01 Jun Game-day eats
Game-day eats
These recipes score big
Feeding a houseful of hungry fans during this season of sporting greatness? These nutritious and satisfying meals are sure to carry you all the way to game-day hosting victory. Game on!
Margherita Chicken Pizzas
Top a small pita with mozzarella, chicken, and other pizza favorites, then broil, and you have a fun and breezy meal. Small naan bread or even split English muffins can also be used as a pizza base.
Ingredients
- 8 mini pitas
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups baby spinach
- ¾ pounds cooked chicken breast thinly sliced
- 1 cup roasted red pepper sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 3 oz fresh mozzarella thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup torn fresh basil
- Freshly cracked black pepper to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven broiler to high. Place pitas on baking sheet and broil until browned and crispy, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn pitas.
- Spread pitas with tomato sauce and then top with spinach, chicken slices, roasted red pepper, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Broil on high until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Top with basil and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
Each serving contains: 362 calories; 27 g protein; 8 g total fat (2 g sat. fat); 46 g total carbohydrates (7 g sugars, 7 g fiber); 481 mg sodium
Vegan Meatballs with Buffalo Sauce
This is a satisfying plant-based alternative to a game-day classic that everyone is sure to declare a winner. Both the sauce and meatballs can be made up to two days in advance. If you’re serving people who like things spicy, go ahead and blend in even more of the hot sauce.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 14 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 14 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup no-salt-added tomato paste
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ⅓ cup chickpea flour or brown rice flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and grated or finely minced
- 1 shallot peeled and minced
- ½ cup parsely
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Buffalo sauce
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 5 tablespoons hot sauce of choice
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt preferably smoked
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Into food processor container, place all meatball ingredients and blend into a slightly chunky mixture, scraping down sides of container as needed. Roll mixture into golf ball-sized rounds and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip balls, and bake for another 15 minutes.
- To make buffalo sauce, in bowl, place cashews, cover with water, and let soak for at least 2 hours. Drain cashews and place in blender with 1 cup water and remaining sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- In medium pot on stovetop, place buffalo sauce and bring to a slight simmer. If sauce is too thick, thin with some additional water. Add balls and heat for 2 minutes, turning balls to coat. Serve on platter with carrot sticks and celery sticks and any extra buffalo sauce.
Notes
Each serving contains: 222 calories; 12 g protein; 4 g total fat (1 g sat. fat); 36 g total carbohydrates (7 g sugars, 11 g fiber); 641 mg sodium
Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos
In a huge win for vegetarian sports fans, we swapped ground beef for meaty tempeh stewed with tomatoes and a winning mix of seasonings. To go a little more traditional, regular tortilla chips can be used instead of the sweet potato variety.
Ingredients
- 9 oz package tempeh
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or grapeseed oil
- 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms stems removed, sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobe sauce finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ cups cooked or canned black beans rinsed and drained
- 5 cups sweet potato chips divided
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
- ½ cup thinly sliced radish divided
- ½ cup chopped red onion divided
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeño pepper (optional) divided
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 avocado cubed
- ½ lime
Instructions
- Bring medium pot of shallow water to a simmer. Add block of tempeh and simmer for 5 minutes per side. Drain tempeh and pat it dry. Allow block to cool, and when cool enough to handle, crumble it into small pieces.
- In skillet, heat oil over medium. Cook tempeh and mushrooms for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tempeh is darkened. Stir in tomato paste and heat for 1 minute. Stir in canned tomatoes, corn, chipotle chili, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder; simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in black beans.
- Preheat oven broiler. Spread half the sweet potato chips out on rimmed baking sheet. Top with half of tempeh mixture, cheese, radish, red onion, and pickled jalapeno, if using. Repeat layering with other half of these ingredients. Scatter on cilantro. Broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Be careful not to burn chips.
- Scatter on avocado before serving and squirt lime juice overtop.
Notes
Each serving contains: 610 calories; 31 g protein; 32 g total fat (9 g sat. fat); 57 g total carbohydrates (13 g sugars, 14 g fiber); 365 mg sodium
By Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine