Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce

October 18, 2013January 29, 2016 / ktbuchs87

I didn’t think that this recipe would be a winner. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, and in my head I could see it working, but as I started to put this together, I got nervous. Luckily it all worked out and this turned into a favorite around here! This makes a lot of falafel, so it would be good for a get-together or even as appetizers at a party.

Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce

2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in a big pot overnight
1 onion, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 tbsp almond flour
1 tbsp coriander
3 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp cayenne, depending on how spicy you want your falafel
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Tahini Sauce

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (you could use any non-dairy milk, but I think coconut works the best)
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp liquid aminos or soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Preheat oven to 400. Drain and rinse your soaked chickpeas, place them in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Place in a large bowl. Place the diced onion, parsley, cilantro, and garlic cloves into the processor and pulse until it looks like paste. Add the herb paste to the chickpeas and combine. Mix in the seasonings and then the baking soda and powder.

2. Using a tablespoon, ice cream or cookie scooper, form the chickpea mixture into little balls. Don’t make them too big or they will fall apart. Place the falafel onto a cookie sheet that has been oiled or use a baking mat. Flatten the balls just a little, brush with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 min. After 10 minutes, flip the falafel and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

3. For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until thick. Pour over falafel or use it as a dipping sauce. Either way is delicious!

Don’t freak out if it looks like the falafel is not going to hold together, it will. Do be gentle with these, though, since falafel is usually fried, these are just a little bit more delicate (and healthier). So get to cooking and let me know what you think!

Confessions of a Food Lover

October 14, 2013 / ktbuchs87

A few weekends ago my husband, Adam, and I were watching episodes of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food network. The show features famous chef’s and other people in the food world highlighting some of the best dishes that they have ever eaten from places around the country. Alex Guarnaschelli, a chef/restaurant owner/cookbook author/Iron Chef/all around awesome, is a regular on the show. It’s easy to see why, this woman loves food. Not just eating it, but shopping for it, preparing it, serving it, looking at it, talking about it… I told Adam that I feel like Alex really understands how I feel about food and as I was telling him this, I was lovingly cradling a banana.

Often people believe that in order to be healthy you have to stop loving food. They think that there is no way to balance healthy living with a love affair of all things food related. There are some health gurus out there who do believe this. They view food mainly as a fuel source to get their body to function properly and that’s it. While I agree that food is fuel for our bodies, I can’t deny that it is also so much more. Hi, my name is Katie Dawson, and I love food. And that’s OK.

If only….

Yes, I have had a tough relationship with food in the past. I would eat out of boredom or stress or anxiety. I would sneak food so that people wouldn’t see how much I really ate or see all the bad food I ate. I sometimes still struggle with overeating, even though it has gotten much better. But even with my strained food past, I still love food. While I do love tasting and eating food, I almost love all the other components more. Grocery shopping is better than clothes shopping to me. I love seeing all the fresh and colorful produce as I walk into the store, I love going through and picking the best bunch of broccoli or the biggest butternut squash. I’m like a kid in a candy store in the bulk food and spice section. Sometimes I just wander through the grocery store looking at food and products and reading labels and never actually buy anything.

I also love cooking food! I enjoy thinking of flavor combinations or creating brand new dishes. It thrills me to completely make a meal on the fly with just the ingredients I have in my kitchen. It gives me great joy to serve food to other people and see them enjoy eating what I have made. Sitting around with friends and family and food is my idea of a great time.

At this point, you might be thinking I’m just a little nuts about food, and you would be right. But does that make me an unhealthy person? Is it possible to love food as much as I do and still call myself a healthy individual? I think so. If I weren’t so in love with food, I don’t think that I would be as interested in eating as well as possible. I have seen how eating good and nutritious food can change your health and because I have a passion for food, I want to be able to share that with as many people as possible. I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t care about food. If food were just fuel, I wouldn’t spend so much time coming up with new and creative recipes. It wouldn’t matter if food tasted great if I were just eating it to get my body through the day.

I’m here to tell you that it is perfectly alright to be in love with food and still be healthy. Sure, the love of food can be taken too far and turn into an unhealthy obsession. I realize that overeating and unhealthy eating can damage your health and I know that is a major problem these days. Don’t be afraid to enjoy food though, don’t feel guilty if a certain dish makes you swoon or a certain ingredient takes your breath away, it doesn’t mean you’re unhealthy. I don’t think I will ever stop loving all the things that food is about, and I wouldn’t want too. If that means I lovingly cradle a banana while watching a show about food every once and awhile, that’s fine by me!

Not Really a Lifestyle Choice: Meal Delivery/Replacement

September 23, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

I’ve been going over popular health/lifestyle choices these past few weeks, and I thought I would end up this little series with something a bit different. I know there are a million different diets that I didn’t get to, but if I were to go through every single one it would take forever and you would get really bored. Hopefully with this series you have been exposed to a lifestyle that you found interesting as well as learned how to objectively look at a diet and see if it is the right one for you.

