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The Best Healthy Falafel-style Pita with Dreamy Pink Goddess Sauce

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That bite into a warm and soft pita filled with a giant dollop of hummus, that coleslaw, the crispy deep fried falafel and that yummy yoghurt-mayonnaise sauce on top. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? As good as it sounds, it is really everything else than healthy. But we do not want to miss out on that deliciousness. So why not making it healthy?

What is special about this dish?

A lot to be fair. We have falafel, that are not deep fried, as traditional falafel would be but pan fried. Then we have a pink tahini and greek yoghurt sauce (which I have never seen at any of those falafel stands before) instead of the mayonnaise yoghurt dressing and we have a homemade tzatziki and self-made hummus for that extra flavour .

First, what is falafel and where does it come from?

Falafel is a ball made out of chickpeas or cassava beens combined with different spices and herbs before it is deep fried. Usually it is served in a pita bread or to go with hummus or other mezze appetisers. It is believed to have originated in Egypt and can be found in the Middle Eastern cuisine today.

Why are falafel not very healthy?

While many people would believe that falafel are healthy because they are made out of chickpeas and are vegan, that is not quite the case. That is true, that the base of the falafel is healthy, so the „dough“ is healthy. But what is not nutritious about them then? The fact that they are deep fried. All of the oil adds a lot of fat and calories. It is more than fine to have fried food once in a while but it is not something that is healthy, one needs to be aware of that.

Authentic falafel are made with raw chickpeas that have been soaked. This way they are soft enough to blend but not too soft so you do not have a mushy consistency. But since we do not all have the time to soak falafel (especially when we want a quick meal), in here we use flour for the right consistency and canned falafel. This way they will not be white as crispy, but they are way quicker and still delicious!

How to make this dish healthy

Instead of deep frying the falafel, we prepare them in a pan with just a little oil. Yes, you can also bake them in the oven but to be honest, I never find that those get really crispy when being prepared in the oven. When making them in the pan, we still get that crisp (not the exact same of course, but a really good one) while keeping things healthy.

Also, to replace the mayo dressing that often comes on top we make a beetroot-greek yoghurt – tahini dressing. While homemade mayonnaise, in moderation is not unhealthy, store bought ones often have a lot of additives and preservatives in them and making your own one is a little tricky. The sauce we are making is high in protein, from the greek yoghurt, tastes delicious with the beets (and also has a nice colour), and has a good amount of healthy (or unsaturated fats) from the Tahin.

To make this entire dish even healthier you can substitute the normal pita with whole grain pita. This just is pretty difficult to find, which is the reason I stick with normal pita.

How do you make healthy falafel

This is super easy, to be honest. You need to drain canned chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with a bunch of parsley, onion, garlic, spices, and (wholewheat) flour. Then you just pulse everything together until you have reached a sticky, doughy consistency. (if you do not have a food processor or blender you can also add everything to a bowl, very finely chopped and mix it with a fork or your hands). Then you form little balls with your hand, one at a time and roll them in breadcrumbs.
In a hot pan with oil, you add the falafel and let them fry until crisp for about 3 minutes on each side. That is it!

Meal prep friendly?

I would say so. Pack everything separately and mix together before eating. The falafel will not be quite as crisp anymore but they’ll be just fine when you heat them up in the oven.

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and please your family and friends with it!

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The best falafel-style pita with dreamy pink goddess sauce

A healthy version of the dreamy Middle Eastern classic. A little crispy on the outside, super soft soft on the inside falafel with a creamy delicious Tahini-Beetroot Sauce, Tzatziki and Hummus. Not difficult, but really healthy.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine middle eastern
Prep Time 25 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 397 kcal

What you will need

For the falafel:

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2-3 tbsp flour (whole grain is prefered)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the beet sauce

  • 1 small beetroot (precooked)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Tahin
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp honey

For the rest:

  • 1 cucumber
  • 200 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 pita breads
  • some hummus
  • fresh radishes & tomatoes
  • 2 handful salad

How to

  1. For the falafel combine all the ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, flour and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until combined (do not blend until smooth!!!). Then add the flour a tablespoon at a time and pulse it in (not blending fully, again!) until the dough is not sticky anymore. Chill in the frisge for half an hour.

  2. In the meanwhile peel the cucumber. Then cut into very thin slices (preferably with a mandoline). Add it into a bowl and salt generously. Let sit for 20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime slice up the raidshes and tomatoes and wash the salad.

  4. For the beetroot sauce add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick add some water or olive oil!

  5. After chilling take about 1 tablespoon at a time of the falafel dough and roll out in your hands into a small ball. Toss in the breadcrumbs until they cover the ball fully. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Heat up the oil in a pan and add the falafel. Let fry on this side for about 2-3 minutes on medium high heat before tossing. Do not toss around in the pan immediately since the dough still is a little bit soft. After those 2-3 minutes, start tossing them around in a pan softly and fry for another 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown on each side and crispy.

  6. Prepare the Tzatziki. Take a clean kitchen towl and place the salted and sliced cucumber in it. Squeeze out all of the remaining water of the cucumber and put it back into the bowl. Press the garlic and add it along with the greek yoghurt. Combine everything well and season with more salt if desired.

