Part 4: Protein
Protein. Everyone’s favorite macronutrient! We figured we would wrap up our series with the good guy – The one that’s never had a bad reputation!
5 Super Snack Recipes
Looking for snacks for the big game that taste good AND make you feel good? We got you fam!
Here are 5 of our favorite BIG game-approved CCN recipes:
Crock-Pot Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Nachos
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken bone broth (Vegetarian: Substitute bone broth with vegetable broth.) ½ cup clean buffalo hot sauce (ex: Frank’s RedHhot brand)
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil or ghee
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 pound chicken breast (Vegetarian: Substitute chicken with 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained.)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, shredded
- ½ medium white or yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- For serving: shredded lettuce, diced avocado, chopped chives or green onion, chopped Roma tomato
For the Sweet Potato “Chips”:
- 3 large sweet potatoes, sliced 1/ 8-inch thin with a mandolin or food processor
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon each: paprika, chili, garlic and onion powder
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
For the Coconut Milk Ranch Sauce (optional):
Blend:
- 1 (15-ounce) can light coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
- 3 Tablespoons fresh chives, minced
- 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1 ½ teaspoons dried)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon each sea salt and black pepper
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, buffalo sauce, coconut oil/ghee and coconut aminos.
Add the chicken to the bottom of the Crock-Pot, then add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic. Pour the buffalo sauce mixture over everything. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
When finished cooking, carefully remove the chicken and shred with two forks, then return chicken to the Crock-Pot and toss with the vegetables and sauce.
About 40 minutes before ready to serve, make the sweet potato “chips”. Preheat oven to 425. Coat the sweet potatoes slices with the oil and spices and spread into a thin layer on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Bake for 20 minutes and flip. Bake for another 10 minutes, until edges are beginning to curl up and get crispy. Top the chips with buffalo chicken and desired toppings. Drizzle with optional Coconut Milk Ranch Sauce.
Cottage Cheese Spinach Dip
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 (16-ounce) container 2% or full-fat cottage cheese
- 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 (4-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- For serving: Unlimited, raw, colorful, non-starchy veggies, gluten-free nut/seed crackers (like Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed or Simple Mills brands)
Directions:
Blend cottage cheese in a high-power blender until smooth.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the spinach, water chestnuts, spices, garlic and parsley. Stir until well combined. Serve with colorful veggies and crackers. (Allison’s favorites are Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed and Simple Mills)
“Chex” Mix
Yields 12 cups
Ingredients:
- 4 cups rice Chex-like cereal (Cara uses Trader Joe’s version)
- 4 cups air popped popcorn
- 2 cups gluten-free pretzels (Pamela’s brand)
- 2 cups gluten-free cheddar crackers (brands like Outside the Breadbox and Simple Mills) 2 cups peanuts or another nut or seed
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup grass fed butter or coconut oil
- Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Mix together seasoning and set aside.
Add butter/oil and Worcestershire sauce to a baking pan and put in the oven for about 5 minutes or until melted. Remove and stir in the seasoning. In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients. Pour the butter/oil seasoning mixture over the dry ingredients and stir gently until evenly coated.
Transfer to two roasting pans, making sure it’s all one, even layer, and bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
AIR FRYER PICKLES & ZESTY DIPPING SAUCE
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the pickles:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon coconut milk
- 1 cup super fine, blanched almond flour (like Bob’s Red Mill or Thrive Market brand)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon clean Cajun seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 cups pickle chips (like Grillo’s or Bubbies brand)
For the dipping sauce:
- 1 cup avocado oil mayo (like Primal Kitchen, Chosen Foods or Sir Kensington brand)
- 2 Tablespoons clean ketchup (like Primal Kitchen brand)
- 1 Tablespoon pickle juice
- 2 Tablespoons onion, finely grated
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons pickles, finely chopped
Directions:
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, beat the egg together with the coconut milk. Set aside.
In a separate medium dish, mix the almond flour with the rest of the seasonings and nutritional yeast. Place the pickle chips on a paper towel and pat dry.
Set up an assembly line with the egg wash, followed by the breading, followed by a parchment-lined plate or two. Dip each pickle chip in egg wash and coat in the breading mixture until fully covered. Place on a plate and repeat with the remaining pickle chips.
Coat the air fryer basket in coconut or avocado oil spray. Working in batches, place the pickle slices in the air fryer in an even layer and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Mix together ingredients for dipping sauce in a bowl.
Serve pickles with dipping sauce.
CCN 7 Layer Dip
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½ cup CCN Creamy Cashew Sauce (see recipe below)
- 1 (12-ounce) can organic pinto or black beans, rinsed, drained and mashed with a fork
- 1 large avocado, smashed with ½ juice of a lime and ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup romaine lettuce, chopped
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños
- ½ cup roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- 2 Tablespoons green onion, sliced
- For serving: Siete grain-free chips Unlimited, raw, colorful, non-starchy veggies (carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, jicama, green beans, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus and/or cauliflower)
Directions:
Spread the smashed beans evenly over the bottom of an 8X5-inch dish. Keep in mind, the bigger the pan, the thinner the layers. Next, layer the smashed avocado on top of the beans, smoothing out with a spatula. Add remaining layers in the following order: cashew sauce, lettuce, jalapeños, tomatoes, black olives and green onion. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips and unlimited veggies.
CCN Creamy Cashew Sauce
Makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cashews
- Juice and zest of 1 medium lime
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne, to taste
Directions:
For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or high-power blender. Pulse to a smooth consistency. Store the remaining sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Meet Cara Clark
I began my career as a way to heal my own body and give me the energy to seek the life I was called to live.
Now, as an integrative nutritionist and wellness educator, I help people nurture their bodies through a non-dieting approach to food and the beautiful connections between physical wellness, mental and emotional health, and spirituality that have taken my own life to the next level.
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