The holidays are behind us but an all American tradition is coming up quick, Super Bowl Sunday! No matter if you actually watch the game or are just there for the commercials, the best part (at least for me) is the food! It’s the centerpiece of the party and a bottomless pit of mindless eating for about 4 hours. So why not make the food awesome and on the healthier side? Vegans or not, check out this year’s menu so whether you’re a sports fan or not, you’ll be looking forward to the food!
Game Day Guac
- 3 avocados, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 2 ears corn, grilled and kernels removed
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1-2 clove(s) garlic, finely crushed and minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the avocados, corn, jalapeno, onions, cilantro, lime juice and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with organic tortilla chips or crudite.
Kick Off Popcorn
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup popping corn kernels
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspooncayenne pepper
Heat oil in deep pot over medium high heat. Add corn. Cover pot and pop the corn, shaking pan often. Remove from heat. Drizzle with melted butter. Combine spices in a small dish and sprinkle the blend over hot corn. Serve.
Field Goal Green Salad
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoonDijon mustard
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup almond oil
- Salt and pepper
For the salad:
- 12 ounces mixed field greens
- 1 bunch green asparagus, grilled then diced into 1-inch long pieces
- 1 sweet white onion, sliced thin
- 1 cup slivered almonds
For the dressing:
Whisk all ingredients except almond oil together. While whisking, slowly drizzle in hazelnut oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside until ready to serve salad.
For the salad:
When ready to serve toss greens, asparagus and vinaigrette together, seasoning with salt and pepper. Place a generous handful on each salad plate, top greens with onions and sprinkle with slivered almonds.
Winter Tailgate Chili
For the Roasted Garlic:
- 12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Chili:
- 12 shallots, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 chile peppers (chipotles a re great)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (gluten free if desired)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 7 cups vegan chicken broth made from vegan chicken bullion
- 4 cups shredded cooked vegan chicken (like Gardein) or cubed pan seared tofu
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 15-ounce can navy beans, undrained
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/3 cupvegan heavy cream ( 1 block of silken tofu (12-ounces) and 1/2 cup of plain soy milk. Blend in blender until thick and creamy and there are no more lumps )
- 1 cup grated vegan mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese
Make the roasted garlic: Toss the 12 cloves garlic with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover, leaving a vent, and microwave until soft, about 90 seconds. Let cool, covered.
Prepare the chili: Preheat the broiler. Cook the shallots in the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil until charred on all sides, turning, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel the peppers with your fingers or a paring knife. Stem, seed and chop.
Add the minced garlic to the shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the wine; simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the roasted chiles, 6 cups broth, the chicken, chili powder, cayenne, beans, and salt and black pepper to taste. Return to a simmer.
Meanwhile, squeeze the soft pulp from the roasted garlic into a blender or food processor. Add the remaining 1 cup broth and process until smooth. Add to the chili and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes, adding the spinach during the last 5 minutes. Add the paprika and cream and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the cheese.
Punter’s Vegan Chicken Pizza
- 3/4 pound vegan chicken breast cutlets (1 package and a half of vegan chicken cutlets)
- Olive oil
- 2 teaspoons grill seasoning
- 1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizzeria (gluten free if desired)
- Cornmeal or flour, to handle dough
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce, spice level per your taste
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup shredded vegan mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup sliced olives
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Preheat grill pan to high.
Place chicken on a plate and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the chicken then season with grill seasoning. When grill is hot, add chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side.
Stretch dough to form pizza using cornmeal or flour to help you handle it. If you let it rest and warm up a few minutes it will handle even easier. Set pizza on pizza pan to the side and clean board.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce.
Remove the chicken from grill and thinly slice it. Add chicken to sauce and coat. Cover the pizza dough with the saucy chicken, cheese, olives and scallions. Bake 18 minutes or until crisp.
Football Cake Pies
- 1 cupsugar
- 1 /2 cup vegan shortening
- 2 egg replacers
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup baking cocoa
- 1 1/2 teaspoonsbaking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan buttermilk ( 1 cup plain soy milk with 1 teaspoon of apple cider or coconut water vinegar, set aside to curdle for at least 15 minutes )
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 pound vegan cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks vegan butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 baking sheets and set aside.
