Whether you are rooting on your favorite college football team or cheering on your daughter at her soccer game, you know that fall means crisp weather, beautiful foliage, and, yes, food found at pre-game tailgates or post-game celebrations. 

But not all of these fall food favorites are healthy for you – and some may actually detract from achieving optimal health.

So what can you do this fall to tailgate healthier?  Here are my top tips!

1) Veg Out The Right Way

Thinking about pizza, buffalo bites, or chips and salsa?  Veg out – healthfully – by allowing vegetables to be the foundation of those famous tailgate foods.  Use vegetables like celery and radishes as a dipper in place of chips.  Instead of a white flour pizza crust, opt for a homemade crust created with cauliflower or broccoli.  Or, if you just love buffalo wings, why not toss homemade buffalo sauce overtop of cauliflower and bake?  You will get the flavor your crave plus fiber and phytonutrients, minus the inflammatory fats from cooking oils.  Score!

2) Spill The Beans

From black beans to red lentils, and from chickpeas to pinto beans, pulses can be used in a variety of tailgate favorites, like burgers (use half beans, half beef!), chili (make yours with lentils), and dips (like savory or sweet hummus!).  Beans deliver fiber and protein to a dish to help you feel fuller, longer.  They also provide important nutrients like folate, potassium, and iron, too!  You can find lots of delicious recipes using pulses here.

3) Make BroccoTacos

Swap the chips in your walking taco for BroccoLeaf to make BroccoTacos.  To your BroccoLeaf base, add vegetables like tomatoes, onions, and peppers, and your other taco must-haves.  Know that by using BroccoLeaf instead of chips as the base, you’re getting a healthy dose of folate, potassium, and vitamins A, C, and K!

Whether you are in a parking lot or your basement getting ready to root your team on to victory, play the sport yourself.  Toss a football or volleyball back and forth with your friends or kick around a soccer ball with your children.  

Or, bring along one of my favorites – a Frisbee!  You’ll be spending some quality time – and moving more, sitting less – when you do so.

5) Get Sidekick Support

If you don’t eat perfect everyday, especially on game day, it’s important to support your diet with a whole food multivitamin and multimineral supplement, like those from Mega Food.  Plus, Foxy Produce recently partnered with MegaFood to exclusively provide organic kale for use in MegaFood’s Balanced B Complex.

Just like in sports, you must set goals and train to improve your nutrition and your health. The ball is in your court, now.  What goal will you set first?  Let me know your winning strategies and achievements on Facebook @YESNutritionLLC