Today I am taking a look at meal delivery/replacement services. As you can see from the title, I don’t really view this as a lifestyle choice and I will get into that a little bit later. There are numerous meal delivery services out there, including Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Freshology, and many other brands. Just a quick Google search pulled up a ton I had never even heard of. The basic premise of these programs is that they take care of all food prep for you. They send you all the meals you will eat for the day/week and all you have to do is either heat them up or some other minimal form of prep work. Many of these services also allow you to customize your program for food allergies or intolerances, such as gluten free or dairy free. These programs do all work of figuring out portion sizes and calorie counts so you don’t have to.

I’ll start with the good, which quite frankly isn’t much. I’m not a huge fan of counting calories, but that is a personal preference and I know that for some keeping tabs on how many calories you eat is the best way to stay healthy. These programs make it very easy to keep a close eye on your daily calorie intake since everything is figured out for you. They also help with portion control, which is a big problem lately. We have gotten used to gigantic portion sizes, that we have no idea how much we should actually be eating. With meal delivery programs, they have already portioned out the right amount of food. All you have to do is make sure you only eat the allotted food for each meal.

That is pretty much all I have for the good stuff. In case you couldn’t tell, I am not a huge fan of meal delivery services. My biggest concern is that the food you are receiving is not actual food, but processed food-type things. You all know how I feel about processed “food”. Many of these meals are laden with chemicals and preservatives, both things that are not beneficial to your health whether you lose weight on these systems or not. I know with some of these programs you can supplement with real food, but for the bulk of them you are eating whatever they send you. One other problem with these programs is that you aren’t really learning how to eat better or healthier. You are fully relying on whatever they “cook” or make you, and not gathering the skills to sustain a healthier eating lifestyle. Most of the time you are just giving your microwave a workout. Meal delivery systems aren’t really a sustainable lifestyle choice. Which leads me to my last dislike, these programs are NOT cheap. You are relying on one service or company to provide your food as opposed to being able to shop locally and at various different stores where you can find the best price for your food. Eating well does not have to be an expensive endeavor. I feed my husband and I on usually no more than $50/week and I know others who eat delicious, healthy meals on even less than that. I could be totally wrong, but I don’t think people join Jenny Craig thinking that they will eat their food forever, and when they do decide that they have reached their goal weight, what have they really learned? They haven’t learned how to cook better meals for themselves! They might have learned what a portion looks like, but they probably don’t know how to measure it out on their own. That’s the important part of choosing a certain lifestyle, being able to learn how to make the healthiest choices on your own and be able to sustain the lifestyle for the rest of your life.

I mentioned meal replacements in the beginning, and I just wanted to briefly touch on them. I dislike these even more than meal delivery services. Slimfast, Special K, and any other type of company that makes you swap out a full meal with what pretty much counts as a candy bar or milkshake is not the way to go to be healthier. Sure, you will lose weight. That’s what happens when you don’t eat a real meal. These “programs” are usually used for quick weight loss results (like getting ready for a wedding or wearing a bikini) and aren’t meant to be sustained indefinitely. You’re better off steering clear of these products, as you’re doing your body and your health a huge favor. Trust me.

I know that there are a ton of other lifestyles/diets that I did not cover. But I hope that these have given you some insights into different ways of eating and living and will help steer you in the right direction for your health. When you decide that you want to be healthier, make sure you do a lot of research, ask questions, talk to health professionals, and experiment until you find the best way for you and your life. That is the most important thing! I hope that you all had a fantastic weekend. Adam and I celebrated the beginning of fall by going apple picking and enjoying the fabulous weather! Have a great Monday!

Apple picking fun!

Cauliflower Couscous

September 11, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Cauliflower is a very versatile vegetable. You can turn it into a ton of different things such as sauces, mashed potato substitute, and “rice”. That’s a lot for one little vegetable! I decided to use cauliflower to make a sort of couscous and it makes a really great, light summer meal that is fairly easy to put together.

Cauliflower Couscous

1 large head of cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil
juice and zest of one lemon
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 cup chopped, toasted almonds

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add in your chopped almonds. Stir frequently until the are lightly browned and just starting to smell fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.

2. Chop your cauliflower into florets, trying to leave as much of the stem behind as you can. Put the florets into a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until the cauliflower is finely chopped and looks like couscous. Make sure not to pulverize it , you want it to have some texture

3. Using the same skillet from your almonds, heat the olive oil over medium heat and then add in your cauliflower couscous. Cook the couscous for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add in all your spices, the lemon juice and zest, and the toasted almonds. Stir to combine and let the couscous sit for about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.

This is a really versatile recipe. You can use whatever spices you feel like adding to the couscous. You can use walnuts or cashews instead of almonds and you could even add meat to the dish. Get creative and enjoy using cauliflower in a new and fun way!

