Looking back on this summer (ack, it’s almost over!)  I realized one of my favorite new types of food is Mediterranean food. I.e. typical variations of all things pita, hummus, cucumber-y, and in my opinion, the most exciting – falafel!

Mediterranean food has definitely been one of my summer staples. I’ve eaten at Lebanese Taverna approximately a million ten times this summer, so I decided to commit to the next step in my relationship with Mediterranean food: make it myself.

Well, kind of. Make it from a mix and store bought pre-cooked chicken and sauce. But that’s how I roll, alright?

Plus, it didn’t hurt that falafel mix is $3.49 per box. That means about 12 falafel balls total, resulting in anywhere from 4-6 meals for 1 person or 2-3 meals for 2 people.

It might not be the healthiest of healthy food, being fried in vegetable oil and all, but I think the ingredients of the mix (chickpeas, fava beans, garlic, spice, baking powder, salt) still qualify as semi-clean.

Either my falafel patties were too big or my whole wheat pitas were too small!

Tuna totes gets the credit for Monday night’s meal – it was seriously like eating Lebanese Taverna but at home! Falafel with brown rice and pre-cooked frozen grilled chicken strips, all drizzled with Trader Joe’s Tzatziki sauce aka creamy garlic cucumber dip to non-foodies or to me before Saturday.

Time to infuse one summer staple with another: pasta salad with some Mediterranean flavor. Actually….regular pasta salad with more Tzatziki sauce because I can’t get enough of it.

This is a version of my mom’s pasta salad slash what I had in the freezer or lack thereof.

End of Summer Pasta Salad

5-6 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 package whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 bag frozen peas
• 1/2 bag frozen shelled edamame (good source of protein!)
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• tbsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce mixed in
• tbsp of extra tzatizki sauce on top of each serving

In other news, I am 3 lbs away from my goal weight, and a week and a half away from the Tough Mudder!

Wouldn’t it be cool if I could reach my goal weight and successfully complete the Tough Mudder in the same week? That would be pretty cool.

Does anyone have any recipes of healthier falafel (not fried in a ton of vegetable oil?) My apartment still reeks of fried food.

Do you usually try new types of food at restaurants or at home?

Welp, I sure didn’t budget my money that well this month!

No, it didn’t have to do with splurging on my fancy new shoes or the heavy duty overpriced headphones I bought online.

Ok, maybe it did a little bit.

Basically, this past week I needed to make lots of meals on a minimal budget. It was kind of a pain, but it was also nice to use my brain a little bit and be resourceful. Since you know I am slightly OCD like planning ahead, of course.

Without further ado, I present to you: Cheap-Ass What I Ate Wednesday.

I still wanted to make sure my meals this week were healthy and involved getting plenty of protein. Luckily, I called upon my trusty secret form of cheap protein – eggs!

Egg Salad Sammie

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

• 7 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 tsp mayo
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
• salt
• pepper
• whole wheat bread

Directions

Hard boil 7 eggs. I started out with 9 eggs, but two cracked while coming to a boil. Oh well.

Peel your eggs before you cool them for too long. It’s easier to peel them when they’re still a little warm.

Separate the whites from the yolks.

Cut up the whites and smash up the yolks.

I am weirdly grossed out by mayonnaise, but I had a little bit in my fridge from making deviled eggs awhile ago, so I used a teensy bit for good measure. It probably could have used a bit more, though.

Same thing with mustard. Not a huge mustard fan, mostly likely because I got sent to the principal’s office in second grade for throwing mustard at a boy in the cafeteria for putting a spider on my lunch tray. Brat. (Him, not me…)

Enter weird vegetable substitute secret ingredient. Though many egg salads usually feature celery, I opted for some sliced cucumber because I bought one to have with hummus and salads this week.

Mix everything together in a big bowl.

Add salt and pepper.

Toast some whole wheat bread and you’re good to go!

*****

I also scrounged around the kitchen a bit and decided to make some hazelnut cookie pies since I had a lot of leftover ingredients from baking them a few weeks ago. But this time they got made-over into almond chocolate oatmeal cookies.

I actually used spelt flour this time and it made all the difference! I think it’s finer than oat flour, which worked better with the texture of the cookies.

I added oatmeal in whole, rather than using oat flour. I think I’ll take Michele’s advice and grind it up next time. Will doing that in a blender that work? I don’t have a food processor. Maybe I’ll steal borrow Tuna’s unused brand-new food processor that’s been sitting in the corner of his kitchen since Christmas. Hmm.

Lastly, I added in about 1/4 cup of Truvia as an extra added sweetener.

They were still good (and super filling!) but I think I will keep tweaking them on the next batch. Maybe I’ll add chocolate chips!

*****

Another staple this week (actually, for the past month) has been a huge mexican baked potato for dinner. I love this because it surprisingly fills you up and is super easy to put together.

Ingredients

• 1 russet potato
• cheddar cheese
• salsa (obsessed with the hot Whole Foods brand kind)
• optional – anything! guacamole is especially delish

Directions

Rinse off your potato and poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork so it won’t explode.

Cook in the microwave for 7-10 minutes.

Cut open the potato vertically and add in cheddar cheese, salsa, guacamole, and any other toppings of your choice.

I would be a little nervous about not having straight up protein if I’m just having a baked potato for a meal, but Scott Jurek assured me not to worry in Eat & Run.

“Our bodies pool the amino acids from the foods we eat over the course of the day. I didn’t have to sit down and do the math every time I ate. As long as I ate a varied whole-foods diet with adequate caloric intake, I would get enough complete protein” (p 59).

Sweet. Thanks, Scott!

TGIW. Thank Goodness it’s Wednesday payday.

What’s your go-to food/meal when you’re strapped for cash?

Pasta salad is one of my favorite summer foods. It can be just as healthy as downing an actual salad but fills you up a bit more if you’re tired of eating leaves every day for lunch.

Thanks as always to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday.

I’m giving myself an A for effort on the get-out-of-my-food-rut challenge.

It’s funny because I actually get the Real Simple magazine, but I must have missed this recipe – and instead found it while browsing Pinterest.

Another win for Pinterest!

Typ me, I switched around the ingredients a bit in true CNG style.