Falafel ball sandwiches and Muhammara dip!

So, someone recently mentioned that my pictures aren't taken with the greatest camera....yep, I took them with my iphone. Jay and I are anticipating getting a new camera soon! I still love my iphone! :)

Yummy falafel ball sandwiches! You can make your own falafel balls, or buy them (I would make them!)
Here is a good recipe for falafel balls from food network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/falafel-recipe/index.html

Basically, they are just balls of garbanzo beans with lots of seasonings. I cook my falafel balls in olive oil and garlic and then right before I take them out I put the juice of 2-3 lemons on top. I warmed this pita bread in the oven and made a spinach salad with a lemon, red wine vinegar, olive oil, lots of garlic, green onions, cilantro, salt/pepper, cayenne, and cumin. Then I topped it with my vegan sour cream mixed with ranch seasoning. Pop it all into those warm pitas! We really really enjoyed these, they make you feel so energized and light after you eat them!

Today we had this Muhamarra dip from www.littlehouseofveggies.blogspot.com, it was great. Veganlovebird.blogspot.com made me realize that all the bean dips I make that we don't finish I can always use throughout the week to put in veggie wraps! Yay! I will TOTALLY start making more hummus and other bean dips now that I know they will be put to good use.

This dip consisted of lots of roasted red peppers, baked walnuts, whole wheat bread cut into pieces, lemon juice, molasses, salt, LOTS of garlic, cumin, and olive oil. Here is the recipe from littlehouseofveggies.blogspot.com:

1 lb. red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded
1 1/4 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 tsp molasses (she used pomegranate molasses, I used regular)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cups roasted walnut pieces, lightly ground

Pop it all in your food processor. Shove it in your face! MMMmmmmm.
Let's also give a shout out to my Nana, who will never get on here but who sent Jay and me a brand new Kitchenaid food processor! Yay!


I feel so good after I eat meals now that I have stopped eating meat and dairy. I just want to give this lifestyle a shout out because WOW its such an improvement! I have more energy and generally just feel better. I haven't gotten sick in over 5 months either...and I used to get sick all the time! My sinus drainage used to make me want to throw up every morning, but now its totally gone! :) I am an emergency room nurse, and also a strep-leper (meaning if I even look at  a person with strep I get it) but I have been around a ton of strep patients lately and have not fell ill. :) Jay also has mostly given up dairy, and both of us DON'T GET HANGOVERS any more!It is totally crazy, because we used to get so dreadfully hungover.