Give me a V for day 3! How are we all doing this fine Vegan Thursday? Feeling light? Bowel’s moving? Sleeping okay? Energy? Let’s all just check in for a moment…. Aaaaand carrying on.
Bread, potatoes, corn, and soy. That’s right. I said no-go to the lot of ‘em on this 5 day challenge. Why? Well because I wanted to see what you came up with instead of these things that all too often become the staples in ALL diets.
With typical meals, we are getting wheat, corn, soy and/or potato with each and every one and not always in recognizable forms.They creep into our foods in the disguise of flours, sweeteners, starches, oils and just plain old filler. It’s not to say these have to be avoided 100% all the time, I just wanted to see how you’d go without them. Chances are, most of you will be just fine.
There is another, less preachy reason for wanting to avoid these foods that are common in processed foods. Wheat (a gluten-containing grain), corn, soy and sugar along with eggs and dairy are the most common allergens. Check the ingredient list of any conventional processed
food and I bet youʼll find one of these ingredients or a derivative of them. High consumption of these foods have been linked with a myriad of ailments from digestive discomfort, to PMS, to headaches to sinus trouble and congestion.
I think the only reason people ever change their diet is so that those changes will have some sort of positive impact. With this in mine, it might therefore be helpful to eliminate these items from the diet in order to see if you feel better. This will mean that not only are you reducing your meat intake, but youʼll also be reducing your intake of refined foods. Win, win! I love those
Essentially, it is easy to go vegetarian and live off pizza, pasta and bread. It is even easy to go vegan and live off all these make-believe foods that have been formulated out of soy. Being a healthy vegan or vegetarian, or even a healthy meat-eater requires a little more thought and planning. That choice is yours.
My aim is just to push you a little further so that you can find the right healthy balance that works for your life.
So here is a fun little bread replacement idea. I made the falafel’s as part of my demo over at the Vegetarian Food Fair on the weekend. I had to rescue this raw batter. People were pulling spoons out of their handbags and digging in! It was insane.
By the time I got home, I was too pooped out to create the usual patties, so instead I just spread this out over a cookie sheet, baked it and made a sandwich for dinner. In case you are wondering- inside I put corainder pesto, some veggie hummus, tomato, olives, sprouts and some arugula.
Chickpea and Vegetable Falafel Bread
2 cups cooked chickpeas or fava beans or 1 can (19oz) chickpeas (or fava beans) drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbs flaxseed, ground mixed with 1/4 cup water (as vegan replacement for 1 egg)
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini or yellow summer squash
1 cup carrot grated
1/2 cup veggie of choice (I often use up my broccoli stocks in this or slip in some kale)
1/2 cup toasted chickpea flower or brown rice flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 400 F (200C)
- In food processor, process chickpeas, lemon juice, curry powder, sea salt and olive oil for 30 seconds or until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
- Stir flax/water mix into chickpea puree and mix well. Stir in zucchini, carrots and other veg.
- Mix in flour and baking powder.
- Spread out mix on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, until feels dry on top.
- Allow to cool slightly and cut into bread-like shapes.
- You, of course, can also go old school with the falafel and just dollop it onto the cookie sheet in round falafel like balls.
FALAFEL bread?!?!?! Gluten-free?!?!?! **bows down** Looks incredible.
This looks great. I don’t own a food processor. Is there another way to make it? My blender is also, alas, not up to a challenge like this.
I looooove falafel!! Thanks for the recipe! YUM!
Thanks for the tip on the ginger–I’ve been making fresh ginger tea with the root twice a day and drinking it! It’s my favorite thing to wake up to in the morning! Mmmm!
oh man I love when I have all the stuff to make your recipes w/o going to the store! this will happen after school tonight!
yes, I am definitely going to try this. I am feeling so great this week!
I just finished cooking a batch of sprouted chick peas, I will have to give this a try!
I made something similar once when I tried making raw (sprouted chickpea) hummus… I really didn’t like the flavor with the raw chickpeas, so I made them into patties and cooked them on my griddle. They were super tasty.
Mmm, yumm! So glad I soaked chickpeas last night – this is fortuitous!
And now I won’t have to give the boyfriend the ‘look of death’ when he eats foccaccia with goat cheese in front of me!
woo hoo! You have no idea how long I having been wanting a post like this. By the way Meghan I just skimmed the vegan etutorial and it is amazing-tons of good info! Being vegetarian and trying to up my protein levels, this is so informative. Thanks!!
Amazing! I can’t wait to try this! I have some sprouted lentils too so maybe I’ll make some sort of a bean taco with it! Yum!
Ps. I made your sweet potato dumplings last night for my boyfriend and I and we both LOVED them! Thankfully, I still have leftovers of the filling that I plan on eating ALL TO MYSELF for dinner tonight while my sweet BF is still in class…muahaha!
Amen to no bread, corn, wheat, soy & potatoes! I have been craving falafel all week, but dread the thought of having to fry in the pan, ultimately creating a big mess. Your recipe sounds amazing and love how you can bake it right in the oven!
You ask how we’re feeling – well lets just say that I’m still looking for that healthy balance. Thanks for providing such awesome support as I see-saw along.
How creative! You never cease to amaze.
Oh my gosh – I love falafels. I love that you turned the recipe into a wrap. So very wise of you Meghan!
this is awesome! gluten free packaged foods are not usually appetizing, so I never have bread. This looks like a great way to create sandwiches! I may have to try it tonight.
Meghan, as someone who has moved from an allergen-free diet to being vegan as well, i so appreciate your knowledge! i’ve been reading your blog every day for months.
Looks just fabulous. I love chickpea pancakes. . . I know I’ll love this, too!
Could we also make this in a dehydrator? I just got one the other day and I’m looking for stuff to make in it…if not I totally plan to make this like instructed it looks amazing
I was not able to locate chick pea flour – Do you think I could substitute coconut flour or almond flour?
dinner is falafel flatbread w parsely pesto, caramelized red onion and roasted red pepper! thanks again!
p.s. I think peeps must have been wrestling for the falafel batter b/c all the fake food made them crazy and triggered a primal drive for REAL food! at least thats how I felt in my shady-soy-dependant-past…
This was soooo good, I just posted about it on my blog!!
Chickpea falafel bread!? Best idea ever! I’m definitely trying this one.
First time on your blog and I love it! This recipe is genius and I will be making it SOON! I love every ingredient in there, chickpeas are one of my favorite things…
This looks FANTASTIC. I’m making it ASAP. I am in love with falafel, and who doesn’t like bread?! It’s a match made in heaven!
[...] decided to try the Chickpea and Vegetable Falafel bread recipe that she found on Meghan’s blog “Making Love in the Kitchen” – how cool is that blog name by the [...]
What a fabulous blog! You are a food genius! I made the chickpea bread yesterday night and had some this morning for breakfast. Topped it with raw almond butter (sounds weird) and it was oh so good! Thanks so much for the lovely recipe!
Meghan, I can’t get the sprout link to work??
A strong arm and potato masher? You can get a food processor for under $50 these days. Well worth the investment in my opinion. People spend more than that on hot water (infused by burnt beans) in a week.
That’s what I love to hear!
Can’t believe you had leftovers! I can only make just what I’ll eat otherwise it somehow always disappears and I am left in a sweet potato coma.
It is my absolute pleasure to keep writing if you’ll keep reading!
I am sure you could though have yet to try it. Let me know how it turns out!
you sure could- or even brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckweat or any other kind of flour.
All fixed! Or just click here http://meghantelpnerblog.com/2009/09/24/sprout-sprout-let-it-all-out/
THANK YOU!!! I’M LOVING YOUR SITE!!