  7. To serve fill the pita with hummus, the veggies and the tzatziki. Add the falafel on top and drizzle with the sauce. Serve and enjoy !

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

Green Goddess Bowl

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Sometimes all I am craving is some super clean and healthy food. Especially when I am not feeling the best or have eaten pretty unhealthy the past days. My body is just asking for nutrients and something to fuel it with. There is nothing better for this than a bowl packed with vitamins, nutrients, and tons of greens! This green goddess bowl is my go-to meal for that. It is ready in 15 minutes, incredibly good, super healthy, and so satisfying! It doesn’t taste like „boring healthy“ just because it has like a ton of greens in it but it is super good.

Sometimes when I eat a lot of processed foods, I just don’t feel good at all. It makes me tired, I don’t sleep well, I can’t concentrate and so on. And I know that I am not the only person who feels that way. I mean no wonder. I do not think that products with a thousand add-ins and chemicals, that we can’t even pronounce, are good for us. Even if it says healthy on the packaging or low sugar, it is so important to check the labels and see what actually is in it. I think that it is way better for us if we eat something higher in sugar, but it is naturally sweetened, e.g. with Dates than if we buy something low sugar with emulgators and flavorings and 100 ingredients we have never heard of.

This is why I love to cook with real ingredients and Whole Foods. I for example don’t do „vegan cheese“ that is supposed to taste like cheese because of chemistry, I think that real cheese is way better for us in this example. But that is not about the recipe anymore, so let’s get back to that. I just wanted you to understand why eating Whole Foods is so important to me. 

This green goddess bowl is something I make very often. Honestly, it is such a quick lunch, but also works great if you prepare it the night before and take it to work or school. It takes 10 ingredients which makes it super simple. So as a base, I like to use greens, spinach is my favorite. I do it raw because it is like a salad but if you do not like it raw at all, you can sauté it or steam it. If you prefer other greens such as kale, arugula, lambs lettuce or whatever, that works too, just make sure you have a base full of vitamins.

The other Part of the base is our grain or carb. I like to use quinoa here. Quinoa is such a nutrient dense food! It has a ton of protein, fiber, tastes amazing btw, and a reasonable amount of vitamins and minerals. Also it US ready in less than 15 minutes which is perfect for a quick lunch. Also, other than rice I think, it still tastes good after like 3-4 days in the fridge. So if you make a big batch in the beginning of the week you can use it over and over throughout the week! If you don’t like quinoa at all, something like brown rice or couscous would work really good here too! Just be aware that cooking brown rice takes way longer than it does to make quinoa. 

So now we have the base, we can go on to the remaining ingredients. Here I just like to stick with a lot of greens because they are super healthy and I think it looks super pretty when it is all in one color :)! We cut up some fresh cucumber, slice some avocado, steam or blanch some broccoli and peas. That is about it. You can also do some zucchini or sugar snap peas or edamame if that is something you always have on hand, I just happen to have all of those ingredients in my fridge all the time. The great thing about this bowl are all the different components and textures, the creaminess if the quinoa, the crunch of the cucumber, the bite of the broccoli and peas and the softness of the spinach. I know that this bowl is really healthy and maybe not something for everyone but it is soo good if you just want something clean and nourishing!

Up to now, we have almost everything. But, let’s be honest, that would really be a bit boring if we just sprinkled some salt on here. We don’t want that, and that’s why we are making a bomb dressing. As you probably have noticed this bowl does not really contain any fats, except for the avocado. The dressing adds some healthy fat here. We use tahini, which is like the best thing ever, in salad dressings but also elsewhere! Tahini is like peanut butter but made out of sesame seeds and is a really popular ingredient in eastern cuisine. It has a lot of vitamins and healthy fats and it just tastes sooo good! Other than this we have some lemon juice, honey or maple, plant based or normal yoghurt to add creaminess, a little vinegar and some water to think everything out because otherwise it would be very very thick! This dressing adds so much flavor and just brings all the ingredients together. It is something you definitely do not want to miss out when making this bowl! 

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do and love all of the flavors it contains! It is such an amazing dish when just wanting to fuel your body and nourish it! Super easy to make, incredibly delicious (although it is pretty healthy!) and very meal prep friendly! Enjoy & happy cooking! 

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Green Goddess Bowl

A super clean, healthy & delicious bowl/ salad perfect for when your body is craving healthy food and nutrients. 15 minutes and mealprep friendly.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 450 kcal

What you will need

For the bowl:

  • 100 g Quinoa
  • 3-4 handful spinach
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 200 g Broccoli
  • 100 g Peas
  • 1/2 Avocado

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp Tahini
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp yoghurt or plant based yoghurt
  • 3-4 tbsp water

How to

That’s how it works:

  1. Wash and rinse the Quinoa. Add it to a pot along with 250ml of water and a pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 10-12 minutes until fluffy.

  2. Bring another pot with salted water to a boil. Add in the broccoli and peas and boil for about 3 minutes. Then drain and rinse under ice cold water. This will keep the nutrients and color as it stops the cooking process.
    Either peel the cucumber into thin strips or dice it up into cubes.

