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Falafel Salad
Having some fun with our new AirFryer, I thought falafels would be a great thing to try. I’ve been wanting to make them again for quite awhile and a nice alternative to chicken or tuna for lunch salads.
I enjoy chickpeas in all their forms – hummus or roasted as a snack (more on that another time) or of course falafels. Fried chickpea balls!
In addition to just tasting good and leaving a feeling of satisfaction, chickpeas are actually good for us too! I love when that happens! They are a great source of plant-based protein and essential vitamins and minerals. As a slow releasing carb, chickpeas are able to give you more sustained energy without spiking blood sugar. High fiber content helps you feel full and reduce cravings and is good for digestion.
Pairing these falafels with a variety of vegetables gives this salad flavors, textures, and colors to delight the senses. Something that even skeptics are likely to enjoy. One thing to consider is that falafels are best fresh, so when preparing for salads, pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds if possible to make them a little better. This is not required but they will start to get a little hard after about 3 days.
Ingredients:
Falafel
– Dried chickpeas, (2 cups, soaked overnight)
– Fresh parsley leaves (1 cup)
– Garlic (7-8 cloves)
– Salt and pepper, to taste
– Cumin, ground (1 TBSP)
– Coriander, ground (1 TBSP)
– Cayenne, ground (1 tsp)
– Baking powder (1 tsp)
Falafel Salad
– Falafels
– Leaf Lettuce (2 bunches)
– Red cabbage (1/2 medium cabbage)
– Carrots (1 cup, chopped)
– Red pepper (1 pepper, chopped)
– Cucumber (1 cucumber, sliced)
– Kalamata olives
Tahini Dressing
– Garlic, (1-2 cloves)
– Tahini (1/2 cup)
– Freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes
– Salt, to taste
– Cold water, as needed for consistency
– Parsley, optional (1 cup)
– Mint, optional (1/2 cup)
Kitchen Items You’ll Need:
– Bowl
– Blender
– AirFryer
Cooking Instructions:
1. Sort and rinse dry chickpeas. Soak in water overnight using enough to cover chickpeas by 1-2 inches.
2. When ready to make falafels, drain chickpeas and blend them, parsley, and garlic until course so there are still small pieces of chickpeas in the mixture.
3. In a large bowl, mix ground chickpeas with seasoning. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Take falafel mixture out of refrigerator and scoop into balls or patties.
5. Place falafels in AirFryer basket and cook at 380 for 15 minutes.
Falafels are best served fresh. If making ahead to eat later, I recommend heating falafels for about 10 seconds or so in the microwave before eating.
Fajita Chicken Salad
Salads are one of the easiest, most versatile, and satisfying lunch options we have found. The biggest trick is to make it something that tastes good so that you’re not disappointed by ‘another salad’ or ‘the same old thing’. Changing up flavors and ingredients so you look forward to and feel satisfied after your healthy lunch!
Another thing that we definitely love is Mexican food and flavors. I’ll take avocados every day please! So rather than waiting for an excuse to go out for tacos or get a bowl from Chipotle or enchiladas at MadMex (we still do that on occasion too of course) I have come up with this recipe as a delicious alternative offering spice, sweetness and a bit of crunch – fueling us for whatever our afternoons have in store.
As you will probably notice, chicken is a main ingredient in many of our lunchtime salads. Chicken offers lean protein and can be combined or flavoried with pretty much anything, so it’s a great way to fill up mid-day. We generally prefer to buy Kirkland’s Organic Chicken from Costco to get both the quantity and quality we want. The price is right too and I always look for sales and stock up, the packages store great in the freezer.
Ingredients:
Fajita Chicken
– Chicken Breasts (6 or about 3lbs. Chicken Tenders also work well)
– Chili Powder (1 TBSP)
– Chipotle Chili Powder (1 TBSP)
– Cumin (1 tsp)
– Garlic Powder (1/2 tsp)
– Onion Powder (1 tsp)
– Olive Oil (1 TBSP)
– Bell Peppers (6 peppers – 2 green, 2 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow, or color combo of choice)
– White Onion (1 large onion)
– Salt
– Pepper
– Lime Juice (juice of 1/2 lime, 1-2 TBSP)
Dressing
– Avocado oil (1 1/2 cups)
– White Wine Vinegar (1/2 cup)
– Lime (juice of 1.5 limes, about 1/4 cup)
– Salt (1 tsp)
– Pepper (1 tsp)
– Garlic (2 cloves grated)
– Honey (1 TBSP)
Kitchen Items You’ll Need:
– Knife
– Cutting Board
– Citrus Juicer (they help)
– Skillet
– Mason Jar (to store dressing)
– Pyrex (or preferred container for prepared lunches)
Cooking Instructions:
1. Mix chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Slice onion and peppers.
2. Remove chicken from package and pat dry. Rub spices into chicken.
3. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until done (internal temperature of 165), about 10 minutes per side. When done, remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
4. Saute onion and peppers in the same skillet you cooked the chicken. Add salt, pepper, and lime juice. Cook until tender but firm.
5. For dressing, combine all ingredients in mason jar and shake.
