Health expert Sarah Baker gives tips for guilt-free, game-day grub
Barbecue, nachos, pizza. Football season is here and that also means it's time to indulge in those not-so-healthy foods you enjoy at tailgating and house parties.
Health consultant and TV host Sarah Baker gave some guilt-free alternatives that will let you still get your grub on without all the calories during your game-day festivities.
For more about Sarah, visit: http://balancedbabe.com/
*** RECIPES ***
SWEET POTATO NACHOS
Ingredients:
1 avocado pitted and sliced
1 red onion diced
1 cup of black beans (rinsed and drained)
3-4 tbsp jalapeno vegan cheese (this can be adjusted to your liking)
2 sweet potatoes sliced into thin circles
1 lime
1 tbsp coconut oil
Drizzle of chili powder
Drizzle of low sodium Adobe seasoning
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line 2 sheet pans with tin foil.
2. Brush the tin foil with coconut oil, and place your sliced sweet potatoes on the sheet.
3. Drizzle the sweet potatoes with the chili powder and adobe seasoning, and bake for about 18 minutes. Take out of the oven, flip over, drizzle the other side with the seasonings, and bake for another 10 minutes.
4. When your sweet potato chips are crisp, place them on a serving plate and top them with your diced onion, avocado, black beans, and vegan cheese.
CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA
Ingredients: Crust
2 bags of frozen chopped cauliflower
2 whole eggs (or use chia eggs)
3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of almond flour
1 tablespoon ground chia seed
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
teaspoon dried basil
teaspoon dried oregano
fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Thaw cauliflower and pulse in food processer
3. Strain with cloth or cheese cloth
4. Combine the remaining ingredients into the large bowl and hand mix with a large spoon or whisk until thoroughly combined.
5. Spread the "dough" into either 1 large pizza shape or 2 small pizza rounds on a piece of parchment paper that will be transferred to the hot pizza stone.
6. Avoid spreading the "dough" too thin as the moisture will cause it the crack and pull away from rest of the dough, I like leaving mine about inch thick.
7. Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and firm to touch. You can flip this half way through the baking process to make sure both sides are cooked well to your liking.
8. Take out of the oven and top with your favorite toppings.
9. Bake for another 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees or until everything on the top has warmed and melted.
CHEESELESS MAC 'N' CHEESE
Ingredients: Cheese spread
1 cup of cashews
1 package of silken tofu
3/4 cups of nutritional yeast
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 package of quinoa noodles
Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients together in blender until smooth
2. Cook the quinoa noodles according to package instructions
3. Add cheese sauce to dish on low heat and stir until warm
SPINACH DIP
With your leftover cheese spread, heat up a new skillet, sautee a whole bag (or two of spinach) with onion and garlic. Add the cheese sauce, and you've got yourself cheeseless spinach dip!
Recipe if you need to make the cheese dip from scratch:
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen spinach
1 cup of cashews
1 package of silken tofu
3/4 cups of nutritional yeast
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water chestnuts
1 white onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
1. Soak the cashews in a bowl for 2-3 hours (this softens them up for blending)
2. In a blender blend together cashews, nutritional yeast, tofu, and apple cider vinegar
3. Chop the onion and garlic
4. In a skillet heat the coconut oil and saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes
5. Heat the frozen spinach for about 5 minutes and then fold in the cashew + tofu mixture. Transfer the mixture to a dish and garnish with a bit more nutritional yeast and serve.
