Guest Blog: Susan Harrell
Super Bowl Sunday is the time that everyone is eating buffalo fried chicken wings or grilled chicken wings. The statistics say that Americans eat 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday. That is not a typo, it is supposed to say billion. That is insane!
Well, in the spirit of saving some little chickens lives and us athletes a few fat grams and calories, I sat down to come up with a healthy and vegetarian twist for chicken wings.
Cauliflower is a great substitute as it is a firm vegetable and it’s healthy. Cauliflower boasts only 29 calories, 3 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein per 1 cup serving. Then there are claims that it helps the body detoxify. Well, I say let’s just roll with that while having a few beers during the game!
This is not a complicated recipe, but I feel that you do need to follow the steps to make sure you get a crispy beer batter and a well seasoned bite of buffalo cauliflower. It really goes back to how to season healthy food correctly so they are not bland or boring.
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower broken or cut into large bite size pieces.
1 cup of flour
½ cup of beer, I Iike an IPA
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
Kosher salt
Nonstick spray
¼ cup Hot sauce like Louisiana or Franks
¼ cup of butter, substitute Earth Balance for a vegan option
Directions
Heat your oven to 400F or 215C
Season the cauliflower florets with some olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder and a pinch of salt. We are layering the flavors here..
Mix together the flour, beer, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Mix until there are not any clumps.
Spray a baking sheet with some of the nonstick spray. I also like to line mine with parchment paper or aluminum foil for an easier cleanup.
Dredge the cauliflower pieces into the beer batter and place on the baking sheet. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. While they are baking, make the buffalo sauce by melting the butter and mixing with the hot sauce. Add in a pinch of salt, garlic powder and onion powder. After 20 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven and baste with the buffalo sauce. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Once you see they are a little crispy and have gotten some color around the edges, it’s time to remove. Brush with a little more sauce and serve with your carrots, celery and your favorite blue cheese or ranch dipping sauce.
If you want to go completely vegetarian this Sunday, give these grillable and easy veggie burgers a try.
