I was a vegetarian for 18 years and in that time I fell deeply in love with falafel.  I used to be able to find a boxed mix in the grocery store but lately have had a hard time.  I was having a craving the other day and decided I was going to take measures into my own hands… literally.  These are already pretty healthy but adding in the Mila Chia is gonna take these up a notch.  The Mila added a great texture and I’m pretty sure I’ll never make them again without it!  Don’t be intimidated by all the ingredients. I have a pretty well stocked spice cabinet so I had all of these but you can find them in most regular hometown grocers or online.  All you do is toss them in a food processor and whiz them around for a few minutes and DONE!  Add a side of pita bread if you like, and enjoy! Ok, let’s do this!

INGREDIENTS (Makes 18-20 falafel)
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (don’t use canned chickpeas)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper (cored & seeded)
5 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons PURE Mila Chia Seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon chickpea or all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
canola/vegetable/avocado oil for frying

YOGURT SAUCE

5oz container of plain greek yogurt
1/3 of an english cucumber (grated on a box grater)
3 radishes (small dice)
1/3 cup cilantro (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons PURE Mangosteen juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grate the cucumber and wrap in a towel or paper towels and squeeze all of the water out.  Add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

DIRECTIONS
1. The night before, soak the dried chickpeas in cold water. Make sure the water covers the chickpeas by 2-3 inches, as they’ll triple in size.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor.
3. Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, chia seeds and black pepper to the food processor and pulse several times until it resembles the texture of coarse sand.
4. Transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl and add the flour and baking soda. Stir together, then cover with plastic wrap so that it touches the top of the mixture to prevent it from drying out.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to one hour.
6. Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form the falafel into patties. If you find the mixture is too wet, you can add another tablespoon of flour. If it’s too dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon or two of water or lemon juice.
7. Heat a little less than a 1/2” of oil in your skillet over medium heat.
8. Once it’s good and hot place 1/2 of the patties in the oil about an inch a part.  Work in smaller batches if you need, depending on the size of your pan, so that you don’t overcrowd them.
9.  Brown on both sides and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.  Keep them in a warm oven while you cook the rest.

YAAASS!  Look at what you just did!!!  Be proud of yourself.  No really… take a breath and be proud.  You just made something most people make with a box mix.  Like the first time you made a cake from scratch… life changing.  Serve with Pita bread, yogurt sauce, sliced tomato and lettuce.  You can even add tahini or a squeeze of lemon.  I added radishes to mine for some extra crunch. OH!!! And if you want this but don’t want to take the time to fry, I get it and this is a judgment-free zone, you have options!

My favorite way – the “FAWAFFLE.”  Yup, you heard me. Put that mix in a preheated waffle iron on high that you have hit up with a little olive oil spray.  Or you can spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray, place patties, spray again and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Just remember to flip them half way through.

If you want to make a large batch of this mixture you can even freeze the mix for up to 3 months.  So that’s it guys!  Pretty simple… WHO NEEDS A BOX MIX!?  NOT US, THAT’S WHO.

 

 

 

 

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Hey guys!  Before I get started on giving you all my secrets, I thought I would take the time to introduce myself!  My name is Elizabeth aka BB Cooks.  I am an Advertising Art Director, by day, and a wanna be chef in every other minute of spare time I have. My boyfriend, Jason, and I live in Easton PA with his son (9), daughter (7) and a precious puppy (3). Needless to say, our lives are pretty crazy!  No matter how insane it is around here we always make time to sit and have dinner together.  Food is where we come together and share our stories, our problems, our wins and lots and lots of laughs.

I have 2 very good friends that work at PURE corporate and once they introduced me to the products they carry I felt my brain start churning with ideas and we decided this would be a great way for me to share my love for food and my passion healthy living!  Whole health is at the forefront of my cooking and I can’t wait to share how PURE products have influenced my recipes.

Follow my instagram @BB_Cooks where you can find all the recipes from this blog as well as tons more drool worthy creations from my little kitchen.