GAME DAY is coming….. Superbowl and other sport-related gatherings are often an excuse to eat without guilt. Fair enough – it wouldn’t be a super-bowl party without chips, dips and many other traditional comfort foods like pizza and wings.
According to Wikipedia: “Many pizza delivery businesses see their order numbers double as roughly sixty percent of the take out ordered on Super Bowl Sunday is pizza. Roughly 28,000,000 pounds (13,000,000 kg) of chips, 1.25 billion chicken wings, and 8,000,000 pounds (3,600,000 kg) of guacamole are consumed during the Super Bowl.”
I would be a hipocrite to say I don’t partake in some of the food festivities. However, there are some hacks that can save you the added calories without compromising on taste.
- 1 head cauliflower, 5-6 cups chopped
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup whole grain or all-purpose flour (or gluten-free equivalent)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½-3/4 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce (Franks Buffalo or Western Family Buffalo Sauce)
- SPINACH CHEESE DIP:
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic
- ⅛ onion or ½ shallot
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- handful each spinach and kale
- ½ tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- Frank's hot sauce to taste
- Heat the oven to 450 F and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- Chop the cauliflower into small pieces. Place in a microwavable dish, bowl or plate and cook for 3 minutes. **this step is optional, but it will speed up the baking time
- Mix the water, flour and spices in a large bowl - add more water if the batter is too thick
- Add the cauliflower to the batter and coat each piece.
- Place individual dipped-cauliflower florets on the baking tray with some space around each piece - this will help form a crispier 'wing'
- Bake for 15-20 minutes flipping ¾ of the way into it. Monitor for your desired level of crispiness
- **Ensure that your oven stays hot at 450 F - sometimes this temperature will dip and you'll need to reheat
- SPINACH CHEESE DIP: Blend the cashews, water, onion and garlic together in a small food processor or blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well. Serve with the wings.
The perception of cauliflower has certainly evolved over time. I love cauliflower’s versatility and it’s ability to act as a chameleon depending on how it’s prepared – baked, blended, raw or steamed. Cauliflower is making its’ way into pizza crust, shepherd’s pie, mashed potatoes, fried-rice and now wings. When baked, the taste and flavour are significantly improved and you’re left with a crispy, sweet and savoury side or appy.
Here’s how it all went down:
Worth the find! This hot sauce is a winner.
If you’ve made it this far into the post – good for you!
You may be wondering what that green sauce is? It may look like a smoothie BUT it’s a faux-cheese dip made with my favourite – nutritional yeast. Quote from Brian “I think this is the best sauce you’ve ever made”….I’m not sure if it is, but I’ll definitely take it!
