Tailgate to win

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Last weekend we schlepped two BBQs and a whole lotta gear to the Rose Bowl for a day of tailgating.  Kyle’s family came too, so we needed a ton of food.

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Naturally, we went to Whole Foods for groceries.  The one in Pasadena is LA’s flagship store and it’s the most insane WF I have ever seen.  Ever.  I could have spent the whole day there, just browsing the aisles. 

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We almost bought the entire store.  And it wasn’t even my fault.  Beverly made a rookie mistake, going to the prepared foods bar hungry.  What you see above is the heaviest pay-by-weight food I have ever witnessed.  And for me to be floored by it, you know it had to be extreme.  I was definitely in heaven. 

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Once we were supplied, we headed in to the Rose Bowl to set up shop. 

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Even a blind, deaf, and dumb person could have deduced who we were rooting for…

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I broke into the kale salad the second we got there.  I must must MUST get the recipe for this one.  The leaves were coated in some kind of almond butter/miso dressing and it was…“wow.”  All I know about the salad was that it was raw and made by Chef AJ, who apparently hosts raw vegan cooking classes at the Pasadena location. 

*Holy crap, I just googled her name and discovered she is part of the medical team using plant based food to treat the patients in the documentary Forks Over Knives.  [Side note: when I saw the documentary I was so impressed with their mission, I emailed them right away to see if I could get involved in any possible way]  Despite being rejected, I’m still a huge fan and think everyone should see the movie.

So back to the tailgate.  After my first plate of salad, the rest of the party arrived…

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And then it was time to grub: fruit salad, kale salad, mixed salad, potato salad (not vegan), tabbouleh, barley provencal, grilled corn and Field Roast vegan sausage (smoked apple sage and mexican chipotle)

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[above] my plate; [below] Kyle’s plate

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Guess who won? 

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We got home pretty late, but it was all good because I had leftovers to dig into. 🙂

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No more kale left!

Have you been tailgating?  What’s your favorite pre-game dish? 

PS Don’t forget to enter the Brendan Brazier giveaway!!

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Comments (35)

  1. Sarah

    I think im the only person on the planet who has not had the whole foods hot bar haha,

  2. Wendy

    Smoked apple field roast is my FAAAVE! Mmm. The Italian flavor is pretty A-OK, too! 🙂

  3. Claire @ Live and Love to Eat

    Any kind of dip: buffalo chicken (chickpea in my case), spinach artichoke, mexican layered dip…

  4. Red Deception

    I want everything on your plate. The vegan sausage, the kale salad…

    It all looks divine!

  5. Jonathan Bechtel

    If you’ve never had soy chorizo, it’s fantastic and great for tail-gating. It tastes better than the real thing IMO.

    While I like this post, I’m also filled with a touch of disdain because I went to college at Ohio State 🙂

    You’ve got a great blog. Keep it up!

  6. Deanna

    Chef AJ is coming to my Whole Foods next Wednesday….should I go see her? I think it’s a book signing and a demo.

  7. hippierunner

    All that food looks so good. The newer WF in Pasadena is really crazy, definitely check it out sometime!

  8. Hannah

    I think this is the recipe for the kale salad: http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/hail-to-kale-salad.html

  9. Katie @ Peace Love & Oats

    I love tailgating although I’ve only done it college style, aka alcohol > food. But I’ve always been jealous of people with big set ups and delicious looking food!

  10. Katie

    I’ve NEVER been tailgating! So sad. But yours looks like fun! I went to my first football last Thanksgiving and it was a blast. I’m not into sports but the energy was awesome!

  11. Caitlin @ Vegetarian in the City

    such healthy tailgating food! i’m impressed.

  12. Ethel

    E, I just joined the group for the meet ups in this WFs. I do my best to suggest going to the Pasadena WFs for lunch at least once a week or once every other week as opposed to the fast food or Mexican restaurants my bosses will typically go to. Slow and steady, right? I hope to go to a meet up and learn to cook more delicious plant based foods! Mmmm.

  13. Judy

    Favorite Food – Buffalo Chicken Dip/Chicken Wings
    I have yet to attend a football game – Looks like you guys made a lot of fabulous food choices and had a great time!

  14. Christine (The Raw Project)

    I’ve never been tailgating, but would hit Whole Foods too!

  15. Elise (Post author)

    there are two in pasadena?!?! oh man. i cant imagine a bigger or better one considering the size of this one!

  16. Elise (Post author)

    thanks hannah!

  17. Elise (Post author)

    if you meet chef aj tell her to call me and hire me (they have my number). thanks.

  18. Elise (Post author)

    haha. you have nothing to worry about…our team is horrible.

  19. Elise (Post author)

    yes!!!!! and tell her to hire me too. thanks 🙂

  20. Deanna

    OK I signed up tonight…..I’ll report back how it was 🙂

  21. carmen

    wow, never seen a tailgate catered by whole foods…. that’s why i love los angelinos!

  22. Abby @ Abz 'n' Oats

    I want to come to your tailgate parties! lol. All of that Whole Foods stuff looks amazing!

  23. Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

    Oh wow, that kale salad sounds incredible! I don’t even want to think of how much money all those dishes from the WF bar costed you guys! 🙁 But hooray for your team winning!

    I’ve actually never been tailgating before…not big into sports, but for a spread like that, I’d learn (read, Google) some football lingo QUICK!!

  24. Elaine

    nope, you’re not! but i do think it’s just me and you……we should form a “gang” haha.

  25. Sarah

    haha im totally down! We need a club name!

  26. Kaitlyn@TheTieDyeFiles

    A WF “catered” tailgate party? That sounds like my kind of football!

  27. Sandy Dereba

    healthy and yummy snack. If I were there, no left overs would be brought home. LOL

  28. sharsanc

    Your tail-gate party looks like so much fun! Not to mention the food looks great. I would love to try one of the recipes I saw at one of my tail-gate parties. My tail-gate parties are always a big hit thanks to my Tailgater from DISH. It’s great; it’s very compact and light-weight. This makes it ideal for a tail-gate party. Working for DISH I can tell you that you don’t even need a second account to get the party started.

  29. Christine @ Oatmeal in my Bowl

    That shirt should be cardinal and gold (USC). lol. 😉
    Love tailgating no matter what team.

  30. Elise (Post author)

    haha, booo. but congrats on tonights win.

  31. Deanna

    I took pictures on my cell but this blogger who was sitting next to me wrote a great recap http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-chef-aj-show.html

    Here is the Hail to the Kale Salad recipe
    http://files.meetup.com/863317/HAIL%20TO%20THE%20KALE%20SALAD.pdf

  32. Elise (Post author)

    thanks!!

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