a long time coming

I am so sorry I have been a complete slacker lately. I have been so busy with my new job as a housekeeper at a senior's home and my other job bartending. Training for my new job was the end of May, and then I started within the first week of June. I had a blog post all ready, but I just haven't found the time (or the motivation) to get it done. Better late than never, right? Maybe, maybe not. I have been in a cook's block lol.

I made this recipe for Meatless Monday about a month ago, and it was a big hit in our house! My brother didn't like the sauce for them, so he just ended up eating his with ranch and lettuce. Exciting, I know. But between the 3 of us, there was none left by the end of the night!

Falafel Pita Sandwiches
Adapted from Clean Eating magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 - 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 onion (red or white), cut into 3 or 4 chunks
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped into small chunks
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

• Drain chickpeas and transfer to food processor. Add onion, peppers, parsley, garlic, baking powder, cumin, coriander and salt. Pulse the mixture until it is a grainy texture, scraping down the sides as needed. With lightly moistened hands, shape mixture into 12 golfball-sized rounds on a plate. Set aside.
• Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray (or olive oil) and heat on medium-low. Work in batches and use a spatula to flatten the falafel to 1/2 inch thick. Cook until lightly browned, about 4 or 5 minutes on each side.

For the sauce :

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or a quarter lemon's worth)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• hot sauce

 Whisk ingredients together.

To construct falafel:

• Whole wheat pita, halved
• lettuce
• red onion, thinly sliced
• tomato slices
• cucumber slices
• 2 (or 3) falafel patties
• 1 tbsp feta
• 1 tbsp-ish sauce

 I put my vegetables in, and I topped them off with 2 of the falafel patties, about a tbsp of  sauce, and feta cheese.

Yum!! This recipe yields 12 falafel patties. You could make the mixture into about 4 falafel burgers instead of the little patties.


For a 2-patty pita + 1 tbsp of sauce :
Calories - 260, Carbs - 36 g, Fat - 9 g, Protein - 11 g

Hopefully you'll be seeing more of me!


xo
Lauren