By Meredith Wagner | Arts & Life Editor

The Super Bowl is just around the corner, and four-layer dip is overrated. If you’re hosting a watch party this year, or if you want to take the day off and venture out of your comfort zone, try these creative alternatives to generic Super Bowl party foods:

Meat Alternative: Crispy Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small head of cauliflower, rinsed and washed, cut into florets
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 eggs [for vegan version, use 2 Tablespoons of ground chia seeds + 3/4 cups warm water]
• 4 cups panko crumbs [or crushed corn flakes]
• 1/2 teaspoon of each: garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Set out three different bowls, creating an assembly line from left to right. In the first bowl, add the flour. In the second bowl, add both eggs and beat until even. In the last bowl, add the panko crumbs and all four seasonings. At the end of the rows, lay out a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Rinse the cauliflower. Dip each floret into the bowl of flour, followed by the bowl of beaten egg, followed by the panko crumbs. Evenly space breaded cauliflower on the pan, and continue moving through the assembly line until you are out of ingredients or the pan is full. (I ended up using two full pans and still had leftover cauliflower).
4. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Test if ready by poking the cauliflower with a fork. It should be tender all the way through.
5. While the cauliflower is in the oven, melt the butter and combine with Frank’s red hot sauce.
6. Evenly oat the baked cauliflower with the hot sauce/butter mixture, or leave it on the side for dipping.

DIRECTIONS WITH PHOTOS AND HELPFUL TIPS:

Potato Chip Alternative: Assorted, Colorful Root Vegetable Chips

INGREDIENTS

• Assorted root vegetables (beets, daikon radishes, carrots, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes, etc.) *** These vegetables were all purchased from Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an organic farm in East Austin that is present at the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market each week. The colorful assortment of vegetables together came in a “roasting bag,” which is $6.
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse vegetables thoroughly. Slice thin and even.
3. Place sliced vegetables in a bowl, and douse them in olive oil. (only enough to lightly coat)
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper and mix by hand until evenly coated.
5. Spread vegetables flat on a baking sheet.
6. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Dessert Alternative: Dark Chocolate Avocado Brownies

This recipe was not conducted for the sake of this article, but it can be found here.