Top Five Foods for Football Sunday

Today I bring you another awesome post from a fellow blogger: Kaityln from Fitness For Real People! Like me, Kaitlyn lives in a football household, so I’m excited for her post and to learn about her top five foods for football Sunday. Kick it off, Kaitlyn!

Hello! I’m Kaitlyn! Usually I am rambling on about my favorite products, my fitness routines, and my new recipes over at fitnessforrealpeople.net. Lucky for you, today I am all yours

… I have been working on my fitness journey for the last two years and one of the biggest learning experiences for me came in food. At crossfit I have daily direction and coaches. In the kitchen, I am solo. Left on my own to sink or swim and figure it all out somehow. I know many of you feel the same. I’ve had many people tell me that sometimes they just don’t know where to start. Creating recipes and finding healthy alternatives is one of my favorite things! And so, that’s exactly what I am here to share with you today.

October is my favorite time of year :D, and if you have a household anything like mine you are full swing into FOOOOTBALL SUNDAYS!

Now I won’t lie to you, football isn’t really my sport, I’m more of a hockey gal, but growing up, Sunday Football was sacred. Sunday was the day that everyone just hung out at the house, watch the game, and ate snacks! WOOHOO!

AND if you are anything like me, the snacks are your favorite part

Of course as a child I wanted “the good stuff” the Lay’s and the onion dip made with an appalling amount of sour cream and the stuffed sausage bread that was so greasy you could have a heart attack just looking at your fingers. OH! And those pizza bagels! Ooooohhh the pizza bagels. Ya know the ones that are basically all dough and don’t even taste good but kids pop ‘em like candy? Ya those. Those were my sweet spot. Those were the things that I sneak ate because my mom always made them for my little sisters since they wouldn’t eat meat. Like as if because I will take part in the chicken wings and sausage bread that somehow disqualifies me from the pizza bagels? … But whatever. That’s in the past. I am totally over it *shame face*

As an adult now, waking up every Sunday morning doesn’t mean waiting to stuff my face with crap out of a box in the freezer. It means getting even more excited about what fun football friendly finger foods (say that five times fast :p) I can whip up this week! I am happy to say I have accumulated a decent stockpile of go-to healthy snack foods as well as slightly more meal-esque foods. Dealing with many picky eaters in my family and a boyfriend who can eat the world, I have learned to find something for everyone. I have compiled a short list of some of my favorites thus far; ranging from sticks and bites to full on healthy twist on nacho platters. So whether you are a “going to a restaurant for something hearty and a beer” kind of football person or you are more of the “give me ALL THE FOODS and just snack on little bits” person, you can make those football Sundays a little more fun for your tummy!

Good general rules of thumb include:

• skipping the fried and opting for baking
• avoiding store bought dips and chips and trying your hand at homemade guac or pico as well as your own chips by thinly slicing a sweet potato and baking at 450 until crisp
• don’t go heavy on the cheese – a little as topping is fine but a million cheese filled apps are a no go
• stop ordering from terrible pizza places and do make your own pies!
• it’s more fun, diversified, and healthy, and in overall just USE REAL QUALITY FOODS AND INGREDIENTS. It is beyond easy to transform a grease fest into healthy, quality snacking and enjoyment. AAANNDD for those of you who like a little guidance, here are my…

TOP FIVE FOOTBALL FOODS FOR SUNDAY

1. Sweet potato skins
   
   Ditch them heavy restaurant or frozen skins and make your own skins with sweet potatoes! Probably one of the more complicated dishes but well worth it if you have the time or desire to be indulgent. For these, you want to bake the sweet potatoes whole on 400 for about 45 minutes or until soft to the touch. Allow them to cool until you can hold them no problem. Slice them in half long ways and scoop out the insides. Place them back in the oven for about 5 minutes and then flip for another 5. Go with ground turkey meat for the filling and feel free to play with it as long as you are sticking to pure ingredients. I went with onion, a little bacon, jalapenos, and some cheese on my last batch. Fill potato skins and place back in oven until filling is heated and cheese, if used, is melted.

2. Turkey Taco Salad Nachos
   
   Trade in those greasy traditional nachos filled with CRAP for a homemade taco nacho salad… Opt for ground turkey rather than ground beef, slice sweet potatoes (preferably homemade sweet potato chips) as your base, and prepare a stock of clean fresh ingredients to top it with… For mine, I typically use organic black beans, cheese, lots of lettuce, onion, and sometimes throw in some shrimp.

3. Zucchini Sticks / Chips
   
   These are fantastic to replace any sort of fried sticks or nibbles. Even children like them! Cut your zucchini into long thin strips (or small thin rounds for chips). Coat them with egg. Dip into a mixture of gluten-free breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and oregano. Sometimes to add a kick I will throw in some red pepper flakes or Flavor God dynamite seasoning. These guys also pair fantastically with my aioli (which you can find under “sauces and dips” on fitnessforrealpeople.net)

4. Paleo Chicken Fingers (or Popcorn Chicken)
   
   Another fan favorite have been my chicken finger/popcorn chicken recipe. For these I take fresh organic chicken breast and cut them either into long strips or into chunks, depending on if I am going for fingers or popcorn. I then dip the pieces into an egg wash and into the batter mixture before cooking in high heat coconut oil on the stove. My paleo batter mixture consists of ½ cup coconut flour and ¼ cup tapioca starch with seasonings to taste. I typically use Flavor God everything seasoning (which can be replaced by a Mrs. Dash or other healthy, salt free, seasoning mixture alternative). If I am going popcorn chicken I also add in some Cajun seasoning for a pop.

5. Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
   Nothing could be simpler than these little ones. Taking a fresh head of cauliflower. Cut the florets into small easily bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 350 until they start to turn a slight golden color. You don’t want to leave them too long or they will dry out and then … YUCK … Let them cool for 5 minutes and then toss in Frank’s Hot Sauce.

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These five foods for football Sunday will be a touchdown for your tastebuds!
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Now, who’s ready for some football?!

Let’s Chat:
What’s your favorite dish for football Sunday?
Which one of these will you make first?

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