I know I've talked before about how much I absolutely love tailgate season. Nothing is better than hanging out with friends in a parking lot, grilling up food and playing tailgates games.

But tailgating for hours on end every weekend also means I eat some really not-good-for-you food. Your typical tailgate staples include chips and dip, burgers and hot dogs, cookies, brownies, etc.

Since I spend so much time at tailgates and I try to be mindful of what I'm eating, especially when I'm training, I've decided that at each tailgate this season, I'm going to bring a healthy, vegetarian dish to the party that fits in with the tailgate theme.

Last week's theme was seafood because we were playing Miami and because crabcakes and football is what Maryland does. So of course the star ingredient in my recipe was Old Bay.



For last week's dish, I created a recipe for an Old Bay Couscous Salad.

Ingredients:

2 c couscous
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 red onion
4 celery stalks chopped thin
1 can chickpeas
Old Bay
1 individual container of fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 c Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Prepare couscous according to the packages instructions. Add a generous shake of Old Bay to mix.

2. Chop all your veggies and in a large bowl toss them with the couscous.

3. In a separate container, mix the Greek yogurt and Italian dressing. Add about 4 teaspoons of Old Bay (depending on how strong you like the flavor). Mix well and then toss with the salad.

4. Chill for several hours before serving and feel free to add more Old Bay before eating.



This was a hit with everyone at the tailgate, even my skeptical friends who didn't think healthy food of any sort belongs at a tailgate.

I'm hoping I can keep surprising my friends this season with yummy and healthy tailgate food. Maybe by the end of the season I'll have convinced a bunch of skeptics that healthy food can still be good tailgate food.