Salads can often become very boring, however, this delicious and warm salad is perfect when opting for healthier meals. Mix it up with whatever veggies you have in the fridge for a delicious, low-fat lunch/dinner. This dish is extremely versatile and can be made with any veg that takes your fancy. By adding healthy falafel, you’ll also be upping your protein too.

Falafel is a great middle eastern dish and can be enjoyed in wholewheat pitta bread, or served as a salad like the recipe below. The falafel alone has 8 grams of protein and also is a good source of soluble fibre, the type that helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. However, buying a falafel pitta from a local food truck can sometimes have as many as 750 calories, 30 grams of fat and 1,500 milligrams of sodium – a full day’s worth of salt.  But, by making healthy falafel at home, you can save calories and fat by pan frying it in a little olive oil.

This recipe is packed full of goodness, is brightly coloured and is a prime example of a balanced meal.

Time: 45 Minutes                   Servings: 4                   Calories: 125 per serving

Ingredients

For the healthy falafel

• 400g can Chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry,
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed,
• 1 small bunch of Coriander,
• 1tsp Ground Cumin,
• ½ tsp CHilli Flakes,
• 1 ½ tbsp Plain Flour,

For the salad

• A handful of Spinach,
• A handful of kale,
• 1 large Red Onion, chopped,
• ½ a Red Pepper chopped,
• ½ a Yellow Pepper,
• 4 Tomatoes chopped into wedges,
• ½ a can of Sweetcorn,
• Cucumber slices,
• 6 Radishes sliced,
• 170g reduced fat Houmous,
• A handful of Pomegranate seeds,  
• 1 Lemon,

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Blitz the falafel ingredients together until semi-smooth, then divide and roll into 8 balls. Put on a plate and chill in the fridge.
2. Place the onion, peppers, and tomatoes on a baking tray and toss with 1tbsp of olive oil and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Fry the falafel on each side for 5 minutes, until golden brown.
3. Remove the stalks from the kale and tear into smaller pieces. Squeeze a little lemon and sprinkle some salt and massage the kale until it starts to soften. Next divide the kale, spinach, sweetcorn, cucumber, radish and the houmous between 4 bowls. Add the roasted veg and falafel on top and sprinkle pomegranate seeds. And enjoy!

Want to see more healthy recipes? Click HERE.