Have you ever had a friend that no matter the distance (mileage) between you two, you always find a way to still be in each others lives?

I am so blessed to have such a friend: Kala.

Well, Kala and I have many shared favorites…

• Chocolate (pictured: making brownies)

• Days at the spa

• Being healthy (exercising, eating right…)

• Coffee

• Trees?

• And so much more, that I’m sure you’d get bored hearing all of them, except…one more!
• Falafel

Kala introduced me to this Egyptian treat (I read on wikipedia…you know that thing is always right, right?!? haha!…that falafel was first created by the Egyptians as a good meal replacement during lent when they didn’t eat any meat).

Well, I hope you make this easy and healthy falafel recipe so that you and your family can enjoy this great Egyptian treat and much as Kala and I do!

Easy & Healthy Falafel Pitas

adapted from Weekly Vegan Menu

Ingredients

• 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 peeled carrot
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil

How-To

1. In a food processor (or in my case a blender….which takes longer), combine all the ingredients except the olive oil. It’s okay to leave small pieces of things, you don’t want it to be a puree.
   
2. Take sheets of wax paper (I tore mine in half), and put a heaping spoonful on one side of the wax paper. Fold the other side over it, and push it down until it’s in a 1/4″ thick disc. At this point, I put them in the refrigerator while I prepared everything else.
3. Next, you’ll want to make your tzatziki sauce (Recipe below).
4. Then, prepare your sliced tomatoes, lettuce, or any other vegetable you’d like (I had tomato, spinach, and sliced bell pepper).
5. Now is the cooking part. In a pan with a small layer of olive oil on the bottom, heat the pan on medium-high heat.
6. Put the falafel discs in the oil, browning both sides. Make sure you don’t over crowd them in the pan.
7. Once they’re done, put them on a plate covered in a paper towel, to drain any excess oil.
8. Put your pita pockets, sandwiches, or buns together. Yum!

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup non fat greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
• 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped fine
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

How-To

1. Combine all the ingredients and drizzle over falafel.