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?
Chicken Nugget Girl 
Yum! I’ve actually never tried making falafels before! I’m adding that to mah list.
I typically try new foods at restaurants, and if I really like it, I’ll try to re-create it at home!
Cool! They’re definitely not too hard to make (especially from a mix.) I usually am scared to try new things at restaurants because I don’t want to have to spend money on something I might not like. But the same thing goes for buying something from the grocery store too, I guess – so my logic doesn’t really make sense. 🙂 I need to start trying more new foods at restaurants for sure.
Almost all falafel recipes work baked too! Just chill the finished mix in the fridge for a half hour then scoop and pat together, bake on tray sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Have you made tabouli yet??
Thanks for the advice! That’s great – I didn’t even know that you could bake falafel. I’m definitely going to do that next time. And I haven’t tried making tabouli yet. Do you have a good recipe?
I am so horrible at following recipes! For tabouli you need cracked bulgar, stupid easy since you just pour boiling water over and let it sit. (make a lot! It is better the next day and good for several days- high in fiber and a whole grain complex carb) Use a lot of flat leaf parsley super thin chopped, i usually add cilantro too (non traditional), and i often add chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery or fennel, sometimes chickpeas, and a simple vinegrette of fresh lemon juice, salt, lots of pepper and a little bit of olive oil (one whole lemon juice w/ 2TB olive oil)