5 Low Calorie Tailgating Recipes
By: Courtney McMahan, RD
Tailgating season is upon us! While this season is often filled with all things fatty, fried, and decadent, supporting your favorite team doesn’t mean you have to wreck your good eating habits. We’ve got you covered with five low-calorie, wholesome tailgating recipes. Your guests won’t even know that you’re serving them healthy foods. And when you step on the scale at the end of this season, you’ll be thankful you made these simple, yet still tasty, swaps!
Some might scoff at the idea that a cruciferous vegetable could be as tasty and delicious as a fried wing. But these cauliflower buffalo wings could give any chicken wings a run for their money. They are a little spicy with a crispy outside and a moist, tender inside. They are gluten free, vegan, and oil free. You can bake them in the oven or crisp them in your air fryer. For an optional dipping sauce, try this dairy free ranch.
When the temperature starts cooling down, there’s nothing better than a warm chili cheese dip. However, chili cheese dip is often thought of as a “cheat day” food. But this recipe is healthy enough to be included in your regular meal rotation. It's packed with protein from ground turkey and greek yogurt. Onion, pinto beans, and tomato give it lots of fiber and micronutrients. Plus it's simple to make! Just throw all the ingredients in your slow cooker and forget about it!
These low carb sliders ditch the heavy, refined buns in favor of soft butter lettuce. Using turkey instead of beef gives them more protein and less fat, and blending onion and garlic in with the meat keeps the patties juicy.
Nachos are always a game day favorite, but mountains of queso are not exactly waistline friendly. By utilizing chicken and black beans, this recipe is high protein. It loads up on the veggies with tomato, jalapeno, olives, and salsa; all that fiber will keep you and your guests full for hours. And the shredded cheese still gives it that creamy, delicious nacho flavor.
Instead of high fat cream cheese, this recipe utilizes cottage cheese and greek yogurt to provide the same creamy texture with less calories and more protein! With only six simple ingredients, this recipe can be thrown together in a pinch. For an extra healthy boost, use veggies for dipping instead of chips.