  3. For the dressing mix all of the ingredients together until creamy. Use as much or as little water as you wish, depending on your desired thickness.

  4. In a Bowl Place the spinach. Add the broccoli and peas. Next put the quinoa into the bowl. Top with the cucumber ribbons. Drizzle the dressing and garnish with some fresh mint leaves.

  5. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Peach Salad

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I currently am enjoying the last barbecues with friends and family on those late warm (or not so warm as we have here in Austria :() summer days. It’s a coming together, spending time with loved ones, enjoying sun, summer & drinks. Just laughing, chatting and feeling so free, just happy. You’re just sitting around a table and enjoying your time. Honestly, who doesn’t enjoy it? I am really going to miss the smell, taste and atmosphere of the barbecuing during winter, when it is cold and you only step outside when there is no other option. Thinking about this just gives me even more reason to enjoy every day, on which sitting outside and having a barbeque is still possible, as much as I can.

Barbecue to me means grilling some goood meat and making a bunch of delicious sides & salads. But who only wants boring salads. I mean – I get it, get some Vitamins in and be healthy but that doesn’t have to be boring. It is so simple to transform a boring salad into super delicious and addicting one with very little effort and ingredients. I can tell you so much, this salad is so mouthwatering and has such a great flavor so everyone will love it. Believe me. Even my brother who can be hunted with salads, really liked it. This salad is such a great side for any grilled dish. And if you don’t feel like barbecuing you can just make more of it, top it with some feta cheese, chickpeas or grilled prawns to enjoy it as a main. 

So why still sit around? Hurry up to still get those delicious late summer peaches from your local market and step into the kitchen. Stone fruit season is such a great season for cooking. You can make amazing sweets like tartes, cobblers, ice cream and muffins, just to name a few, or you can enjoy them in savory dishes such as salads, skewers, curries or chutneys. You can even mix them into drinks and make a Bellini and home. How versatile? For this salad I’d recommend using some orange or pink peaches as they make the salad nice & colorful. Also take some that are a little firmer so you don´t have problems with taking them off the grill because they´re falling apart. If you feel really fancy you can drizzle some balsamic reduction on them while grilling to make them extra sweet.

The dressing for this side is not your average oil-and-vinegar dressing, no it is much better. I used some creamy Tahini which is an oriental sesame paste, a fresh egg yolk, a good squeeze of lemon juice from lemons we grew in our garden, some balsamic vinegar for a refreshing twist, a little honey to sweeten it up and some Dijon mustard to give it that addictiveness! Absolutely bomb ?. To get that extra creaminess you don’t just whisk the ingredients but similar to a super quick mayo you use a hand blender and pull it up in one go. It just creams it all up and you get your new favorite salad dressing. Sure, it takes a little more time than simply adding 2 ingredients but it’s so worth it. 

To give the salad some more texture and make it more filling I added a few other ingredients. Some avocado (because what is a salad without avocado?), for some extra vitamins, fiber, and healthy fats, some cucumber for freshness, vitamins, and crunch, a mix of fresh herbs for a summer feeling a flavor, and last but definitely not least I decided to sprinkle some pine nuts. I love nuts in salads because I think that they make it more filling, add a good crunch, and just make it a little heartier. 

Now I can honestly just give you one more tip; go to a market to get some peaches, and you´ll be the chef of your next barbeque. 

If you recreate this I would love to see it, so just tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with the hashtag #unepetitecuisiniere so I can see if you enjoyed it as much as I did. You can also send me a mail or leave a comment behind, I would be really thankful for that! 

I hope you enjoy it, 

Katie <3

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Grilled Peach Salad

Amazing salad to round up the barbeque season

Course Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4
Calories 198 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad

  • 4 handful Salad I would recommen using something like spinach or lambs lettuce
  • 2 Peaches
  • 1 small Cucumber
  • 1/2 Avocado
  • 3 Spring onions
  • 2 tbsp Pine nuts
  • 1/2 handful Basil
  • 1/2 handful Mint
  • salt & pepper

For the dressing:

  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 2 Tbsp vinegar you can use a little less if you prefer it less sour

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Heat up the barbeque.

  2. Wash and rinse the salad and add it into a bowl. Cut up the paches into 1.5cm thick slices. Finely slice the cucmber and add it to the salad. Cut the spring onions into thin strips and take the rings apart fromeach other. Slice the mint and basil and roast the pine nuts.

  3. Brush the hot grill with a little olive oil and place the sliced peaches on top. Let them grill for about 3 minutes on each side.

  4. For the dressing, get a tall mug. Gently place the egg yolk on the bottom, in the middle of the mug. Add therest of the dressing ingredients on top of it. take you hand blender and carefully place it on top of the egg yolk. Turn it on and slowly pull it up in one go. This will make the dressing really creamy.

  5. Mix together all of the ingredients in the salad except for the peaches. Pour the dressing on top and mix again. Divide the salad onto 4 bowls and top the with the grilled peaches.

  6. Serve & enjoy!