Vegan gluten-free falafel with homemade hummus and other Mediterranean diet recipes for Lent

Hello my friends! We at GreatFood4U are preparing to observe a Lenten fast and part of that involves stocking our pantries and shelves with vegan and vegetarian ingredients so we can make Lenten Kitchen dishes. Check out this article for vegan "mock" food swap recipes for Lent. 

Our Lenten Meal of the Day focuses on gluten-free vegan falafel with homemade hummus. Eating Mediterranean Diet foods like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds. And living a little more minimally, eating a little simpler more sustainable so others might simply live--wins for all of us. And with that in mind, remember, our recipes are endlessly adaptable to what you have on hand, personal preferences, etc. We are all about leftover use-up recipes too, That's part of living sustainably which is part of the Catholic Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

Vegan falafel platter with homemade hummus

I'm going make this Lenten Meal of the Day into a platter with all kinds of yummy, high protein, Mediterranean diet favorites. You can choose whichever of these you like or have on hand. 

Gluten-free vegan falafel ingredients

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups mashed chickpeas (I'll be honest, I use canned and drained garbanzo beans because I usually have those on hand but dried chickpeas are better. Just soak them first overnight, rinse, drain and blend in food processor or blender. I'm using my blender more lately. 

fresh cilantro, parsley and/or oregano one cup each minced very fine or shredded. I use the same scallion shredder I use for my homemade sushi. Or one of those herb wheels would work too. But to save time, just pop it in blender with a few drop of water. Some recipes say to remove stems but I just mince it all up. Stems are soft enough and contain a lot of the flavor. 

1 garlic bulb (or minced equivalent. If you're like me, and don't have time or patience to hand mince, jarred is just fine.) Use the whole bulb, btw, not just one clove. 

1/2 cup minced onion, preferably red (I'm test-driving that onion holder thingy I just bought. I'll let you know if it was worth it. Though preferred way is for my husband and partner on this blog, to dice. The most important thing is to HAVE A GOOD SHARP KNIFE and sharpen it between uses. Religiously, no pun intended).

1 T besam (gram or chickpea flour) this is a gluten-free binder.

1 T. sesame seeds (toasted preferred by me but your choice)

2 tsp. ground cumin (this is one ingredient you cannot omit. If you don't have any, let me know and I'll send you some!)

1 tsp. smoked paprika (I go back and forth on the smoked or not. There's just something so addictive about that rich campfire-y aroma I can't resist. But be careful if you use it or it will overpower every other flavor. )

Za'atar--buy premade or just mix sesame seeds, thyme, SUMAC (another of my Mediterranean diet heartthrobs) and salt. I add marjoram oregano and cumin. 

1 tsp. baking soda (for poofiness, lol)

1 tsp. celery salt (or regular salt with dried minced celery leaves)

multicolored pepper to taste (this is another one that can hijack the entire dish). 

cayenne pepper if desired

water and lemon juice mixed equal parts to make 5 tsp. Add slowly till ingredients are firm but not too sticky. If sticky, roll in sauteing olive oil (not extra virgin as that has too low a smoke point). 

Sauteing olive oil (aka light for grilling) or avocado oil. If too expensive, vegetable or peanut oil is fine. 

Roll into small balls, one inch in diameter and than flatten slightly. Drop into heated oil (about half  inch in cast iron pan) Use a falafel scoop if you have one. Fry till fluffy and crispy. Serve immediately. 

Homemade gluten-free vegan cumin hummus. Please, don't use store bought hummus unless you've bought it from a shop in the Middle East. Grocery store hummus is the reason people hate hummus. It is seriously so easy and cheap to make. Filling up on good fat, calorie forward foods like this is how I lost 100 pounds. 

