A Winning Plan For A Meat-Free Super Bowl

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

Super Bowl food is not exactly known for being healthy. Abundant yes, but healthy not so much. Least of all for vegetarians. If you are off the meat--for good, for a diet, or just for the day--avoiding meat at Super Bowl parties can leave you listless come half time and perhaps driven to gnaw on a giant foam finger by the final score.

Whether you are off meat for good, or on meat, but hoping not to derail New Year’s wellness resolutions, there are still celebratory, football ready foods at your disposal to get you through a long afternoon of drinking light beer and watching a ball inch its way toward the end zone.

If you are headed over to someone’s house to watch the game, consider some BYO contributions to augment what will probably be out already. The crudité platter is a given. It is the requisite offering of carrot sticks and celery to make everyone chowing down on chicken wings feel healthier through proximity if not ingestion.

As a healthy minded, wing forbearing guest, consider a contribution to accompany that bland rabbit food that will also fill up your stomach. Instead of the mostly fat sour cream based dips, whiz up a blend of legumes as party contribution. Hummus, a spread of chickpeas, tahini, and olive oil, is so loved these days that even Walmart stocks multiple brands in flavors ranging from roasted red pepper to spinach and artichoke.

But anyone can buy a tin of hummus the store. For a unique contribution, consider a blend of edamame beans laced with Asian flavors like ginger, garlic, and wasabi for a kick.

Pizza is another game time stand by. More often hand delivered than hand made, at home pizza offers a real opportunity for meat lovers and abstainers alike to eat a balanced bite or two. Specialty stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods usually stock uncooked pizza dough primed for rolling out and topping as desired. But if those aren’t available, some sort of plain flatbread like lavash or pitas can be used in a pinch.

To maximize nutrition and keep flavors interesting on homemade pizza, lose the meat, go easy on the cheese and load up on high impact toppings. Think Mediterranean flavors with canned artichoke hearts (get the kind packed in water, not oil), kalamata olives, and slivered sun-dried tomatoes. Slick olive oil onto the rolled out dough, top with a grated Parmesan cheese base to make the ingredients stick, and cover with a light dusting of crumbled, tangy feta cheese. For an extra boost, dust the pizza with dried oregano and a bit of chili flakes before hitting it with a hot oven.

If you’ve made it this far, avoiding the artichoke dip and shunning the chicken wings in favor of zesty edamame dip and wholesome vegetarian pizza, you deserve a reward. No doubt some well meaning girlfriend or wife brought a tray of brownies or plate of chocolate cookies to the party to balance out all the dude food. Go ahead and have one. You’ve been very good, survived the temptation and still eaten well. Any well-fought game deserves a reward; eating healthy and vegetarian on the Super Bowl is a victory worthy of celebration.

Serves/Makes: 6

• 2 cups shelled edamame beans, cooked, drained, and cooled
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons wasabi powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili paste
• 6 tablespoons olive oil