Paleo Super Bowl Party Game Plan

It’s pretty obvious which team we’ll be cheering for in our living room on Super Bowl Sunday.

I will be wearing all the Patriots gear, eating paleo snacks, and yelling myself hoarse. For those of you not fortunate enough to join me on my Football Couch — that’s what I’ve been calling our new sofa since we got it in July — my football narration usually goes like this…

When the Pats are playing offense: “Come on, Tommy! Come on, TOMMY! … Oh,  Julie! Go! Gooo! GOOOOO! RUN! RUN! RUN!” (Fact: Tom Brady lets me call him Tommy, and Julian Edelman loves when I call him Julie.) Then I lunge from lounging on the couch to standing up and stomping my feet. If there’s a touchdown scored, I kind of lose my mind.

When the Pats are on defense: “Get ‘im! Get ‘im! Get ‘im!” at a gradually escalating volume, or “Will somebody PUH-LEASE sack the f*cking quarterback.” This is usually accompanied by banging an open palm against a throw pillow in frustration. And if the Pats D forces an interception? Pure elation.

I should also mention there’s nothing I love quite as much in a Patriots game as a slick quarterback sneak. Like this one!

All football fans are welcome at our house, however, so whatever colors you’ll be wearing on Super Bowl Sunday, you’re invited to chow down on some delicious paleo grub.

The Menu

This is what we’ll be stuffing in our faces between bouts of yelling at the TV on Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve included some tips below so you can easily recreate this menu for your own party. If you’re just not feelin’ the recipes I’ve picked out for my menu, there are lots more suggestions at the bottom of this post.

Pre-Game Snacks

Crudité with Paleo Ranch Dressing
Green & black olives
Deviled Eggs
Savory Paleo Granola

Half-Time Chocolate Chili Bar

Chocolate Chili
Plantain Chips (just the chips from the recipe for Plantain Nachos)
Toppings: lettuce, olives, avocado, jalapeños, onions

Fourth Quarter Dessert

Sliced fruit: apples, bananas, oranges
Pistachios & almonds
85% dark chocolate

Prep on Saturday

I’m planning to be a lazy bum on Super Bowl Sunday, so I’m doing as much prep as I can on Saturday. I encourage you to do the same. On game day, you can go for a walk in the morning, toss around the football in the yard in the afternoon, and spend the evening on the couch watching the game, instead of mucking around in the kitchen all day.

1. Cook the hard-boiled eggs so they can cool while you’re making the other goodies.

2. Make the Chocolate Chili so it can have a nice long simmer.

3. Make the Paleo Ranch Dressing. (Do you need to make mayo first?)

4.  Cut up the raw veggies for the crudité and for the chili toppings; put them in storage containers.

5. Make the Savory Paleo Granola.

6. The eggs should be cool by now, so prep the deviled eggs. (I just mix the yolks with homemade mayo, a pinch of dry mustard, lots of salt, and a little paprika.)

7. This is super nerdy, but it makes pre-party time much easier: Decide which bowls, plates, and trays you’re using for serving and pile them in the corner of the kitchen. Then when it’s time to eat, just load up the dishes and go (like LeGarrette Blount bashing through the line).

You’re done for the day. Take a knee.

Final Touches on Sunday

The only cooking task left is to make the Plantain Chips  — everything else is just reheating and plating. Game on!

1. It’s never too early to start re-heating the Chocolate Chili; it tastes even better when it simmers a long time so you can put this one the stove mid-day on very, very, very low heat. If you want to make it even easier on yourself, you can put the already-cooked chili in a slow cooker to keep it warm all day. Then your guests can serve themselves. YAY!

2. Before the game, prep the Plantain Chips for the oven so you can pop them in to bake about 30 minutes before you want to eat. (These should be made on game day because they don’t hold up well overnight.)

3. During a commercial break in the third quarter, slice the fruit and break out the nuts.

More Game Day Recipes

Here’s my list of crazy-delicious, 100% paleo, mostly Whole30-approved football watching eats. I selected recipes that can mostly be made in advance so you don’t have to fuss with cooking when you should be cheering or cussing out the refs or ogling Katy Perry. Enjoy! (The ones with a red asterisk are not Whole30 approved; everything else is good to go for Whole30.)

Plantain Nachos (from Well Fed 2)

Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad (from Well Fed 2)

Mexican Meatza (from Well Fed)

Deconstructed Gyro Salad (from Well Fed 2)

Stovetop Pork Carnitas (from Well Fed)

Riceless, No-Soy Sushi (from Well Fed)

Cevapčići

Nibbles & Sides

Crispy, Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Herb “Rice” Salad* (replace peppadew peppers w/ roasted red peppers for Whole30)

Muffaletta Salad

Spiced Nuts* (omit coconut sugar for Whole30)

Caramelized Coconut Chips (from Well Fed)

Pear & Bacon Bites (from Well Fed 2)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (from Well Fed 2)

Raw veggies dipped in: Sunshine Sauce | Creamy Italian Dressing | Tahini Dressing

 A Little Something Sweet

Sweet & Salty Fudge Bombs*

 Fruit Crisp* (from Well Fed)