Drain one can chickpeas into blender or food processor (yeah, I know, dried and soaked are better but everyone loves my hummus with canned beans, so I'll take that shortcut.) Reserve juice and add a little back into blender. Add in about 1/4 cup lemon juice and blend till down to small chunks. Add in tahini about half cup. If you like that nutty taste and we do, you can add more but it's pretty rich and  oily so don't let it take over the hummus. Next add 1 T minced garlic, 1 tsp cumin and celery salt and blend till creamy. Some recipes call for olive oil but we find it tastes greasy. And it's not necessary with the tahini which is already quite oily. Add in more reserved chickpea juice if dry. Taste occasionally and add more salt or cumin till you hit the taste you like.

Honestly,  I've never seen too many hummus recipes with cumin. But mine never quite hit it for me, till I, on a whim, tossed in some cumin and BOOM! Houston, we have liftoff! 

Serve with toum garlic dip. Sooooooo delicious. I tried making my own but was pretty annoyed with the poor result. Now I just let Mama Toom make it for me. 

Pickled turnips And you'll need to cut the salty richness with some rainbow veggie goodness. So I recommend slice baby cucumbers, red, yellow and orange pepper strips, fresh cilantro leaves and pickled turnips. Peel and matchstick turnips and beets. Brine in fine Himalayan pink salt and set aside to dehydrate. Add celery sticks and sliced jalapeno. Cover with vinegar and soak till veggies turn pinkish purple. Some recipes call for draining out salt water. I don't. They need salt anyway and waste not want not. 

Palestinian tomato cucumber or Jerusalem salad. I've seen this called harath salad too. Dice Persian (baby) cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions and or/red onions and red bell pepper. Chop Italian or flat leaf parsley. Add EVOO (extra virgin olive oil--the kind for salads and marinades) and fresh squeezed lemon. Season with sumac and mint if desired (not a fan, me). I'd substitute dill. 

Salatet Malfouf This simple dish elevates purple cabbage into ambrosia. It's just shredded purple cabbage dressed in EVOO, lemon juice and dried mint. I'd add celery seed to mine cuz, that's me. You can literally binge on foods like this without guilt. 

Serve with feta cheese if not eating vegan. Oh, bonus added all these recipes are kosher. Eating vegan foods like these was part of how I lost 100 pounds. Here are some more diet food swap recipes that feel decadent but aren't. 

(photo courtesy of yummyporky - https://www.flickr.com/photos/yummy-porky/3835239904/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9840096) Forgot to take picture of mine. 

 

Lenten Kitchen recipes: "mock" food swaps for sugar-less, vegetarian, vegan and meatless dishes

Hello my friends. Lent is right around the corner and for Catholic Christians, this means increased fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It's a time for lightening up our diets with vegetarian and meatless options. For seven weeks, the church calls us to eat vegetarian and vegan meals. Veganism is a lifestyle choice to eat no meat, dairy, nor animal products. A vegan diet has other benefits in weight loss and improved health. It also ties in well for Catholic observing a Lenten fast. But before people were choosing this diet, and around the world now, many are forced to follow it, by poverty, famine and war. They don't eat this way to lose weight, but to live.  Having said that, eating this way was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

In the US and UK, depression and war time rationing meant going without or eating very little meat, eggs, cheese, milk, sugar and other foods. They got creative, making up "mock" recipes for favorite meat and dairy dishes.  Now they're called vegan haute cuisine and served in posh gastro-pubs.  Sadly the things that were abundant and not rationed are now so expensive THEY are the posh people foods. Turnips that you couldn't give away are now $2.79 a pound. So some of the vegan food swaps might actually be more expensive than the foods they replace. Just like fish that Catholic eat for Lent is now more expensive, thanks to over-fishing, than the chicken, pork and even beef, it subs for. But  I'll share cheaper food swaps for the food swaps, lol!

