Karen Kummer (2)

My second Meatless Monday was successful.  For breakfast, I had Strawberry Mini-Wheats with almond milk.  For lunch, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread with cheese and pretzels on the side.  For dinner, I made falafel and had it with steamed broccoli and a baked potato.  I drank mainly water, almond milk, and cranberry juice.  I also had tea in the evening.

This was my first time making falafel and it turned out alright.  Falafel is usually fried, but I decided to bake it in the oven because I’m not good at frying things and so it would be healthier.  I got the falafel recipe online and doubled it so I would have extra.  It took about a half hour to make the falafel and it had to be in the oven for about 20 minutes.  The falafel was a little dry, so I put olive oil on them.

Dinner was probably the meal that was most affected because the rest of my family had chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese and I had falafel.  Meatless Monday will affect Tuesday because I have leftover falafel to eat.  My Meatless Monday affect others around me because my family had the opportunity to try the falafel.  My dad remarked it was “pretty good for being vegetarian”.  His comment definitely made me roll my eyes.  As far as resources used, I just searched online for a falafel recipe.  The recipe I chose had minimal ingredients; therefore I had all of the ingredients at my house.  I didn’t spend any more or less money because everything I used or ate was already at my house.

Overall, I thought this week went well.  My meals seemed to be pretty filling and I didn’t face any challenges.  The only “snack” I had was a cup of tea and some Girl Scout cookies because who can actually resist Girl Scout cookies.

This is the falafel recipe I used for anyone who wants to try it:

1 15 oz. can of chick peas (ground in food processor by pulsing)

3 large cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of cumin

About ½ cup of flour (add until it looks similar to ground hamburger)

Roll them into balls and put them on a baking sheet (it looks similar to cookie dough).  Put them in the oven at 400F and cook 15-20 or until crispy.  Note: the will look only slightly darker after being cooked than before, so the best way to tell if they’re “crispy” is to feel them.  This single recipe makes about 10 falafel balls.  Falafel burgers can also be made using this recipe.