Paleo Super Bowl Party Game Plan

It’s no secret that I’m a New England Patriots fan, and Martellus Bennett is my current favorite player. He’s a totally kickass tight end, and, it turns out, an awesome and creative human. YAY!

Whomever you’re rooting for on Super Bowl Sunday, I think we can all agree that the right food is what’s really important.

I try not to snack my way through the day on regular days, but Super Bowl Sunday is a fun excuse to loosen up the rules a little bit. I still like to keep it healthy with lots of veggies! Our game day menu is below, along with step-by-step directions to make prep as easy and relaxing as possible. Save your energy for yelling at the TV! Plus, I’ve included a bunch of ideas for other great party recipes, in case Chocolate Chili isn’t your thing this year.

The Menu

This is what we’ll be noshing on this year—plenty of fun foods that are secretly good for you. That makes everyone a winner!

Pre-Game Snacks

Crudité with Paleo Ranch Dressing or Creamy Italian
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, pineapple chunks

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 for the deviled 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. Reheat the Chili. 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. Bake the Chips. 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. Grab your dessert. 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 Lady Gaga. 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)

Italian 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

Jalapeño-Bacon Burger Balls (from Well Fed Weeknights)

Cincinnati Chili (from Well Fed 2)

Nibbles & Sides

Crispy, Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Herb “Rice” Salad

Muffaletta Salad

Spiced Nuts

Spiced Olives

Caramelized Coconut Chips (from Well Fed)

Crispy Plantains with Garlic Sauce

Pear & Bacon Bites (from Well Fed 2)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (from Well Fed 2)

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

 A Little Something Sweet

Sweet & Salty Fudge Bombs*

 Fruit Crisp* (from Well Fed)