One popular dish in wartime rationing Britain was Murkey or mock turkey. Another was mock goose. Served at Christmas, this dish reimagined a game bird made from lentils and vegetables. Another mock turkey recipe shaped the bird from the stuffing normally used to fill the turkey. Here's the complete recipe for Thanksgiving Murkey (mock turkey). (I love the little parsnip drumsticks!) Her recipe calls for sausage which of course would not be used during Lent or by vegetarians. I'd mold the game bird from cooked chilled lentils or other mashed beans. You can even use refried beans with dried bread added. Or sub bread for nuts for a gluten-free version. Cook beans with diced onion, celery and bell pepper Season with sage, rosemary, bay leaf, pepper and celery salt. Mash and add any nuts you like. Mine is made from mixed nuts I let go stale accidentally. If you're feeling adventurous, add cranberries and apples. Substitute carrots for parsnips as parsnips which were considered desperation food are now over two bucks a pound. 

Vegan war cake. See my blog post here for my grandmother's dairy-free, milk-less, eggless, sugar-less, war cake recipe. This is perfect for Lent. I've updated it with oil food swaps. 

Veggie burgers. Check out my recipes for vegan, gluten-free, diet food swap veggie burgers. 

For vegan and diet hot dog recipes, see my post on Phoney Coney Island hot dogs 

Eating vegan and diet food swap recipes like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds without diet drugs or weight loss surgery. 

National Pizza Day: Lenten Kitchen diet food swap recipes for weight loss

Hello my friends! Happy National Pizza Day! I'll admit, I love pizza but the way it's made traditionally, at least in the US, it's calorie dense and not diet friendly. So here are some diet food swap pizza recipes and pizza-making tips for weight loss. I'll include some gluten-free pizza recipes too. Eating lighter and with healthier diet food swaps was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Homemade pizza tops restaurant or store-bought pizza food swaps. You'll cut calories in pizza just by making your own pizza at home. Restaurant foods are always more calorie dense because they use more salt, fats (including less optimal transfats and saturated fats) flavor additives and other hidden calorie boosts. Using homemade pizza food swaps you'll get a heartier more filling pizza with a fraction of the calories. 

Diet food swap pizza crust recipes. Pizza crust is the single biggest calorie booster in the dish. We don't even like the thick breadier Detroit style pizza crusts anyway, so that a good thing. We buy thin or cracker style pizza crusts from Dollar Tree and cut calories and cost. I could also make my own but in the interest of a quick, nutritious meal, I'll opt for pre-made thin pizza crusts. And I'm saving money over pizza take-out or store bought. And we're talking serious calorie cutting here. And entire thin crust pizza crust is only 320 calories compared to 960 per refrigerated pizza crust and a whopping 1,080 for regular Boboli. 

Breadless gluten-free pizza crust recipes. Cauliflower pizza crusts are a popular gluten-free food swap to wheat flour crusts. You can make your own using riced cauliflower (just make sure to extract as much liquid as possible to avoid soggy crusts). 

Besam or gram flour pizza crust. My preferred diet pizza option is to use besam or gram flour (ckickpea flour) as a protein rich gluten-free pizza crust option. This flatbread style is made similar to naan pizza using a greased skillet. Besam pizza crust recipe is simple, using 1 cup ground chickpea flour, one T. avocado or olive oil, tapioca flour or milled flaxseed, garlic, fennel and celery salt to taste--celery salt is my go-to for all savory recipes. For a more Indian flavor, add cumin and for Italian, add rosemary and thyme. 

Carb free Keto diet Spinach pizza crust. The breadless pizza crust alternative is amazingly delicious. Oil a pan with high heat oil like avocado or light olive oil. Arrange a mat of spinach leaves about 3-5 thick. Alternate layers of spinach leaves with shredded parmesan which when baked, acts as a binder. Next, top your spinach crust with favorite toppings, omitting cheese as it's in the crust. 

Diet pizza food swaps for cheese.  Cheese is another big calorie add. Parmesan cheese is keto-friendly as it is a low lactose (milk sugar) and high protein cheese with CLA (fat burning conjugated linolenic acid) Eating keto was part of how I lost 100 pounds. Goat cheese, brie and feta cheese is lower in calories than most hard cheeses so it makes a good diet food swap. Just plan on it not melting well. For a good low calorie cheese to melt, try lowfat mozzarella.  Although for me, the jury's still out on full fat vs. lowfat cheese. Full fat curbs hunger better and sometimes has less junk in it than "light" options. 

