Baked Falafel with Creamy Tzatziki Sauce

I'm back at it! I love Greek food and falafel is one of my favorites, but it's usually fried and very greasy. I decided to make my own baked falafel at home using 100% ingredients bought at Trader Joe's.

You'll need:

1 can of organic chickpeas

2 tbsp of fresh dill

1/4 diced red onion

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 gloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of smoke paprika

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of ground pepper

1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs

1 container of Tzatziki creamy garlic cucumber dip

...and a little Italian olive oil spray

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Blend all ingredients (except for panko and Tzatziki) in a food processor until smooth. Empty blended mixture into medium sized bowl. Add panko to the mixture and fold it in until the texture feels  thick enough to ball up. Add a little bit more panko if necessary. 

Spray olive oil onto a baking sheet. Form the falafel mixture into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. After you're done placing all of the falafel balls on the baking sheet, spray the tops of the balls with olive oil.

Place the balls in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and flip each ball. Bake for another 12 minutes.

Serve immeadiately with Tzatziki sauce drizzled on top and a little fresh dill for garnish.

Garlic Aioli Stuffed Mushrooms

This is a recipe straight from TraderJoes.com and it's a great one!

 

Ingredients:

1 package of Portabello stuffing mushrooms

1/2 cup of Organic Bread Crumbs

1/2 cup of Garlic Aioli

2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 teaspoon of dried dill

3 tablespoons of thinly slice green onion

Olive Oil Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven 400°. Carefully remove the stems from mushrooms and set aside. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, aioli, Parmesan, dill, and one tablespoon of the green onion (you could, if you're feeling fancy, dice the stems and add them in as well) and gently fold together. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling into the tops of the mushrooms, and spray lightly with olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is beginning to brown. Remove and sprinkle with the remaining Green Onions.

Source: http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe/16

Healthy Eats by Cow Harbor

My dad took my brother and I boating on Monday. He's a member of Freedom Boat Club and usually takes boats out of the Britannia Yachting Center in Northport. Before we hopped on the boat, we stopped at The Purple Elephant to grab some lunch to bring with us. Most marinas have a deli or seafood joint nearby, and those don't always have the healthiest options. It's either high calorie bread piled with high sodium deli meat or fried crustaceans with butter. I was so excited to find out that The Purple Elephant specializes in whole, clean foods! 

It was very difficult to possess self control at their counter, because I wanted to try everything! We ended up getting a bison burger, tabbouleh, baked chicken, vegan taquitos, black bean salad, and 3 young coconuts to go. This was my first experience with young coconuts and I will definitely be picking some up again on a hot, sunny day this summer. They gave us the young coconuts with a hole cut in the top so we could drink the water inside and then eat the pulp with a spoon. It was so refreshing! Coconut water from a bottle is no where close to as delicious! Everything else we got was amazing. I will definitely be back to try the Mexican meatloaf and the chicken salad. I saw that they have vegan chicken wings, which freak me out a little bit (to be honest). If you want to eat off a bone, then you probably shouldn't be a vegan. But, I'm determined to try them one day! 

The Purple Elephant has something for everyone! They have plenty of vegetarian and vegan options (like those weird chicken wings). Also, they only use wild game, local and sustainable seafood, grass-fed meats, and D'artagnan poultry. It looks like they put daily specials up on their website, which is another thing I love. I hate stagnant menus. They should at least change with the seasons as do quality food supplies. They also sell cold-pressed juices if you want to try a juice cleanse and support a local business.

One of the other things that is great about The Purple Elephant is that they use LevelUp. It's a POS system that allows customers to pay through an app on their phone. I love small businesses that embrace new technology! I geek out whenever I see a small business that uses Square, too. It's sad that a lot of small businesses don't know about these great options that are more efficient and cheaper than old-school POS systems.

So, if you're near Northport and looking for a guilt-free, flavorful, quick meal, go to The Purple Elephant. You can even dine outdoors on their harbor-side deck!