To make the cake pies, in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and 1/2 cup of the shortening. Add 2 egg replacers and mix well.
Onto a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. Add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Lay half of the cookies flat on a work surface. Divide the filling among the cookies, spreading out to the edges. Top with the remaining cookies to form sandwich pies. Cover tightly and refrigerate before serving. Pipe remaining icing over top of the pies in the design of football threads.
White Chocolate Maple Brownies
- 10 tablespoons unsalted vegan butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 1 cup walnut pieces
- 2 cupsall purpose flour (gluten free if desired)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 egg replacers, mixed (EnerG is best)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 6 ounces vegan white chocolate
For the Topping:
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons vegan unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup vegan heavy cream( 1 block of silken tofu (12-ounces) and 1/2 cup of plain soy milk. Blend in blender until thick and creamy and there are no more lumps )
- Vegan vanilla ice cream, for serving
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces
Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the foil. Pulse 1/2 cup walnuts in a food processor until almost fine (do not overprocess). Whisk the ground nuts, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat 10 tablespoons butter and thebrown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg replacers, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate and the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until the brownies are light brown around the edges and spring back when pressed, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.
Meanwhile, make the topping: Place the maple syrup and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the mixture bubbles and thickens, swirling the pan, about 6 minutes. Add the cream and continue to cook until the mixture is the consistency of caramel.
Use the foil to lift the blondies out of the pan, then cut into large bars. Serve warm topped with ice cream, the maple sauce and the walnuts.
Carolyn Scott-Hamilton celebrated her 10 years as a vegan as well as an entrepreneur in 2009. After college, Carolyn moved to Los Angeles from Miami in 1998. Shortly after arriving and becoming vegan, she studied holistic nutrition as well as dabbled in the culinary arts before she opened Ineventions, originally a pr & event firm, it is now a full film, TV and web production branch under the umbrella of her original business. With the access and addition of the new business arm, Carolyn was able to start realizing her dream of traveling and eating all over the world and so the Healthy Voyager was born in 2005. Carolyn is an avid traveler but she found it quite difficult to find vegan friendly restaurants abroad. She tired of having to pack her own foods or eat bread, fries and junky foods when she was away. After realizing she could find and/or manipulate any menu to create a meal that satisfied her as well as her dining partners, she created the Healthy Voyager to show people that your dietary restrictions should not ruin you or your travel mates’ trip, be it business or pleasure. She knew that many people must endure the same problems no matter what their diet may be from medical or ethical reasons to just wanting to keep slim. She started her blog to document every city and place she dined as a resource for the finickiest of travelers. She also realized it was a great resource for those who were traveling with others who did not share their special needs as her posts offered suggestions to restaurants that shared options for all types of foodies ; ) As of 2006, she and her husband, of opposing gastronomic tastes, have traveled and dined healthily and harmoniously while documenting it all on film for the Healthy Voyager Web Series and growing the Healthy Voyager brand. Carolyn is the executive producer, creator, host and writer of The Healthy Voyager web series & radio show, site, blog, brand and social network. To connect with the Healthy Voyager, you may email her at Carolyn@healthyvoyager.com .
Read more from VividLife.me bloggers:
Healthy Soups and Supers in San Diego by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton
Whether you are doing a tour of California for a little r and r or frequently travel San Diego for ComicCon, the southernmost metropolis of California, is a great place to visit. Beachy, relaxed and beautiful, healthy food is easy to find in this bayside border town. From my first San Diego postmany years ago until now, lots of great stuff has popped up so I’ve decided to go back and check out some of the new places in and around town.
Amazing Apple Cider Vinegar with Brigitte Mars
With many people lacking health and its insurance we can remember ancient folk wisdom that served our ancestors! Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used apple cider vinegar as an internal cleansing agent. Before refrigerators, vinegar was used as a food preservative. The word vinegar is from the French, vin aigre or “sour wine.” Apple cider vinegar prepared by the fermentation of apple cider and allowed to mature naturally in wooden barrels. During fermentation, sugar present in apple cider, is broken down by Read On