Eat Right: Healthy Fall Recipes for Football Season

New Jammies celebrates the start to the football season each fall with playful designs for the tiniest of fans. Our navy-and-kelly-green Football Field collection is always a fan favorite. And this autumn, we’ve introduced the fun Football Tough design for a new twist on our gridiron action prints.

With every new football season also comes the chance to try new tailgating recipes. And New Jammies found these healthy alternatives to game-day snacks that will make football fans of all ages happy:

Oven-roasted Cauliflower Bites with Cilantro Yogurt Dip
Courtesy Simply Organic

Simply Organic organic spices, seasonings, and baking flavors provides this spicy oven-roasted cauliflower recipe featuring freshly grated ginger and organic turmeric for a golden texture perfect for fall. This easy Greek yogurt sauce with green onions, cilantro and garlic adds a burst of cool flavors.

Cauliflower
1 large head of caulilfower
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil, plus more for the pan
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
1 teaspoon Simply Organic Turmeric
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon Simply Organic Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Frontier Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon Frontier Organic Black Pepper
Juice from half a lemon

Dip
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 whole green onions, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
3/4 teaspoon Frontier Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Simply Organic Garlic Powder

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and lightly oil a rimmed, aluminum baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl combine the Greek yogurt, minced green onions, cilantro, garlic powder and salt. Stir to combine; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the oil, butter, ginger, turmeric, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and the juice from half a lemon. Whisk to combine.
4. Cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces (not too small) and toss them in the spicy ginger-turmeric dressing until evenly coated.
5. Scatter the cauliflower on the lightly oiled baking sheet and slide them into your preheated oven. Roast the cauliflower for 20 to 25 minutes until golden, rotating the pan halfway through. Do not toss or flip the cauliflower or you will not achieve a good caramelization.
6. Once the cauliflower has finished roasting, let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.a

Bruschetta with California Avocado and Basil
Courtesy California Avocado

Whip up these fresh and savory bite-size snacks from California Avocado. Place the thin slices of avocado on the toasted bread first so the tomato-avocado mixture stays on the bread better and is deliciously moist. If you prefer a drier bruschetta, omit half the avocado. Also try the tomato-avocado mixture over pasta, rice, grilled chicken or beef. Serves 8.

Ingredients
1 to 2 ripe Fresh California Avocados, seeded and peeled
1/2 lb. Roma tomatoes, sliced lengthwise and diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, plus additional for garnish
1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
As needed freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste
1 sourdough baguette (about 10 oz.), diagonally cut into 1/2-inch slices and lightly toasted

Directions
Thinly slice half of the avocados, then cut the slices in half crosswise. Reserve.
Dice the remaining avocado.
In medium bowl, lightly combine the diced avocado, tomatoes, onion, olive oil, basil, garlic, pepper and salt.
Top each slice of toasted bread with 2 or 3 of the reserved avocado slices. Top with about 1 heaping Tbsp. of the tomato-avocado mixture.
Garnish each with small leaf of basil, if desired.

Tex-Mex Squash Casserole
Courtesy Mountain Harvest Organics

Mountain Harvest Organics is an organic farm based in the Appalachian Mountains whose website, mountainharvestorganic.com, features a blog about the farm-to-table lifestyle and a section with recipes. From Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew to this quick-and-easy Tex-Mex Squash Casserole and a sweet oatmeal Pear Crisp, there’s an abundance of options for healthy fall eats on the inspirational site.

Ingredients
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 small zucchini, sliced
4 ounces green chilies, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups yellow corn
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup cheddar, grated
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup Monterey jack, grated

Directions
Lightly sauté the squash, zucchini, onion, and garlic until just soft. Toss with the remaining ingredients.
Place in a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Pear Crisp
Courtesy Mountain Harvest Organics

Ingredients
6-7 pears
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice pears and combine with 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, lemon juice and raisins. (The brown sugar is optional and used to sweeten the fruit some. The raisins are also optional).
2. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt together in bowl. Cut butter in with the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly.
3. Cover bottom of buttered cake pan with fruit mixture (square 8 inch pan that holds 6 cups). Sprinkle flour/oat topping over fruit and bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm, plain or with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.

Pumpkin Cookies
Courtesy EatingWell

Those familiar tastes of fall, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, make for a rich and flavorful pumpkin cookie to top off any game-day tailgating spread. These cookies are packed with Vitamin A in the pumpkin puree — a 1-cup serving contains more than seven times the daily value — which is great for vision, a healthy immune system, and proper functioning of the heart, lungs and kidneys. And the cup of raisins provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and poly-phenol antioxidants. Makes enough for a football team at 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients
3/4 cup canned organic pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raisins
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.
Whisk together pumpkin, sugar, yogurt, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in raisins. Stir together flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, allspice and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet with a wooden spoon, mixing just until just blended.
Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.