Yay Sports!!! He did that thing with the ball and people are excited about it! Their football leggings make their butts look square! They all look rough, except for Polamalu, who looks like an angel tackling people.

Ok, you may have guessed that football is not my thing. I don't totally get it. I grew up in Western, PA, and I wish the Steelers the best, but don't actually feel any angst if I miss a season worth of games. Same for the Seattle Seahawks (though we did watch the Super Bowl with them once- so sporty). The one part that I do get is that sports have good food. I will happily go to at least one baseball game a year for garlic fries and stadium treats. Football is no different, and I know people love to throw a great football party. That means great food! Manly food! In fact, food so manly that it borders on toxic masculinity (that's what it means, right? Toxic levels of cholesterol and heart problems?). It's meat! Burgers and hot dogs and wings, and meaty, manly things!!

So, clearly a football game is the perfect time to pull out your best vegetarian spread, right?

I know it sounds crazy, but any time you can cut meat out, you are doing something great for the environment. Meat production is a major contributor to climate change, and beef especially puts tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every day. Do you keep hearing about ocean "dead zones"? Those are primarily caused by byproducts and waste that run off from animal farms.

You don't have to give up meat completely to make a difference if that doesn't fit your life or family culture. But everyone can cut their meat intake significantly and make a profound positive difference.

Hosting a game night is actually a PERFECT opportunity to cut a bunch of meat out of your weekly diet (and your friends- the power!). Also, with some awesome food, no one will even complain. So only serve one meat (or just skip it completely) and fill your table with amazing vegetarian options instead.

 Here are some of my favorite "Game Day" recipes to make:

First, tacos might be an easy way to sneak in vegetarian recipes. You can read tons of taco recipes here.

from Two Peas and their Pod

My favorite idea is to make some amazing vegetarian chili mac. You know that business will just be so filling, and you want your meat eaters to still leave feeling like they had a full meal! Plus, you can make this ahead of time and enjoy your party. I love this One Pot recipe from Two Peas and their Pod. I am telling you, take away two meat dishes and do this instead. People will love it.

from Serious Eats

Cauliflower "Hot Wings" You still get the same fried crunch, and they are just the right size for people to come back for more again and again. They have all the addicting parts of hot wings. I like this recipe from Serious Eats, but there are lots out there. If you want a mix of flavors, these sesame cauliflower wings from Jessica in the Kitchen look pretty delicious too. If you want a healthier version, I love The Real Food Dieticians' baked recipe.

from Carrots and Flowers

Another classic you can keep meatless is potato skins. My favorite vegan recipe for these is from Carrots and Flowers- they are actually smashed potatoes loaded up with goodies. I think the idea is genius, and you could have tons of food options for people to sprinkle on top.

from Mexican Please

You also can't go wrong with nachos, and there are so many vegetarian nacho recipes out there. It could be its own genre of vegetarian food! It's hard to pick a winner, but seriously. Look at this Mexican Please pan of nachos and tell me seriously you would want to eat something else. It just looks SO freaking good. And who will feel hungry after that?

from skinny vegan life

Last, what is a game day party without some kind of dip? I think this is an especially great one, because you aren't particularly thwarting expectations, just filling tummies. There are too many to go into a lot but I will list a handful that looked especially awesome :

Skinny Vegan Life's Mexican Street Corn
Self-Proclaimed Foodie's Basil garlic Aoili
Stuck on Sweet's Refried Bean Dip
Fooduzzi's Buffalo Chickpea Dip
Yummy Mummy's Layered Bean Dip
Peas and Crayons' Avocado and White Bean Dip


Happy sports game time happy shindig! Go team!



Want more vegetarian recipes to try? Awesome! Adding more meatless meals to your diet is such a fun challenge and you can discover so many things you like. Check out this page for all of the Meatless Monday Recipe Round Ups!