Weight Watchers: Healthy Tailgating Recipes

Football and tailgating are two staples this time of year. If you love a good tailgate party, but don't want to sack your diet, check out these Weight Watchers recipes!

Turkey Brats

Consider swapping out traditional pork brats for turkey brats, which are healthier and leaner. Simply split the turkey brats down the middle, then char them on all sides over the fire. Slip them into toasted whole-wheat buns — and top with jarred roasted red peppers, jarred pickled onions, bagged shredded carrots, and mustard.

Pulled pork

This great make-ahead dish uses the meat from high on the loin, rather than off the shoulders and butt. The night before, throw a 3-pound trimmed pork loin in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, then dump in an 18-ounce bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce. Secure the lid and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. The next morning, shred the meat with two forks right in the pot — which you can bring to the game. Serve with jarred pickle relish or jalapeño rings on whole-wheat buns.

Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers

These burgers are an amazing knock-off of Buffalo chicken wings. They're brushed with a spicy BBQ sauce and then topped with crumbled blue cheese.

Ingredients:

• 2 spray(s) cooking spray
• 1/4 cup(s) barbecue sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste
• 1 pound(s) uncooked extra lean ground chicken breast
• 1/2 cup(s) uncooked scallion(s), sliced
• 1/4 cup(s) uncooked celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup(s) dried plain breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 4 item(s) light hamburger roll(s) or bun(s)
• 2 cup(s) (shredded) romaine lettuce
• 1 large fresh tomato(es), cut into 8 slices
• 2 Tbsp blue cheese, crumbled

Instructions:
1. Off heat, coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray; preheat to medium-high.

2. In a small bowl, combine barbecue sauce and hot pepper sauce. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce-mixture, scallion, celery, breadcrumbs, garlic and salt. Using wet hands (to prevent mixture from sticking), form chicken mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties; brush top of burgers with some remaining barbecue sauce-mixture.

3. Place burgers on grill, sauce side-down; brush tops of burgers with remaining sauce. Grill, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Lightly toast open-faced buns on grill during last minute of cooking.

4. To serve, place 4 bun bottoms on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce, 2 tomato slices, a burger, 1/2 tablespoon of cheese and a bun top (cheese will melt a little from hot burger). Yields 1 burger per serving.

Notes
If you like your food really spicy, give the lettuce and tomato a few shots of hot sauce.