Healthy Tailgating

We are big football fans and do love the food that comes with it. But dang, most of it isn't healthy at all. So we decided to take your typical game day fare and make it healthy but not taking away the flavor. We've previously written about how rutabaga is low in carbs and is a great replacement for potatoes, we decided to try them as chips this time. 

One whole rutabaga

Peel it

Cutting it in half

Cut them in fourths

Use a mandolin to slice them into chips (we used #2)

We divided them in half, added a bit of olive and used the homemade chili powder we made last week

Into the oven they go

All done!

Spiced Rutabaga Chips

Ingredients:

1 large rutabaga, peeled

olive oil

salt free chili powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Place cooking rack onto baking sheets

3. Take peeled rutabaga and cut into fourths, then slice into chips

4. Add chips to bag, add olive oil and chili powder and toss

5. Spread onto preparing baking sheets

6. Bake for 30-45 mins (varies on oven)

7. Serve with your favorite hummus!

Then we began making our next tailgating food. Bourbon glazed meatballs

All the yummy ingredients

Mixing them all together

Make them into 1" meatballs and cook on rack

Using local bourbon to make our sauce

Drizzling the sauce over the meatballs

Brown Sugar Bourbon Glazed Meatballs

Ingredients:

For the meatballs-

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey

1/2 half sweet onion, diced

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/8 ground pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 egg

For the glaze-

½-cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 oz Bourbon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Place a baking/wire rack over a baking sheet; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, Panko, egg, paprika, cayenne pepper,ground pepper, garlic and oregano.
Using a wooden spoon or hands, mix until well combined
Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place on previously prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until cooked through.

Add the brown sugar, white vinegar, rice vinegar and bourbon to small saucepan, bring to boil and allow to cool to thicken before pouring over meatballs.

Then we made a healthy tomato mozzarella salad.

Yummy salad

Tomato Mozzarella Salad with vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
small can olives, rinsed and cut in half

1 cup mozzarella (either pearls or normal cut in chunks)

favorite vinaigrette, we used the leftover dressing from a previous meal

What tailgating party wouldn't be complete without jalapeno poppers?

Mixing the ingredients together

Stuffing them

Healthy Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:
8 jalapenos
8 oz Greek cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Instructions:

Slice the jalapenos vertically and remove the seeds and membrane.

Mix Greek cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cumin powder in a bowl. Fill the jalapenos with this mixture.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Of course, just because these are healthy...moderation is key. We ate ours for lunch and dinner over several hours. We even had leftovers for lunch the next day.