Diet meat pizza toppings food swaps.  Diet food swaps for meat toppings include pre-cooked crumbled bacon. One T. has only 25 calories. Turkey pepperoni or sausage is lower fat and calories.  Both are low fat but also suuuper salty. So I just use less or omit. My diet food swap preference is shrimp pizza. Cooked shrimp has a protein punch with almost no fat. My husband loves anchovies too. 

Diet food swaps for pizza topping. Here's where the creativity comes in because there are so many vegetable combinations to enjoy on your pizza. Our must-haves are baby bella mushrooms, onions, multi-colored peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, fennel seed and just a few black olives. 

Lenten kitchen pizza recipes. Our rainbow vegetarian pizza for lent (when we Catholics don't eat meat) features a thin pizza crust (or spinach pizza crust) with a light spread of marinara sauce. We top with fresh mushrooms, diced red (purple) onion, colored peppers (green, red, yellow and orange), garlic, sliced grape tomatoes, fresh basil and spicy sprouts andshrimp for me and anchovies for him. We add generous portions of oregano and fennel seed and drizzle with truffle oil. 

Fun food swap pizza recipes. Our son introduced us to bacon, fig and goat cheese pizza and I loved it. Figs add a high protein kick and that little bit of sweet counteracts the saltiness of pizza. I'd also use dates or reduced sugar dried cranberries. I add fresh mushrooms, just because, well, mushrooms. You could add Greek olives too. 

Stay tuned for more upcoming Lenten Kitchen vegetarian food swap recipes as Ash Wednesday approaches! Making food swaps like these was part of how I lost 100 pounds without drugs or weight loss surgery. 

Lenten Kitchen leftover use-up potato salad recipe for weight loss: how I lost 100 pounds

 So now the holidays are over and it's only winter but no Christmas, to quote Narnia, are you as sick of cold and snow as I am? I seriously need some summer right about now. Well you can create that summer vibe and use up all your leftover veggies to boot. AND create a great die recipe for New Year's weight loss. Just in time for Lent (a period of fasting from meat and sweets in the Catholic Church),  here's my leftover use-up recipe for a fat-busting New Year potato salad recipe. Lighten the calorie load and your mood with this veg out recipe that will bring the summer sun to a winter blah. 

My recipes are purposely adaptable to all tastes, budgets, special diets, etc. I focus on "green" recipes that don't call for certain ingredients besides what you probably have on hand. And if you don't, I'll share improvising tips for workarounds. The goal is to create a delicious dish that uses up all those assorted leftovers, not to create more leftovers or waste. 

Leftovers Use-Up Potato Salad: The possibilities are endless with this popular vegetable salad. And after the holidays, you'll have lots of itsy bitsy bits to use up. We're gonna chop 'em all up and blend with some simple condiments. First, gather all the miscellaneous potatoes from the larder. Doesn't matter what color. Mine featured has a few red, a Yukon gold and some russet potatoes. Wash, cube and toss in a pan to boil. Don't peel them. That's where all the vitamins are. 

Boil some about to expire eggs in with them. Or don't if you're a vegan. 

 Next start scrounging in your fridge for all those stray Zip-loc bags and dishes of half used and withering herbs and vegetables. You can include as many or as few as you like or have on hand. 

celery (include leaves, so much flavor)

onions (red preferred)

colored bell peppers or mini peppers left from the relish tray, the more colorful the better

scallions 

cilantro 

fresh dill

radishes

dill pickles ( or dill pickle relish)

chopped jalapeno if brave

avocado (not a fan, myself)

shredded carrots if desired

leftover ham cubes if you wish ( I don't. I'll use that for other recipes) 

You can even use up capers or olives if you wish. Now, mix with the partially used mayonnaise and any mustard you like. I'm a Dijon or stone ground girl, myself. And I'm not a stickler on much but I do beg you not to use light mayo. I always have and finally treated myself to full strength and oh, Mama, it was like coming home! 