Lifestyle Choices: Veganism

September 4, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday weekend and were able to relax and enjoy the last few days of summer. I spent the weekend in Indiana with friends and family and had an amazing time! My mother-in-law even surprised me by inviting my friend from Missouri that I haven’t seen in months! It was awesome because I miss her a lot since she moved. I tell you all that because that is partially why I am doing my normal Monday post on Wednesday. Because of Labor Day, I am pushing Monday’s post to today and I will post my normal recipe on Friday. So you’ll still get all the normal stuff, just a day later! Alright, let’s get to business!

My sister, Ashley (!), and me!

Today I am going to go over the vegan lifestyle. Last week I talked about vegetarianism and briefly mentioned vegans, but this lifestyle needs a little more in-depth description. Just like vegetarians, vegans consume no meat, including fish, poultry, or pork. In addition, they also do not consume any animal by-products. This means they do not eat dairy or eggs, they don’t eat honey or gelatin, and they do not use any products that contain animal products or have been tested on animals. In the simplest sense, if anything has been made with some form of an animal, vegans will not eat or use it. Now, there are some people who only stick to a vegan diet rather than a vegan lifestyle. This means they won’t eat any animal products, but they may use products that do have animal in them. There are also some people that follow a raw vegan diet, meaning that they will not eat animals/animal products and will not consume food that has been cooked over 118 degrees F.

Just like last week, I am going to share my opinions on what is good/bad about the vegan lifestyle. Remember, these are only MY opinions. I am not a doctor/nutritionist/dietician, if you want more advice please talk with your doctor or another health professional. Let’s start with the good. I love the focus that veganism places on fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. I believe that everyone, whether vegan or not, needs to add these nutritional powerhouses to their diet. I also like that veganism helps shine a light on the way our diets and lives can affect the environment. The Standard American Diet does place a lot of strain on the environment. It takes a lot of resources, both natural and unnatural, to produce food for us to eat. It boggles my mind that 90% of the crops grown in this country are fed to livestock, and we only consume 10%. It also take a lot of land, water, and fuel to raise livestock for the population to consume. Vegans have done a good job of bringing this issue to light, and have even started a movement called Meatless Monday’s. The idea is that if we just had one day a week where we didn’t eat meat we could lessen the impact we have on the environment. It has become a rather large movement and has brought mindfulness to a lot of the American population.

More info on this at this website: http://goo.gl/75GL17

On the flipside, the vegan lifestyle can be very intense, both in eating and ideals. In my years of learning and reading about different lifestyles, I have come across some very intense individuals. These people are the ones that think that their way is the ONLY way to live, and that everyone else is horrible for choosing to live some other way. Let me make this very clear, this is a very small population of vegans. In most cases vegans just want to promote healthier and more compassionate living. Sadly, the ones who are not like this can be very caustic and off-putting. They turn others away because no one likes to feel like they are being judged or feel guilty for making their own decisions. The vegan lifestyle can also be intense in other ways as well. After seeing everything that vegans don’t eat or use, it can seem like there is nothing left to use. This can turn people away or cause those just starting out to rely heavily on processed vegan products, which can be just as unhealthy as regular processed products. In truth, there are tons of healthy, delicious, and varied vegan meals and food. It just takes some research and trial and error in the beginning. If you do decide to go vegan, I suggest that you ease into the lifestyle rather than just jumping in fully. It’s much easier to slowly cut out all animal products over a long period of time than going cold turkey and living on salad for a year before realizing there are better things out there.

It is also very important that vegans monitor their vitamin and mineral intake to ensure they are getting the proper nutrients. The big vitamin that they need to make sure they get is B12. You can not get B12 from any plant-source, so if you go vegan you will need to supplement that into your diet. The good thing now is that veganism is becoming more and more mainstream. It might not be as popular as vegetarianism, but they are making good strides towards that. It is easier to find food at grocery stores and eating establishments that are fully vegan. Just be careful to not fall into the junk food vegan trap. You can still be unhealthy and vegan, there are plenty of mainstream products out there that are considered vegan. As long as you are aware of what you are putting into your mouth and body, you can make healthy and delicious vegan choices.

Overall I think that the vegan lifestyle can be a very good choice for a healthier life. That being said, it isn’t for everyone and that is ok! Some people will just never be able to go through life without eating meat or perhaps the thought of never cooking food makes their stomach turn. This is all ok, being healthy is about trying to find what works best for your body and life. Maybe you become a big supporter of the Meatless Monday movement and just cut animal products from your life for one day or maybe this lifestyle sounds right up your alley. If so, do your research, talk with your doctor and come up with a plan to start incorporating veganism into your life! I hope you all have a fabulous day and make sure you check back next Monday for my thoughts on the Paleo lifestyle.