Sweet Potato and Quinoa Falafel

So due to an over abundance of sweet potatoes, I decided to poke
around th

e interwebs for some new recipe ideas....In my search I stumbled across a recipe for sweet potato falafel and I LOVE FALAFEL!!!

So Ifigured what the heck. Now naturally I was not satisfied with the found recipe and decide to change it up. For starters it was only sweet potato and spice..this in my mind seemed too mushy. I

like the grit of a falafel. So I decided to try

adding quinoa, and It worked...it added just enough grit, helped hold it together and made it even healthier!! Now because it is not monday yet I took some liberty, and therefore it is not totally vegan. The falafel itself is but of course I felt the need to top it with a yogurt lemon dressing...also I felt the need to serve it with a hot bowl of matzo ball soup!!!!! NOMMNOMMNOMMM MATZO BALL SOUP!

I think I liked the end result..a sweet falafel ball. It my no means changes my love for a good ol fashioned falafel..and honestly I think I prefer the ol fashion to the new fangeled. But I was able to use us my potatoes before the produce delivery man dropped more on my doorstep, literally, while I was pealing the before mentioned sweet potatoes..and it is healthy , so you can't beat that!

RECIPE:

- 2 sweet potatoes

-1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

-1 cup water

-1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

-1 1/2 teaspoon coriander

-1/4 teaspoon turmeric

-3 cloves chopped garlic

-palm full of parsley

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/4 cup whole wheat flour

*preheat oven to 450 degrees

*chop and boil sweet potatoes, drain

*bring 1 cup water to boil, add quinoa and simmer until water is absorbed

*in a bowl mash potatoes, mix in cooked quinoa and flour and mix

*mix in garlic, parsley and spice

*on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop potato mixture with a small scoop or spoon to form falafel balls

*spray with a light coating of cooking spray and bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes

falafel balls should brown on outside a bit and be crisp to the touch.

****serve in pita with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and whatever else you like!

*

21 days : Vegan, Gluten free, Refined sugar free

Ok, so we are going vegan, Gluten Free, and Refined sugar free for 21 days!!

Yikes, I love me some bread so this is not gonna be a cake walk..ahahhahahahhahaha..I am such a nerd...pretty sure I am the only one laughing at that one. Ok, so my sister in law is actually the one responsible for this idea..I just blindly jumped on the train because I like a challenge...everything is more appealing if it seems like a game, am I right? Also being that we have moved a million miles from home, and I am currently friendless and bored in a the big city.....its seemed like something to fill my time.

It should not be too hard. We actually just finished a 3 day juice fast so anything is a step up from that. I am just happy to be chewing anything honestly..just don't make juice for three days ever again! ( after saying this out loud as I type it, I instantly am positive I will one day do it again..blraggggg!) It had its perks. Felt great after..stomach felt good, did not miss coffee, did not really miss sugar...just missed eating. So going vegan, sugar free and gluten free seems doable.

The plan here is simple: find recipes, tweak them, make up recipes, take pictures, post pictures and recipes and share.

So if you are feeling crazy, THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM ON THIS TRAIN!

We are starting monday so expect pics and updates starting monday morning! whoop!!!

Quinoa/ Veggie burgers

So I wanted a veggie burger...an excellent one...delicious...healthy and home made...not a gross frozen one. So like any ambitious cook would do, I started digging through the fridge in search of on hand veggies...pulling out the bag of quinoa and devising my plan.....but like in any story there is a beginning and mine started in Asheville Nc.

We went to Asheville for our 10th anniversary and of course visited the Biltmore Estate. After the long, hunger inducing tour was over, we ended up eating lunch at the Carriage House. I order a veggie burger and was surely skeptical. If you have never been to Asheville let me tell you its the bees knees for all foodies...I wanted to eat somewhere way more exciting but I was too hungry to wait.. The nice waiter assured me the veggie burger was his favorite thing on the menu. Well, he didn't lie. It actually turned out being one of the best veggie burgers I had ever had. Odd, because Dave's food was gross and the menu as a whole did not appeal to me. When the nice waiter brought us our check he also brought out a card with the recipe on it! GREAT..HOORAY....but of course me being me..I lost it..SUCK......this was some time ago. Long enough that I forgot all about it until staring into my pantry at a bag of quinoa that I needed to use up. Then I remembered the burger and decided I had to make up a recipe for a delicious quinoa/veggie burger..BETTER THAN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE..( this cold air is getting to me, giving me high hopes and lofty ambitions ) so here it is. I was impressed with even myself. If you hate it, well I am sorry. If you love it..YAY. Its healthy and yummy and pretty easy.

*1 cup cooked quinoa

*1 cup herb bread crumbs (i used day old french bread and tossed in some rosemary and thyme)

*1 red bell pepper

*1/2 red onion

* 1 cup carrots

*1 and 1/2 cup broccoli

*1 can drained and rinsed black beans

*1 8oz can tomato sauce

*1 egg

*1/4 cup whole wheat flour

* a few good shakes of turmeric ( cause that's how I cook)

*a shake of cumin

*salt and pepper

* and if you don't use herbs in your bread crumbs, maybe and little rosemary and thyme

-

-chop all veggies pretty small and sauté in pan with preferred oil until tender...dump beans in too

-mix quinoa, bread crumbs and tomato sauce in bowl

-dump veggie mix in a food processor or blender and pulse..just to break down and mix em up a bit.

-combined veggies with quinoa and bread crumbs

-add spices and egg and mix until combined

-add flour a little at a time, just until it has thickened up a bit

-form burgers and cook in skillet or grill pan

It will make you around 10 burgers..I tossed the leftovers in my freezer and fully plan on reheating them for lunch later this week!