We believe I must have Russian in my heritage because both they and I adore mayonnaise. Not Miracle Whip (ick). Now of course if you're vegan use the avocado kind. Or make your own. I think you just sub avocado for egg. Mix till coated.  

Season with multi-colored pepper, a dash of celery salt, dill weed if you had none in fridge, paprika (smoked if you prefer. I don't in this recipe.)  Taste test and add more of whatever you think it's missing.

And for the piece de resistance, add a little Herdez creamy salsa verde (the roasted poblano cremosa, oh so mosa good!) and cayenne pepper to taste. I'm trying to work myself up to using more hot pepper in my dishes as it's sooo good for natural treatment of arthritis and inflammation. 

Now, a note on garlic. I use it on pretty much everything except my potato salad. But you can if you like. 

You can garnish with sliced eggs, cilantro or dill fronds.
The garnish on mine is pickled turnips and beets.  I'll share that recipe later. Eating veggie forward like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Now to keep these two little thieves out. Yes, Mordecai and Moishe, I'm telling your secrets! 

Lenten Kitchen Pretzel Recipes: Kinky Twists for knot-your-average boring pretzels

 As the Catholic Christian world approaches Lent, we think of meatless and vegetarian ways to simplify our eating habits. One thing I always made was homemade pretzels. Did you know there's actually a National Pretzel Day? Yes, we actually celebrate those boring breadsticks. If pretzels as salty snacks leave a ho-hum taste in your mouth, how about some kinky twists on pretzel recipes for "knot" your average pretzels? Many of these are gluten free pretzel recipes. 

For gluten free pretzels swap out that wheat flour for oatmeal, oat bran, milled flaxseed, ground edamame, fava bean or chickpea flour and enjoy. 

Lowfat pretzel recipes: Are you calorie counting? So make your homemade pretzel recipes with lighter oil that's high in MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) like olive oil. Or try avocado, flaxseed or coconut oil for (seriously!) Twisted Sister pretzels. 

How about some kinky twists on pretzel dips? Lots of people go nuts over Nutella. And it's a perfect sweep fondue dip for salty pretzels. dip pretzels in warmed Nutella, melted dark or white chocolate. Roll in crushed almonds and serve with fresh raspberries. 

Sweet pretzel recipes for weight loss. Nutella is super high in calories so do a lighter pretzel dip version mixing yogurt and fresh fruit. To choco-fy it, blend cocoa powder into light vanilla yogurt. 

Knotted Guac pretzels: Make an easy batch of guacamole by blending avocado, celery salt, lemon juice, minced onions, garlic, cilantro and chopped tomatoes. Add a dash of cumin and serve with sides of mango salsa and sour cream. These are great calorie -trimmer recipes for Super Bowl tailgate parties or backyard BBQs. 

Deutsche Pretzels: Serve warm soft pretzels with spicy German horseradish mustard. Serve bratwurst on pretzel buns with German Pilsner. Make hot German potato salad by serving regular potato salad immediately instead of waiting for it to cool. Prosit! 

Dutch pretzel dogs. Spread corned beef, pastrami and/or smoked Gouda cheese with your favorite mustard and sauerkraut. Place a pretzel rod in the middle and roll. Serve with creamy cole slaw of cabbage, carrots, apples and raisins. Dress with vinegar, oil, and celery seed. 

Omit the meat in these pretzel to make Lenten Kitchen dishes to enjoy during Lent. Photo is my Screaming Pretzels recipe for Halloween. 

Diet foods that feel decadent but aren't: weight loss without self-deprivation

Hello my fellow foodies! Chef Omi (grandma) here to share some diet foods that feel decadent. At Great Foods 4U, we are about healthy as much as hungry. A few years ago (wow 15, where did the time go?) I began a mission to lose weight I'd gained from depression, anti-depressants (yes, both) and loss of two stillborn babies. One part of  how I lost 100 pounds was by amending my eating habits. Calorie counting, intermittent fasting and portion control worked for me. But more surprising methods did too, such as periodic indulgence and eating foods that felt decadent (but aren't). Because we're also about emotional self-care, here. And constant self-deprivation helps no one. It can actually lead to obesity, when starvation or deprivation mode kicks in. Our bodies take control of the helm and store fat because they wisely know we can't be trusted to take care of ourselves and eat right. So, on with my list of foods that feel decadent that aren't. 

