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The Healthy Tailgate

By Mandi Mellen

Posted on September 23, 2015

I absolutely love to watch football, but let’s be honest; my favorite part is the tailgate! I love making delicious foods for my friends, my man, and myself. It’s a great way to enjoy the game and indulge in some treats. A good cheese dip with chips is amazing, but I love a healthy tailgate even more! Traditional snacks made healthy.

It’s easy to over indulge on a Sunday, hanging out with friends and family. You feel bad about it on Monday, only to swear your not going to do it again. Next week’s tailgate will be different! Then you do it all over again, mainly because you love the food and the football. Well kids, don’t let football be an excuse for you to ruin your diet. Better yet, don’t let all the yummy, but unhealthy, foods be the reason you don’t socialize and enjoy the games. Embrace these healthy tailgate options instead!

My perfect tailgate currently consists of two yummy foods: my Faux Chicken Nuggets and my Sweet Potato Fries. Both of these items are baked, not fried, and baking them doesn’t lose any of the flavors! The best part is, they are SUPER easy to make, have limited ingredients, and are vegetarian, or can be made vegan.

Let’s first tackle the Faux Chicken Nuggets. When I make these for my man, I always buy the sprouted organic tofu two-pack from Trader Joe’s and use half the package. But if you’re making these for a larger group, use the whole package and double the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 package tofu (8 oz – half of the two pack)

1 egg (For a vegan option, use 1 tablespoon ground flax seed and 3 tablespoons water)

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup matzo meal

1 cup flour (I use whole wheat)

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder

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Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet and set it aside. Cut the tofu into long pieces. Combine the breadcrumbs and matzo meal in a large bowl. Put the flour, black pepper, and chili powder in a second bowl. In a third bowl beat the eggs, or combine the ground flax seeds and water. Dip the tofu into the breadcrumb mixture, then the egg mixture, and finally the flour. Place the tofu onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.

What goes better with nuggets than fries? These Sweet Potato Fries are EVEN easier to make. If it’s just my man and me, I cut up two medium-sized sweet potatoes. I like to leave the skin on, and cut them long and skinny. Once they’re cut I put them on a greased cookie sheet. Then spray them with olive oil and season to your delight. I use garlic powder, chili powder, and black pepper. They can be put in the same oven as the faux chicken nuggets. Make sure you double-check them, because you don’t want them to get too crispy. Flip them after 15 minutes. They take about 30 minutes to cook.

Dunk your healthy fries and nuggets in anything you like! Ketchup, honey, BBQ sauce, Buffalo Wing Sauce, you name it. A personal favorite of mine is mashing an avocado, then mixing in a little Greek yogurt and buffalo wing sauce. YUM!
This will be the first tailgate party where you don’t have to worry about overeating or watching what you eat! Nuggets and Fries! The perfect healthy tailgate.

Next Post: Holiday Lattes are here, No Thank You

Mandi Mellen is Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp. She’s an actress, writer, and producer. Get lost in her youtube comedy channel PillowTalk TV. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram