Easy Peasy Baked Falafel

I had my first falafel only a few weeks ago.

I waited wayyyyy too long to try these babies out, and let me just say, I have now craved falafels every day for the weeks following. Yesterday morning I ate breakfast and then a cooking bug exploded inside of me before I left for my run, and the falafel was born.

I took a gander at some recipes on Pinterest to try and get a feel for what most falafels consisted of- and some were full of oils and had to be fried. Granted, yes, falafels are great when they’re super crispy and indulgent; but I’m not huge on fried things. Therefore, I went out to make some baked falafel.

Chickpeas are the way to go for anything, and now that I’ve discovered how magnificent tahini is, we had to throw that baby in as well. I used my favorite blend of baby spinach and kale greens, along with my favorite spices and a garlic kick I really enjoyed.

I’m also a fan of oat flours to keep it gluten free. I don’t have a gluten problem, but I like the closest things to nature as possible- so how could you go wrong with a little homemade oat flour to create them?

My nutri-bullet broke a few weeks ago (started smoking as I made energy bites; very hard day for me) so I used a regular blender, and I have to say, it wasn’t too bad! I’d recommend a food processor though.

I was so excited when I had them in the oven, I was taking snapchat stories singing to them…. sometimes, I frighten myself.

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makes: 11-12 patties

Bake time: 18-20 min

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Ingredients:

• 1 15.5 oz can organic chickpeas, rinsed
• 2.5 C. spinach and kale blend
• 2 TBSP. minced garlic
• A pinch of sea salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 C. cilantro
• .5 TBSP. Lemon juice
• 3.5 TBSP. tahini
• 3.5 TBSP. rolled oats (ground into flour)
• 1 TBSP. water (if needed)

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Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to bake the falafel once the “batter” is ready.
2. Combine chickpeas, greens, garlic, spices, lemon juice and tahini into a food processor until just mixed. You want the combination to be slightly chunky, and not creamy like hummus. Because then, you have made hummus. Not a falafel.
3. After the mixture is ready, move the combo into a small mixing bowl. At this point, you can add more spices if you like.
4. Start by stirring in a small amount of the flour to the mix, slowly combining the two. Continue this process until all the flour has been added to the falafel mixture.
5. Begin taking small amounts of the mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball. It will be a little sticky, so you may need a small amount of flour to work with. These balls should be about a tablespoon and a half to two tablespoons.
6. Press the balls lightly onto the parchment paper to create a patty. Once finished, sprinkle extra pepper on top.
7. Bake for about 9-10 minutes and then gently flip the patty onto the other side to brown both. Bake for another 9-10 minutes.
8. Let the falafels cool for 10-20 minutes and enjoy! Serve anyway you like!

Antioxidant Smoothie Bowl

I’m crazy obsessed with different combinations, and I feel lost if I continually eat the same thing. Unfortunately lately with a busy schedule, meals have been repeated and I HATE THAT! I love trying new things and so when I had time one morning, I threw a good ol’ smoothie together that is simple, and packed full of good for you nutrients!

I started with an organic antioxidant blend of berries+cherries I purchased while food shopping the other day, and went ham from there. I added almond milk, raw oats, handfuls of greens, a half of a banana, protein and ice.

I was full for hours! As a busy bee, having meals that fill you up helps an incredible amount, and I hope this smoothie does the same for you!

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serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 C. Antioxidant blend (I used 365 brand)                    Handful of ice

1/2 frozen banana                                                             1 scoop vegan protein (I used Sunwarrior)

1/2 C. Almond milk, unsweetened (Califia Farms)

Two handfuls organic spinach

1/4 C. raw oats

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Instructions:

1. Add ingredients as ordered above into your blender or nutribullet, and blend, blend, blend!
2. Top with anything you desire. I enjoy homemade granola, almond butter, fresh fruit, superfoods, etc…
3. ENJOY!

Chia Oat Pancakes

I love pancakes to an extremity that I’m sure most people don’t understand. When I was younger, I was obsessed with fluffy, buttery pancakes drowned in mass amounts of Aunt Jemima syrup. And then as I got a little older, strawberry crepes were a go to whenever we went out.

I think it all stemmed from my Saturday mornings with my dad in the kitchen. When I was little, we’d sit in the kitchen and whip up a box recipe and go crazy. I always looked forward to that, and that’s when I slightly fell in love.

Now that I realize the difference between a homemade and boxed pancake that was loaded with nastys, I’ve become even more involved with this lovely little breakfast. I’ve swapped out my weird maple syrups for all natural, pure. No cups of sugar or white flours to be seen. Just a good ol’ flapjack, made from the best of the best.

I love making oat flour so I decided to throw that in there with a little bit of coconut flour to make the batter. It’s super simple, and these are ingredients I almost always am relying on, so how could I turn away from them for one of my favorites?

From there on, I threw in chia seeds for some extra energy and to help bring a little difference to the traditional batter. I haven’t used whit chia yet, so I went for the dark seed, which is what I have at home…

These took a slight bit longer to cook, but they were chewy, pretty fluffy and DELISH!

 

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serves: 1, makes 6 pancakes

 

 

Ingredients:
1/2 C. rolled oats, ground

2 TBSP. coconut flour                               1/4-1/3C. water  & 1/4C. nutmilk

1 tsp. baking powder                                 1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. maple extract                                    1/2 TBSP. chia seed

1 egg white                                                     1 TBSP. coconut oil, melted

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1. Melt coconut oil onto a frying pan
2. Add in ingredients starting with the flours, adding them in order and stirring until mixed.
3. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and have the pan heat up.
4. Start spooning the batter onto the pan and let the pancake cook until browned.
5. Once all the batter is used, top with what you like! I used almond butter, granola and fruit!
6. Enjoy!

Banana Bread Muffie Cups

Muffies. Bread in a cup. Muffin. Whatever you call ’em, you know that they’re damn good.

I’ve always liked muffins quite a bit, and lately, they’ve been super helpful for snackin’ and quick add-ons to breakfast when I’m in a hurry. But a lot of packaged muffins are chocked full of nasty ingredients, sugar-loaded, and plain gross. I figured, it’s time to bring out my own muffins to supply my family with while we trudge through the week.

I started simple, taking minimal ingredients that I love and flavors to match so that I wasn’t creating some random muffin that tasted funky at first bite. They ended up being almost vegan, and gluten free! What a plus!

I love using oats, but I didn’t necessarily want the grittiness of whole oats in these muffins. Therefore, I turned my Nutri-bullet on, and threw in some rolled oats to make the flour for the recipe. And since I really like the subtle coconut taste, I added some organic coconut flour to the oat flour.

Like I said, simple ingredients that ADD the flavor, so you don’t have to! Better yet, these are moist and chewy, the way a muffin should be.

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Makes 8-10 muffins

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Ingredients:

• 1 C. Oat flour
• 2 TBSP. Coconut flour
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 flax egg (1 TBSP. ground flax, 2 TBSP. water)
• 4 TBSP. Coconut oil (melted, 1 TBSP. used to grease pan)
• 2 TBSP. honey or pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• Dash of cinnamon and salt
• 2/3 C. nut milk ( I used Califia Farms)
  

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Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Combine the flax mixture together and let sit until the other ingredients have been added.
3. Mash your banana in a bowl with a fork
4. Add both flours, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt to the banana. Stir until just mixed.
5. Now add your coconut oil, sweetener, flax egg, and nut milk of choice. Mix the ingredients together until you get a thick, creamy consistency.
6. Use 1 TBSP. coconut oil to grease your muffin tin. Fill each cup 2/3 the way up, leaving space for them to grow a little.
7. Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. After 20 minutes, take them out to check, and if needed, add the five minutes on.
8. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then enjoy!

I ate mine with homemade breakfast quinoa!

 

What I Ate Wednesday: The Veggie Week Challenge

Hey my beautiful people!

Here’s another Wednesday of eats coming at you, but a special version of: vegetarian week. On my last post, I explained how I’m going vegetarian for the week- more on that here.

Not going to lie, sometimes it’s hard to find an option that supplies my body with enough protein. Carbs are pretty easy, so I’ve really been researching to find some alternatives, and combos to help me get the nutrients I need.

Breakfast

We all know I can’t live without a good smoothie bowl, so this morning was a must. Such a random combo of blueberries, strawberries, kiwi and then frozen cantelope (lol) but it was definitely a treat! Also some Califia farms unsweetened almond milk, and Sunwarrior vanilla protein for that extra boooooooost! Unpictured: A very, very large mug of black coffee. I love it.

It may have been a rando, but damn, it was a good rando! And who could live without the coconut butter? It hardens like freakin’ turtle shell!

Lunch

I love the lighting at school. It’s so blog perfect, I swear, I could live there and shoot pics ALL DAY. (Can you smell the sarcasm????) Anywho, threw together a quick ensalada with some of my homemade Chickpea salad (looks like poo, but it’s good!), left over lentil vegetable soup, and an apple pear. The Rx Bar came later….

Snack

One: This bar matched my outfit perfectly and it made me extremely happy. Like, too happy. Two: This was AMAZING. My first ever RX Bar and it blew me away. Let me tell you a little something: the texture is to DIE FOR. It’s chewy, has some crunch with the nuts, and left me breathless.

This flavor was bomb too. The sea salt weaved within the rich chocolately taste with a perfect ratio. I say: 100000/10. And who doesn’t love ingredients you can pronounce??

Dinner

Dinner was… rushed. I had an appointment, and then had to be back at school for a performance, so I threw together a favorite plate. I used a roasted sweetie that I made on Sunday (life saver), steamed broccoli, roasted beets, scrambled eggs with salsa, and of course, AVOCADO.

Then after I got home, an apple and pb was consumed. Such a staple and it makes me joyous.
That’s a wrap. Oh man, I could go for a wrap right now. Okay, that’s besides the point, SORRY. 

Don’t hesitate to send some veggie recipes my way! 

See you on the next post, my lovely sprouts! 

 

The Veg Week

Monday. Oh, Monday here we go AGAIN!

A lot of people hate on Mondays, and I feel like that is such a sad way to look at a fresh start. I’m not saying that Mondays are my favorite days, but I think it’s time we start looking at beginnings as more of a positive than a negative! Especially when you’ve got an entire week ahead.

Starting with a positive mind set is definitely something I try to practice as often as possible. And so this week, I’m trying to be optimistic about a certain lifestyle I’m taking on!

This year, I am in a class called AP Environmental Science; a class where we study the specific trends and factors that play into the way our environment works, and our world as a whole. As a class project revolved around food production and wellness, we’ve all signed a pledge to go vegetarian for the week. At first, I was really weary on the whole idea because it had led to unhealthy habits in the past.

But ever since I started blogging and really investing my time into a healthy lifestyle, I realized that I’m excited to take this challenge. It’s another way to kind of dive into a lifestyle I don’t normally partake in; and it’s an opportunity to test out different foods for the week, as well.

Since this is the first day of the challenge, I’m going to update you on what I prepped for this “veggie week”, and throughout the week I’ll keep you all up to date on how the week is going!

My Sunday was filled with a run to the store(s). You gotta pick up a bunch of stuff to get ready for a whole week; you feel?

Things I bought:

• Sweet potatoes
• Acorn squash
• Spinach
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cauliflower (Cauliflower steaks!!)
• Berries
• Bananas
• Nuts (Cashews, Sliced Almonds)
• Brown rice cakes
• Almond Milk
• Tempeh
• Tofu
• Chickpeas and Black beans
• Engine-2 wraps (6g of protein, baby!)
• Quinoa

Other things not shown were frozen fruit for smoothies, apples, eggs, edamame… etc.

Obviously this is a lot of stuff for a week, but these are all healthy options for food for days to come even after the whole veggie week is over. I also prepped some easy foods for the week, and once again, days to come.

A huuuuuuge batch of my Cinnamon Nut Granola that is packed with protein! My family loves it and it’s a great topper for smoothies; or even just to snack on.

Another batch of banana muffins. Guys, why don’t I write this recipe down???

I baked two sweet potatoes for quick grabs, and some beets too. I decided to leave the squash so I can try out a recipe or just have it freshly roasted. Same with the other potatoes I bought.

I decided to try out a chickpea salad and it was totally simple! Threw some chickpeas in a blender for literally a second to mash, added avocado, chopped peppers+ red chili flakes, and then swirled in some Fix Sriracha for an extra tang! Perfect protein to spread on an english muffin or throw in a wrap!

The last thing…? No bake bites, baby! Developed a Chocolate coconut recipe… check it out here.

 

Cannot wait to start trying some new meals… I’ll keep you on the loop!

 

Now it’s your turn…

What sort of things do you sub out for meat?

What types of things do you make on Sundays to let the stress of the week subside?