 --olives. Fermented foods are getting a lot of attention in weight loss communities for their antioxidant, probiotic, fat-burning properties. Olives are nutrient-dense, calorie forward (with fiber balancing out fat). They're loaded with antioxidants and MUFAS (monounsaturated fatty acids) that burn fat, boost metabolism, lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and reduce inflammation. The thing to watch out for is salt or sugar content. I rinse pickles and olives before eating to reduce sodium. Also, I eat them in  moderation as I would any other treat. 

--pickles and pickled vegetables. Pickled vegetables aid weight loss in similar ways. With zero calories, pickles fill you up. And by making them yourself, you can cut down on salt. 

--pickled turnips and beets. Oh my, so delicious! I'm going to do a separate post on these Mediterranean diet treats! 

--capers. These brined flower buds are my new obsession. They have similar fat-burning properties to olives. And they're high in quercetin and rutin which reduce inflammation and improve circulation. 

--pumpkin seeds. Hulled and lightly salted, I use these in salads as a gluten-free replacement for croutons. Pepitas are high protein and a good MUFAS boost. 

--sunflower butter. In place of peanut butter, sunflower butter kicks protein fat-burning into high gear.  Plus it fills you up and curbs cravings. Sun Butter is my go to for weight loss. And believe it our not, lightly sweetened SunButter has more protein and fewer calories than the unsweetened kind.  As always, practice portion control 

-- figs, dates and dried cranberries. Dried cranberries, figs and dates are nutrient dense metabolism boosters with high fiber, potassium  and good sugar. Get the Medjool dates as they taste so much better than regular. And I get the reduced sugar dried cranberries. A handful adds a nice zest to salads to offset the saltier foods. Figs and dates are great for curbing hunger and sugar cravings. 

Fun Food Fact: Olives, figs and dates are part of the Jewish Seven Species of ceremonial and cultural food, along with lemons, pomegranates wheat and barley. Which brings me to..

--pomegranates and lemons. Pomegranates and other seed-dense fruits (like figs, blueberries, and raspberries) are great fat-burning fruits. The high fiber in the seeds balances out the sugar to make them calorie forward. I use lemons in cooking all the time. As lemon water, they boost weight loss in fat-burning and antioxidant vitamins. 

--mushrooms. The health benefits can and have filled volumes. There are too many to list here so I'll let UCLA list mushroom health benefits for me. We portabellas as meat substitutes in meatless dishes during Lent and on Fridays. Mushrooms are a must-have for my Lenten Kitchen. 

--sprouts (broccoli, clover, alfalfa, radish, lentil, mung and wheatgrass) For the longest time, didn't buy because they were so costly. But now I  make my own for cents on the dollar. I also love brussels sprouts roasted with garlic. 

--ghee (clarified butter) Could anything be so addictive and still good for you?! Ghee has as high smoke point and is great for grilling but beyond that, it's lactose free and fat-forward in that its MCTs and CLAs have some fat burning properties. Ghee is a good keto fat source. Ghee should be consumed in moderation.   

--smoked salmon. I cannot get enough of it. One tin gives like 26 grams protein for only 100ish calories. But be sure to get smoked salmon packed in oil. It tastes so much better. 

--arugula (aka rocket salad) and other spring mix greens. I only used to buy iceberg lettuce but now I treat myself to the fancier, healthier greens. Give me that bitter crunch of arugula with a dash of avocado oil, lemon juice and cracked pepper, topped with spicy sprouts and I'm a  happy girl. 

All these foods were part of how I lost 100 pounds, without drugs or gastric bypass surgery. Above photo is my foods that feel decadent salad with spinach, smoked salmon, lemon juice, capers, cracked black pepper, pomegranate seeds and freshly grown sprouts! 

