everyone who wasn’t competing in a round scored the competitors on taste, creativity, and presentation. Instead of eliminating a team each round, we just tallied up the scores at the end and determined the winning team based on overall points.

Before the competition began, Tim made his famous margaritas. Here he is with my sisters-in-law, Amy and Jolynne.

This was a fun way to start off the competition!

I took so many pictures, and can’t help but share them as they tell the story better than I can. This is probably the most images I’ve shared in a post, but it’s fun to see how everything happened and let the pictures tell the story!

Round 1: Appetizers

I created the “mystery box” ingredients for each round. I didn’t get as crazy as they do on the show because I figured it would be challenging enough for everyone to create a recipe on the fly, especially with the kids involved.

Mystery Box Ingredients: Appetizer Round

Puff Pastry

Sundried Tomatoes

Kumquats

The teams had five minutes to brainstorm ideas before the timer started. Here are my sister-in-law Jolynne and niece Carson brainstorming their appetizer. We allowed Internet use during the brainstorming session only. 

I was on the appetizer round, too. I worked with my niece Mallory to create a sundried tomato, goat cheese, and basil filled puff pastry with a kumquat balsamic drizzle. It wasn’t the most creative, but it was super delicious!

Jolynne and Carson created two versions of their appetizer–savory and sweet.

The sweet version had apples, kumquats, and cinnamon and was amazing. The savory version incorporated salsa with the sundried tomatoes and was also lovely. 

I didn’t get pictures of any of the appetizer round dishes. Tim was on picture duty for my round so I blame him!

Round 2:  Salads

Tim and our nephew Garret battled my sister-in-law Amy and nephew Griffin in the salad round. There were a variety of aprons to choose from and it was pretty funny that Tim picked this feminine one with heart pockets!

Mystery Box Ingredients: Salad Round

green leaf lettuce

dates

popcorn

The salad round was probably the hardest round to score mega points. How can salad compete with desserts?

Amy and Griffin made a salad with bacon-wrapped dates, which certainly helped! They had a really unique presentation of their salad. I don’t have a final picture, but here’s an in-progress photo.

Here’s a look at Tim and Garret’s salad as they were plating it. The big piece of shaved parm on top? Ummm…unique?

Tim made a delicious homemade dressing for their salad, which impressed me since I’m pretty sure was his first homemade dressing ever. It was a delicious vinaigrette with orange zest.

Round 3: The Main Course

The main course was by far the hardest to execute, so I put my dad and brother on the job. My dad is amazing at coming up with recipes on the fly and my brother is great under pressure. My dad was paired with my niece Leah and Gavin was with Luke. 

Mystery Box Ingredients: Main Course Round

chicken thighs

corn tortillas

pear

The pressure was on! My dad and brother Gavin both did a great job of including their young teammates. 

My little Lukey was the youngest competitor, but he was so into it!

Time’s up!

We used paper plates because 4 rounds with 16 plates needed in each round=too many dishes!

Papa (my dad) and Leah created an Asian-flavored chicken with rice in a tortilla and added the pear as a garnish. 

Hey wait, is this a blog photo from 2010? I’m almost forgot what unstaged food taken in the dark looked like.

And here’s Gavin and Luke’s dish, a baked chicken and bacon taco with pear salsa and rice and asparagus on the side.

Overall the competition took a long time, but watching it was fun! Here’s my feisty mom watching the action.

And here she is again tasting everything with my niece Kailynn.

Round 4: Dessert

For the dessert round my brother Rob was paired up with Meghan and my mom was supposed to be paired up with my niece Kailynn. By this point my mom was really tired, though, so Carson stepped in and did a second round with Kailynn.

Mystery Box Ingredients: Dessert Round

sweet canned dark cherries

chocolate bunny grahams

semi-sweet chocolate baking bar

Kailynn was super impressive in this round. She made crepes from scratch with no recipe!

They created a cherry filling along with a chocolate topping with a chocolate bite on the side. They processed the bunny grahams and used them like a powered sugar topping for the chocolate bite.

Rob and Meghan made Cherry Garcia Double Chocolate Brownies.

Look at that intensity!

Meghan always wants to bake, so she was thrilled to be in the baking round.

Both desserts were so fabulous! A perfect way to end the evening.

Rob and Meghan’s presentation wasn’t the best, but this dessert was SO GOOD.

Kailynn and Carson rocked the presentation with their crepes. Despite the poor lighting and paper plate, can’t you see how great this was? Kailynn is 16 and Carson is 12!

The crepes ended up being the big winners. This board shows how the final scoring ended up.

Carson wrote the part about being featured on Happy Healthy Mama. At the time I wasn’t even sure if I was going to post about this, but it was too fun not to share!

If you get the chance, I highly recommend doing a Chopped competition at home. Our family had so much fun!

 

 

 

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source http://happyhealthymama.com/chopped-competition-home.html