Cauliflower Buffalo Bites
Original Recipe from Real Food Dietitians
Ingredients: Adjustments*
- 1 large head of cauliflower (or 2 – 10 oz. bag cauliflower florets)
- ½ cup hot sauce(I use Franks Hot Sauce)
- 2.5 Tbsp grass-fed butter*
- 1 Tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos*
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional- I left this out)
- Ranch for dipping (Such as homemade below!)
- Parsley or green onions, chopped (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make buffalo sauce by adding all ingredients to a sauce pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, whisk to combine all.
- In a large bowl combine the cauliflower florets and ⅓ cup of the buffalo sauce. Toss to coat.
- Transfer cauliflower to the sheet pan and bake for 18-20 min tossing ½ through baking time.
- When done, remove from oven, transfer to serving dish and drizzle with remaining buffalo sauce. Top with green onions and/or parsley and serve with ranch for dipping.
*These buffalo bites have easily become my husbands’ favorite game day pick. He said they are a great substitute for wings. He requests them almost every weekend now!
Lightened Up Ranch Dip
Ingredients:
- 1 cup greek yogurt(or whole yogurt, or sour cream if desired)
- 1 tbsp homemade ranch seasoning (simply combine 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 2 tsp dried dill weed, 1 tsp pink salt and pepper to taste. Store excess in mason jar or glass container.
Directions:
- Mix together in a bowl and serve cold with favorite mini vegetable sticks.

Bacon Wrapped Peppers
Original Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food
Ingredients:
- 12 mini tri-color sweet peppers (you can use jalapenos if desired- I like to do the sweet peppers incase the kids want to eat them also)
- 8 oz. block organic cream cheese
- 1-2 packs of Applegate sliced bacon(it takes me almost 2 full packs)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Slice peppers down the middle, remove all the stems and seeds.
- Cut the raw bacon strips into thirds. I use my kitchen shears for this.
- Using a spoon, fill the pepper halves with cream cheese.
- Wrap each pepper half with a piece of bacon, trying to get the seam of the bacon on the bottom. (As you can see I did the best I could)
- Line a baking sheet with foil to avoid extra clean up, and place peppers on a cooling rack on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the bacon is cooked through, looking nice and crisp!
*My Brother-in-law has been making these delicious bacon wrapped peppers for years now. They are always a hit and get eaten first! They are a family favorite for my entire husbands’ family!

Pumpkin Chili
Original Recipe from Real Food Dietitians
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 1 large onion)
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ pounds grass-fed ground beef or bison
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
- ½ 6-oz. can tomato paste
- 1 14-oz. organic can pumpkin puree
- ½ – 1 cup chicken broth or water (I use homemade broth from my whole chicken)
- 2 ½ tsp. dried oregano
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Directions:
For Slow Cooker:
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and saute the onions and peppers, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until onions start to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef. Use a spatula or large spoon to break it up as it cooks. Cook until meat is nearly cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer meat mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir.
- Set heat to LOW and cook for 6-7 hours. Serve with desired toppings.
For Stove top (how I did it):
1. Complete steps 1-3 as above, then add all remaining ingredients to dutch oven and simmer on low for 30-40 minutes.
*This pumpkin chili was approved by my husband, who typically does not like pumpkin-y things. Not to mention both my kids devoured this, literally. Make a huge pot to take to a friends house or haul to the game! It will not disappoint everyone’s taste buds!
Black Bean Brownies
Original Recipe from Chocolate Covered Kate
Ingredients:
- 1 15.oz can organic black beans
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/4 tsp pink salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp organic coconut sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (I use Bobs Red Mill non-aluminum)
- 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (Highly Recommend-my favorite brand linked below)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips and pour mixture into a greased 8×8 pan.(Mine was a little larger so my brownies are a tad thinner)
- Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top, optional.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes until, cook longer if they seem under cooked.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
*My family absolutely loves BBB, every since I started making them we haven’t wanted to go back to regular ones. Another favorite black bean recipe for our family are the Holy Fudge Black Bean Brownies from Lauralea Balanced!