Super Bowl halftime appetizers that won't supersize: diet food swaps for tailgate favorites

Super Bowl party hosts, did you know you don't have to serve junk food at your halftime appetizers buffet? Nowhere in the Super Bowl Sunday code does it say "thou shalt overindulge." If folks have learned anything from TLC's reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" it's that more people are overweight to obese. Why not serve these vegetarian and ketogenic diet Super Bowl recipes? These are my own Super Bowl snacks and recipes with diet food swaps for tailgate favorites and football halftime appetizers. 

Super Bowl of Salad for the ultimate vegetarian halftime appetizers A lot of mindless snacking goes on during football games--might as well get some veggie goodness in. Plus, diet food swaps are good for football fans who are packing on weigh in the end zone. Set it up stadium snacks style. Put salad greens in a rectangular cake pan (for football field). Mix baby spinach, spring mix and chopped romaine lettuce. Throw in shredded purple cabbage and shredded carrots. Arrange Super Bowl of Salad toppings around salad to look like football stands. Set out square dishes of broccoli and cauliflower florets, alfalfa spouts, sliced sweet onions, sliced red and green peppers, chopped and zucchini and tomatoes, cubed avocado, shredded cheese, sliced mini bella mushrooms, green and black olives, raisins, cottage cheese, sliced almonds, beets, grilled chicken cubes, chopped hard boiled eggs and croutons. Add an assortment of salad dressing, vinegar and oil. These halftime appetizers are meals in themselves. 

Super Bowl cauliflower buffalo wings. These super yummies won't supersize with diet food swaps. For vegetarian halftime appetizers, make buffalo cauliflower. Parboil cauliflower. Remove skin from wings. Swap butter in buffalo sauce for non-stick cooking spray or light yogurt butter. Baste wings and cauliflower. Mix red pepper, paprika, black pepper, garlic, onion juice, lemon juice and celery seed. Shake cauliflower and wings in seasoning. Bake in oven till tender. Or simmer in crock pot with a little water. 

Vegetarian rainbow chili halftime appetizers. Swap Hambeens 15 bean soup mix, protein pasta,  baby bella mushrooms and/ or sweet potatoes for meat. Ramp up the vegetables and use lowfat cheese. I add chopped rainbow peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, red and sweet onions, scallions, garlic, cauliflower, shredded green and purple cabbage, garlic, jalapeno, turnips, leeks and celery. Season with bay leaves, smoked paprika, red pepper, oregano, cumin and celery salt. 

Breadless rollups for halftime appetizers. Roll up lettuce leaves, sliced turkey, avocado and cranberry sauce. Make breadless sandwiches using romaine leaves, your favorite lunchmeat and cheese slices and little avocado mayo and Dijon mustard. Or skip the lunchmeat and substitute tuna salad or salmon or apple slices. 

Lighten up salty snacks for Super Bowl. Serve cut vegetable tray, pretzels and baked tortilla chips with hummus and salsa instead of chips and dip. 

Homemade hummus and pickled turnips for the win.. For hummus, blend chick peas or black beans with lemon juice, garlic, tahini, cumin and celery salt. To pickle turnips, slice turnips and beets into  sticks. Coat with salt allow to dehydrate a few days. Then add sliced jalapeno and celery sticks and cover with vinegar. Turnips will turn a dazzling shade of pink. 

Dessert diet food swaps for tailgate party favorites.. Trade cakes and cookies for fruit desserts. Make "Super Bowl Sundaes" with light ice cream or frozen yogurt. Put out fruit toppings in team colors. Serve bowls of sliced strawberries, bananas, blueberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges and sliced pineapple. Use light whipped topping and nuts. Layer fruit, angel food cake and whipped topping in a glass bowl to create a pretty Super Bowl trifle. Or make Jello salad in team colors. Make sugar-free Jello and allow to partially set. Blend in sliced fruit and whipped topping. Continue to chill.

My tummy is rumbling just thinking of these yummies and I don't even watch Super Bowl!