Super Bowl LVII will be held on Sunday, February 12th in Glendale, Arizona where the Kansas City Chiefs will be playing against the Philadelphia Eagles. All of us Gigi’s were hoping the Arizona Cardinals would be in the Super Bowl this year as that’s where the five of us met and four of us still reside there today (Gigi Lori, Lala Malana, Mimi Jackie & Nana Alison). Gigi Susie now lives in Castle Rock, Colorado.

If you’re lucky enough to have one of your teams playing in the Super Bowl, will be hosting a party or going to a Super Bowl party and don’t want to derail your eating habits, we have five healthy recipes to keep you on track.

February 1st, Mimi Jackie wrote about our February attainable challenge, which is a heart healthy Diet rich in vegetables and fruits. If you missed her blog, you can read it here.

Easy Pulled Pork (shared from Taste Better From Home)

This is a perfect recipe to serve to your football fans. Easy to prepare and so delicious.

Definitely a crowd pleaser. This can be made in the oven, slow cooker or an instant pot.

4 lbs. pork shoulder, or butt

1 T. oil

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. chili powder

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion powder

1 t. cumin

1 t. kosher salt

1 t. black pepper

12 ounces of coke, dr pepper or root beer (not diet)

Trim pork off excess fat and cut into 4 pieces. Combine spices in a small bowl and rub all over the pork. (This can be done the night before). Sear by heating a few tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear for a few seconds on all sides. ( This is optional but it helps seal in moisture. ).

Oven Method: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Pour coke around the pork in the Dutch oven pot. Cover pot with lid and cook for 3 hours. Remove lid and cook for an additional 1-2 hours, until pork is tender and easily pulls apart with a fork. Remove from oven and shred.

Slow Cooker Method: Place pork in slow cooker and pour coke around it. Cover and cook on LOW(recommended) 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.

Instant Pot Method: Place pork in instant pot and pour coke around it. Cook on Manual/High pressure for 70 minutes. When timer beeps, allow the pot to naturally release pressure, about 15 minutes longer. Remove lid and shred the meat.

This recipe will serve about 6 people so you may want to double it if you are expecting a larger crowd.

We like to serve ours on warm Brioche Buns and top with a scoop of coleslaw and our favorite bar-b-q sauce. This will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, or you can freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and heat on low.

Heart Healthy Recipes

Healthy Turkey Meatballs (shared from Cooking Made Healthy)

These Healthy Turkey Meatballs are made in the oven and are a healthy alternative to making them with beef. They are high in protein, vitamins, potassium, and are filling, but just make sure you buy lean ground turkey. You can serve them with your favorite pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon course ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients; turkey, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Using a small cookie scoop will help you to get a uniform-sized meatball.

Place your formed meatballs on the baking sheet and cook them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, just until they are lightly browned.

Enjoy with your favorite pasta sauce.

Amazing Flour-less Brownies (recipe shared from skinnytaste)

Here’s a recipe for a pretty darn good brownie that is made with no flour and no butter, but uses just a 1/2 teaspoon of oil! It’s also a low-fat and gluten-free recipe and the best part is that the brownies come out so moist using a secret ingredient…black beans. Trust us, you won’t taste them at all!! Promise.

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon oil

1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk, or dairy, skim

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1//2 teaspoon freshly ground coffee or instant coffee

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided (Hersheys’s)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a nonstick 9×9-inch square pan using baking spray and also line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-in ch overhang on all the sides of the pan.

Blend together the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and the coffee in a blender until its smooth and then pour it into a bowl.

Fold in the 1/2 cup of chocolate c hips until all combined.

Puir the brownie batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle on evenly the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the brownies.

Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, approx. 30 to 32 minutes.

Allow the brownies to completely cool down before cutting them into squares. You can lightly dust them with powdered sugar on top, if desired.

Enjoy……and GO TEAM!

Gluten Free Recipes

Paleo Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili (slow cooker) (shared from skinnytaste)

What I love about this recipe is that its perfect for football games because it’s so easy to throw together, there’s no need to brown the meat or any of the other ingredients. This particular recipe doesn’t contain beans and it’s gluten free!

Makes 8 one cup servings, topped with 1oz avocado

Ingredients:

1 medium white onion, diced

3 cloves minced garlic

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 jalapeños, seeds removed

1 large sweet potato, 14oz

1lb 93% lean ground chicken

1lb 95% lean ground beef

2tsp smoked paprika

2tsp chili powder

2tsp dried oregano

2tsp kosher salt

1tsp ground cumin

1/4tsp red pepper flakes

1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 cup reduce sodium chicken broth

chopped scallions, for garnish

8oz diced avocado, from 2 small haas

4oz goat cheese, optional leave our for whole30

Directions:

Simply place all your ingredients with the exception of the scallion, avocado and goat cheese in to your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. When done, break up the ground meat and ground chicken using a wooden spoon. If you’re using the goat cheese you can add half at this point.

Serve and garnish with chopped scallions, goat cheese and diced avocado on top.

Enjoy!!

Keto Friendly Recipe

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip (Taken from Tasteofhome.com)

Ingredients

2 packages (8 ozs. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup sour cream

5 Tbsp. crumbled blue cheese

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese – divided

1 green onion, sliced

Originally Published on https://www.gigiconnection.com/

Gigi Connection Grandparenting

With decades of friendship between us, we aim to empower and encourage women of all ages as we share, from our hearts, topics relating to health, beauty, fashion, reading, cooking, faith in God, travel and the joys of aging gracefully as we live life with our friends, family and adoring grandchildren.

Our greatest hope is that with almost 200 collective years of marriage wisdom, 20 grandchildren between us (newborn-12 years of age) and friendships lasting since 1989, our blog encourages you in some way in your friendships, your relationships, your faith, your self and in this wonderful journey called grandparenting.