Ok I think I’m back up to speed on the recaps! As I mentioned in my post last week, even though life is busy, the whole point of this blog (and my budding Health Coaching Practice!) is to show other busy people how they can be healthy in the midst of all the craziness!!!
One thing that’s going great right now….the summers CSA shares! I am pretty much obsessed with making sure none of our goods go to waste and that I try to get creative with our ingredients. Weeks 2 and 3 were difficult since we weren’t home much but I did manage to experiment some!
Photo credit: RJR 100 Acre Farm
The day I took our share home I only had time to fire it into the fridge before taking off, but was able to grab this picture from the farms facebook page, so here’s a quick run down of what Week 3 offered:
– baby kale
– swiss chard
– summer turnips
– baby beets (with greens)
– small head of romaine lettuce
– chives
The kale went into salmon curry (….again) and there was lots left over for smoothies (in fact, I used it right through Week 4 as well). I also ended up throwing the chives in with the curry as well! I haven’t used the summer turnips yet, I saved them for Week 4 and was really excited to try them out along with the baby beets (Week 4 recap will be Monday but we ate them last night and they were goooood). I had saved several recipes on Pinterest and then time got away from me and I didn’t do a whole lot of cooking at home. The romaine lettuce was used for ceasar salad with my favourite vegan caesar dressing (which also used one of the garlic scapes from Week 2)!
The swiss chard stole the show this week though because I was able to use it to make these SUPER easy and delicious falafels! This leafy green packs a nutritional punch and is right up there with kale and broccoli. Check out this article for some of health benefits of swiss chard. The original recipe calls for collard greens but subbing in the swiss chard doesn’t change things that much. It’s great way to sneak in greens….and I think you guys are probably starting to see a pattern that I LOOOOOOVE sneaking greens into food. Don’t get me wrong, I love my greens but the more servings I can get in per day, the happier I am.
- 1 - 19 oz can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
- 4 cups stemmed and torn swiss chard (or collard greens)
- 3 medium to large cloves garlic, chopped
- 1.5 Tbsp tahini
- 1.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp cumin
- sea salt and black pepper
- 5 Tbsp chickpea flour (or other flour that you have on hand...might need less flour depending on what you use)
- Olive oil for cooking
- Add the greens, chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to a food processor and mix to combine.
- Once well incorporated, transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in flour 1 Tbsp at a time until the mixture is thick enough to handle.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add and swirl to coat pan.
- Add 4 falafel (or however many will fit very comfortably) to the pan at a time.
- Check at the 1-2 minute mark to ensure they’re not browning too quickly. If they are, slightly reduce heat. Flip once deep golden brown – about 3-4 minutes. NOTE: the first time I made these I burnt them, the second time I reduced the heat and they worked out perfectly so be careful of the temp you cook them at!
- Cook until the underside is golden brown as well.
- Serve immediately with garlic dressing (my favourite vegan dressing is perfect for this) or inside a pita with garlic sauce or hummus.
Hi I'm Pam, welcome to my blog! I'm here sharing recipes, day-to-day musings, fitness, travel, and my journey to health, wellness, and happiness. 
