So here I am a year later, and 7 seven months pregnant with food CONSTANTLY on the brain. Naturally as I was reflecting back on my trip from last year, I started thinking about all the wonderful food! The Israeli diet is rich in vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats, much like the Mediterranean diet. I ate eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, hummus, and fruit at nearly every meal for 2 weeks straight and LOVED it! In fact I loved it so much that when I got home I stocked up on all the same foods and spent the next month mimicking recipes I had eaten while over there.
While preparing my grocery list this past weekend I went through my recipe book in search of healthy snacks and dinners to make this week for my ever- growing appetite. While flipping through my book I came across the falafel recipe that I must have made 10 times or more the month after my return from Israel. My mouth started to water and my stomach growled at the mere thought of eating a falafel right then and there. There was only one thing to do; I loaded up on felafel goods that day along with hummus, eggplant, tomatoes, and fruit!
After 3 dog walks, a 2 mile walk on my lunch break, and bicep/tricep day at the gym I was almost too tried to make the meal that would satisfy my craving...ALMOST :) I mustard up the energy and in a few short minutes I was happily feeding my taste buds. I made sure to make enough for left overs so I will be eating falafel for at lest another two days, and I'm NOT complaining.
Now if you go to Israel, or any local falafel stand, you will find that their falafel is fried. Frying anything makes it absolutely delicious ,but, you can get the same great taste without all the added fat by baking your falafel instead. Here is the recipe that I use.
BAKED FALAFEL (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-falafel/)
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Wrap onion in cheese cloth ( you can also use a paper towel) and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Set aside. Place garbanzo beans, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and baking soda in a food processor. Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Mix garbanzo bean mixture and onion together in a bowl. Stir in the flour and egg. Shape mixture into four large patties ( I did about 10 small patties instead) and let stand for 15 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the skillet; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.
- Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and bake until heated through, about 10 minute
Now how you fix your falafel is up to you, but the classic falafel is stuffed inside a pita with hummus, cucumber, onion, and tomato, and topped with tziki sauce. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tzatziki-sauce/I have a recipe that I normally use for tziki sauce, but this time I opted for the store bought .
These 100 calorie whole wheat pita pockets from Trader Joes are the perfect size! 
FALAFEL! If you want to cut out some carbs try making a falafel salad instead.
HAPPY HUMP DAY EVERYONE! GO THE EXTRA MILE AND CELEBRATE GETTING HALF WAY THROUGH YOUR WEEK BY ADDING AN EXTRA 30 MINUTES TO YOUR WORKOUT TODAY!
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