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.

Green Morning Smoothie

There's nothing more refreshing than starting your day with something green!

Ingredients (all from Trader Joe's):

1/2 very ripe banana, sliced

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup organic frozen spinach

1/3 cup organic frozen strawberries

2 scoops of vanilla flavored soy protein powder

BLEND & SERVE!

If it's not sweet enough for you, add some organic agave extract and blend again!

Wholegrain Bagel with Ham, Egg & Cheese

This is my Sunday morning breakfast.

Ingredients (all from Trader Joe's):

1 High Fiber Multigrain Bagel

1 Fresh Grade A Large Brown

Cage Free Egg

1 Organic American Slice

1 piece of Uncured Black Forest Ham

Coconut Oil Spray

Things I Eat With a Spoon: Cocoa Almond Spread

Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread is to die for! I could compare it to Nutella, but I can't because it's not anything like it. It's not as sweet as Nutella which I enjoy because I'm not a fan of super sweet stuff. Also, Almonds > Hazelnuts in my opinion. You'll find me eating this out of the jar with a spoon at my desk. Sometimes I dip pretzels in it and it's also good spread on rice cakes. I highly recommend picking up a jar on your next trip to TJ's.

Green Earth Salad

Ingredients (all sold at Trader Joe's):

Organic Power to the Greens salad mix

Organic Pea Shoots
Raw Sliced Almonds

Steamed Lentils

Sesame Seeds

Hummus salad dressing

No cooking, heating or prep work required. Just mix it all together and enjoy!

This is one of my favorite salads to make. It reminds me of a prepped salad bar item at Whole Foods. Sometimes I add a little salt and/or lemon juice for extra flavor.

PS: I decided to change up the format of this blog. Since I pretty much food shop exclusively at Trader Joe's these days, I'm going to blog exclusively about my Trader Joe's creations. We'll call this Trader Kristen. :) Thanks for reading!

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!

Creamy Raspberry Breakfast Smoothie

Happy New Year! It's time to reset your body and detox!

I love a good smoothie for breakfast! I've been experimenting with different types of fruits, sweeteners, and milks. This is one of my favorites. It's made with goat's milk, organic raspberries, and Truvia. I made it using my new Cuisinart Smart Stick that I got for Christmas. It's a hand blender and so much easier to use/clean than a standard blender.

Goat's milk is new for me. I prefer the taste of cow milk or soy milk, but goat's milk is much easier on my sensitive stomach. Here are five reasons why goat's milk is better than cow's milk:

1. Goat's milk is less allergenic due to low levels of Caesin.
2. Goat's milk is naturally homogenized (no cancer-causing DNA mutations).
3. Goat's milk is easier to digest.
4. Goat's milk rarely causes lactose intolerance.
5. Goat's milk matches up to the human body better than cow's milk.

(Source: Mt. Capra)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup - goat's milk
1/2 cup - frozen, organic raspberries
2 packets - Truvia

Put it all together and BLEND!!!!

I bought the goat's milk and frozen raspberries from Trader Joe's and the Truvia packets from ShopRite.

Here's the nutritional breakdown for this meal:

7g of fat
20g of carbs
4g of fiber
6g of protein

***4 POINTS***

This should hold you over until lunch and energize you for the day! It's quick and refreshing!

How to Eat Pasta

When you are on a diet, pasta is the enemy. But, every once in a while, it's ok to have a bowl of pasta. There are healthy choices that you can make so that you can indulge and not feel too guilty about your carb craving. 

Pick a pasta made with a non-grain flour that possesses other health benefits like high fiber or high protein. My favorite healthy pasta is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Elbows. This pasta is gluten-free, non-GMO and organic. It's made with a combination of corn flour and quinoa flour. Quinoa is a carbohydrate, but it is not a true grain. It is a seed and has a higher protein count than most grains. Choosing the right pasta is the most important decision to make when you are craving a bowl. Portion control is also very important. For this recipe, I use two ounces of dry pasta per serving. There are four servings per box of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Elbows and I don't like to measure every time I eat, so I open the box and split it equally between four Ziploc bags.

As an Italian, I believe the second most important factor is the sauce. When choosing a sauce, look for something low in fat and low in carbs. I prefer my dad's homemade sauce, but I have not been able to master it myself quite yet. Homemade sauce takes time and makes a mess. Unfortunately, 99.9% of jarred marinara sauce found in grocery stores tastes artificial. That's because the ingredients on the label contain words that are difficult to pronounce. Only one type of jarred marinara sauce has my seal of approval and that's Victoria Marinara Sauce. It's the only brand I will eat because the ingredients are simple and perfect! I buy it in bulk at Costco or ShopRite when I see it on sale. It is pricier than other jarred sauces, but you get what you pay for. I use a half cup of marinara sauce and like to add more flavor by adding a tablespoon of dried red bell pepper flakes before heating. I buy red bell pepper flakes in bulk from SpiceBarn.com. They are great for adding a mild pepper flavor to tomato sauce, omelettes and roasted veggies. I love the taste of pepper, but am not a big fan of spicy foods. These flakes are awesome!

Lastly, you have to pick the right type of grated cheese. In my mind, there's only one type of grated cheese allowed on pasta. It's Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Not only is it delicious, but it's lower in calories and fat than most other grated cheeses. I use two tablespoons on my pasta, but most people like to use only one. Locatelli cheese can be expensive, so keep an eye out for when it's on sale or mislabeled (this happens more frequently than you would think).

Here's the breakdown of nutritional information for this meal:

8g of fat
54g of carbs
5g of fiber
8g of protein

***8 POINTS***

This is not a low-carb meal! But, the carbs in quinoa will react much better with your body than carbs from grains. Read more here.